NEWS MIRROR

CBN's Governor, Godwin Emiefele By Akinola Ajibade The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will sanction any bank that is dispensing old naira notes at its automated Teller Machines(ATMs) in Calabar, South South-South state of the country. This happens, as the apex bank branch in Calabar, decided to  sensitise people in the markets  and streets in Calabar and beyond on the need to comply with the CBN directives on the use of new naira notes in the country. In a statement issued by CBN in Calabar recently, its officer, Mrs. Glory Iniunan, reminded banks operators of the threat  during the sensitisation exercise on the acceptance and deadline of the redesign naira notes at Watt, Ikot Ishie, 8miles and Marian markets. Iniuan said: “What we are here for is to sensitise the people on the acceptance, the deadline of the redesign naira notes. To let them know that as from 31st January, 2023, the old notes will size to be a legal tender and as at 1st, February, 2023, the new note wil

By  Favour Ajibade  Nigeria has engaged the services of the global energy consultant, Wood Mackenzie to drive the 2022/23 oil bid round. The firm would assist in guiding the process and ensure openness and transparency. The Chief Executive officer, the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, who disclosed this at the official mini bid exercise flag off in Lagos yesterday, said exercise is designed to attract competent investors from across the world, both local and foreign, that have the capability and competence in operating in deep water environment,  Komolafe, also said that would help in boosting the country’s production capacity, as well as  ensuring energy security and sustainability. Speaking on the theme of pre-bid conference, “Growing Upstream Investment in Nigeria through Licensing Round: The Bid Process and Opportunities”. Komolafe said that the seven Deep Offshore blocks on offer which covers an area of approximately 6,700 km2 i

By Akinola Ajibade Nigeria's former  president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is highly hypocritical in the ways and manners, in which handles socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria, the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay has said. Sagay said this, while reacting to a recent letter, which Chief Obasanjo wrote in support and endorsement of Mr Peter Obi  for the February 2023'  presidential election. He said:" I  think Obasanjo is a hypocrite in many ways. He tries to show off as he was the best thing that ever happened to Nigeria, even though under his regime, we had a lot of setbacks. While he was in office, he himself wanted a third term which would have been a breach of our democratic practice and renewal. Adding that: " Another thing I have always said about Obasanjo is that he doesn’t control himself. He is a retired Head of State and very well respected elder statesman who is on telephone terms with the p

CPPE's CEO, Yusuf  By Favour Ajibade The Federal Government is working in line with the democratic standards, by withholding assent on the 2023 Finance Bill for growth,the Chief Executive officer, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE), Mr Muda Yusuf , has said  He said that the idea would pave way for broader consultation, participation,  inclusion in the legislative process, a development, which democracy requires. According to him, there would be no room for law making  process and implementation of socio-economic policies, if laws are being made in that direction. While reacting to the decision by the government to withhold assent to 2023 Finance Bill, he said that provisions of the Bil are  too broad, inexact and and makes the business community very vulnerable. According to him, there is no jurisdiction in  the world where all services are liable to excise duty, adding that the current open-ended provisions  is inimical to investments since it makes th

Pix showing the tummy of the affected ladies Rivers Police Command has arrested a 17-year old boy for al!edgedly impregnating 10 ladies.. The suspect,  Noble Uzuchi, was nabbed with his accomplice, Chigozie Ogbonna, 29 recently in the state.  According to the authorities, the two suspects and two other ladies, Favour Bright and Peace Alikoi, were allegedly running a baby factory in the oil-rich state, when they were caught by the police. The Command's Public Relations Officer,  Grace Iringe-Koko, said the arrests were carried out following a tipoff.  In a statement, Iringe-Koko stated that the four suspects operated in the Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre local government areas of the state before their arrest. She added the 10 pregnant ladies had been rescued by the Force operatives after the raid and arrest of the suspects. “On Saturday, January 7, 2023, around 4.45 pm, while acting on credible intelligence available to the Rivers State Police Command, C4I Intelligence Unit ope

