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Wednesday, 15 February 2017 03:05

Presidency, Senate to clash over Magu again

The Presidency and the Senate are set to clash again over the confirmation of acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, Daily Trust has gathered. According to sources, some senators have vowed to reject the confirmation of Magu as substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency after the Presidency re-nominated him for confirmation. Magu’s confirmation was rejected by the Senate in December 2016, after acting as EFCC chairman for over one year. The Senate had rejected Magu’s confirmation citing allegations of corruption against him, contained in a Department of State Services (DSS) report. Some senators, it…

Wednesday, 15 February 2017 03:02

In self-defense, CBN says fake currency in circulation less than 1%

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has refuted claim that about 20 percent of currency in circulation is fake. An ex-Deputy governor of the CBN, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, while presenting a paper at the opening of a 3-day budget public hearing at the National Assembly, said about 20 percent of currency in circulation was fake. However, a statement by CBN’s acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, said yesterday that less than one percent of Naira in circulation is fake. “While we acknowledge that no currency in the world is immune from counterfeiting, we make bold to state that the…

Wednesday, 15 February 2017 03:00

Fayose accuses FG of withholding Ekiti allocation

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose yesterday decried the withholding of the state’s allocation and the monthly Budget Support Fund due to the state for January by the Federal Government. Fayose also accused Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of incessant harassment of government contractors working in Ekiti State with a view to truncating ongoing projects. He said the non-remittance of the money, made the State government to write a protest letter to the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, adding that 10 days after the letter was sent, no response had come from the Minister. Fayose who briefed newsmen…

Tuesday, 14 February 2017 17:48

Buhari is homesick, get ready to see him soon – Presidency

President Muhammadu Buhari is homesick and will be on his way to Nigeria any time soon. Garba Shehu, senior special assistant, media to the president, said this today on a live TV programme. Although Shehu did not indicate when exactly the president will return, the Presidency has alerted Nigerians, he said the president is no longer “enjoying his stay’’ outside the country. President Buhari, went on vacation to UK on Jan. 19, during which he said he would go for a routine medical check. In a letter to the Senate, he said he would return to work on 6 February.…

Tuesday, 14 February 2017 03:39

Paris Club loan refund: Govs summon emergency meeting over EFCC probe

State governors have summoned an emergency meeting over the ongoing probe of how they spent the N522bn Paris Club loan refund which was shared to the states in December 2016 by the Federal Government. Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr. Bayo Okauru, stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Monday. Okauru said the governors decided to meet in order to clarify some of the issues being raised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in its investigations. “Yes, the governors are meeting soon, probably this week to take a position and address…

Tuesday, 14 February 2017 03:37

INEC rules out electronic, diaspora voting in 2019

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday ruled out electronic and diaspora voting in the 2019 general elections. The electoral umpire told the Senate that until the Constitution was amended and necessary logistics put in place, the commission cannot delve into electronic and diaspora voting. It said electronic and diaspora voting do not only lack constitutional backing but were also expensive to execute. The commission said work was in progress to develop a strategic plan on the financial requirements for the 2019 polls. INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu spoke when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance to defend the…

Tuesday, 14 February 2017 03:32

100,000 killed, two million displaced by Boko Haram insurgency, Borno Governor says

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state on Monday released the grim statistics of deaths and material losses suffered by the state due to the Boko Haram insurgency. Mr. Shettima gave the data at the annual Murtala Mohammed memorial lecture held at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. The governor, who delivered a paper “Managing the Boko Haram Crisis in Borno State, Experiences and Lessons for a Multiparty, Multiethnic and Multireligious Nigeria”, said the insurgency has led to the deaths of almost 100,000 persons, based on estimates by community leaders in the state over the years. “The Boko Haram insurgency has…

Tuesday, 14 February 2017 03:23

FG not increasing taxes, Udoma assures National Assembly

PRESS RELEASE The Federal Government does not have any intention of increasing taxes but is working towards increasing its internally generated revenue through the broadening its tax base. Responding to a comment by Senator Ben Bruce at the public hearing of the Joint Session of the National Assembly on the 2017 Budget, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma said “a view has been expressed that we should not increase taxes, that we should broaden tax collection instead, that is precisely what is in the budget.” Senator Bruce had given the impression that the Federal Government was…

Tuesday, 14 February 2017 03:17

FG inaugurates committee for re-negotiation with university unions

In order to stem the tide of incessant and protracted strikes in the Nigerian tertiary institutions, especially universities, and to ensure that the bone of contention between unions and the federal government is progressively resolved, a 14-man committee has been inaugurated. The committee which is headed by Mr. Wale Babalakin (SAN) is expected to re-negotiate the 2009 federal government/university based staff unions agreement. Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who inaugurated the committee, said the re-negotiation team is significant as it confirms to the unions that government is committed to keeping to its own side of the promise, and in…

Monday, 13 February 2017 17:13

Buhari, Trump discuss cooperation, terrorism on telephone

President Muhammadu Buhari Monday afternoon from London spoke to President Donald Trump on telephone at the request of the American President. The conversation was cordial and President Buhari congratulated Trump on his election as President of the United States, and on his cabinet. The two leaders discussed ways to improve cooperation in the fight against terrorism through provision of necessary equipment. President Trump encouraged President Buhari to keep up the good work he is doing, and also commended him for the efforts made in rescuing 24 of the Chibok Girls and the strides being taken by the Nigerian military. President…

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Monday, 13 February 2017 17:05

Revealed: 20% of Naira in circulation is fake

Twenty per cent of the total currency being circulated across the country is fake, a former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, disclosed on Monday. Mailafia made this disclosure while speaking at the opening session of a three-day public hearing on the 2017 budget appropriation process in the National Assembly on the topic: “Public Finance in the Context of Economic Recession: Innovative Options.” The ex-banker, who said investors’ knowledge of huge economic potentials embedded in Nigeria was the reason for the recent over-subscription of $1 billion Eurobond initiated by the federal government, added that it…

Monday, 13 February 2017 16:59

One million pupils now have one meal a day - FG

The Federal Government has now released enough funds to start the serving of one hot meal a day to more than one million primary school pupils across seven States in the country, under the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme. This disclosure was made today by Mr. Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the Acting President, while giving a media update on the Social Investment Programme of the Buhari administration. Specifically, N844,360,550 has so far been released for the commencement of the programme in Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun and Zamfara as at the end of…

Monday, 13 February 2017 03:25

A day at Abuja House, London, where Buhari is staying

It used to be just one of the beautiful houses in the quiet neighbourhood. Black, glittering iron-rod gates, red bricks, trees and a green-white-green flag fluttering in the breeze. Not anymore. Abuja House, the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom, is now famous – for housing a Very Important Personality (VIP), President Muhammadu Buhari. Located in the posh Campden Hill area of the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, Abuja House is one of the most prominent buildings on the street. Across the road is the home of the High Commissioner of South Africa to the UK.…

Monday, 13 February 2017 03:23

Budget 2017: Adeosun, Fashola, Emefiele, 56 others for NASS joint session

Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; her counterpart in Power, Mr Babatunde Fashola; Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, and 56 other stakeholders are expected to partake in the National Assembly’s joint session scheduled to commence today. Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAS, Budget Office, civil society groups, among other critical stakeholders, are also expected to be part of both legislative sessions from today through Wednesday this week. This was designed to enshrine transparency in the budgetary process in Nigeria and stem the ugly incidence of budget padding as seen in the 2016 budget process. Spokesman of the…

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