Ratings agency Moody's on Friday revised its outlook on Nigeria to positive from stable, citing possible reversal of the deterioration in the country's fiscal and external position due to authorities' reform efforts.

The agency also affirmed its "Caa1" long-term foreign currency and local currency issuer ratings.

President Bola Tinubu says he is seeking to boost growth and attract billions in new investment after taking charge of Africa's biggest economy, which is grappling with shortages of foreign exchange, low oil output and widespread insecurity.

Tinubu scraped a popular but costly fuel subsidy in May, removing exchange controls and ending a ban on some imports.

The reforms have been welcomed by investors, but unions say they led to soaring costs while inflation has been in double-digits in Nigeria since 2016, further eroding savings and incomes.

"These policy changes, and those potentially to come, have raised the prospects of a fiscal and external improvement in the country's credit profile," Moody's said in a statement.

Last month, Tinubu urged the National Assembly to approve $8.69 billion and 100 million euros ($107.47 million) for projects across infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, growth, security, employment generation, as well as financial management reforms.

Central Bank of Nigeria in November started clearing $7 billion outstanding foreign currency forwards in a bid to attract new dollar inflows and stabilise the naira, which has been weakening to record lows.

In August, S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Nigeria to stable from negative and affirmed its rating at 'B-/B'.

($1 = 0.9305 euros)

Reuters

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned banks to beware of the circulation of counterfeit naira banknotes, particularly higher denominations, in major cities across the country.

The warning was made in a statement signed by Hakama Sidi Ali, CBN’s acting director of corporate communications on Friday in Abuja.

Ali said these counterfeit naira notes were mainly used for transactions in food markets and other commercial centres across the country.

She said any person found complicit in the circulation of the counterfeit currency would face severe sanctions.

“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to the circulation of counterfeit banknotes, especially higher denominations, by some individuals for transactions in food markets and other commercial centres across major cities in the country,” Ali said. 

“For the avoidance of doubt, Section 20(4) of the CBN Act (2007) as amended, states that: It shall be an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years for any person to falsify, make or counterfeit any bank note or coin issued by the Bank which is legal tender in Nigeria.” 

The director said CBN is in constant collaboration with relevant security and financial agencies to confiscate fake naira banknotes, arrest and prosecute counterfeiters.

“Members of the public are also encouraged to report anyone suspected of having counterfeit naira notes to the nearest police station, branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria or via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,” Ali said.

She directed deposit money banks, financial houses, Bureaux De Change (BDCs) and the general public to be more vigilant and take necessary precautionary measures to curtail the acceptance and distribution of counterfeit notes.

Ali said Nigerians should embrace alternative modes of payment for day-to-day transactions to mitigate the risk of spreading counterfeit banknotes.

The Cable

Group Chief Executive Officer of the the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari yesterday described oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta region as a calamity saying there are over 4,800 illegal connections on crude oil pipelines in the area and warned that this could frustrate the projections of the Federal Government. 

Speaking yesterday in Abuja when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriation on the proposed budget for 2024, Kyari said that  the daily oil production would depend greatly on the security situation in the oil rich Niger -Delta region, describing the act of vandalism and oil theft going on there as a calamity and completely abnormal.

He said, “The situation we have in Niger Delta in terms of security is a calamity. We don’t have that anywhere in the world. To engage non-state actors as last resort as solution is abnormal. But we have to respond abnormally.

You have over 4,800 illegal connections on our pipelines. That means, within every kilometer, you have an insertion. Even if you seal all the insertions, you can’t get what you want in terms of production. In the Niger Delta, people are coming from all parts of the country to do illegal refining. That’s why we engage locals to deal with it. We will contain this challenge. We are doing everything possible to restore sanity. What is happening is a colossal damage to the environment and the host communities.”

Vanguard

Israeli troops round up Palestinian men in northern Gaza as UN warns aid operation is 'in tatters'

Israel said Friday that the military was rounding up Palestinian men in northern Gaza for interrogation, searching for Hamas militants, while desperate Palestinians in the south crowded into an ever-shrinking area, and the U.N. warned that its aid operation is “in tatters.”

The detentions pointed to Israeli efforts to secure the military’s hold on northern Gaza as the war entered its third month. Furious urban fighting has continued in the north, underscoring Hamas’ heavy resistance, and tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain in the area six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in.

