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  • Buy locally-assembled CNG vehicles, FG advises Nigerians 9th July 2024

    Buy locally-assembled CNG vehicles, FG advises Nigerians 9th July 2024

    The Federal Government has appealed to Nigerians to take advantage of the CNG initiative to reduce by buying locally-assembled CNG vehicles.

     

    This is expected to reduce pressure on the use of Premium Motor Spirit and diesel in the country.

     

    After the removal of fuel subsidy, the Federal Government had provided N100bn for the purchase of 5,500 CNG vehicles (buses and tricycles), 100 electric buses and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits, alongside spurring the development of CNG refilling stations and electric charging stations.

     

    President Bola Tinubu has also encouraged Nigerians to venture into the CNG initiative.

     

    Reechoing the admonishment of the government, the Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, Oluwemimo Osanipin, described the CNG as best for Nigerians from all fronts considering its affordable cost.

     

    The NADDC DG said this during an assessment tour of Lanre Shittu assembling plant in Lagos on Monday.

     

    While appealing to Nigerians to buy CNG buses, the DG added that the government was ready to do anything within its power to ensure that the assemblers of CNG flourish in their business.

     

    He said, “My appeal to Nigerians is for all of us to start adopting this initiative and start buying Nigeria-assembled CNG vehicles. It will save us from more expenses. Just like we just heard from one of the engineers now, a 60k of CNG will cover more than 300 kilometres, if you compare that to a petrol or diesel-powered vehicle, you will know that CNG is good for Nigerians.

  • Emefiele’s Wife Ordered Funds Transfer From Nigerian Central Bank To Family-Linked Companies, Witness Reveals

    Emefiele’s Wife Ordered Funds Transfer From Nigerian Central Bank To Family-Linked Companies, Witness Reveals

    Emefiele’s Wife Ordered Funds Transfer From Nigerian Central Bank To Family-Linked Companies, Witness Reveals

    Emefiele is currently on trial for alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of funds totalling $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion during his tenure as CBN governor

     

    Mrs. Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, Business Relationship Manager at Zenith Bank plc, testified in the Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos, on Tuesday, revealing how Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), utilised his companies to secure various contracts from the apex bank.

     

    Emefiele is currently on trial for alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of funds totalling $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion during his tenure as CBN governor.

     

    Emefiele is facing a 26-count charge alongside his co-defendant, Henry Isioma Omoile, in a trial presided over by Justice Rahman Oshodi.

     

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought the charges against them.

     

    Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, the fifth prosecution witness, testified in court that she had no direct dealings with Emefiele but received instructions from his wife, Margaret Emefiele, to transfer funds from the CBN into their private companies’ Zenith Bank account, revealing a potential conflict of interest and abuse of power.

     

    Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, the witness, testified that she received instructions not only from Mrs. Margaret Emefiele but also from two other individuals, John Ogah and the late Opeyemi Oludimu, who was an aide to Emefiele.

     

    Under questioning by EFCC prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Ogbonnaya revealed that she received these instructions through various channels, including her official email, phone calls, and WhatsApp messages, detailing how she carried out transactions based on these instructions.

     

    Ogbonnaya testified before Justice Oshodi that the companies that received funds from the CBN were Limelight Multidimensional Ltd, Come Support Services Ltd, Ambswin Resources Ltd, and Magofarm. She revealed that Emmanuel initially opened the accounts for Emefiele’s companies, but new signatories took over in 2021, specifically Stephen and Patrici¤a.

  • BREAKING: Tinubu Government Removes Tariffs On Rice Importation, Set To Import 500,000 Metric Tonnes Of Maize, Wheat To Tackle Food Inflation

    BREAKING: Tinubu Government Removes Tariffs On Rice Importation, Set To Import 500,000 Metric Tonnes Of Maize, Wheat To Tackle Food Inflation

    BREAKING: Tinubu Government Removes Tariffs On Rice Importation, Set To Import 500,000 Metric Tonnes Of Maize, Wheat To Tackle Food Inflation

     

    The commodities the government is prioritising to benefit from this include: Maize, Husked Brown Rice, Wheat and Cowpeas.

    The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government has announced measures to tackle the skyrocketing food prices nationwide.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said the measures would be implemented over the next 180 days.

     

    A 150-Day Duty-Free Import Window for food commodities which includes; suspension of duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities through land and sea borders.”

     

    The commodities the government is prioritising to benefit from this include: Maize, Husked Brown Rice, Wheat and Cowpeas.

     

    The statement from the minister further noted that “Under this arrangement, imported food commodities will be subjected to a Recommended Retail Price (RRP).”

     

    The government further promised to ensure importation of only quality produce.

     

    “In addition to the importation by private sector, Federal Government will import 250,000MT of Wheat and 250,000MT of Maize.”