Police officers on duty By Akinola Ajibade Nigerian Police Force(NPF) and other security institutions have wowed not to collect bribes or any other forms of gratification which would help in  jeopardizing  the 2023 general elections.. They made this declaration in a meeting with the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Yenogoa, Bayelsa,  a state in the South-South region of  Nigeria recently. According to them, they would keep an oath of loyalty and neutrality, which they have sworn in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022. Speaking at the meeting in Yenogoa, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in Bayelsa State, Emmanuel Hart, said the security personnels have promised to keep the oath they signed for the sake of the welfare of Nigerians.  He said the paper titled: “The Electoral Act and the Role of Police on Election Duty” delivered during the meeting was not a coincidence, stating that the police and others have promised to abide with the r

                 Nwosu Favour Ajibade   Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees(BoT) member, Professor ABC Nwosu, has resigned  from the party. He announced his decision to leave the party in a letter dated Thursday, January 12 and addressed to the National Chairman of the PDP,  Iyorchia Ayu. According to him, he resigned because the party breached the principle of rotational presidency earlier agreed  to uphold. He also said it was “a matter of conscience and principle because of the party’s inability to adhere to the rotation in its constitution.” He stated further: “The journey to rotational presidency between the North and South of the country has been an arduous one, and I have been involved. Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party must learn to keep to an agreement reached by a Constituent Assembly (1995) and enshrined in the party’s (PDP) constitution (1998). It was reported that the party has been enmeshed in crisis since the emergence of former Vice-President Ati

By Akinola Ajibade A yet-to-be identified man riding a personal watercraft (PWC) popularly called a Jet Ski boat has been has been reporedly drown around Lekki- Ikoyi waterways in Lagos state. Reliable sources said that incident occurred,  following  the decision of the man, whose identity is yet to be known as at the press time, to be moving at a high speed. Sources further said that the  rider was skiing on the waterways when the scooter suddenly experienced a mishap, somersaulted and the rider drowned before the emergency rescue team arrived. It was learnt that the rider was not wearing a life jacket, as stipulated by the guidelines set by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), to prevent loss of life. The tragedy was confirmed by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, to have occurred on Wednesday. Oke-Osanyintolu, through a statement signed and made available to The Guild, said that efforts were

By Favour Ajibade The Founder of the African Movie Academy Awards, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe died on Monday, died amidst calls for prayers by friends and family members.  Available reports indicated that Anyim-Ossgie died on Monday at At.Nicholas Hospital, Lagos. " Her health status worsened over the weekend, s development, which culminated in frantic efforts made to save her, but to no avail. Ttwo Nollywood greats: Award-winning movie producer, Obi Emelonye; and Mike Nliam confirmed her death through their tributes . Peace Anyiam-Osigwe Emelonye, the Producer of Last Flight to Abuja, said: “Thank you and good night dada Peace.” Nliam wrote: “How can 2023 start like this? “The founder of African Movie Academy Awards (AMMA) and president of the Association of Movie Producers of Nigeria, Peace Anyiam Osigwe, is gone to be with d Lord! “Nollywood was everything to her! Oh, what a tragic news! “Life indeed is so fickle! May her soul rest in d bosom of the Lord.”

CBN's Head Office in Abuja By Akinola Ajibade Re-desination of naira will  curb terrorism, kidnapping and other insecurity problems plaguing the country,  the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN's Senior Manager,  Currency Operations Department, Shamsudeen Imam, has said. He spoke yesterday ( Tuesday) during  a programme at the Gombe International Market in Gombe state.  He said that cases whereby criminals collect ranson from the families of their victims are going to be reduced, once the newly redesigned naira notes are in circulation. According to Imam, there is so much money in circulation, which has a way of encouraging criminal activities, revealing that the apex bank’s latest effort will control the money in circulation. He said, “It will address the issue of terrorism, kidnapping, because there is a lot of money in circulation before, and the kidnappers are using that opportunity to collect ransom from people.” He disclosed that the currency change was a good step,

