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2m Farmers get CBN’s N554b funds
Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose from $34.94 billion last November to $36.23 billion by January 21, 2021 on the back of increase in global crude oil prices.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who spoke at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the bank, said the increase reflected improvements in crude oil prices, partial global economic recovery amid optimism over the discovery and distributions of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines by most developed economies.
He added that the nation’s economy and its global counterpart had continued to show prospect for recovery from the effects of COVID-19.
He assured of improved economic growth in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2021.
“The medium-term outlook for both the domestic and global economies continued to show improved prospects of recovery. This is supported by the recent moderate uptick in crude prices and increased optimism over the procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Available data and forecasts for key macroeconomic variables for the Nigerian economy suggest further improvement in output growth in the first quarter of 2021. ‘’
This would be supported by the coordinated and sustained interventions of the monetary and fiscal authorities, including the broad-based stimulus and liquidity injections,’’ Emefiele said.
He urged the Federal Government to take more urgent steps to tackle the challenge of insecurity so as to curb inflation, adding that insecurity also posed a threat to food security.
Nigeria’s external reserves hit $36.23b on higher crude oil prices
•2m farmers get CBN’s N554b funds
Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose from $34.94 billion last November to $36.23 billion by January 21, 2021 on the back of increase in global crude oil prices.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who spoke at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the bank, said the increase reflected improvements in crude oil prices, partial global economic recovery amid optimism over the discovery and distributions of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines by most developed economies.
He added that the nation’s economy and its global counterpart had continued to show prospect for recovery from the effects of COVID-19.
He assured of improved economic growth in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2021.
“The medium-term outlook for both the domestic and global economies continued to show improved prospects of recovery. This is supported by the recent moderate uptick in crude prices and increased optimism over the procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Available data and forecasts for key macroeconomic variables for the Nigerian economy suggest further improvement in output growth in the first quarter of 2021. ‘’
This would be supported by the coordinated and sustained interventions of the monetary and fiscal authorities, including the broad-based stimulus and liquidity injections,’’ Emefiele said.
He urged the Federal Government to take more urgent steps to tackle the challenge of insecurity so as to curb inflation, adding that insecurity also posed a threat to food security.
Emefiele also said the apex bank has disbursed N554.61 billion to 2, 849,490 farmers to boost food security under its Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) beginning from 2015.
In a communiqué issued in Abuja yesterday, the CBN Governor said that out of the amount, N61.02 billion was disbursed to 353,370 dry season farmers.
“Of the CBN’s real sector interventions, under the ABP, N554.63 billion was disbursed to 2,849,490 beneficiaries in 2015, of which N61.02 billion was allocated to 359,370 dry season farmers.
In the light of the on-going synchronised efforts by the monetary and fiscal authorities to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank has committed substantial amount of money towards this objective.
“Indeed, total disbursements as at January 2021 amounted to N2 trillion.
“For COVID-19 Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) meant for household and small businesses, we have disbursed N192.64 billion to 426,016 beneficiaries.
“We have also disbursed N106.96 billion to 27,956 beneficiaries under the AgriBusiness Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme,’’ Emefiele said.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the apex bank also provided huge sums to support the health sector, youth empowerment as well as the creative industry.
“Through the Health Care Support Intervention Facility, we have disbursed N72.96 billion to 73 projects that comprise 26 pharmaceutical projects and 47 Hospitals and Health Care Services Project in the country.
“The CBN also provided financial support through the Creative Industry Financing Initiative and the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund amounting to N3.12 billion with 320 beneficiaries and N268 million to 395 beneficiaries respectively.
“On enhancing power supply, the bank has so far, provided N18.58 billion for the procurement of 347,853 7 Classified as Confidential electricity reading meters to Discos in support of the National Mass Metering Programme,’’ Emefiele said.
He assured that the bank would sustain its drive to improve access to credit to the private sector while exploring collaboration with the Federal Government to improve funding to critical sectors of the economy.
January 28, 2021
Nigeria ranked second ‘most corrupt’ ECOWAS country on TI corruption index
Nigeria has dropped to 149 on Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perception Index, the worst ranking received by Africa’s largest country in recent time. Nigeria also scored 25 out of a possible 100 points.
In the last TI rating in 2019, Nigeria was ranked 146th out of the 180 countries surveyed, scoring 26 points out of a possible 100. On a scale of zero to 100 in TI’s rating, zero means “Highly Corrupt,” while 100 stands for “Very Clean”.