     

    “The imported food commodities in their semi processed state will target supplies to the small-scale processors and millers across the country.”

     

    According to the government, “it would engage relevant stakeholders to set a Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP) and mop up surplus assorted food commodities to restock the National Strategic Food Reserve.”

     

    The Tinubu-led administration also noted that it plans to scale up support for Homs Green Initiative by the office of the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

     

     

     

    “The success of the measures aforementioned is contingent on cooperation and collaboration of all relevant MDAs and stakeholders.” the government noted in its press statement .

     

    Nigerians have continued to suffer from issues of rise in prices of food, with food inflation reaching highest in many years.

  • Student Loan: New Hope For NOUN Students

    Student Loan: New Hope For NOUN Students

    Student Loan: New Hope For NOUN Students

    The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has addressed the intricacies surrounding the student loans for its students.

     

    Vice Chancellor of the Institution, Prof. Olufemi Peters expressed concerns over some misleading statements and comments indicating that students of NOUN are not eligible to participate in student loan scheme.

     

    It will be recalled that the management of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had earlier said NOUN students are ineligible to apply for the newly launched student loan.

    However, Peters said that the information is not correct, and should be disregarded.

     

    According to him, the initial challenges that, perhaps, led to the misinformation, was because of misrepresentation from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) which has been corrected

     

     

    “There was a misrepresentation by JAMB on that matter, but they have since corrected it. Director of Admissions or even JAMB Registrar can attest to that.

     

    “We always register our students with JAMB every semester, and they all possess JAMB registration number. In addition to that, we strictly follow the same admission processes with other conventional institutions.

     

     

  • Police Arrest Man Who Attempted Suicide Over Insecurity, Others In Abuja

    Police Arrest Man Who Attempted Suicide Over Insecurity, Others In Abuja

    The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arrested Shuaibu Alhaji Yushau for attempted suicide after climbing the Aso Radio broadcast mast in Abuja, threatening to kill himself if certain demands were not met by the federal government.

     

    Earlier on Monday morning, Yushau had claimed the very high mast with a placard, captioned “It Is Long Enough”.

     

    His placard also stated that “it is long enough for citizens to continue suffering in hunger”, “Long enough for government to standby while Boko Haram and bandits continue to kill people on a daily basis.”

     

    FCT police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, while confirming the arrest, said: “following a distress call from concerned citizens about a young man who climbed a very high mast with a placard at ASO Radio in Katampe at about 09:10am, the operatives of the FCT Police Command swiftly mobilized to the location.

     

    With much professional persuasions from the police operatives, the man later identified as Shuaibu Alhaji Yushau was prevented from taking his own life.

     

    “He claimed to have been observing the mast for about a week before deciding to climb it. Suspect is presently in police custody and in a stable condition.

     

  • EFCC Appeals Ruling Acquitting Fayose’s Associate

    EFCC Appeals Ruling Acquitting Fayose’s Associate

     

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a notice of appeal against the ruling of Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which acquitted Abiodun Agbele, an associate of the former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, and three others in the ₦1.2bn money laundering charge brought against them by the commission.

     

    Agbele and three (3) companies linked to him together with the former governor, namely Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, De Privateer Limited, and Spotless Investment Limited were listed as the first to fourth respondents in the appeal

     

    The ₦1.2bn is said to be part of the sum of ₦4.7 billion belonging to the Federal Government and allegedly transferred from an account associated with the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

     

    Justice Dimgba had on the 21 June, 2024, upheld the no-case submission of Agbele and ruled that he had no case to answer.

    In the notice of appeal, the EFCC, through its prosecuting counsel, Wahab Shittu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, listed 17 grounds of appeal and sought two reliefs from the Court of Appeal.

  • Federal Gov’t Gives Contractors 3-month Deadline To Complete Projects

    Federal Gov’t Gives Contractors 3-month Deadline To Complete Projects

    The Federal Government has issued contractors handling the 260 emergency projects three months deadline to deliver or face termination.

     

    Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi issued the deadline during a meeting with contractors on Monday in Abuja.

     

    Umahi explained that the emergency road projects were appropriated in the 2023 Supplementary Budget with the intention to bring immediate intervention on the completely failed parts of critical federal roads nationwide.

     

    The minister, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Barr Orji Uchenna Orji, listed about 37 contractors who have achieved little or no milestone in the project delivery since the contracts were awarded and warned them to mobilise effectively to the sites latest on Wednesday July 10 or face contract termination.

     

    He said, “If after the deadline for mobilisation to the site, any contractor fails to comply, the job shall be terminated by effluxion of time as the contract is for a time limit of three months.

     

    “Any contractor whose job has stayed for more than three months without completion after the issuance of award letter, must seek and obtain approval for extension of time from the Federal Ministry of Works”.