The first images of mass detentions emerged Thursday from the northern town of Beit Lahiya, showing dozens of men kneeling or sitting in the streets, stripped down to their underwear, their hands bound behind their backs. Some had their heads bowed. U.N. monitors said Israeli troops reportedly detained men and boys from the age of 15 in a school-turned-shelter.

In other developments, the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1 with the United Kingdom abstaining.

Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres told the council that Gaza is at “a breaking point” and “there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system.”

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas, which rules Gaza, following the group’s Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

Israel’s air and ground campaign initially focused on the northern third of Gaza, leading hundreds of thousands of residents to flee south. A week ago, Israel expanded its ground assault into central and south Gaza, where nearly the territory’s entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians are crowded, many of them cut off from humanitarian supplies.

In central Gaza, Israeli planes on Friday dropped leaflets on the refugee camps of Nuseirat and Maghazi with a message for Hamas officials.

“To Hamas leaders: A life for a life, an eye for an eye and whoever started is to blame. If you punish, then punish with the like of that with which you were afflicted,” the leaflet read, cobbling together a popular Arabic saying with a verse from the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

The leaflet left out the rest of the verse, which says it is better to patiently endure afflictions without retaliating.

Hours later, a strike shattered a residential building in Nuseirat, killing at least 21 people, according to officials at the nearby hospital. Following the blast, residents were seen digging beneath the rubble, looking for survivors and belongings that could be unearthed.

HUNDREDS ROUNDED UP

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said Friday that those detained in northern Gaza were “military-aged men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago.” Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that in the past 48 hours, some 200 people have been detained. Dozens have been taken to Israel for interrogation, including Hamas commanders, he said.

Authorities were questioning the detainees to determine whether they were members of the militant group, Levy said, indicating there would be more such sweeps as troops move from north to south.

The London-based news outlet Al-Araby al-Jadeed, or The New Arab, said one of the men seen in the images of the detainees is its Gaza correspondent Diaa al-Kahlout, and that he was rounded up with other civilians.

The Israeli assault has obliterated much of Gaza City and surrounding areas in the north. Still, tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain there, though the U.N. says it cannot confirm exact numbers. Some are unable to move, others refuse to leave their homes, saying the south is no safer or fearing they will not be allowed to return.

Heavy fighting has been underway for days in Jabaliya refugee camp and the Gaza City district of Shujaiya. The U.N. said Jabaliya’s Al Awda Hospital — one of two hospitals still operating in the north — was surrounded by Israeli forces and sustained damage from Israeli shelling. It said Israeli sniper fire into the hospital has also been reported.

On Thursday in Shujaiya, a prominent poet and English professor, Refaat Alareer, was killed, along with his brother, sister and her four children, when Israeli shelling hit the house they were staying in, according to colleagues at “We Are Not Numbers,” a nonprofit he helped found.

Days earlier, Alareer wrote on X that his walls were shaking from bombing, shelling and gunfire. The last poem he wrote and shared on social media read, “If I must die/ let it bring hope/ let it be a tale.”

The military says it makes every effort to spare civilians and accuses Hamas of using them as human shields as the militants fight in dense residential areas.

Early Friday, Israeli troops made an unsuccessful attempt to free Israeli hostages at a location in Gaza. In the ensuing clash with militants, two soldiers were seriously wounded, and no hostages were freed. the military said. Hamas said its fighters fended off the attempt.

Israel says 137 hostages are still in captivity out of the roughly 240 abducted by militants during the Oct. 7 attack.

There has also been a dramatic surge in deadly military raids and an increase in restrictions on Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war.

Israeli forces stormed into a refugee camp Friday in the West Bank to arrest suspected Palestinian militants, unleashing fighting with local gunmen in which six Palestinians were killed, health officials said.

IMPENDING CATASTROPHE

The continuation of tough fighting in the north raises fears that Israel’s move south to uproot Hamas will wreak similar devastation.

Israeli troops have been battling Hamas fighters inside the southern city of Khan Younis, while strikes have continued to pound nearby Deir al-Balah. A strike Friday on a residential building in Zawaida, outside Deir al-Balah, killed at least 20 people from families sheltering there, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting have packed into Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, and Muwasi, a nearby patch of barren coastline. Israel has designated Muwasi as a safe zone. But the U.N. and relief agencies have called that a poorly planned solution.

