Nigeria’s Economy Needs Visionary Leadership

Africa is faced with a failing economy in the continent’s most populous nation. Nigeria's economy is on track to shrink by 1.7 percent this year, the official unemployment rate has more than doubled over the last two years, and inflation is at an 11-year high.

One concrete step President Muhammadu Buhari could take to address the crisis would be to eliminate the country’s disastrous foreign exchange controls. Instead, Buhari has made no secret of his desire to defend Nigeria's currency.
And the central bank has mostly gone along. Despite allowing the devaluation of the naira in June, it is continuing to manipulate the exchange rate -- discouraging foreign investors, creating a crippling shortage of dollars for businesses that need to import, and feeding a currency black market. To keep down the street price of vanishing dollars, Buhari’s government has arrested informal money-changers. More capital controls are in the works.
Dismantling Nigeria’s foreign exchange controls will doubtless cause at least a short-term rise in inflation. Yet doing so will not only draw foreign investment and make the economy more productive and competitive, but also cut off a conduit for corruption. Buhari can cushion the blow for Nigeria’s poor through targeted cash payments -- an approach Nigeria has used in electronically delivering subsidies to poor farmers. That same mechanism could also shield the poor from the regressive impact of an increase in Nigeria’s value-added tax -- which is relatively low but a potentially valuable source of additional government revenue.
There are other ways to stimulate the economy, of course. But Nigeria’s Senate rejected Buhari’s three-year spending blueprint and an ambitious campaign to borrow $30 billion abroad because they lacked details. Meanwhile, his reluctance to sell off state-owned assets has undermined other efforts to raise revenue.
To be sure, Buhari faced ugly circumstances when he took office in May 2015. The plunge in oil prices had left the economy reeling and government coffers bare, and attacks by Boko Haram were ravaging the country. Yet while some progress has been made fighting both terrorism and corruption, Buhari’s rigid leadership style has made the country's economic problems harder to solve.
Buhari’s election and pledges of good governance rightfully raised expectations across Africa. To fulfill those hopes, however, he will have to demonstrate more flexibility.

Trump issues claim that ‘millions’ voted illegally

Trump claims he would’ve beaten Clinton in the popular vote had it not for “the millions of people who voted illegally.” (Joe Raedle/Reuters)

President-elect Donald Trump, who defeated Hillary Clinton by winning the Electoral College in the election earlier this month, claimed Sunday that he would’ve beaten her in the popular vote too if not for “the millions of people who voted illegally.”

It’s remarkable and unprecedented for a victorious presidential candidate to claim widespread voter fraud. There is no evidence to indicate that there was a significant number of people, let alone millions, who voted illegally in the election on Nov. 8.

Trump clinched his stunning victory over Clinton by amassing more than the 270 electoral votes needed to win. He won 290 to Clinton’s 232, and is ahead in Michigan, though the contest for its 16 electoral votes is still too close to call. But Clinton is on track to win the national popular vote by around 2.5 million, a loss that Trump appears to find hard to swallow.

“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon.

In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Trump repeatedly warned that the election would be “rigged” against him, claiming there would be widespread voter fraud.

“Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day,” Trump tweeted on Oct. 17. “Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!”

But while there have been isolated cases of voter fraud in the United States, the Associated Press reported the same day, “There is no evidence of it being a widespread problem.”

A Loyola Law School professor’s study cited by the AP found just “31 instances involving allegations of voter impersonation out of 1 billion votes cast in U.S. elections between 2000 and 2014.” Another study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School “found many reports of people voting twice or ballots being cast on behalf of dead people were largely the result of clerical errors that suggested wrongdoing when none had occurred.”

“Voter fraud is so incredibly rare that it has no impact on the integrity of our elections,” Wendy Weiser, head of the democracy program at the Brennan Center, told the AP. “You are more likely to be struck by lightning, more likely to see a UFO, than to be a victim of voter fraud.”

Trump’s revival of the voter fraud claim comes amid a campaign initiated by Green Party nominee Jill Stein to recount the votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. On Saturday, Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias said that while his team “had not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology,” they would participate in the Stein-led recount in Wisconsin as well as recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan if Stein pursues them.

Early Sunday, Trump blasted Clinton for supporting the recount effort.

“Hillary Clinton conceded the election when she called me just prior to the victory speech and after the results were in,” Trump wrote in the first of a series of tweets he posted early Sunday morning. “Nothing will change.”

Jegede is now PDP candidate, says INEC

In a judgment lasting three tension-soaked hours, the Appeal Court, Abuja, resolved the controversy surrounding the governorship ticket of the Ondo Peoples Democratic Party in favour of Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, sending the PDP supporters in the 40-year-old state into wild jubilation.

The judgment delivered on Wednesday by the Justice Ibrahim Saulawa-led three-member panel lifted the pall of uncertainty hanging over the governorship ticket that had pitted business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim, against a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Eyitayo Jegede.

In the landmark judgment, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja by which the Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Ibrahim the PDP’s governorship candidate for the November 26 election in Ondo State.

