Category: News

Ahead of the February 25 and March 11 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday revealed the action to be taken if hoodlums snatch the Bimodal Voter Registration Systems (BVAS) on election day.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has restrained the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 Deadline of the old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes to stop being legal tender.

Three northern states — Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara — had in a motion ex-parte filed on February 3rd, prayed the apex court to halt the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira redesign policy.

A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the FG, CBN, commercial banks etc from implementing the February 10, deadline for the old 200, 500 and 1000 Naira notes to stop being a legal tender.

The court further held that the FG, CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice on notice on in respect of the issue on February 15.

By this ruling, the old Naira notes continue to be legal tenders in Nigeria.

(Channels TV)

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has apologised to Nigerians for the over three months of pains caused by the nationwide fuel scarcity.

The Group CEO, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s special election programme, The 2023 Verdict, on Tuesday, assured the public that the “glitch” will be resolved to everyone’s relief.

“I apologise for the situation. On behalf of all of us, the stakeholders in the oil and gas industry. Definitely, not surely exclusive. Having said this, it is unfortunate. It’s a glitch – we are responsible to [resolve] this glitch. We will resolve this,” he said.

Asked to specify when Nigerians will begin to see a turnaround, Kyari expressed a strong belief that the relief will be be felt “within the next one week.”

But there is a caveat.

“I’m not saying that you’re going to have zero queues within the next one week,” he added. “No, I can’t guarantee that because a number of things are out of our control.”

The NNPC boss explained that market forces will determine how quickly the situation is resolved, but in his view, the country is going to see substantial and relative ease in the next one week compared to the situation at present.

He gave an assurance that the NNPC will bring succour and relief to the Nigerian people, saying no one orchestrated the fuel scarcity.

“We have no benefit in doing this. We are families. We are members and part of this community. We are very proud of this country.

“We would like this country to prosper. We don’t want Nigerians to suffer and of course as a matter of condition, we don’t think that anyone should go through this thing,” he said.

Supply: The Solution

According to Kyari, the NNPC has been on top of the situation and the way to bring the crisis under control is by increasing supply from the 63 million litres per day as of January.

“We know that the solution is excess supply. Once we are able to do excess supply across the country, across locations, you are going to resolve this issue, which is exactly what we’re doing now,” he said.

“We’re ramping up evacuation today. On a daily basis, we are doing more than 70 million litres into the market against the regular evacuation of up to 63-64 million litres.

“This will work and we believe that the ease that we’re seeing in many locations today – I don’t want to cite specific locations but I know that we’re seeing ease across the country. This is easing up.”

Not Peculiar To Nigeria

On the topic of Nigeria’s scarcity in the midst of an abundance of crude product, the NNPC chief executive alluded to the global normalcy of fuel queues as Nigeria charts its way towards a return to local refining.

“Having fuel queues is really not something that is local to any one country. It happens everywhere – whenever you have either breaches of pipes, pipeline issues, and so on,” he said.

“We don’t hope that this happens to our country but you must have guarantee of supply in your country, which is why we are focused on delivering our refineries rehabilitation projects, so that ultimately this product becomes close to us.

“Now, this hasn’t happened. The refineries’ rehabilitation is not completed. The Dangote Refinery hasn’t taken off. Both of them will happen; once that happens, you have the safety and security of supply near you.”

In the absence of this intervention, his position is that, like other countries, importation is the only other option.

“And the guarantee I have now is that NNPC has locked supply into this country irrespective of the financing challenges that we’re facing,” he added.

(Channels TV)

An emergency meeting of the Council of State, convened by President Muhammadu Buhari will hold on Friday to discuss national crises including petrol and naira scarcity, insecurity and others, ahead of the general elections.

The national crises had led to protests in various parts of the country.

The reporter gathered that the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is expected to provide an update on the new currency redesign policy scheduled to take place at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja, at 10 am.

Credible Presidency sources said the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu as well as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, will brief the council on the preparation for the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections as well as March 11 governorship and state houses of assembly polls.

The meeting will take major decisions to douse tension ahead of elections and avert a potential national crisis given anger over the scarcity of new naira notes. The National Council of State is an organ of the Nigerian government whose functions include advising the executive on policy making.

Membership of the Council comprises President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, former presidents, former heads of  state, former chief justices of Nigeria, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, governors of the 36 states of the federation and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

(Daily Trust)

The World Bank Country Office in Nigeria has disclosed that the incessant fuel scarcity and the inability of Nigerians to access the new naira notes may influence uncertainty ahead of the February 25 and March 11 elections in the country.

According to a document, the bank pointed out that the deadline for old notes will socially and economically affect vulnerable people in the country.

Recall that after the initial January 31 deadline, the CBN, after reportedly seeking the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari had extended the deadline for the currency swap to February 10.

But it appears the extension has not changed anything for the better as millions of Nigerians could not access the new N1000, N500 and N200 notes while even the lower denominations of N100 and N50 that have not been altered are not available.

While politicians have continued to trade blames; and the CBN accusing commercial banks of hoarding the new naira notes to the extent of unleashing security agents on them, Nigerians in many states have ran out of patience and have started taking to the streets to protest the shortage of the naira.

