💡In case of kidnap, don’t strong your face
Quick note: From Next week, That New News will be coming to you every Saturday at 9 AM (Nigerian time).
In this week’s issue:
Emefiele vs AbokiFX and PDP
Despite the Supreme Court order, the FIRS is still in charge of VAT
Military rescued kidnapped Defence Academy Major
NYSC adds “kidnap safety guide” to handbook
Nigeria’s finance and other disasters
Emefiele vs:
— AbokiFX
The Central Bank of Nigeria accused Abokifx, a website that aggregates exchange rates, of carrying out an “illegal activity" that is "kill[ing] our economy.”
CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the owner of the platform, Oniwinde Adedotun, is trading forex illegally; fabricating unfounded rates and selling at higher than the market rate.
In a response via a press release AbokiFX their prices are determined by speaking to numerous local forex traders daily
On Friday the 17th (days after the ban) the currency value fell to 570/$, from about 520 a few days prior.
Most local newspapers and forex traders rely on Aboki FX's numbers., but Emefiele says to drop that. He said the only exchange rate we should acknowledge is the I&E window (currently trading at 414.90/$)
According to FMDQ, the CBN provides over 90% of fx numbers at the I&E window.
When the CBN website switched to the I&E rate in January, a Proshare analysis said that the positives could outweigh the negatives. 🤞🏽
Emefiele also promised to "deal with" unauthorised forex traders still operating
— The people
PDP demands Emefiele's resignation over allegedly looting national reserves
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reps claim that the national secretary of the APC, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, said the CBN governor authorised theft of national reserves
Akpanudoedehe denied it, but the PDP reps demanded Emefiele's resignation and called on EFCC to indite him for questioning
PDP members are also pretty upset about the exchange rate:
“Our party insists that beyond Akpanudoedehe’s allegation, the tenure of Emefiele as CBN governor[...] has witnessed colossal failures [...] requiring him to vacate the office and hand himself over for investigation.
“When Emefiele took office as CBN governor in 2014, the naira exchanged for N164 to a dollar. Today, the naira has tumbled to nearly N600 to a dollar"
They also think his priorities are misplaced:
"Under the leadership of Emefiele, the CBN has failed in its core mandate of managing the economy and took a dive into propaganda, with claims that do not reflect the harsh economic realities on the ground”
Supreme court puts foot down on VAT
The Court of Appeal rejected Rivers and Lagos States' request to take full responsibility of State VAT, weeks after the Supreme court approved it.
In August, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike (and soon after Lagos' Sanwo-Olu) won his Supreme Court case demanding that the state (not the FG) should be collecting VAT.
FIRS appealed the case, and the Abuja Federal High Court ruled that they maintain the current state of things (as in FIRS' right to state taxes) until the hearing is completed
But Wike is (obviously) not having it. He once again went to the Supreme Court for a rebuttal
Rivers State government lawyer, Mr Emmanuel Ukala argued that the FIRS was lawfully wrong for its appeal and that the court is wrong for suggesting they maintain the status quo when Rivers (and Lagos) have already signed the new mandate into law
All governors protest: A few weeks after Wike's initial victory against FIRS, all 36 states have sued the FG for allegedly cutting their share of VAT and other taxes without their knowledge.
The Lagos attorney-general predicated his expressed fear of unjust treatment on the fact that FIRS apart from collecting the tax has been sharing It among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) despite the pendency of the legal tussle
Governors now insist that after this presidency leaves in 2023, the FIRS law must be put in place
But Katsina's governor does not agree. He says any state that thinks it can survive on its own is "joking".
The latest on everyday insurgency
Military rescued kidnapped Defence Academy Major
Major Christopher Datong the military official who was kidnapped at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) attack late last month, has apparently been released
There were reports that Major Datong was found dead, which at the time were debunked by various independent news outlets including FIJ, which claims to have spoken to family members the abductors contacted
The military says he has minor injuries but had been treated in a medical facility and handed over to NDA for further action.
Background: The terrorists that attacked Defence Academy killed 2 officers. The military iterated that the rescue mission involved "exchanged fire" between them and the bandits; no arrests were reported
The UAE named 6 Nigerians on their terrorist list who they suspect are Boko Haram sponsors
Nigerians on the UAE’s terrorism list: Abdurrahaman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan and Surajo Abubakar Muhammad.
