APC governors pledge to implement Tinubu’s policies.

APC governors pledge to implement Tinubu’s policies.

The Progressives Governors Forum has assured of the implementation of the policies of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government at the grassroots and a better welfare for Nigerians.

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Chairman of the forum, gave the assurance at the end of its meeting.

The PGF is the umbrella body of governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress governors.

Uzodimma told newsmen at the end of the meeting in the early hours of Thursday in Abuja that the governors were determined to ensure the security in the country.

He said: “We have agreed on how best to support our party, President Bola Tinubu and his government and get his policies down to the grassroots.

“We agreed on how to support the president with a view to maximising the benefits of his policies, we are united in ensuring that we take his policies to the grassroots.”

He added that as sub-national leaders, the governors were poised to ensure that the country was secure, saying that they are also working to provide adequate welfare to Nigerians.

On the ongoing corruption allegations against Betta Edu, the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Uzodinma said the only perfect being is God Almighty.

He added that while the functions of government included to encourage good things and good appointees, and discourage bad things and bad appointees, the case against Edu was just an allegation.

“And in the wisdom of the President, she is being investigated, it is after the investigation is concluded and the report made available to the government that it will take a final decision,” he said.

The PGF Chairman said Nigerians should therefore not be in a hurry to conclude her case.

On the forthcoming off-season elections in Ondo and Edo States slated for November, Uzodinma said the APC was prepared to go into any election anytime.

The meeting which was held at Imo Governor’s Lodge was attended by Governors Hope Uzodinma (Imo Governor and PGF chairman), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Yahaya Inuwa (Gombe), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe) and Dapo Abiodun (Ogun).

Others are Lucky Aiyetadiwa (Ondo), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Ahmad Aliyu (Sokoto), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Uba Sani (Kaduna), AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq (Kwara) and Bassey Otu (Cross River) as well as Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti).

I Will Support Tinubu Without Apologies – PDP Chieftain, Bwala.

I Will Support Tinubu Without Apologies – PDP Chieftain, Bwala. 

A chieftain of the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, Daniel Bwala, on Wednesday, said he is committed to supporting the administration of President Bola Tinubu, even if that requires him to defect to the All Progressives Congress.

“I told him today, I am committing to play my part to support your administration, and I have no apologies to anybody,” Bwala told State House correspondents after closed-door talks with the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

“APC is a party. President Bola Tinubu is my motivation; if supporting him will take me to APC, so be it,” he stated when asked if he would defect to the APC.

On January 2, 2024, Bwala, a staunch critic of the governing APC and the Tinubu administration, said opposition political parties must form a strong coalition if they would successfully wrestle power from the governing APC in the 2027 general elections.

Bwala, a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said that without a coalition of opposition parties, President Tinubu would spend eight years in office.

“Without a coalition of political parties, Tinubu is going to spend the next eight years. That one is for sure.

“The truth of the matter is that there will be a coalition of political parties that will be very strong. This is a fact that I know.

“The coalition that is coming will swallow some of the elements that are creating the problems in the various political parties,” he said.

He commended the President’s suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, saying, “Some of his (Tinubu’s) Ministers that were allegedly reported to have committed infractions, instead of protecting them, he asked that the law should have its course and suspended somebody without wasting time. That, to me, is impressive because it’s about the people.”

Referring to Tuesday’s announcement of a 60 per cent slash in travel entourages for the Presidency and MDAs, Bwala remarked, “There has been this outcry that the government is bloated. Yesterday, he introduced a policy that reduced the cost of governance and today, he told me it is just the beginning.”

The legal practitioner said the President assured him that more cost-cutting measures are underway to reduce the cost of governance.

“What have we been talking about as citizens is that if you don’t have a personal grudge against someone…if it is a policy issue.

“What I’m saying apart from today that I’m talking here is that you all need to visit my Twitter page. In the last few days, I have been expressing my surprise and appreciation to the President for the decisions he is making. So, this is not about political party. And you need to know that, like I said, I was with him before I left. And I was doggedly committed to him.

“I told him today that I am committing to play my part to support your administration, and I have no apologies to anybody,” he explained.

Eno seeks Tinubu’s support for Ibom Deep Seaport, oil palm projects.

Eno seeks Tinubu’s support for Ibom Deep Seaport, oil palm projects.

Akwa Ibom state governor, Umo Eno, on Wednesday, met with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, to make a couple of requests, including federal government’s collaboration in the development of the Ibom Deep Seaport project.

