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CBN governor vows to block maize importation
Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele on Thursday vowed to resist importation of maize as Nigerians have the capacity and capability to grow the crop locally to meet consumption demand. On that note, he has urged youths across the country to embrace agriculture, declaring the bank’s readiness to support those ready to venture into it. Emefiele made the declaration in Katsina at the unveiling of the first maize pyramid and flag-off of the 2021 maize wet season farming under the CBN-Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme. He averred that Nigerian youths could leverage their talents, along with technological tools to improve farm productivity and delivery of agricultural produce to markets. While noting that agriculture offered significant benefi...
Official: Lagos residents consume N5 trillion worth of food annually
The Lagos State Government says residents of the state are consuming food and agricultural produce worth about N5 trillion annually. Ms Abisola Olusanya, the Commissioner for Agriculture, made this known at a news conference on Thursday in Lagos to commemorate the second year in office of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration. Olusanya said that the amount might increase to N6.3 trillion by 2030, if the population of the state grew to 30 million. “It is worthy to note that in terms of the amount of food we consume in Lagos on an annual basis, it is almost N5 trillion. “If the population is to grow to about 30 million by 2030, Lagos will likely need food worth N6.3 trillion on an annual basis,’’ she said. According to her, currently, Lagos is producing about 20 to 24 per cent of its food...
2023: NULGE threatens to mobilise against PDP over bill
President of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Hakeem Ambali, has threatened to mobilise Nigerians to vote against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, if it fails to call its member Solomon Bob that sponsored the bill to delist local governments from the constitution to order. Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, Ambali said he was disappointed that a member of the PDP, a party that had the opportunity to rule Nigeria for 16 years could sponsor a bill that can lead to the scrapping of local government administration in Nigeria He wondered why his party had kept quiet over the matter, without mounting pressure on him to drop the bill. Hon Bob who is from Rivers State sponsored the bill which has gone through first reading. Since the introduction of the bi...
Ebonyi government closes illegal, private motor parks
IN a bid to checkmate the movement of arms and ammunition within the Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State Government, Tuesday directed the closure of all illegal and private motor parks not expressly approved by the Ministry of Capital City Development. The Government further directed that all loading and offloading of vehicles within the state capital should only take place in approved public and private motor parks. In a joint press statement signed by Barr. Chief Onyekachi Nwebonyi, Commissioner for Capital City Development and Chief Anthony Oko Ewa, Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Ebonyi State Council, the duo explained that undercover security and precautionary measures were being put in place to avert further security breaches in the state. According to them:...
DSS: We’ll no longer tolerate those seeking to throw Nigeria into anarchy
The Department of State Services, DSS, has warned those it described as misguided elements threatening Nigeria’s unity and peaceful co-existence to desist from doing so. Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesman, said that henceforth, the agency would no longer tolerate those whose aim was to “throw the country into anarchy.” In a statement, the DSS said: “While the Service reaffirms its unambiguous support to an indivisible, indissoluble and united Nigerian State in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, it will no longer tolerate deliberate machinations by subversive and hostile groups whose agenda is to throw the country into anarchy so as to serve the interests of their sponsors. “Consequently, the Service is assiduously working with other security and law enforcement agencies to ensu...
APC taunts PDP over ‘connivance’ with terrorists
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has disclosed ongoing high-level investigations to unravel those behind the growing wave of terrorism and other violent crimes across the country, expressing hope that at the end of the probe, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP would not be found to be sponsoring destabilizing elements ahead of the 2023 general elections. The APC stated this on Sunday in Abuja in a statement issued by the National Secretary of its Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe. APC was reacting to a statement by the PDP after its national caucus at the weekend to the effect that the country was fast descending into anarchy and that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has no solutions having been o...
George Floyd murder: Minneapolis police to face US federal probe
A US federal investigation has been launched into policing practices in the city of Minneapolis, a day after one of its former officers was convicted of the murder of George Floyd. The justice department will look at whether there has been a pattern “of unconstitutional or unlawful policing”, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. It follows national outrage over the killing of Floyd by Derek Chauvin. The former officer was convicted of all charges against him on Tuesday. Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd, an unarmed African American, was pronounced dead an hour later. His death sparked protests across the US and worldwide, and calls for police reform. Tuesday’s verdict has been widely welcomed in a country where poli...
Apple Music pays one penny per stream
Engadget Apple Music’s payment rate for artists and labels is fundamentally a penny per stream, according to a letter from the company posted on its artist dashboard and first reported by the Wall Street Journal. That payment rate is higher than Spotify, which has a confusing variable rate scheme that basically tops out at a half-penny per stream. Announcing a penny-per-stream rate is a nice PR win for Apple Music, since it is 1. very simple and 2. Spotify hates talking about its per-stream payments, which the company insists are a misleading figure. Seriously, it just launched an entire website called Loud&Clear last month designed to help artists and fans understand how payments work, and a good chunk of it is devoted to explaining why per-stream rates are not the right thing to focu...
Senate summons insurance firms over failure to remit N17.4 billion pension fund
The Senate Public Accounts Committee, on Monday, summoned NICON Insurance Plc, AIICO Insurance and other insurance companies over alleged failure to remit N17.4 billion fund to Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD). The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, had told the panel that PTAD took over the assets and liabilities of defunct pension offices without a formal handing over. She said, “On taking over, the Directorate wrote all underwriters to make returns and remit whatever amount is in their custody into a CBN dedicated account. Some of the underwriters responded to the request while some did not. “The bank certificate of balances, accounting statements, 3 years financial statements and policy files requested by the Federal Auditor were not handed over to PTAD ...
Namibian president caught in new fishing corruption allegations
Informante The president of Namibia has been implicated in new allegations of corruption involving the country’s lucrative fishing industry by an investigation released by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and The Namibian newspaper. According to a lawyer who allegedly arranged the deal, President Hage Geingob instructed his close associates to embezzle millions of dollars from a state-run fishing enterprise in order to bribe electors at the 2017 congress of the ruling SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) party, reports the new investigation released on Friday. The lawyer, who is not named by the OCCRP, claims that Hage Geingob – elected as President of Namibia in 2014 and re-elected in 2019 – allegedly asked James Hatuikulipi, then chairman of the sta...
Seplat issues $650 million oil and gas bond
Seplat Petroleum Development Company, a Nigerian independent oil and gas firm, has issued $650 million in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due in 2026. It is said to be the largest ever Nigerian oil and gas bond issuance. A senior note is a type of bond that must be repaid before most other debts in the event that the issuer declares bankruptcy. It is more secure than other bonds. The dual listed company said the five-year bond was well-received in the market with orders from high quality institutional investors. “The notes priced at a yield of 7.75%, representing a significant pricing reduction from its $350 million debut issuance in 2018, which priced at a yield of 9.50% , with a coupon of 9.25%,” a statement by the company read. “The offering was well oversubscribed with deman...
Suez Canal Authority says stranded ship partially refloated
The stranded container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week was almost fully re-floated on Monday and has restarted its engines, a shipping source with knowledge of the matter said, raising hopes the busy waterway will soon be reopened. The 400-metre (430-yard) long Ever Given has been straightened in the canal and will undergo initial inspections before being moved, two sources said. Video posted on social media appeared to show the ship’s stern had swung around, opening space in the canal. Other footage, which could not be immediately verified by Reuters, included cheering and ships’ horns sounding in celebration. Ship-tracking service VesselFinder has changed the ship’s status to under way on its website. The Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of...