“We do not have a humanitarian operation in southern Gaza that can be called by that name anymore,” the U.N.’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, said Thursday. The pace of Israel’s military assault has left no place safe in the south, where the U.N. had planned to aid civilians. “That plan is in tatters,” he said.

Israel’s campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza — 70% of them women and children — and wounded more than 46,000, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and took more than 240 hostages. The military says 93 of its troops have been killed in the ground campaign.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russian missiles kill one, troops press on Avdiivka

Russian warplanes fired 19 long-range missiles at targets in Ukraine on Friday, killing one civilian in a central region, wounding eight and damaging an industrial facility and power lines, Ukrainian officials said.

On the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line in the war against Russia, Ukrainian officials said Moscow's forces pressed on with a drive to encircle the shattered eastern town of Avdiivka.

Officials also reported heavy battles in the northeast near Kupiansk, a town seized by Russian forces soon after their February 2022 invasion but later retaken by Ukraine.

The missile strike on Friday morning was the first big salvo Russia has fired at targets, including the Ukrainian capital, in weeks. Russia has mainly been using drones for its overnight attacks.

One person was killed and eight injured in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on the Telegram messaging app. Two wounded were in serious condition.

Air defences shot down 14 incoming missiles over the region outside Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk region, air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said in televised comments.

The strike damaged power lines, an unnamed industrial facility and more than 20 homes in the towns of Pavlohrad and Ternivka and two villages, Lysak said. Images from the site, posted on social media, showed buildings with damaged rooftops and shattered windows.

Russia used seven Tu-95 bombers to launch missiles at different regions across the country, the air force said.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said the Ukrainian capital had been targeted but that all the missiles were downed by air defences as they approached.

Missile debris smashed windows and walls in private homes in the Kyiv region, Governor Ruslan Kravchenko said, with air alerts in force for two hours. Officials reported an earlier overnight missile attack on the northeastern Kharkiv region.

PRESSING ON DEFENSIVE LINES

In Avdiivka, dominated by a vast coking plant, Ukraine's general staff said its forces had repelled 32 enemy attacks.

The head of the military administration in the town, less than 12 km (eight miles) from the outskirts of the Moscow-held regional capital of Donetsk, said Russian forces were "pressing on the entire defensive line around the town".

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"Weather conditions prevent the occupiers from using their vehicles, so they resort to 'human wave' assaults, throwing more personnel into battles," Vitaliy Barabash told Espreso TV.

Moscow's forces have been inching forward on the flanks to try to cut supply lines.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said Russian forces had suffered heavy losses around the town. He told national television Russian forces had dropped about 450 aerial bombs in the region and were bringing in reserves.

The Russian Defence Ministry rarely mentions Avdiivka in its reports, but the war blog Rybar said on Friday that battles were raging by the coking plant and near Stepove village north of the city. Rybar acknowledged that the front was all but unchanged.

Further north, Ukrainian military spokesperson Volodymyr Fitio said Russian forces were deploying more reserves in a drive on the village of Synkivka - seen as a foothold on any attempt to retake Kupiansk, 14 km (nine miles) distant.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian troops deliver 30 strikes on Ukrainian military airfield sites over week

Russian troops delivered 30 multiple-launch strikes on Ukrainian military airfield infrastructure and foreign mercenaries’ deployment sites over the past week in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"Over the period of December 3-8 this year, the Russian Armed Forces delivered 30 multiple-launch strikes by precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against the Ukrainian army’s military airfield infrastructure: arsenals, artillery ammunition and military hardware storage sites and fuel depots. In addition, the strikes hammered the deployment sites of Ukrainian army units, nationalist formations and foreign mercenaries. All the designated targets were destroyed," the ministry said in a statement.

Reuters/Tass

Google scored a lukewarm victory against Apple a few weeks ago when the latter announced iMessage will soon support RCS messaging. However, iMessages will remain blue and encrypted, while RCS messages will stay green and unencrypted. Apple will only support the RCS standard the GSMA developed, not the proprietary RCS product that Google operates.

I said time and again that Google has bigger problems than the iMessage bubble war it’s fighting in an effort to make Android as appealing as the iPhone. Getting Apple to support RCS will not stop the iPhone from being the more coveted product.