Governor Eno, who said his primary reason for the visit was to wish President Tinubu Happy New Year, saying he sought his assistance in his state’s efforts at reviving the moribund state-owned oil palm project, which had been in limbo for about 28 years.

Governor Eno, who explained that the Ibom Deep Seaport project would meet the maritime needs of the South-south and Southeast region, however disclosed that the President had directed him to submit a memorandum for the projects he made the requests on.

According to him, the Ibom Deep Seaport has the deepest wharf that has the capacity to bring in ship from across the globe while it also serve Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria.

“The purpose of my visit to the President is to wish him a happy new year and also make a request. You know when governors come to see the President, this is the seat of government, you have one or two things to talk about.

 

“So, wishing the President a happy New Year was paramount for us and we pray that God will keep him in good health and continue to give him the strength to carry on his work as the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Then following that, we also have a request. We’ve talked and requested him to support us with our Ibom Deep Seaport and agricultural programme on the oil palm.

“Ibom Deep Seaport has the deepest wharf that will bring in ship and we can ship from that point. Again, Lagos is there, but you also know Lagos is congested. Of course that is no story. So you need a deep seaport that will take care of the Southeast, South-south, if you like, the Niger Delta region. Thank you all”, he said.

On the request for federal government’s assistance in the efforts to revamp the oil palm project, he said Akwa Ibom is targeting increased production, which can lead to capacity to export palm oil

“Akwa Ibom is an oil palm zone and we have started the process of revamping the moribund industry that has laid there for 28 years. It is being revamped right now. We need the support of the federal government to be able to have a full value-chain and then bring people to work and be able to help Nigeria.

“We can even get to exporting palm oil, because right now, we’re still importing a lot of it. So that’s why I came and it was a good visit.”

Responding to a question on how President Tinubu received him and his request, as well as the concerns expressed over the viability of the state-run airliner, Ibom Sir, the governor said “the President has graciously granted that I bring the memo for the requests and including MRO of course.

“The president is a businessman, he had to also ask, are we making profits running Ibom air because government as to business and government I told him government is completely out of the running of Ibom Air.

“Ibom Air is making profit and they are ploughing it back for expansion and the airport facility, the second taxiway is on, we have the new terminal, we have the MRO and he was pleased to hear that.

“We need to partner with the federal government of course, to get work going in the state. Akwa Ibom is part of Nigeria, he is the President of Nigeria, he needs to know how one of his component states is doing. I just came for normal briefing though.”

'We will get justice for slain Nigerian student killed by Canadian Police~Asefon.'

‘We will get justice for slain Nigerian student killed by Canadian Police~ Asefon.'

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement, Comr. Sunday Dayo Asefon has expressed dismay over the killing of Stephen Afolabi Opaso, a Nigerian student who was studying in the University of Manitoba Canada.

He described the killing as barbaric, cruel and heartless and vowed to engage the High Commission of Canada in Nigeria, and further collaborate with the Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and Chairperson of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa to ensure that the incident is not swept under the carpet.

The late Stephen Afolabi Opaso, a 19-year-old Nigerian international student in Canada identified as fondly called Zigi by peers, was shot dead by the Winnipeg Police Service in Manitoba on December 31, 2023.

The deceased was alleged to have been wielding a knife at and had mental health crisis at the time of the incident.

The Winnipeg Police in a statement, acknowledged the confrontation with an armed male but provided limited details.

“On December 31, 2023, at approximately 2:22 p.m., the Winnipeg Police Service responded to an apartment suite in the first 100 block of University Crescent for a 911 call regarding a male acting erratically. The caller advised the male may be armed and there were other people in the suite.

‘’During this encounter, an officer discharged their firearm, striking the male. Officers provided immediate medical care and ensured the well-being of all other parties on scene. Nobody else was injured.

‘’The male was transported to hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries,” the statement read.

Asefon said the impression in the public as gathered during an interaction with National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, earlier on the case is that the killing was racially motivated as the deceased student was not welding a gun at the time of the incident and that the police officers would have acted differently if he were to be a white.

He appealed to NANS and the entire Nigerian students to remain calm, and vowed to follow the case up diligently until Canadian authorities give true account of the death of the Nigerian student and compensate his family accordingly to avoid a diplomatic row that may lead to the closure of their embassy in Nigeria by NANS if no action is taken by Federal Government.

He also urged Nigerian Students in Canada to remain peaceful as his office will ensure that justice is served.

Cash transfer: 283,003 Lagos residents to get N25,000 each.

Cash transfer: 283,003 Lagos residents to get N25,000 each.

