😡 The wicked are sleeping
Climate crisis as embezzlement scheme; EFCC vs The currency; More on Naira change plans; ASUU salary disagreements; Road to 2023
Today’s newsletter is 1,580 words (approx. 6 mins read)
In this edition
Climate crisis as embezzlement scheme
EFCC vs The currency
More on Naira change plans
ASUU salary disagreements
Road to 2023
November started terribly. Here's an outline of the sad events that have occurred in the first week of the month:
Davido loses his son to drowning. While the singer was away with his partner Chioma, his 3-year-old son allegedly stumbled into the indoor swimming pool and drowned. The domestic staff in charge of watching the toddler have been detained and questioned by the police. Meanwhile, the internet is having think pieces and debates about who’s at fault and the necessity of an indoor swimming pool
At least four people died when a fire destroyed a bank building under construction on Adeola Odeku Street in Victoria Island, Lagos. The fire, which started in the generator house, spread to cars and offices throughout the building, injuring nine people. Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) says the nine injured people were taken to an unnamed hospital. A few hours after a fire in Victoria Island, another fire broke out in the Tejuosho Textile Market in Yaba, Lagos.
Climate Crisis, Climate embezzling
FG demands wealthy nations pay up
The information minister, Lai Mohammed, has said that Nigeria will demand financial aid from wealthy nations to combat the effects of climate change.
He said one of the country’s national priorities is seeking compensation at the United Nations COP27 conference next month in wake of the extreme floods ravaging the nation.
“We will be leaning more heavily on the developed countries to compensate developing countries including Nigeria in the area of financing climate change projects,” said Mohammed. “You can't expect us to bear the brunt of what we did not contribute to.”
Nigeria intends to float a third domestic green bond to finance some of its green projects. But, while the government says its first two green bonds from 2017 ($35m) and 2019 ($41m). The plan was to use some of the money to plant trees. While the government claims that both projects have been a success, Premium Times recently reported that so far, the government has only embarked on a $900,000 bond-funded project where they planted a few trees.
Security
British Airways resumes operation after cancelling flights
British Airways has continued its London-Abuja flight after cancelling it for two days due to terrorism security alerts issued by the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom.
Last week, the US Mission in Nigeria issued a security alert regarding the possibility of terrorist attacks in Nigeria, particularly in Abuja
Following the cancellation of its Abuja-bound flight on Friday and Saturday, the airline has changed its flight schedule to Abuja as of Sunday
A memo shared with trade partners confirmed the change effective from October 30th to November 7, 2022 saying it was “due to operational constraint.”
Fraud
Senate
The Senate Public Accounts Committee has begun an investigation into the N2.2bn in unaccounted expenditure allegedly collected by the Federal Ministry of Justice from Service Wide Votes between 2017 and 2021.
So far, the committee has identified and is investigating records of over 200 federal agencies that benefited from over N5tn in Service Wide Votes between 2017 and 2021.
The committee says this amount was not distributed with the knowledge of any of the federal departments that ought to have been aware.
In essence, the Federal Ministry of Justice *allegedly* stole and shared it.
Lost APC Senatorial Candidate
EFCC officials say they can’t find Kano APC senatorial candidate, Abdulkareem Zaura.
Zaura is on trial over a $1.3 million fraud charge
Zaura was scheduled to appear at the federal high court in Kano on October 14, 2022, but it was postponed to October 31, 2022 because he did not show up.
When the trial came up this week, Zaura was still a no-show.
The lawyer faulted the absence of Zaura, who she insisted must be docked before the court for arraignment, stressing that the defendant had disregarded the court.
In a counter-argument, Zaura’s lawyer, Ibrahim Waru, maintained that his client should not necessarily appear before the court on arraignment, since there was a pending application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the trial.
The case was adjourned till November 10, 2022, for both counsels to file written addresses on whether or not the defendant must appear before the court for arraignment.
EFCC investigating naira drop
The Naira is falling against the dollar every day. It is brutal. As of today, the rate is N857 per dollar on the parallel market.
Who is the Nigerian government blaming? The parallel market.
The EFCC is conducting parallel operations against Bureau de Change operators for the Naira’s refusal to put up a fight against foreign currencies.
According to reports, the raids resulted in the arrest of many illegal BDC operators and individuals suspected of being customers
It will be expanded to Lagos, Onitsha, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, and other major cities across the country.
The EFCC operatives backed by armed policemen stormed the black market stalls located opposite the Sheraton Hotel in Zone 4, Wuse, Abuja and took many of them into custody.
An eyewitness noted that the arrested suspects were dragged into waiting vehicles as the incident stalled traffic in the area
Meanwhile, in Nigerian banks, customers with domiciliary accounts can deposit their money, but cannot withdraw it in cash. The only way to use your money freely is with a card.