There’s no better proof of that than the story of a couple of thieves bringing back a stolen Android handset because it wasn’t an iPhone. I guess they haven’t heard about Android users finally being able to text iPhone users via RCS.

It all happened in Washington, DC, early one morning. She’s an Uber Eats and Instacart driver, and her husband wanted to help her park her car. That’s when the masked thieves came.

“As soon as he parked the car two masked gentlemen came up to him, armed,” she said. “They robbed him, took everything he had in his pockets, took the keys to my truck and got in and pulled off.”

The attackers had guns, and they took her husband’s smartphone. But then they returned it, unhappy that it wasn’t an iPhone. “They basically looked at that phone and was like ‘Oh, that’s an Android? We don’t want this. I thought it was an iPhone,'” she said.

The even bigger problem is the theft of the car that was used as the livelihood of the couple.

As for stealing iPhones, thieves should know better. The handsets routinely have Find My iPhone active, so they are easy to track and disable.

The unfortunate event happened on the same day as a public hearing in DC on the surge of crime and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed “Addressing Crime Trends Now” (ACT Now) bill.

ABC7 also quotes remarks from DC Police Chief Pamela Smith that her department has seen promising crime trends since July.

“Carjackings are down 7%,” Smith said. “Assault with a dangerous weapon is down 6% and vehicle theft is down 11%. Overall, indexed violent crime is down three crimes and robbery is up 14 crimes over the prior period in 2023.”

The victim of this carjacking disagrees. She said they’re seeing “rapid numbers of carjackings every day.” According to the woman, the thieves are getting “younger and younger.”

If that’s accurate, it would also explain why the thieves didn’t want to steal Android phones. A recent Piper Sandler survey showed that teens in the US overwhelmingly prefer the iPhone to Android. A Gallup survey in Korea showed that young adults also want an iPhone over a Samsung phone.

Separately, a CIRP study showed that iMessage is far from being the main reason for Android users to switch to the iPhone. Most switchers had problems with Android or wanted new features.

BGR

As we get older, it makes sense that our tolerance for certain things will change, so we asked the BuzzFeed Community, "What are you simply getting too old for?" And people had a lot of thoughts on the matter. Here's what they had to say:

1. "Theme parks. I've loved theme parks since I was a kid, especially roller coasters — the higher, faster, crazier, the better! I used to have no issues waiting in line for my favorite ride or going on a ride multiple times. Now, however, the combo of the crowds, the heat, the ridiculously long lines, and the fact that I feel sick and out of sorts after going on a roller coaster has just taken the fun out of theme parks altogether."

—ravenbard
2. "I’m tired of being disappointed. The older I get, the more I encounter people and situations that disappoint me. I wish I had a pile of money in the bank and a quiet, comfortable place to keep to myself. That’s the best way to grow old, in my opinion."

—barlowdelvaux81
3. "Comfortable and quality shoes! My heels were gorgeous, but they killed my feet. I now live in Allbirds and Rothy’s shoes — no more cutesy cheap stuff from random boutiques."

—mjalex
4. "Being talked down to. I retired my capacity for it when I entered my 40s and now, whether you're my employer or someone in my personal life, you aren't going to talk to me in any kind of way. If you do, I've mastered the art of scathing rebuttals and ignoring people. You teach others how to treat you!"

—smellsbells
5. "Going anywhere that doesn’t have a parking lot. I don’t want to circle the block for 20 minutes just to try to squeeze into a tiny spot with ambiguous street signs — just let me park in a parking lot!!"

—katkat007
6. "I was actually offended by Daylight Saving Time! I never had a problem when it became dark early before — but this past fall, I was honestly offended. I hope next year is better."

—eahall0718
7. "Long or complicated trips on public transportation. I don't want to arrive somewhere exhausted already. I live in a city and will take a taxi instead. I know it costs more money, but I'm pretty frugal otherwise and the savings in time and energy are worth it."

—smogmonster
8. "Being 'cool.' I have never been cool and was very self-conscious as a teen and in my 20s when people my age were out partying, etc. Now that I’m in my 30s, I don’t care about that anymore."

