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Sunday, 07 January 2024 04:36

Palliative fraud: ‘Paying N585m into private bank account illegal’, Accountant General carpets Betta Edu

Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, has faulted the ‘disbursement’ of N585,189,500.00 into a personal account. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, in a viral document personally signed by her and directed to the Office of the AGF, instructed the payment of the funds to one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola. The document also showed that the payment of the N585.189 million grant, meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun and Lagos states, was made into Oniyelu’s account. But reacting to the leaked document, Rasheed Zubair, Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Minister…

Saturday, 06 January 2024 05:05

Contrary to financial regulations, Tinubu’s minister issues directive for transfer of N585m to private account

Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs, has asked Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein, the accountant-general of the federation, to transfer N585 million to the bank account of an individual. The instruction for the payment is contained in a leaked letter dated December 20, 2023. The letter, signed by the minister, was titled: “Mandate for Payment of Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos and Ogun States Respectively”. In the letter, Edu instructed the accountant-general to transfer N585,189,500 to the UBA account of one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola. According to the document, N219,429,750 was earmarked as “2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups…

Saturday, 06 January 2024 05:04

N11bn for long service award, N10bn for staff training - these and more are how FIRS plans to spend N357bn of tax payers money in 2024

Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has proposed N356.95 billion to the federal government as budget for 2024. This is contained in the 2024 government-owned entities’ (GOE’s) budget proposal seen by TheCable on Friday. According to the proposed budget of N356,951,441,648, the agency plans to spend N11,070,000,000 on long service awards, N13,617,615,408 on welfare packages as well as N4,599,450,000 on the purchase of computers while networking/communications or information technology infrastructure takes N3,715,524,465.10. Also, the revenue agency budgeted N5,550,000,000 to purchase motor vehicles and N1,350,000,000.00 to maintain vehicles and transport equipment. On power supply, FIRS will spend N2,480,840,000 on purchasing power generating…

Friday, 05 January 2024 04:50

Amotekun men and commanders across Southwest states converge on Ondo to honour Akeredolu

Men and commanders of the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, from Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Ogun and Ondo states held a walk on Thursday in Akure in honour of the late Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu. The Amotekun corps were joined by Akeredolu’s successor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, during the walk from the Cathedral area of Akure to the Governor’s Office. Akeredolu died on December 27, 2023, after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer. He was aged 67. As the Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, Akeredolu rallied his fellow governors from the six South-West states to form Amotekun as a regional…

Thursday, 04 January 2024 04:50

Tinubu-led FG serially violates agreements reached with Labour - TUC

Trade Union Congress (TUC) has asked the federal government to implement all agreements reached with organised labour in 2023, especially the national minimum wage. On October 1, President Bola Tinubu approved N35,000 as the provisional wage increment for all treasury-paid workers for six months as part of an agreement reached with the labour unions to avoid a nationwide strike due to the removal of the petrol subsidy. Festus Osifo, TUC president, said the union had strived to ensure that social dialogue with the federal government prevailed. He, however, said the federal government has failed to implement basic agreements with labour,…

Thursday, 04 January 2024 04:47

Nigeria offers asylum to ex-Sierra Leone’s president charged with treason over foiled coup

Sierra Leone's ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma has been charged with four offences including treason for his alleged role in a failed military attempt to topple the West African country's government in November, a court in the capital Freetown said on Wednesday. The court's decision could escalate tensions in Sierra Leone coming after the attempted coup and a contentious election in which President Julius Maada Bio was reelected for a second term in June 2023. Tensions have been on the rise in the country that is still recovering from a 1991-2002 civil war in which more than 50,000 were killed. The…

Wednesday, 03 January 2024 04:40

After undercover reporter obtained Cotonou varsity degree in 6 weeks, FG suspends degree accreditation from Benin, Togo

The Federal Government has announced suspension of evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from Benin and Togo Republics. In a statement on Tuesday signed by Augustina Obilor-Duru on behalf of the Director Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, the government lamented that “some Nigerians deploy nefarious means and unconscionable methods to get Degrees with the end objective of getting graduate job opportunities for which they are not qualified”. It followed an investigative report by Daily Nigerian Newspaper titled “UNDERCOVER: How DAILY NIGERIAN reporter bagged Cotonou varsity degree in 6 weeks”. According to the government, the suspension persists pending…

