AFRICAN NEWS FLASH

The Federal Government will employ an additional 350,000 graduates in 2017. The graduates will be employed under the N-Power Volunteer Corps, a component of the government’s Social Investment Programmes. The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. Akande said President Muhammadu Buhari had requested an appropriation of N157.75bn in the 2017 budget estimates for the N-Power scheme. “350,000 unemployed graduates more would be hired and trained, alongside 50,000 non-graduates youths to be engaged as artisans and in other creative ventures,” Akande said. He explained further that under the N157.75bn also, a sum of N4.5bn had been earmarked for science, technology, engineering and mathematics programme to support young Nigerians in building skills in those disciplines. Akande noted that the SIPs’ budget proposals for 2017 would be discussed this week at the National Assembly and urged Nigerians to

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday announced the reintroduction of bank charges on certain categories of cash deposits and withdrawals. This came about three years after the apex bank stopped the charges. In a circular to all Deposit Money Banks posted on its website, the regulator said the decision to reintroduce the charges on cash deposits was part of the review of charges on deposits and withdrawals under the cashless policy. It said the decision was taken at the Bankers’ Committee meeting, which held in Abuja two weeks ago. The circular, signed by the Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, stated that the committee decided that the cashless policy should be extended to the remaining 30 states of the federation. It also directed that with effect from April 1, 2017, banks in the states where the cashless policy was already operating, Lagos, Ogun, Anambra, Abia, Kano, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory, would begin to impose

The newly introduced foreign exchange policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will help shore up the naira, an official of the bank has said. Mr Emmanuel Ukeje, the Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Financial Markets, said this in an interview in Abuja on Thursday. Ukeje described as baseless the argument by sceptics that the newly introduced foreign exchange policy would further weaken the naira. “The whole essence of the new policy is to infuse dollar liquidity into the system and to ensure easy accessibility of end users. “In the past we have had clamours that people were not able to pay their school fees, people were not able to buy BTA and that is why they had to go to the black market or parallel market. “Now that the CBN have come up with a policy that has returned this into the confines of the inter-bank market and that of the bank, we believe strongly that this will take the demand off the parallel market and we expect that the Naira will strengthen as this goes on.

- will return on the 7th March Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, on Tuesday in Abuja said the results of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s medical tests had suggested a further rest. Adesina, who stated this when he spoke with State House correspondents on the statement earlier issued on Buhari’s medical vacation, did not stipulate the period of time the resting will last. Adesina stated that “The President wants Nigerians to know that he appreciates their prayers; he appreciates their concerns and their goodwill. He has added that there is really no cause to worry. “He is the one who owns the body and there is nobody who will know his body more than him and he says no cause to worry.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has released a new foreign exchange policy in the country with immediate effect. The new policy is sequel to last Thursday’s directive by the National Economic Council, NEC, for immediate review to stem the widening gap between the inter-bank foreign exchange and parallel market rates. The CBN said in order to ease the difficulties encountered by Nigerians in obtaining funds for foreign exchange transactions, it would henceforth be providing direct additional funding to banks to meet the needs of Nigerians for personal and business travel, medical needs, and school fees, effective immediately. The CBN said such retail transactions would be settled at a rate not exceeding 20 per cent above the interbank market rate. Details later …

Details coming

The president of the senate, Dr Bukola Saraki met secretly with president Buhari at the Abuja House in London yesterday at exactly 5:13 pm London time. One of the issues discussed is the clearance for the new CBN management team that will be sent to the senate this week. President Buhari was assured by the senate president that the team will be cleared by the senate.

Details coming

Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday assured Nigerian youths that their support and confidence in the Buhari-led Federal Government would soon yield the desired results. Shehu gave the assurance in Abuja during an interactive session organised by the Citizens Support for Good Governance in Nigeria for youths. The group is a coalition of non-governmental organisations and Civil Society Organisations in the country. The programme was organised for youths to air their views on the present administration and the way forward. Shehu said that Buhari`s desire was to ensure a secured and stable future for the upcoming generations.

There are strong indications that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum may send some governors to the United Kingdom to visit President Muhammadu Buhari, except the President returns home between now and next week. Africannewsflash learnt that the plan to send a delegation to the President was part of the discussion at the last governors’ meeting in Abuja, which ended in the early hours of Thursday. An impeccable source at the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the governors also decided to send a goodwill message to the President’s family in Nigeria. The source, however, hinted that the President might return home very soon based on the information available to the governors. He explained that representatives of the Governors’ Forum would have embarked on the UK trip immediately but for the information pointing towards the President’s return anytime from now. A governor, who was at the meeting, who also spoke with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said

THE crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP worsened yesterday after the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt sacked the Senator Ahmed Makarfi led National Caretaker Committee which enjoys the support of the mainstream of the party and its organs. The Appellate Court by a 2-1 majority affirmed that the party offended its own constitution in the way and manner it sacked the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff led executive and in the disobedience of court orders against the holding of the May 21 Port- Harcourt Convention. The court asked that the party should return to the status quo. Yesterday’s decision followed the earlier judgments by the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt that endorsed the action of the Port-Harcourt convention in enthroning Senator Makarfi and members of his National Caretaker Committee. The judgment given by Justice Mohammed Liman also specifically barred Senator Sheriff from parading himself as the national chairman of the party. Sheriff had upon that judgment appe