More than N30 billion may reach the hands of the poor and vulnerable people in Lagos in the next six months as the State Cash Transfer Unit has kick started the enrollment process for the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Programme.

Part of the National Social Safety Net Project Scale-Up (NASSP-SU), the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Programme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aims to bring financial relief to vulnerable citizens across the 36 states of the Federation.

 The first tranche will come from Economic Shock Response Cash transfer while the second will come from the Extended Regular Cash Transfer (ER-CT).

In his opening speech during the Renewed Hope Enrollment Training for 186 Cash Transfer Facilitators in the state, the Lagos Commissioner for Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment Akinyemi Bankole Ajigbotafe said the NASSP-SU was part of reforms in the government’s support policies for the poor, which places the people at the center of development with an aim to leave no one behind.

Ajigbotafe said the programme is focused on helping impoverished communities and people.

According to him, it will contribute to promoting sustainable socioeconomic development and poverty reduction.

Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer, he explained that each beneficiary will receive #25,000 per circle, for three payment circles, culminating in total financial support of #75,000.

According to him, beneficiaries of the second component which is Extended Regular would get #10,000.00 bi-monthly, bringing the total to #60,000.00.

The financial assistance, he noted, would make a significant impact on the lives of the beneficiaries, contributing to their well-being and resilience due to the hardship caused by the current economic reforms in the country.

According to him, over 283,003 households are to benefit from the ongoing enrollment across a total of 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.

He also appreciated Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his relentless support and care for the down trodden in the state.

He said the great humanitarian strides and efforts were evidenced in the various humanitarian programmes to cater for the poorest of the poor, the vulnerable and the indigent citizens in the state.

“It is truly a greater rising season for our state.

“President Bola Tinubu launched the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer in November, 2023 to mitigate amongst others the economic shocks arising from government policies.

“Also from natural disasters add pandemics that negatively affect rural and urban livelihoods in Nigeria.

“With this, the Federal Government established a time-limited economic shock Response – Cash Transfers (ESR-CT) of N25,000 for 283,003 poor and vulnerable households (PVHHs) in Lagos state to cushion the effect of the on-going economic reforms as mandated.

“A total of 283,003 poor and vulnerable households have been mined for enrolment into conditional cash transfer in the state.

“This includes 209,385 mined Poor and Vulnerable Households and 73,618 from the National Social Register (NSR) and Rapid Response exercise.

“This will aid the capacity building of the nominated 186 cash transfer facilitators to be equipped.

The National Programme Manager, National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Dr Micheal Ajuluchuku, represented by Zainab Usman said the Federal Government commenced the immediate roll-out of Cash Transfers to beneficiaries of the Renewed Hope Cash Transfer Programme which aims to provide 15 million poor and vulnerable Nigerian households withN25,000 monthly, for three months.

 According to her, the roll out is leveraging the NASSP-SU implementation strategy and delivery platforms, with a view to providing a cushion against the on-going economic reforms

She explained that NASSP SU is designed to support new beneficiaries for Economic Shock

Response Cash transfer (ESR-CT) in urban and rural areas across the country and existing CT beneficiaries for Extended Regular Cash Transfer (ER-CT).

She added that the beneficiaries of the programme are products of the recent Social Register verification and that they spread across the 774 LGs in the Country based on States quota.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Dr Abiodun Onayele said there were efforts by the government towards implementation of programmes for sustainable poverty reduction.

According to him, all beneficiaries will be paid through their bank accounts. Those with existing bank accounts, he noted, will be paid through their accounts while new accounts will be opened by the programme for those that do not have accounts. The strategy, he continued, will help to ensure all beneficiaries are financially included through the programme.

He urged the public to visit their communities to enquire if their community is part of the current disclosure and check their names on the disclosure list which is often displayed on a location agreed by the community members for unhindered access and convenience of the members for validation and enrollment.

Speaking further on this, the State Programme Manager, Mrs Lola Korede Orimogunje said the enrollment targets beneficiaries from the National Social Register (NSR) and additional beneficiaries from the Rapid Response Register (RRR). The enrollment, according to her, is actively ongoing in all the Local Government Areas, Wards and Communities across the State.

 She urged beneficiaries to provide their National Identification Numbers (NIN) during the enrollment process to meet the eligibility criteria for opening bank accounts in fulfillment of the recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directives. The enrolment exercise which began last week is going to last for ten days.

INEC plans over 8,500 BVAS for by-elections.