Tuesday, 02 January 2024 04:34

Tinubu signs 2024 budget as N’Assembly raises own allocation by 74%

National Assembly has raised its 2024 budgetary allocation by 74.23 per cent to N344.85bn. This will be the highest-ever budgetary allocation to the National Assembly whose initial allocation in the 2024 budget proposal was pegged at N197.93bn. The increase in allocation to the Senate and House of Representatives is happening amidst a cost-of-living crisis in the country, with the government telling citizens at various fora that the country is facing tough times. In the recently passed and now signed 2024 Appropriation Bill, the National Assembly increased the budget by N1.2tn to N28.77tn from the earlier proposed N27.5tn by the Executive.…

Tuesday, 02 January 2024 04:32

NRC to operate six train trips daily on all Standard Gauge routes – Official

Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Fidet Okhiria, has said that the corporation will begin six train trips daily on the Standard Gauge Train across the board in 2024. Okhiria disclosed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos State, on Monday. He said that the train was meant to operate 24 hours, but the present situation in the country had reduced the turnaround time. “We are going to increase the number of train trips to six on Lagos-Ibadan, Warri-Itakpe and Abuja-Kaduna, which means the trips will be three times to and three times fro, making six trips…

Monday, 01 January 2024 04:47

New Year's Eve sweeps across the globe, but wars cast a shadow on 2024

Revelers counted down to midnight on New Year’s Eve across the globe Sunday as fireworks and festive lights offered a hopeful start to 2024 for some, even as the world’s ongoing conflicts subdued celebrations and raised security concerns. In Australia, more than 1 million people watched a pyrotechnic display centered around Sydney’s famous Opera House and harbor bridge — a number of spectators equivalent to one in five of the city’s residents. “It’s total madness,” said German tourist Janna Thomas, who waited in line since 7:30 a.m. to secure a prime waterfront location. Some 90,000 police and security officers were…

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Monday, 01 January 2024 04:46

N’Assembly converts additional N7.5trn CBN loan to FG into long-term debt

Nigerian lawmakers approved a request from President Bola Tinubu to convert N7.5 trillion ($8.2 billion) in overdrafts from the central bank to longer-dated bonds that will be added to the country’s debt. The senate granted approval at a sitting on Saturday during which they are also endorsed a N28.77 trillion spending plan for 2024, higher than the 27.5 trillion naira figure proposed by Tinubu. Tinubu said the conversion will reduce the cost of servicing the debt to 9% when compared to the monetary policy rate plus 3% that it currently attracts, and also improve the transparency of liabilities owed to…

Sunday, 31 December 2023 04:31

‘We’re hungry, we’re hungry’, Lagos residents cry out as Tinubu’s long convoy passes through popular market

Residents of Lagos Island and traders at the popular Idumota market have decried the increasing hunger and desperation inflicted on them by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration. The residents were seen in a trending video telling President Tinubu in Yoruba language that they are hungry - “Ebi npa wa oo”. Filed on both sides of the road as seen in the video as the president’s long convoy passed through the ever-busy market, the traders didn't hail him. They instead kept talking of their pains, which they accused his administration of inflicting on them by bad policies that didn't factor the…

Sunday, 31 December 2023 04:30

N’Assembly passes 2024 budget after Tinubu asked for extra funds

Nigerian lawmakers approved a N28.77 trillion ($34 billion) budget for 2024 on Saturday, accepting a funding increase which the government had sought due to higher revenue forecasts and a weaker currency. President Bola Tinubu had initially presented a N27.5 trillion budget to lawmakers, projecting a deficit of 3.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) and assuming an average exchange rate of N750 per dollar. But at a special sitting on Saturday, the Senate and House of Representatives separately debated the budget and resolved to adopt it with the changes sought by the government. The government said it expected more revenue from…

Saturday, 30 December 2023 04:34

Naira is world’s third worst performing currency with no rebound in sight - Bloomberg

Nigeria’s naira is poised for its worst year since the return to democracy in 1999, with analysts predicting further depreciation in 2024. The naira plunged 55% this year to 1,043 per dollar as of Thursday, making it the world’s worst performer after the Lebanese pound and the Argentine peso among 151 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. And that’s in the official market. On the streets, the currency trades at 1,220 naira per dollar. Foreign reserves in Africa’s biggest crude producer are at the lowest in six years with most of them encumbered by overdue short-term overseas obligations. Unless President Bola Tinubu’s…

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