—andrastes_knickers
9. "As I age, I will no longer get the cheapest hotel option with three other girls just to cut down on costs. Gone are the days I'd go on a girls trip, shove myself into a tiny 2-star hotel room, and then binge drink or stay up the entire time. Hostels are a no-go as well. My vacations have very quickly gone from partying and drinking to 4/5-star hotels with room service and a spa BY MYSELF. There is nothing better than once or twice a year getting a luxury hotel room for a couple of days and just relaxing. Eating in bed, reading a book on the balcony in the sun, shopping or museums, a night dinner, a hot shower, and bed alone. I no longer pack skimpy clothes and heels but smart sundresses with comfortable shoes for exploring. Aging is a beautiful thing if you let it."

—JadedHunter
10. "Caring about people who don’t care about me. (I’m 70.) When I was in my late teens/early 20s, I was in a few relationships (platonic and otherwise) that were very one-sided, but I was such a people-pleaser back then that I would put up with it. Not anymore — if I get the sense that I am putting way more effort into a relationship than the other person, then I will just back away from it. I’d rather be by myself than be with a 'friend' like that."

—sidneykaler
11. "Keeping up with fashion is one. It just moves too fast nowadays with social media and 'micro trends.' You can’t really enjoy your purchases before they are 'out.' I’ve made a point not to purchase any new clothes this year, and you know what? I haven’t burst into flames."

—ashleyc4a899ee19
12. "In my 20s, I went out partying nearly most of the week. I loved clubs, dancing, and staying up late. In my 40s, all I want to do is be comfortable in my home, texting with a friend, and wearing comfortable clothes. Fuck clubbing, you can’t pay me enough to do it."

—sweetgirl950
13. "Bars and breweries that don’t serve food. Why? If I’m going out to enjoy myself with friends, there better be food. And it better be at least halfway decent. (There’s one in my hometown that just sells candy. This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Candy and beer sounds like a horrible idea.)"

—omgitsaclaire
14. "Sitting on the floor. I discovered a few months ago that if I sit on the floor for more than 10 minutes, I tweak my back — just by sitting. And then I'm out of commission for almost a week trying to recover. It sucks."

—ladypalutena
15. "Roommates. I’m privileged enough to be able to afford my own home. I only allow guests that have a departure date, or if it’s a family emergency. Otherwise, I’m old and cranky and like having my space and alone time."

—jacks22004
16. "People. I'm too old to deal with them — just give me dogs and cats."

—grimchbettahavemymoney
17. "I eventually had to refuse to participate in camping. Excessive heat? Nope. Sleeping on the ground? Nope. No bathroom? Nope. Cooking and cleaning more while camping than at home? Nope. If it’s not a vacation for me, I won’t go. Give me an A/C, clean sheets, an attached bathroom, a continental breakfast, and a dinner out. That’s a vacation."

—shazzerz
18. "Trying certain types of new things. When I was a kid, I wanted to try everything at least once. Now, there are things like water skiing and scuba diving that I no longer have any interest in attempting. The world is vast enough that there are plenty of new activities and interests I can pursue where there are things to do and places to go I’m no longer tempted by. Part of this is having the maturity to better understand risks and their long-term impacts and another part is knowing the quirks of my own body at the age I’m at and having a better idea what its weaknesses are (and which weaknesses I have the likelihood to be able to change and which I don’t)."

—mathworks

19. "New music. There's no artist development anymore, so there's truly hardly any talent out there anymore — and there's also SO MUCH music available that it doesn't seem worth it to seek these artists out, especially since there's a ton of music/musicians I already love."

—jduckett220

Buzzfeed

The federal government is spending at least N2.7 billion to sponsor delegates to attend the United Nations’ annual climate summit, COP28, which started in Dubai last Thursday and will continue until at least 12 December.

Nigeria has 1,411 delegates, ranking third among countries with the highest numbers of delegates at the meeting. Only the host country, UAE (4,409), and Brazil (3,081) have more participants than Africa’s most populous country.

Other delegations surpassing 1,000 participants include China which registered 1,411 people just like Nigeria, followed by Indonesia with 1,229, Japan with 1,067 and Turkey with 1,045.

Parties to this Convention from Nigeria include government officials, representatives from the private sector, civil society, the voluntary sector, state governments, media, multilateral institutions, representatives of marginalised communities, and many others.

Nigerians, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet, have been outraged by the size of the government’s large delegations at a time the country’s inflation rate is 27.33 per cent and the government is planning to borrow more than $9 billion to fund its N27.5 trillion 2024 budget.