AN Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Friday declared Senator  Ali Modu Sheriff  the Acting Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party. The ruling, which came in a split decision, where two judges, Justice B. G. Sanga and Justice A.A. Gumel delivered judgement against the  Makarfi-led PDP  while the third judge, Justice T.S Orji-Abadua, ruled against Sheriff, who is the first appellant in the matter. At least,  four lower courts  of concurrent jurisdiction had given conflicting judgements on the controversy surrounding the  leadership of PDP , a development landed the matter at the Appeal Court. In his ruling, Justice Sanga, who gave the lead judgement, said the party did not comply with its constitution in removing the executive of the PDP led by Sheriff. Sanga maintained that a vote of confidence might be moved on any officer, but a two-month notice should be provided to the secretariat of the party, which would in turn circulate it to all members of the party.  He submit

State governors, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum, in the early hours of Thursday, rose from their meeting, saying they were ready for the probe being conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on how they spent the N522bn Paris Club loan refund. The meeting, presided over by the forum’s chairman, who is also the Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, was held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting, which started on Wednesday evening, did not end until the early hours of Thursday. In an interview with State House correspondents, Yari said the state governors were ready for the probe. He challenged the anti-graft commission to conduct the probe and come up with its report. He, however, said the state governors were in total support of the present administration’s fight against corruption. Yari stated, “We discussed the issue of Paris Club and London Club. We observed that the EFCC said it is doing investigations.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said there are corruption allegations in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s foreign exchange allocation and transactions. Malami added, on Wednesday, the fraud allegations were “supported by several documents.” Our source sighted a subtle query issued by Malami to the Governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, demanding “prompt response” to the allegations. Malami’s letter, dated February 6, 2017, and with reference number, HAGF/CBN/2017/VOL.1/1, was sighted with an official, close to the legal unit of the apex bank. The letter, in polite terms and without giving any ultimatum, asked Emefiele to respond to the allegations “to enable us to advise the Presidency and take appropriate measures.” Titled ‘allegations of racketeering in the Central Bank of Nigeria; disparity in allocation of foreign exchange’, and addressed to Emefiele, the letter was delivered to the CBN governor’s office on Monday. Th

Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly, Senator Bukola Saraki and the House of Representatives Speaker, Speaker Yakubu Dogara during a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari who has been on vacation in London on Wednesday.

President and Chairman of the National Assembly, Senator Bukola Saraki has led the leadership of both the Senate and House of Representatives on a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari who has been on vacation in London. Senate President Saraki who left Nigeria in the early hours of Wednesday, travelled with the Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Deputy Speaker, Lasun Yusuf and Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan.  A source told Africannewsflash that the team which left on a presidential jet, would meet with President Buhari at 6:pm where issues relating to his health, Nigeria, the economy, the 2017 budget, and how far the National Assembly has gone with the Appropriation bill would be discussed. When called to confirm the story, a source in the Senate President’s simply told Vanguard, ” it is true, the meeting is scheduled for 6:pm this evening at the Nigeria House in London.” It would be recalled that Senate President Bukola Saraki had on Thursday, 19th January, 2017, re

DETAILS COMING.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, had a closed-door meeting with former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), at his Hill Top residence in Minna, for about two hours.  Atiku arrived Minna Airport at about 12.40p.m. in his private aircraft and was received by the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Bello and proceeded to Babangida’s residence for the meeting from which journalists were barred. “I have come to visit General Babangida and to wish him well after his arrival from a medical trip abroad,” Atiku told newsmen afterwards. On his advice to the Federal Government, Alhaji Atiku said: “Any advice that needs to be given to the government should be given confidentially because using the public or media as a means to advice the government will simply be a great disservice to them. “If I have to advise the government, it will be in confidence because I was in government before. My advice will not be on the pages of newspapers.” Answering another question on

A Federal High Court sitting in Kano presided over by Justice Zainab B. Abubakar, Tuesday, has ordered the forfeiture of the sum of $9,772,000 (Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Two Thousand United States Dollars) and £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pound Sterling) recovered from a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu to the Federal Government. According to a press release signed by Wilson Uwujaren EFCC Head Media & Publicity the order was sequel to an ex parte application by the EFCC seeking an interim forfeiture of the recovered money to the Federal Government. The ex parte application was moved by Salihu Sani, counsel for the applicant. In her ruling, Justice Zainab held “That the sum of $9,772,000 (Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Two Thousand United States Dollars) and £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pound Sterling) which are now in the custody of the applicant (EFCC) are in the interim forfeited

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has given a hint of the possibility of President Muhammadu Buhari seeking a second term in 2019. Lawal gave the hint while addressing a pro-Buhari crowd gathered at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, on Tuesday, at the beginning of a series of protests in support of the President. He told the crowd that President Buhari feels the pains of Nigerians and was encouraged by the show of support to work to improve their lot. According to him, the President did not envisage the enormity of the challenges he met on the ground but was doing all within his power to set Nigeria on the path of sustainable growth. He assured the protesters that the economic difficulties being experienced by Nigerians would disappear within “one year.” Lawal said, “I’m here to thank you for the support you have been giving to this government. As a government, we are encouraged by your support. It is this type of support that encourages the President to