INEC plans over 8,500 BVAS for by-elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission is expected to deploy no fewer than 8,500 Bimodal Verification Accreditation System machines for the February 3 re-rerun and by-elections on February 3 2024.

The elections will be conducted in a total of 8,890 polling units, according to a document posted by INEC on its X handle.

The by-elections will be held in nine states in 4,294 polling units while reruns will be held in 4,596 polling units.

 The breakdown showed that for the senatorial districts, elections will be held in Ebonyi South, Ebonyi State and Yobe East, Yobe State.

For the state constituencies, INEC will conduct elections in Chibok State Constituency, Borno State; Chikun State Constituency, Kaduna State, and Guma State Constituency, Benue State.

For federal constituencies, elections will be held in Akoko North-East/Akoko North-West Federal Constituency, Ondo State; Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency, Taraba State; Surulere 1 Federal Constituency, Lagos State; and Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency, Kebbi State.

While the court-ordered re-run elections would be held in 4,596 polling units, the elections will be conducted in one senatorial district of Plateau Central, and 12 federal constituencies.

The federal constituencies include Surulere 1 (Lagos), Gauri/Shanta/Ingaski and Arewa/Dandi (Kebbi), Akoko North-East/North-West (Ondo), Jalingo/Yorro/Zing (Taraba), Ikono/Ini (Akwa Ibom) and Akamkpa/Biase (Cross River State).

Others are Nnewi North/Nnewi South and Orumba North/Orumba South (Anambra), Igbo Eze North/Udenu (Enugu), Birnin Kudu/Buji (Jigawa), Igabi and Kachia/Kagarko (Kaduna), Faskari/Kankara/Sabuwa (Katsina), Jos North/Bases (Plateau) and Fine/Fune (Yobe).

Similarly, senatorial elections will be held in Yobe-East and Plateau Central following court orders.

At the state level, elections will be conducted to fill vacant positions in Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi , Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Sokoto, Zamfara, Benue and Borno states.

It was gathered that a total of 4,567,689 Nigerians are eligible to vote in 8,890 polling units on February 3, 2024.

It is expected that the commission provides at least one BVAS per polling unit and some backup BVAS for a smooth electoral process.

The final list of candidates will be published on January 17. The campaign is expected to start on January 18 and close on February 1.

CBN appoints new executives for Union, Keystone, Polaris banks.

CBN appoints new executives for Union, Keystone, Polaris banks.

A few hours after dissolving the board of directors governing Polaris, Union, and Keystone banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria has appointed new executive directors to oversee the affairs of the deposit money banks.

The apex bank, in a statement signed by the acting Director of Corporate Communications, Sidi Hakama, released on Thursday morning, said the appointment takes immediate effect.

According to the statement, Yetunde Oni, the first female CEO of the Standard Chartered bank in Sierra Leone, was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, while Mannir Ubali Ringim was selected as the Executive Director of the tier-2 bank.

For Keystone Bank, Hassan Imam was appointed as its Chief Executive Officer, while Chioma Mang got the position of Executive Director.

Also, the bank appointed Lawal Mudathir Omokayode Akintola as the Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank and Chris Ofikulu as its Executive Director.

The CBN statement read, “Following the dissolution of the Board and Management of Union Bank, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank on Wednesday, January 10, the CBN has appointed new executives to oversee the affairs of the banks;

“Union Bank: Yetunde Oni – Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Mannir Ubali Ringim – Executive Director

“Keystone Bank: Hassan Imam – Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer Chioma A. Mang – Executive Director

“Polaris Bank: Lawal Mudathir Omokayode Akintola – Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer Chris Onyeka Ofikulu – Executive Director

“The appointments take immediate effect,” the statement added.

Recall that on Wednesday night, the apex bank sacked the entire board of four banks for grievous infringements of financial laws.

It said the banks’ infractions vary from regulatory non-compliance, corporate governance failure, disregarding the conditions under which their licences were granted, and involvement in activities that posed a threat to financial stability, among others.

Hence, the apex bank, in the exercise of its regulatory powers, said the dissolution of the boards became necessary due to the non-compliance of the banks and their respective boards with the provisions of the Financial Institutions Act, 2020.

This action followed the recommendation of the Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, appointed by President Bola Tinubu in July 2023, to probe the activities of the CBN and other relevant establishments.

The report of the special investigation into the activities of the CBN had accused the immediate past Governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele, of acquiring banks for himself through proxies.

The report stated that Emefiele used proxies to acquire Union Bank of Nigeria for Titan Trust Bank Limited and Keystone Bank without any evidence of payment.