Mulala, before his death. One of the dogs, which killed Mulala By Akinola Ajibade Dogs have mauled  a former Zambian footballer Philemon Mulala, in his Luchtenburg home in the North West region of South Africa. Mulala, according to reports, was mauled to death by his three dogs on Saturday afternoon. A midfielder in his days, Mulala was said to have suffered serious attacks from  his  dogs, a developing, which he  could not recover from them. Zambia National Football Association, in a statement, said that the "60-year-old retired footballer was  killed by his dogs at his Lichtenburg home in the North West on Saturday afternoon.” "Mulala was notably part of the 1984 Zambian squad that won the East and Central Africa Challenge cup under coach Col Brightwell Banda, the association added.  The association further said that Mulala  featured played a major role in the 1984 Zambian squad which won the East and Central Africa Challenge Cup under coach Col Brig

A  single unit modular refinery  By Akinola Ajibade Nigeria will operate more modular refineries and further improve fuel supply to motorists and other users of the products, if the decision by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timpreye Sylva to seek intervention funds for such needs is anything to go.  Currently, the Minister is in talks with CBN  to support modular refineries operation, by providing funds to their owners. According to Slyva, the Federal Government is committed to solving funding problems faced by modular refineries in order to help them improve fuel production. He noted that the government has taken 30 per cent equity stake in each of the 5000bpd WalterSmith modular refinery in Ibigwe, Imo State and the 10,000bpd Duport Modular Refinery in Edo State, among others. He said that the completed modular refineries were contending with (feedstock), a development, which made them to seek crude supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Compan

By Akinola Ajibade The Accord Party has received 1000 new members into its fold, just as it relies on God to determine the outcome of February 26th Presidential election. They members are decampees from the ruling All Progressives Congress ( APC). The Party's Presidential Candidate, Prof  Christopher Imumolen, said this in Lagos, during the innuguration of its Campaign Council/Handover and Presentation of  Certificate of Return to Candidates For the Elections. According to him,  Nigeria recorded victories in past elections through her citizens, not financial inducements politicians. Citing President Muhammad Buhari and his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Imumolen noted that the duo won elections through the  supports of Nigerians, who voted them into office, not money.. Said he: " God was the only determinant in their victories and He is going to do the same thing in 2023 for Nigeria." he said. Continuing further, Imumolen assured members of five million votes  for

By Akinola Ajibade Pandemium broke out yesterday( Friday)  in Ningi Local Government Area, Bauchi state, when a married man  mistook his second wife for a kidnapper and.shot her dead in the middle of the night. While the man's name is Nuhu Umar Usman,l his wife is known as Ladi Nuhu Dangarfa. According to the Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ahmed Wakil, who confirmed the incident in a statement made available to the media, ttrouble started when the man’s two wives had a misunderstanding which their husband tried to settle to no avail. The senior wife’s son had threatened to attack his father and as a precaution, the man slept with his Dane gun beside his bed at night. The statement affirmed: “There was an altercation between the wives, to the extent that the eldest son holds grudges against the father and threatened to harm him. This made the suspect load his Dane gun and kept it beside him throughout the night waiting for an intruder, possibly his elde

By Akinola Ajibade The Organised Labour has faulted the claims that the  Federal Government has injected over N3trillion in any privatised ectricity companies owned  in the country. The body said that there has not been  commensurate increase in power generation in the last 10 years, despite the government's claims of repeatedly funding some of the privatised firms.  The Secretary General of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero said this yesterday ( Thursday) during the public hearing on a bill to amend Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005 to provide the legal and institutional framework for the implementation and coordination of Rural Electrification Projects, establishment of the National Power Training Institute and Regulatory provisions to strengthen the sector for efficient service delivery and for related matters. According to him, the privatisation has further compounded the economic woes, adding that the  privatisation policy was

