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Bodies of coronavirus victims among those dumped in India’s Ganges – document
Bodies of COVID-19 victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government said in a letter seen by Reuters, the first official acknowledgement of an alarming practice it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in villages. Images of corpses drifting down the Ganges river, which Hindus consider holy, have shocked a nation reeling under the world’s worst surge in infections. Although media have linked the recent increase in the numbers of such bodies to the pandemic, the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, has until now not publicly revealed the cause of the deaths. “The administration has information that bodies of those who have succumbed to COVID-19 or any other disease are being thrown into rivers instead of being disposed of as per p...
NASU: Decision to reduce civil servants salaries ’provocative’
File Photo The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) says plan by the Federal Government to slash salaries of Federal civil servants is “provocative’’. NASU made this known in a statement by its General Secretary, Mr Peters Adeyemi on Sunday in Abuja. It will be recalled that Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, had given the hint on May 4, at the National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Cost of Governance in Nigeria, organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja. Ahmed said during the dialogue that the review of salaries of civil servants and some federal agencies were part of measures to reduce cost of governance. She said the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) had bee...
CBN governor seeks PPP model to improve healthcare infrastructure
Bloomberg The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged stakeholders in the public and private sectors to collaborate to build a more healthy and robust healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria. The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, made the call at a movie launch titled: “UNMASKED”, a feature documentary on leadership, trust and the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The movie was produced and directed by Mr Femi Odugbemi, a Nigerian documentary filmmaker, and co-produced by Ms Kadaria Ahmed, a renowned journalist, media entrepreneur and television host, on Friday in Lagos. According to Emefiele, addressing the public health crisis along with the downturn in the economy required strong coordination. He said the measures and interventions put in place by the CBN and private sector to improve governme...
Edo to spend N3 billion on economic recovery programme
Edo state government will spend over N3 billion to implement the Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme. The programme is a component of the Nigeria Cares World Bank Support Programme. The Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Wealth Creation, Cooperatives and Employment, Joel Edionwe, disclosed this while briefing journalists on Wednesday. He explained that the state government is to provide grants to support businesses affected during the Covid-19 lock-down. According to him, the total package the World Bank support programme for Nigeria is $750 million, adding that its implementation would run from 2021 to 2022. “What they will get from Edo state government is a grant to repay the loans they took for their businesses affected by the pandemic. We do not need to ...
Arsenal set for complete overhauling, close in on £43 million move
Arsenal are set for a busy summer in the transfer market as Mikel Arteta looks to better the Gunners’ underwhelming season this time out, and the north London side are being linked several names. With only four Premier League fixtures remaining, attention has already turned to the summer transfer window. It could prove to be a decisive period for Arteta as Arsenal look to close the gap to the top four next campaign. Attracting new faces to the Emirates Stadium could prove challenging, but there is no doubt that change is needed at the club. The ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic will mean many clubs are restricted in their efforts to improve, with Arsenal among those, though winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League will surely boost their hopes of landing ...
Whistleblower petitions EFCC, justice minister over corruption in maritime academy
Pool Photo A whistleblower in the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron in Akwa Ibom State, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate and prosecute the management of the institution over multiple fraud, as well as systemic and perennial corruption. In a two-page petition to EFCC by Mr. Adamu Jibrin, a staffer of the Academy dated 6th April 2021 through his Attorney, Michael Edet and Associates, and made available to newsmen in Uyo titled, “Petition of Fraud, Embezzlement, Misappropriation and Criminal Conversion of Public Funds to Personal Use by the Rector of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron,” the petitioner alleged that millions of naira have been siphoned from the treasury of the academy. Copies of the petition to the EFCC Chairman, the Attorne...
BudgIT: Over 315 capital projects duplicated in 2021 budget
BudgIT BudgIT, a civic-tech non-profit organisation, says it has uncovered 316 duplicated capital projects worth N39.5 billion in the 2021 budget. In a statement, Iyanu Fatoba, communications associate at BudgIT, said the organisation’s findings is contained in its publication titled, “Demanding Budget Reforms for Resource Optimization”, released on Tuesday. On December 31, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.588 trillion into law. The signing was done more than a week after federal lawmakers passed the budget and raised its total sum by N508 billion. Speaking on the report, Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s CEO, said out of the identified 316 duplicated projects, 115 are in the ministry of health. He said the development is “very disturbing” as the country is battl...
NGX records N419 billion growth in April
The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock (NGX) recorded a growth of N419 billion in April due to impressive first quarter results declared by some companies. Specifically, the market capitalisation which closed trading in March at N20.428tn rose by N419bn to close at N20.847tn in April. Similarly, the All-Share Index inched higher by 789.29 points to close at 39,834.42 in contrast with 39,045.13 recorded in March. Royal Exchange Assurance emerged the best performing stock for April in percentage terms, growing by 89.29 per cent to close at 58k per share against 28k recorded in March. Linkage trailed with 41.87 per cent to close at 85k in contrast with 60k posted in the comparative month. Speaking on the performance of the stock market, Mr Ambrose Omordion, the Chief Operating Office...
Washington denies Iran state media report saying prisoner swap agreed
The United States on Sunday denied a report by Iran’s state television that the arch-foes had reached a prisoner swap deal in exchange for the release of $7 billion frozen Iranian oil funds under U.S. sanctions in other countries. Iranian state television said on Sunday that Tehran would free four Americans accused of spying in exchange for four Iranians held in the United States and the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian funds. The U.S. government denied that an exchange was in the works. The state TV, quoting an unnamed Iranian official, also said British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe would be released once Britain had paid off a debt on military equipment owed to Tehran. A British Foreign Office official played down that report. Iran and world powers are holding talks ...
EFCC arrests bank staff for ‘N34 million fraud’
The Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested one Elizabeth Modupe Osunjuyigbe, an employee of Access Bank Plc, for an alleged fraudulent diversion of funds to the tune of over N34m (Thirty-four Million Naira). The suspect, who was arrested on Friday April 30, 2021, allegedly sent a fraudulent request sometime in January to the Branch Service Manager of Access Bank, Adeola Odeku, Lagos State, to issue a draft of the sum of N31, 330, 165. 00 (Thirty One Million, Three Hundred and Thirty Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty-five Naira) in favour of one Best Timland Nigeria Limited. Investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly forged a solicitor’s letter dated January 19, 2021 directing the bank to issue the draft in favour of Best Timland, claimi...
CSCS reiterates commitment to deepening capital market
The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) has restatement its commitment in repositioning business to efficiently play a more active and leading role in deepening the Nigerian capital market growth. Also, CSCS grew its profit after tax by 41.4 per cent for the year ended December 31, 2020. The company results showed that amidst unprecedented economic and financial market conditions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group grew total income by 31.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to N12.09 billion. Profit after tax grew by 41.4 per cent to N6.93 billion, translating to N1.39 earnings per share. The group delivered 20.3 per cent return on average equity for the 2020 financial year, compared to 15.3 per cent in 2019 full year. The company’s total assets stood at N41.42 billion, as again...
Report: Nigerian politicians own 800 assets worth $400 million in London, Dubai
File Photo An Associate Fellow of Chatham House, London, Mr. Matthew Page, said yesterday that 800 property worth $400 million and owned by Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) in Nigeria were located in London and Dubai. The revelation is coming as the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanonye, said it dragged about 2,000 corporate entities into the country’s tax net. A statement issued by ICPC said Page made the disclosure in his paper presentation titled: “IFFs through the Real Estate and Education Sectors: Implications for Investigators,” at an event organised by the agency in Abuja. He urged the investigators of the ICPC to pay attention to real estate and education sectors-linked illicit financial flows. He noted ...