As the outrage grew, Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, released a statement on Monday saying the federal government-sponsored delegation “is made up of a total of 422 persons,” not 1,411 as widely speculated.

He broke down the figure as 167 participants from all Ministries and 73 persons from Federal Parastatals/Agencies. The Presidency has 67 officials – the National Assembly – 40; the Federal Ministry of Environment – 34; the National Council on Climate Change – 32; and nine participants from the Office of the Vice President.

PREMIUM TIMES analysis shows that the government will spend an estimated N2.7 billion to sponsor these delegates while the citizens grapple with a cost-of-living crisis. Nigerians are yet to recover from the shocks of petrol subsidy removal and devaluation of the local currency, the naira, which has pushed it to record lows against the dollar, leading to even more price spikes and greater hardships.

The N2.7 billion estimate

Of the 1,411 delegates, 422 were sponsored to attend the conference by the federal government, according to the minister of information. On average, the estimated cost of a to-and-fro flight ticket from Nigeria to Dubai is N2 million.

At this rate, the cost of a two-way flight ticket for 412 people will amount to N824 million. President Tinubu and at least 10 officials travelled with the presidential jet while the rest of the 412 delegates are estimated to have taken commercial flights. The figure could be higher given that a number of officers travelled on business-class tickets, which are more expensive than economy class tickets used for our computation.

PREMIUM TIMES arrived at the cost using flight rates from airline operator Wakanow.

Sources in the aviation sector also told this newspaper that some senior government officials sponsored by the federal government used private jets to travel to Dubai. But this claim could not be verified by our reporter as of press time.

Leadership newspaper reported that the main delegation of the federal government travelled to Dubai in three planeloads – chartered flights. Sources say the federal government rarely charter local carriers when attending conferences outside the country. The government prefers to contract international flight operators and pay them in foreign currency for charter services. This is despite having local operators with approvals to fly directly to some of the countries.

According to data released by organisers, the list of the Nigerian delegation includes the president and two of his children, 26 ministers, the chief of staff, 14 director generals, several directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, and several officials with different titles. Gilbert Chagouri is part of the delegation listed as ‘Confidante of the President.’

“This number of aides and officials is too many for just a meeting. Tinubu keeps wasting our resources on frivolities. How many people will speak on behalf of Nigeria, that is if Mr President will be allowed to climb the podium,” Adewale Damilare said on his X (formerly known as Twitter).

Billions spent on Estacode

Aside from the cost of a flight ticket, the federal government gives estacode to each traveller depending on their level. Ministers are paid $900 per day as estacode which amounts to $11,700 per minister for the 13-day period the conference would last.

At the official market, one dollar is currently exchanged for N816. This means a minister will get N9.5 million as estacode during the conference. About 26 ministers are attending the conference, according to official data from the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

This means the government will spend at least N248 million on allowances to ministers.

The federal government is also sponsoring 40 members of the National Assembly to Dubai. The estacode for a senator is $950 per night while that of a Member of the House Representatives is $900.

On average, this also amounts to $11,700 per lawmaker for the 13 days the conference would be held. This will cost the government N381 million on estacode for the National Assembly participants.

Then, there are 13 Special Advisers to the president on the delegation. The president’s advisers are entitled to $800 estacode per night, meaning each of the special advisers attending the conference will receive $10,400 for the period of the conference. Using the official rate of N816 per dollar, this amount is equivalent to N110 million.

The list contains 14 Director-Generals of various agencies including the National Council on Climate Change, the National Intelligence Agency, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, and the National Agency for Great Green Wall.

The estacode of a Director General is $500 per night. This means each of the 14 DGs attending COP28 will receive $6,500 for 13 days, totalling $91,000. At current prices, this amount is equivalent to N74 million.

Permanent secretaries get estacode of $500 per night; Officers of levels 15-17 receive $425; Levels 7-14 get $381; and levels 1-6 get $206, according to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, which determines and fixes public officials’ remuneration.

Aside from the categories mentioned above (ministers, special advisers, director generals, and members of the National Assembly), more than 300 other government officials will receive estacode including the chief of staff, ambassadors, permanent secretaries, several directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, and other officials with different titles on the attendance list.

Assuming we have 100 officials on levels 15 – 17 attending the conference in Dubai, the government will spend $5,525 on each of them in estacode for the period. The total of this amount when converted to naira is equivalent to N450 million.