By Favour Ajibade The Lagos state government will start and complete the $2.5 billion Fourt Mainland Bridge within four years,  the Special Adviser on Works to the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Aramide Adeboye, has said.  He said the project will start In the first quarter of 2023 and end in 2027. Adeyeoye,who spoke at a joint press briefing organised by the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and the Office of the Public-Private Partnership (OPPP) to announce the preferred bidder for the project,said that CCECC-CRCCIG Consortium won the bid for the project while MOTA-ENGIL emerged as the reserved bidder. According to her, a total of 52 bidders initially indicated interest in the project out of which 32 were responsive. Fifteen of the 32 bidders, he said, indicated further interest out of which six met the criteria and were later rediuced to three before the winner was eventually picked. Aramide said that 800 structures would be affected by the construction of the 37

ASP Vandi By Favour Ajibade A Chief Magistrate’s Court in Yaba,Lagos, yesterday remanded Drambi Vandi,an Assistant Supretendent of Police, in Ikoyi facility of the  Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS).  According to the Court, Vandi will be in detention till January 30th, 2023, when the Office of the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), would have issue an advice on the case. Vandi is a happy triggered police officer, who shot a property lawyer, Omobolanle Raheem, dead  December 25th, this year.  The court made the order following an application by the Lagos State Police Command. The Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Benjamin Hundeyin made the disclosure in a tweet on his official Twitter handle  Hundeyin, a Superintendent, said: “Drambi Vandi was, this morning, arraigned in court and has been remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre till January 30, 2023 to give room for DPP advice.”

The victim before she was lynched By Akinola Ajibade The Adamawa State Police Command has arrested four men for allegedly lynching a woman, Martha Mamman, over claims that she was a witch in the Michika area of Adamawa State on December 4 this year.  The four persons include James Dogara, 34; Emma Pious, 22; Irmiya Joshua, 22; and Sini James, 22. They allegedly teamed up and burnt the victim to death, claiming that she confessed to killing six persons in Mughule village. In an interview with the journalists, one of the suspects, Dogara James, said that the deceased had confessed to killing 3 people at the residence of the ward head when she was summoned by the royal father.  According to him, they stormed her residence and started beating her as a result of which she confessed to causing the death of another 3 people.  Continuing further, some young men later came to the scene with petrol which was used in burning the late Martha. Confirming the incident, the spokesperson o

Pele By Akinola Ajibade Brazil football icon, Edson Aranates do Nascimento, is died at 82.  He died, yesterday, following a long battle with cancer, a development, which has rendered him incapacitated in the last one year. Widely known for his great exploits in football, a sport through  which he has won three World Cup for Brazil among other laurels, Pele as fondly called by fans across the world, no doubt, has etched his name in the minds of both old and young lovers of the round leather game. Nicknamed Pele of Brazil, Nachimento was remembered for his wide-ranging  achievements both in the football field and off. According to Pele's representatives, his death who announced his demise on the sport social media: inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pele, who peacefully passed away yesterday"   

House of Representatives  By Akinola Ajibade Nigeia will finance its 2023 appropriation bill  with N21.82 trillion, if the decision by the House of Representatives to increase it from N20.51 trillion to N21.82 is anything to go by. By this, the lower chamber of the Senate has increased it by N1.31trillion in order to meet the Federal Government's expenditure for 2023. Out of this, N967.48 billion is for statutory transfers, N6.55 trillion is for debt service, N8.32 trillion is for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure while the sum of N5.97 trillion is for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure for the year ending on the 31st day of December 2023. Meanwhile, the lawmakers have adjourned for the new year break and are expected to resume plenary  to January 14, 2023. Also, the Senate, yesterday (Wednesday) approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request of N819.54bn domestic loan meant to fix the infrastructure destroyed by floods across the country. Buhari