Still, the presidency (through presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina) says they're not interested in naming and shaming sponsors of terrorism, they're "more focused on ensuring that those found guilty will be brought to book"
Recall: In May, the FG claimed to have names of 400 suspected terrorists and promised to bring them to justice. That is the last we heard of it
Meanwhile, another state has shut down its telecom services due to insurgency: Following Zamfara's order a few weeks ago, Sokoto State government ordered telecoms in 14 of the state's 23 local governments - those most affected by the attacks) to be shut down
NYSC added kidnap safety tips to their safety handbook
They know kidnapping is a real problem, but rather than suspend NYSC posting until it is resolved, they advice the kids in their care to stay calm, do some mental exercises and ensure that they have someone who can pay a ransom
More stand out suggestions: advice your negotiator to remain friendly with the abductor; establish a relationship with your kidnapper (like the police, your kidnapper is your friend)
Considering fulfilling your NYSC deployment? Here's your handbook
Theres nothing in the handbook on how to avoid assault from the soldiers on site, which, as shown here, is a major problem
Nigerian Airforce bombs village
A Nigerian Airforce bomb to Buhari village in Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State killed 10 people and wounded over 20 residents
The Airforce initially denied it on Twitter (which is still banned) in response to a tweet recounting the incident
“This tweet is false in its entirety. The NAF last conducted a mission into Yobe State (Not Yunusari LGA) on 5 September 2021 and it was an armed recce. No bomb or missile was even expended”
They later released a statement owning up to it and claiming they were tailing Boko Haram suspects in the area
Health this week
Edo state commenced its “no vaccination, no access to public places” policy. Last week Unvaccinated civil servants and Edo residents were stranded not allowed to enter public spaces without proof of vaccination (Daily Trust). People's Gazette reports that civil servants in Edo State were arrested for selling fake COVID vaccine cards
Nigeria ranks first in the world as a sickle cell endemic country and was declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2006, as the capital of sickle cell disease in the world. The Senate passed a bill to establish a "legal framework" around the management of sickle cell anaemia, a genetically inherited disease (GuardianNG)
Policy
President Buhari has asked the Senate to amend the recently implemented Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. He would like to appoint more non-executive board members to enhance geopolitical representation; remove the Ministries of Petroleum Resources; and Finance from the boards of the two institutions, and appoint executive directors (Channels)
Delta and Lagos join pool of states that have signed the anti-open grazing bill into law (Arise News)
Other news updates
El-Rufai (who once said that the solution to attacks on schools in the north is to move schools closer to military barracks) says the north-west region is afflicted by the worst human development crisis (The Cable)
Military attached to Dangote’s Savannah Sugar Refinery in Gyawana, Adamawa allegedly shot 5 former workers, killing one identified as Gad Jacob (People's Gazette)
Following the judgment of Oyo State High Court which awarded Yoruba secessionist Sunday Igboho N20 billion against the FG, the Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami said the FG has the right to appeal the Judgement or file a fresh charge (PremiumTimes)
Police retirees have stormed to the National Assembly, demanding to be taken out of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) on account of inequality. In April this year, they accused the scheme's admin of mismanagement via a petition investigated by the Senate (Guardian NG)
Lagos nurses suspend strike to protest unpaid salaries after government allocates funds to approve their demands https://punchng.com/why-we-suspended-planned-strike-lagos-nurses/
Ogun state police warns worshippers to stop praying in forests to avoid kidnap (PremiumTimes)
Ahead of 2023 elections, a New political party, Rescue Nigeria Project has been formed by former INEC chair Attahiru Jega, former Kwara governor Ahmed Abdulfatai, Dr. Rose Idi Danladi and others (Leadership)
The United States has seized about $6.1 million belonging to Nigeria after a hired arms supplier pleaded guilty to charges including illegal dealing in military-grade weapons and money laundering (People's Gazette)
20% of employed Nigerians lost their jobs in 2020 (The Cable)
The Nigerian Police Force said they've arrested three out of the 25 suspected members of a gang that kidnapped students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna State (PremiumTimes)