This means that Nigeria is two steps worse off than she was in 2018 when she scored 27 points to place 144th out of 180 countries. The summation is simply that corruption in the country has worsened.
According to the latest ranking, Nigeria is now the second most corrupt country in West Africa with Guinea-Bissau the only country more corrupt than Nigeria in the sub-region.
In Africa, only 12 countries are perceived to be more corrupt than Nigeria. They are Zimbabwe, Chad, Eritrea, Burundi, Congo, Guinea Bissau, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Somalia and South Sudan. Both Somalia and South Sudan were ranked as the most corrupt nations on earth.
January 28, 2021
Buhari nominates Adolphus as Auditor-General
President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated Mr Adolphus Aghughu as the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF).
Adolphus, who has been Acting Auditor-General since last October, following the retirement of Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine, hails from Edo State.
According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Buhari had already forwarded his letter of nomination to the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan.
The Auditor-General-designate holds a Masters in Economics. He is a Fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Member, Nigerian Institute of Management and Associate member of Chartered Institute of Taxation.
He became an Auditor in the Office of the Auditor-General in 1992 and was promoted to the rank of Director of Audit in January 2016.
In the same vein, the President has nominated Barrister Victor Muruako for appointment as Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC).
This was also contained in the same statement issued by Senator Omoworare and made available to State House Correspondents yesterday.
Muruako, a legal practitioner had served as the Secretary to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and currently acts as the Chairman of the Commission. He is from Imo State.
January 28, 2021
Today’s Major Nigerian Newspaper’s Cover Stories 28- January -2021
January 28, 2021
Tinubu is afraid to speak on the Fulani herdsmen Issues
A leader of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, says a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, is afraid to speak on the Fulani herdsmen crisis in parts of the South-West region because he does not want to offend the President Muhammadu Buhari
According to him, Tinubu has not condemned the attacks by Fulani herdsmen against the Yoruba people because of his presidential ambition in 2023.
The Afenifere chieftain said Tinubu believes that Buhari will help become the next president of the country.
Of late, Fulani herdsmen have been accused of perpetrating crimes ranging from kidnappings, killings, rape to invasion of farmlands with their cattle in the South-West region especially in Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and Ogun States.
Adebanjo said instead of Buhari to protect all Nigerians, he has taken to defending the Fulani herdsmen despite sundry evidence that they are culpable of the heinous crimes.
“I don’t buy the propaganda of the Buhari government that how do you know they are Fulani? And when they are caught, they will say, they are foreign Fulani. If you are a competent defender of the Nigerian people, the Fulani herdsmen won’t be committing all forms of atrocities unabated,” he said.
Details later…
January 27, 2021
Buhari inaugurates Presidential steering committee on alternate school programme
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday inaugurated an 18-member Presidential Steering Committee on Alternate School Programme (ASP) in a move he says will sustain efforts on providing formal and conventional education.
Speaking at the inauguration, Buhari said that it was unacceptable to see children abandoning formal school to engage in menial jobs and child labour in the markets, streets and workshops.
He also used the occasion which took place at the Presidential Villa January 26, 2021, to charge the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to map out a National Plan which will address the issue of out-of-school children in the country.
‘‘While we continue to sustain our efforts on providing formal and conventional education through the activities of the Universal Basic Education Commission under the Federal Ministry of Education, it is still a common sight to notice children abandoning formal school to become apprentices in shops, workshops and markets, whilst many others choose to loiter at markets, become cart pushers and hawkers. These are not acceptable,” Buhari said.
Chairman of the Committee, Umar Farouq who also spoke at the inauguration implored its members to take the assignment with utmost seriousness adding that “the future of our young people is at stake”.
January 27, 2021
Fulani Herdsmen: Makinde floods Ibarapa, Oke Ogun with 200 Amotekun officers
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Wednesday said the state has deployed 200 officers of the Oyo State Security Network, otherwise known as Amotekun to the troubled Igangan in Ibarapa Local Government Area of the state.
Makinde disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the move followed a meeting with security agencies and stakeholders from the crisis ridden area.
Igangan, an ancient town in Ibarapa area of Oyo State has been the scene of skirmishes between residents, led by a Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho and Fulani herdsmen, who residents accused of perpetrating crimes including killings, maiming, kidnapping for ransom and destruction of farms in the area.