Experts said the document released by the World Bank on its website should be taken seriously because the citizens are becoming increasingly overstretched as many could not access their hard-earned money to feed their families.

The document said, “The shortage of cash compounds fuel shortages, which have been ongoing for months. There is a clear risk that cash shortages cause hardship and frustration, which could escalate social tensions, especially in a febrile political environment ahead of elections on February 25 (presidential and parliamentary) and March 11 (gubernatorial).

The bank further disclosed 45 per cent of Nigerian adults had a bank account, 34 per cent pay or receive money digitally over the past year, while nine per cent made an in-store payment by digital means.

It projected Nigeria would not be able to attain a quick increase in digital payment to enhance the shortages of new notes across the country within the stipulated deadline.

(Daily Trust)

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday restrained the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from suspending or expelling the Governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, from the party.

Justice James Omotosho made the order following an ex-parte motion filed by Governor Wike against the PDP and its top officials.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Wike, in the motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/139/2023, had sued the PDP, its National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC).

Others joined in the application dated and filed on Feb. 2 included the National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu; National Secretary of PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st to 6th respondents respectively.

The governor is praying for an order directing all parties to maintain status quo and staying all actions in the matter relating to the threat to suspend or expel him by the 1st to 5th respondents pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion.

Wike also asked for an order of the court granting him leave to serve the motion on notice, originating motion and all other processes of the court in the suit on the 1st to 5th respondents by substituted means, by pasting all the said processes at the PDP National Secretariat.

After hearing Wike’s lawyer, Dr J. Y. Musa, SAN, Justice Omotosho granted all the reliefs sought.

“All parties in this suit shall maintain peace and shall not take any action or step or act that may make the outcome of the motion on notice dated and filed on 2nd February, 2023 nugatory and worthless.

“That any act or step or action made so as to make the outcome of the motion on notice dated and filed on 2nd February, 2023 nugatory shall be a nullity.

“That leave is hereby granted to the applicant (Wike) to serve the originating motion, motion on notice and all other processes of this court in this suit on the 1st to 5th respondents by substituted means to wit, by pasting all the said processes of court on PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,” he said.

The judge, consequently, adjourned the matter until Feb. 14 for hearing.

(NAN)

Nigeria’s former deputy senate president, his wife, and daughter went on trial in a London court on Monday for allegedly plotting to harvest a street trader’s kidney.

Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu, their 25-year-old daughter Sonia and a doctor, Obinna Obeta, are accused of conspiring to exploit the man for his organ.

The kidney was allegedly intended for Sonia, who remains on dialysis with a renal condition, in return for up to £7,000 ($8,430) and the promise of a new life in Britain for the 21-year-old trader.

All four were in London’s famous Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, for the start of the trial, after previously pleading not guilty. They face life imprisonment if convicted.

In Britain, it is legal to donate a kidney, but not for reward. Prosecutors say regardless of whether the Lagos street trader gave his consent, a crime was committed by the wealthy Nigerians.

The accuser — who cannot be named — is said to have gone to UK police after finally refusing to consent to the procedure, following preliminary tests at a north London hospital in February 2022.

The consultant doctor said the young man had “limited understanding” of why he was there and was “visibly relieved” on being told the transplant would not go ahead, prosecutor Hugh Davies said.

He had been coached to give false answers to doctors at the hospital, and Sonia was “singing from the same hymn sheet” to create a fake family history linking the pair as cousins, the lawyer told the court.

The Ekweremadus and the doctor are accused of conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, under UK legislation on modern slavery.

‘International connections’ 

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, is a senator for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for Enugu state in southeast Nigeria.

He has remained in custody after the judge agreed with prosecutors that he could try to flee the UK. His wife and daughter are out on conditional bail.

“His status and influence had produced a significant degree of wealth. They had international connections,” the prosecutor said.

“There are, however, certain things that money and status cannot guarantee in any family — and they include good health,” Davies added.

Obeta managed the process in Nigeria, having himself undergone a kidney transplant in Britain with an organ donated by a “cousin” in 2021, according to the lawyer.

That donor then allegedly recruited the 21-year-old man at the centre of the Old Bailey trial, who was told he was being offered work in London and had to undergo medical tests.

“In the real world, altruistic donors are an exceptionally rare commodity: those willing to provide organs for reward are not,” Davies said.

“They are often young, intrinsically economically disadvantaged, young men,” he said.

The trial is expected to last seven weeks.

(Channels TV)

Justice Eneojo Eneche of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, has stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and President Muhammadu Buhari and 27 commercial banks from suspending or interfering with the currency redesign terminal date of February 10, or issue any directive contrary to the said date.

In a motion by five political parties, the court also granted an order directing the Chief Executive Officers (CEOS) of the banks, to show cause why they should not be arrested and prosecuted for the financial sabotage of the country, by illegally hoarding and not disbursing the new N200, N500, and N1000 bank notes, despite supply of such notes by the central bank.

Details later…

(Channels TV)

“Thirteen” out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria have threatened to withdraw from the February 25 and March 11 general elections in Nigeria over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).