EFCC investigating money-hoarding governors
Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman of the EFCC, confirmed that the commission is investigating three currently serving governors for hiding money.
According to him, the unidentified governors intend to launder billions of Naira by paying workers under the table
The news comes just days after the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) announcement that the country's currency would be redesigned to control the amount of money in circulation and manage inflation.
The redesigned notes would be released on December 15, and Nigerians have until January 31, 2023, to deposit the old notes in banks in exchange for the new ones.
Finance
Minister of Finance against Naira Redesign
Speaking of CBN’s Naira redesign, Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning says she is against it.
Ahmed claimed that the finance ministry was unaware of the plans and only learned about them through the media
She said,
“The policy may be a well-conceived one but the timing going, by realities on ground, it’s very wrong as the naira may fall to as low as N1,000 to a US dollar before January 31, 2023 fixed for full implementation of the policy. We were not consulted at the Ministry of Finance by the CBN on the planned naira redesigning and cannot comment on it as regards merits or otherwise,”
However, the CBN's spokesman, Osita Nwanisobi, says the bank followed "due process". Nwanisobi said the apex bank's management was "surprised at the minister's claim", and emphasised that the CBN remains a "very thorough" institution that follows due process in its policy actions
The IMF has also sent a warning to CBN to avoid missteps that would undermine the financial system.
Education
Igbinedion Varsity to train students displaced by Russian-Ukrainian war
The Vice Chancellor of Igbinedion University Okada (IUO), Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye said that the institution is partnering with renowned Ukrainian universities to train Nigerian students displaced by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
He said this during the 21st inaugural lecture of the institution delivered by a Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Prof. Pauline Ekemma Aligwekwe
Ezemonye confirmed that the programme would be under strict compliance with National Universities Commission (NUC) guidelines on transnational education
He said,
“This is with particular reference to students currently displaced by the ongoing war in Ukraine. The universities include V.N Karazin Kharkiv University, Ivano-Frankivsk University and Lviv University of Business and Law in Ukraine,”
FG pays ASUU half salaries
Mere weeks after ASUU ended its strike, the FG has reported paid them only half their October salary
A senior member of the National Executive Council, said the teaching staff were only paid for the days after the strike. “I received a half salary. Other members are angry right now, they are blaming the NEC for calling off the strike.”
The hope when ASUU called of the strike was that the staff would be paid the outstanding salaries and salary for the months they were absent from work.
The FG is yet to respond to this development
Road to 2023
Ahead of the 2023 presidential elections the Labour Party (LP) has tasked members of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) to intensify efforts towards the funding of the campaigns.
National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, appealed to members of the Council to work towards mobilizing funds for the party.
He said even though the slogan of the Obi-Dient movement is “we do not give shishi,” this time around the party needs money to prosecute the campaign.
World (good) news
Peace for Ethiopia and Tigray
The Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have agreed to end hostilities and agreed to “a detailed programme of disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration for the TPLF combatants …” - Premium Times
The agreement reached two days before the second anniversary of the Ethiopia-Tigray crisis was facilitated by an AU-led team led by ex-Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo
After 10 days of talks, the truce was reached in Pretoria, South Africa where they both agreed to “permanently silence the guns” and acknowledged only one national defence force
So far, the conflict has resulted in huge humanitarian crises for citizens killing thousands and internally displacing millions
Other News
Many commuters have been stranded on Lagos State roads as commercial bus drivers in the state began a seven-day strike to protest alleged extortion and harassment from motor park thugs. The protesters say the bus park management and caretaker committee members, locally known as 'Agbero' have imposed excessive levies on buses at almost every junction across Lagos. Last month, the bus drivers threatened to strike from October 31 to November 6 if the state government didn’t address their grievances - This Day
Nigeria has taken additional steps to prevent and contain an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease in the country. As a result, the NCDC has issued a health advisory advising Nigerian citizens and residents to avoid all but necessary travel to Uganda until the Ebola outbreak in the country is contained. It advised that if travel to Uganda is unavoidable, travellers should avoid contact with obviously sick people or suspected cases of Ebola during their stay - This Day
The ambassador of Ghana has been appointed the President of the United Nations (UN) Security Council for November on Tuesday. While briefing newsmen, Amb. Harold Agyeman, Ghana's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, stated that discussions on violent extremism and terrorism in Africa is at the top of the agenda - Vanguard
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has approved five export-processing terminals to boost the nation’s agro-export - This Day
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, on Thursday, assured the National Assembly’s joint committees on aviation of the completion of the second Abuja International Airport Runway before the exit of the current regime - The Punch
Great read!