The Governor said in the statement: “Following the meeting held with representatives of Igangan, Ibarapaland which was attended by security stakeholders including the recently appointed Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko, our administration has come up with a security strategy for that zone.
“We have resolved to redeploy 200 members of the Oyo State Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun to kidnapping/banditry hotspots in the state, especially in the Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun zones.
“These operatives will launch missions to rid the forests of criminals. They will be presenting daily reports of their activities to me in the short run and periodic reports in the long run.
“In the next few weeks, we’ll hold town hall meetings and community outreaches, bringing together residents and security agencies to talk about any issues of immediate concern and how they can be resolved through dialogue and more effective community policing.”
January 27, 2021
APC welcomes new military chiefs
By Tom Okpe, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress, APC welcomes the appointment of new service chiefs following the resignation and retirement of the outgoing service chiefs.
The party in a press statement signed by John J. Akpan Udoedeghe, National Secretary
Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, CECPC said the party is confident that the new service chiefs will consolidate on the remarkable achievements of their predecessors in keeping the country safe and peaceful.
The Party calls for public support for the new service chiefs as they perform their constitutional roles of protecting our country’s territorial integrity and tackle emerging security threats saying: “We urge increased synergy among the armed forces in achieving these tasks.”
President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of new Chief of Defence Staff, CDS as well as service chiefs sequel to the resignation of the CDS and the service chiefs and their retirement from service.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the President’s Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, the President said the new Service Chiefs, Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff, while the outgoing military chiefs are, General Gabriel Abayomi Olonosakin, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
The ruling party further explained that recent incidents in the country has triggered quite divisive rhetoric in some quarters buttressing that; “It is counterproductive and dangerous to national security when we put ethnic spins to issues affecting us. In tackling security threats, we should criminalise crime, not ethnicity.
“As a nation, our strength remains in our diversity and we should continue to forge unity in that diversity. We urge peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding among Nigerians, irrespective of the part of the country we chose to live and work.”
The President congratulated the new Service Chiefs, urging them to be loyal and dedicated in the discharge of their responsibilities.
President Buhari also accepted the immediate resignation of the Service Chiefs and their retirement from service, thanking the outgoing Chiefs for what he called their “overwhelming achievements in our efforts at bringing enduring peace to our dear country,” wishing them well in their future endeavours.
January 27, 2021
IPOB justifies clash with soldiers, claims five innocent people killed in Orlu
THE proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Tuesday justified the clash between its security outfit – the Eastern Security Network (ESN) – and the military.
It also claimed that five residents of Okporo community in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State were killed when ESN men clashed with soldiers last Friday.
Though the Army said only one person died in the crossfire, IPOB insisted that five people were killed and several others were injured in the skirmish between the security outfit and soldiers drawn from the 34 Artillery Brigade in Obinze.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by IPOB’s spokesman Emma Powerful, the group accused Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma of working with the Army to attack and flush out ESN officers from the bushes where they are operating from.
The statement reads: “ESN personnel are in the bush and forest chasing…terrorists and herdsmen who are over there terrorising our members and sisters in their respective farms, not Nigeria security agencies but they are looking for ESN’s trouble.
“Since the formation and inauguration of ESN by our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, on December 12, 2020, they have been inside the bushes and forests; their job is to protect farmers from invaders who made pronouncements that all lands in Nigeria belong to them.
“Every time, Nigerian Army and the police would come and look for their trouble in the bush,” he said, adding that the group will resisit any attempt to clamp down on its members.
He accused some Southeast leaders, including Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma of aligning with the military to attack ESN.
Powerful said members of the proscribed IPOB were not impressed by the 6pm-6am curfew declared by the governor.
The governor, in a statement by his spokesman Oguwike, said the dusk-to-dawn curfew was declared following disturbing report on the activities of a group of militants that unleashed mayhem on Orlu residents.
January 27, 2021
Nollywood in shock as actor Ernest Asuzu gave up the ghost
Pupular Nollywood actor Ernest Asuzu is dead. It was gathered that he slumped and died on Tuesday evening.
The President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, confirmed his death.
“Yes, Ernest Asuzu is dead. I am trying to reach his wife to get the full details. I will get back to you,” Rollas said.
Asuzu began his acting career in the ’90s and rose to prominence after he starred in the 1997 Nollywood classic, ‘Rituals’.
He was the toast of Nollywood until his career nosedived after he came down with a stroke in 2015 and it affected his speech. He was also bedridden for three years.
January 27, 2021