     

    The statement said most of the defaulting contractors, were handling emergency road projects in Yobe, Jigawa, Zamfara, Benue, Kogi, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and River States.

     

     

     

    He warned that the projects awarded to them must be delivered in three months’ time as no excuse of security challenges or lack of mobilisation funds would justify the sufferings they are subjecting road users or shield them from being blacklisted as constituting a clog in the wheel of progress in the efforts of the ‘Renewed Hope’ administration in revolutionising road infrastructure for Nigeria’s economic prosperity.

  • Ogun bad roads forced table water companies to shut down in six months: Producers

     

    Mr Lawal identified bad roads, poor power supply and government policies as challenges that impeded the effective distribution of their product in Ogun.

     

    Babatunde Lawal, the state chairman of ATWAP, told journalists on Monday in Ota, Ogun, that the affected members were unable to continue production due to a lack of critical infrastructure, which militated against their business.

     

    Mr Lawal identified bad roads, poor power supply and government policies as challenges that impeded the effective distribution of their product.

     

    He said some challenges, such as increased fuel prices and general hikes in raw materials, also resulted in increased vehicle repair and production costs in the long run.

     

    Mr Lawal emphasised the need for the provision of critical infrastructure because any firm or business that shuts down would automatically downsize all its employees, thus leading to an increased unemployment rate.

  • Top highest paid MDs/CEOs in Nigeria 2024

    Top highest paid MDs/CEOs in Nigeria 2024

    The year 2024 will likely be remembered as a tumultuous one for Nigeria’s economy, with companies facing challenges such as exchange rate depreciation, rampant inflation, and weakening purchasing power.

     

    Despite these obstacles, corporate Nigeria continued to provide services, pay salaries, contribute taxes, support local communities, and reward shareholders with dividends.

     

    In navigating these economic challenges, the Managing Directors (MDs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Nigeria’s listed companies played a crucial role. These executives were responsible for steering their organizations through both successes and difficulties, making decisions that often led to either praise or scrutiny.

     

    Nairametrics’ research reveals that the highest-earning MDs and CEOs amassed a combined total of N7.9 billion in 2023. This represents a significant increase from the N4.227 billion combined salaries in 2022, reflecting a notable rise of N3.749 billion.

     

    Whilst some of the companies they oversee reported massive losses due to exchange rate depreciation, they did deliver higher revenue growth leveraging on adaptive marketing and operational strategies.

     

    review of revenue figures shows that around 30 leading Nigerian companies reported a combined revenue of N11.4 trillion in 2023, up from N9.1 trillion in 2022. This growth spans multiple industries, including consumer goods, industrials, technology, oil and gas, and agriculture.

     

    Commercial banks also performed well, with the top 10 listed banks, including the FUGAZ group, reporting N11.6 trillion in gross earnings, driven largely by significant forex gains.

     

    In the following sections, we explore the profiles and earnings of the highest-paid MDs and CEOs in Nigeria for 2023, offering insights into the strategies and achievements that contributed to their impressive remuneration.

  • eTranzact Deploys Digital Verification System For Military Pensions Board

    eTranzact Deploys Digital Verification System For Military Pensions Board

     

    Leading provider of innovative financial technology solutions, eTranzact, has announced its role as the technology solution provider for the Military Pensions Board’s new digital verification system for military pensioners, officially launched on July 1, 2024.

     

    In a press statement, the company said that the initiative marks a significant milestone in leveraging technology to streamline pension verification processes and enhance the welfare of military retirees across Nigeria.

     

    It also stated that with Federal Government approval, the Military Pensions Board is transitioning from traditional physical verification methods to an advanced electronic system developed and deployed by eTranzact. “This transition aims to minimise travel risks, reduce transportation costs, and accommodate the advanced age of many pensioners. Air Vice Marshal Paul Irumheson, Chairman of the Military Pensions Board, emphasised the necessity of this transition, stating that the move to electronic verification is crucial for the safety and convenience of military pensioners. This innovative solution will ensure that retirees can verify their status from anywhere in the world, significantly reducing the burden of travel and associated risks.

     

    The successful pilot exercise conducted between February 15 and March 1, 2024, demonstrated the efficiency and reliability of the new system. In addition to developing the verification system, eTranzact has managed salary payments for other government agencies. The implementation of this electronic verification system is a critical step towards ensuring foolproof and seamless payment processes within the Military Pensions Board.

     

    “Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, have endorsed the electronic verification exercise, recognizing its potential to revolutionise the military pensions system. The key benefits of the digital verification system include enhanced security by reducing the risk of identity fraud and impersonation, convenience by allowing pensioners to complete verification from their homes, cost efficiency by eliminating the need for travel, and accessibility by accommodating pensioners residing both within and outside Nigeria,’’ the statement read.