Barely 24 hours after his telephone conversation with President Donald Trump of the U.S., President Muhammadu Buhari has originated another telephone call from London, to condole with Dr Adamu Fika, Wazirin Fika, over the death of his wife, Tasallah. This information is contained in a statement issued by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu. Shehu said the president expressed his sadness over the death of Hajiya Tasallah Fika, the wife of former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Adamu Fika. “In a telephone call from London to the bereaved Wazirin, the president said the loss of such a devoted wife of many years was particularly a painful and challenging moment in the life of any husband.’’ Buhari explained that as a family man himself, he understood the depth of pain Dr Fika was going through at this time “having lost a great and invaluable companion of many years.’’ The president noted that the deceased was one of the “most

A telephone conversation between President Muhammadu Buhari and President Donald Trump of the United States, yesterday, appeared to have squelched anxieties about the health of the Nigerian president and also refreshed hopes for increased American support for the country’s anti-insurgency war. The telephone conversation, which was at the instance of President Trump, was part of the new American President’s familiarisation efforts with world leaders. Trump spoke with Buhari on a dedicated phone line routed to Abuja House, the London official residential building of the Nigeria Embassy, where Buhari is spending his medical vacation. A further claim of Buhari being in fine fettle was given by Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, who confirmed visiting the President in London. Besides confirming that Buhari was doing fine, Amosun refused to give more indications on the state of the President. Anxiety over the president’s health assumed renewed national concern at the weekend after the

A Federal Capital Territory High Court on Monday adjourned till March 9, the final judgement in the case of alleged extra-judicial killings of six Igbo traders by the police in Abuja in 2005. Five police officers were found culpable in the killings and are facing trial. Judgement had been set to be delivered on Monday, 11 years after the act. Justice Ishaq Bello of the FCT High Court, however, failed to deliver judgement and adjourned the suit. The protracted trial has been hindered mostly due to institutional challenges ranging from series of adjournments, conveyance of defendants from the prison to court and difficulty in getting witnesses to testify. Danjuma Ibrahim, Othman Abdulsalami, now at large, Nicholas Zakaria, Ezekiel Acheneje, Baba Emmanuel, and Sadiq Salami were alleged to have murdered the victims who were traders in Apo, a satellite town in Abuja. The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation is accusing the police officers of killing Ifeanyi Ozo, C

I T seems strange but true that the more dollars we earn, the more are the challenges of Excess Naira liquidity, inflation, higher cost of funds and a weaker naira exchange rate. The above title was first published in January 2014. Please read on. “The Punch Newspaper recently carried a report titled “CBN Defended Naira with $26.6bn in 2013.”  The report obtained from the Central Bank’s website, indicated that $26.6bn was sold to currency dealers in 94 foreign exchange Dutch Auctions between January and December 2013. Indeed, in consonance with Lamido Sanusi’s promise to maintain stability, the official naira exchange rate has inexplicably remained stagnant between N153 and N156=$1, despite our increasing foreign reserve base.  Regrettably, however, the unofficial (street market) rate has gradually moved from a deviation of N1 or N2 to N20/$; thus, an ‘ingenious’ bank or Bureau de Change could easily make a monthly profit of about N20m by simply buying $1m directly from CBN’s allocati

The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja after returning from Saudi Arabia where she performed the performed the lesser Hajj. Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari after her visit to Saudi Arabia where she performed the lesser Hajj. Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari speaking to newsmen at the airport shortly after her arrival from Saudi Arabia where she performed the lesser Hajj

  Presidential aides were on Friday put on standby over the imminent return of President Muhammadu Buhari from London, United Kingdom. Buhari, who left Nigeria on January 19, was initially scheduled to return to the country last Sunday in preparation for resumption to office last Monday. However, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, later issued a statement announcing that Buhari had notified the National Assembly of his decision to extend his vacation. Adesina had attributed the extension to the need for the President to wait behind and receive the results of medical tests which he had undergone on the advice of his doctors. Sources at the Presidential Villa, Abuja told one of our correspondents on Friday that Buhari was being expected this weekend. The sources said that presidential aides and officials of the Protocol Unit, as well as security operatives, had been put on the alert over the President’s imminent arrival. One of the source

details soon.

*NOT IN ANY HOSPITAL  Barring any unforeseen setbacks, President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to return to the country from his vacation to the United Kingdom this Saturday. A source close to the president told AFRICANNEWSFLASH yesterday that except there would be any last minute change, all is set for President Buhari’s return. The source, a senior official in the presidency, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, simply said: “Barring any last minute change, we are expecting the president back this weekend, probably on Saturday.” It was also gathered that the president had on Tuesday this week cancelled an interview with a foreign media organisation, but may possibly grant an interview in London before the weekend. Another source in the presidency also said that President Buhari “had already packed his bags to leave on Sunday but was advised by his doctors to wait and get results of some tests he conducted before leaving that country.”