Then, if there are 100 officials on levels 7 – 14, the government will give each of them $381 per night, totalling $4,953 for the period of the conference. The total amount for this category is equivalent to N404 million.

If there are 100 officials on levels 1-6 as part of the delegates, then each of them will also get $206 per night, totalling $2,678 for the 13 days of COP28. This amount is equalled to about N218 million.

The Federal Government has since defended the large delegation, dismissing the protests by opposition parties and citizens.

PT

In 2012, Aruma Oteh, former director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) while appearing before a committee of the House of Representatives, accused Herman Hembe, former chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market, and his deputy, Chris Azubogu, of converting $4,095 to personal use.

The money was given to Hembe as an estacode to attend a conference in the Dominican Republic, but he failed to attend the conference, thereby allegedly committing an offence contrary to section 308 of the Penal Code Act Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Abuja) 2004 and punishable under section 309 of the same code.

Hembe was absolved of any wrongdoing because, in his testimony, he travelled to the United States but returned when he could not get a connecting flight to the conference in the Dominican Republic. The EFCC would later go to court to get a judgment but the Appeal Court in 2015 said Hembe had no case to answer because the incident was an administrative oversight for which he should have been asked to make a refund. The SEC never disclosed whether they made a request for a refund or they let him go.

Estacode, also known as travel allowance, is money paid to workers while on official duty outside their place of domicile to cover expenditures during travels. It covers expenses for feeding, hotel accommodation, and other incidental expenses while on official engagements.

Under the current arrangements, ministers are entitled to $900; special advisers, $800; directors-general of MDAs, $900; chief justice of Nigeria, $2,000; justices of the Supreme Court, $1,300; Appeal Court president, $1,300; judges of the court, $1,100/$600; Senate president, $1,300; deputy Senate president, $1,100; senators, $950; House of Rep speaker, $1,200; deputy speaker, $1,000, permanent secretaries, $600; officers of level 15-17, $425; levels 7-14, $381 and those on levels 1 to 6, get $206.

Over the years, the public domain had been inundated with reports of abuse of the estacode policy, with top government officials dumping trips, after collecting their estacode allowances. This has become even more pertinent in light of the economic turmoil the country is currently undergoing which some experts say calls for an urgent cut in the cost of governance.

Recent reports had heavily criticised the Nigerian government for carrying large numbers of delegates to COP28, currently going on in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the expense of taxpayers. The delegation is made up of 1,411 people from Nigeria, with 590 sponsored by the government, although the Federal Government claimed it sponsored 422. The government delegation will stay 13 days or more in Dubai.

Mohammed Idris, information minister has categorised Nigeria’s delegation to the COP-28 as comprising of government-sponsored (federal and state governments) and non-government-sponsored participants (from private companies, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, media, and academia.

According to Idris, the Federal Government-funded delegation is made up of 422 persons, comprising staff of the National Council on Climate Change, 32; Federal Ministry of Environment, 34; and representatives of other ministries, 167.

Others include 67 from the Presidency, nine from the Office of the Vice President, 40 from the National Assembly and federal parastatals/agencies, numbering, 73.

“As the biggest economy and most populous country in Africa, with a substantial extractive economy and extensive vulnerability to climate change, Nigeria has a significant stake in climate action, and our active and robust participation at COP is therefore not unwarranted,” he said.

Tope Ajayi, another presidential spokesman, said delegates to the event came from all countries whether from government, private sector, media and civil society groups, as parties and the number of attendees are registered against their countries of origin.

“It does not mean that they are sponsored or funded by the government. It must be said also that the fact that people registered to attend a conference does not mean everyone that registered is physically present,” Ajayi said.

President Muhammadu Buhari had between 2016 and August 2018, made over 37 international trips, visiting about 22 different countries, on investment drive.

In his first four years, the former president visited over 33 nations, some of them, twice, spending a total of 404 days, mostly on investment drive.

On average, the cost of each trip hovered between $400,000 to $500,000 per trip, with the average estacode for accompanying presidency officials amounting to $110,000.

The transportation cost is estimated at $35,000, accommodation at $220,000, and $10,00 for honorarium,

Others include $20, 000 for contingencies and media coverage at $10, 000, totalling $405,000.

These are, however, limited to those costs affecting only personnel from Aso Rock Villa, aides, protocol officers, members of the press, security personnel, a cook, a luggage officer and a steward.

The Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) has a separate budget for fueling the planes as well as allowances for the presidential air fleet commander, pilots, and air stewards, so also does the Office of the National Security Adviser, all of which must be provided for, anytime the president makes a trip outside Nigeria.

A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) fell sharply on Buhari’s watch from $1.45bn in 2015 to $698.7m in 2021 and dipped further to $468.08m in 2022, despite the huge funds invested in foreign trips, ostensibly to attract investment. But this did not stop the former president from approving an upward increase in estacodes.

In August 2022, Buhari approved an increase in duty tour allowances (DTAs) for ministers by 128 percent and those of permanent secretaries by as much as 250 percent.

Duty tour allowance refers to the amount paid by the government when a public servant embarks on an official trip.

The approval of the new allowances was conveyed in a circular dated August 31, 2022, issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, with reference SWC/C/04/S.6/II/333, and titled, “Review of Duty Tour Allowance in the Federal Public Service.”, signed by Ekpo Nta, chairman of the commission. Nta said the new allowances take effect from September 1.

The president approved the upward review of duty tour allowances applicable to permanent secretary/equivalent from N20,000 to N70,000, representing a 250 percent increase and minister/SGF/HCSF/equivalent from N35,000 to N80,000,”, or a 128 percent increase.

A breakdown of the new DTA as contained in the circular, also indicates that officers on grade level (GL) 01-04 and its equivalent, are now entitled to N10,000 per diem. This is just as those on GL 05-06 and its equivalent, will be receiving N15,000 per diem, while GL 07-10 and its equivalent, will get N17,500 per diem.

Similarly, those on GL 12-13 and its equivalent, are now entitled to N20,000 per diem, just as those on GL 14-15 and its equivalent, will get N25,000 per diem. Officers on the directorate levels from GL 16 to GL 17 and its equivalent, will receive N37,500 per diem.

Goddy Ehimikhuare, a legal practitioner, berated public servants for using the end-of-the-year opportunity to defraud the government through what he described as ”fictitious approvals”. According to him, flooding Dubai with Nigerians at this time of the year is in line with the regular practice for shopping by civil servants.

“Many of us who are used to them are not surprised by the development. This is the season many look forward to in their travelling arrangements. They used COP28 to get cheap visas, as many would have been denied entry visas on normal requests,” said Ehimikhuare.

President Bola Tinubu has made 12 foreign trips since he was sworn in on May 29, 2023, according to data from StatisSense. In all the trips, he has had to travel with a retinue of aides, mostly sponsored by the government. Apart from the president, several ministers have had occasions to travel with their aides outside the country since they were appointed. These trips cost the country significantly in per diem and other travel expenses.

“They also utilise the opportunity to use unspent funds, instead of returning them to the coffers of the Federal Government. You will be shocked to hear later that this president is not aware of this large number of delegates. We thank the media for exposing these things,” Ehimikhuare added.

Businessday

Atedo Peterside, president and founder, Anap Foundation and Anap Jets, said investors who cherish the rule of law are being replaced by those who “partner with politicians”.

He made this known in a post via his X, formerly Twitter, account, on Thursday, while addressing a report by TheCable that Procter & Gamble (P&G) is halting local production.

On Tuesday, during a presentation at the Morgan Stanley global consumer & retail conference in New York, United States, Andre Schulten, chief financial officer, P&G, disclosed the company’s plan.

Schulten said P&G, producer of Pampers, Always, Oral B, Ariel and Gillette, will end local production in Nigeria and switch to an import-only model.

P&G’s change in operating model followed that of Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), both of which have also transitioned to a distribution model by winding down their production operation.

Peterside said the exiting investors favour the rule of law, policy consistency, macroeconomic stability and a level playing field to operate within a business environment.

The investment banker, also the founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank, said the investors replacing those exiting Nigeria’s business environment are businesspeople who partner with politicians.

According to Peterside, the investors taking over know how to game the system through waivers and exemptions.

“Another way to look at this @ProcterGamble exit story from @thecableng is that multiple investors who cherish the rule of law, policy consistency, macroeconomic stability, a level playing field etc are running away from Nigeria,” he said.

“They are being “replaced” only partially by investors who know how to “partner” with politicians and/or game the system through waivers, exemptions etc.”

The Cable