The three-man panel of the appeal court in a unanimous judgment, upheld the appeal by Jegede, who was earlier dropped by INEC and replaced with Ibrahim, as the governorship candidate of the party.

In a separate judgment delivered by the panel, the appeal court also upheld the appeal by a factional chairman of the party, Ahmed Makarfi, and the secretary of the faction, Ben Obi, against the judgment of the Federal High Court, recognising Biyi Poroye and eight others as state executive members of the party in their various states.

All the three Justices on the panel, Justice Saulawa, Justice George Mbaba and Ignatius Agube, agreed on the decisions reached on the two judgments.

Poroye and others who are backing Ibrahim as the governorship candidate of the party belong to the Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the PDP.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on June 29, 2016, delivered a judgment recognising Poroye and others as the authentic state executive members of the PDP in their various states.

Subsequently, the judge, in a post-judgment ruling delivered on October 14, 2016, ordered INEC to drop Jegede and substitute him with Ibrahim as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the election slated for Saturday.

Justice Saulawa, in setting aside the two decisions on Wednesday, described them as “highly misplaced and most fraudulent”.

He resolved all the seven issues formulated for determination in favour of Jegede, describing the failure of the judge to grant fair hearing to Jegede, who was not a party to the suit before the Federal High Court, as “violent attitudinal disposition to rule of law.”

He said the judge committed a “grave error by violating the principles of natural justice” which he said required all parties that could be affected by an order of court to be heard before judgment was delivered.

Another member of the panel, Justice George Mbaba, who read the lead judgment on Makarfi’s appeal, also described Justice Abang’s judgment, as a “charade and fraud”.

Justice Mbaba ruled, “The entire proceedings leading to the judgment delivered on June 29, 2016, were, in my view, a fraud and it was intended to defraud the appellants. It appeared to be arranged by the same people who paraded as the plaintiffs and the defendants.

“The first to ninth respondents (Poroye and others) did not have a proper course of action.”

He noted that Justice Abang was “a willing party to achieve an ignoble goal”.

The appeal court held that Justice Abang acted without jurisdiction when he made orders against those that were not parties before him.

The panel also faulted the order granted in favour of Ibrahim on the grounds that the governorship candidate of the Sheriff faction was never a party to the suit and the prayer asking that he be recognised as the governorship candidate was not sought by the plaintiffs.

Justice Saulawa held that Justice Abang contravened judicial principles by granting an order not sought by the party.

He said Justice Abang, having earlier in the main judgment delivered on June 29, ruled that the recognition he granted Poroye and others as state executive members of the party was with respect to the 2019 general election, the judge on his own, in his October 14, 2016 ruling, “targeted his orders at the November 26 governorship election”.

“The court mistook his robe for that of Father Christmas and was handing out orders like Christmas gifts,” Justice Saulawa ruled.

The appeal court also nullified the primary said to have been conducted by the Poroye-led state executive of the Sheriff faction of the party which produced Ibrahim as the governorship candidate of the party in the state.

The appeal court described the primary that produced Ibrahim as an “illegal contraption” with “no legal effect or equitable remedy”, adding that the only valid primary could be the one conducted by the National Working Committee of any political party.

The court also held that the provisions of section 287 on which the October 14 post-judgment ruling was based could not be applied for judgment enforcement as Justice Abang did, describing the proceedings as fraudulent.

The court also dismissed Exhibits B21, B23 and B24 relied on by Abang as inadmissible because they were not properly certified.

Justice Saulawa ruled, “Having come this far. Having resolved each and all the total number of seven issues in favour of the appellant, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), what else should the court do?

“Against the background of the foregoing, there is no gainsaying the fact that the appeal is meritorious and it is hereby allowed.”

But the court said it could not make any “consequential order” because Jegede’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), only prayed the court to allow the appeal and set aside the order of Justice Abang of the Federal High Court and nothing more.

Justice Saulawa explained that a court was not allowed to make an order not sought by parties, adding that Jegede’s prayer in his notice of appeal “is incongruous” with the prayers his lawyers asked the court to grant during hearing.

Justice Saulawa ruled, “The reliefs are incongruous and rather mutually exclusive. It is the law that the court does not grant the prayers not sought by parties.”

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday given the Justice Ibrahim Saulawa panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which was handling the various cases relating to the dispute over the PDP governorship ticket in the forthcoming election in Ondo State, the nod to continue with its proceedings.

In two separate rulings,  the five-man panel of the  apex court led by the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, unanimously dismissed the motions asking for a stay of the appeal court’s proceedings and others seeking an order disbanding the Justice Saulawa panel.

The two categories of motions dismissed by the apex court on Tuesday were filed by nine applicants led by Poroye.

The apex court arrived at the decisions when 14 separate appeals relating to the dispute over the PDP’s governorship ticket for the forthcoming election in Ondo State came up for hearing on Tuesday.

Other members of the Supreme Court’s panel – Justices Tanko Muhammad, Kumai Akaahs, Kudirat Kekereekun and Ejembi Eko – all agreed with the lead rulings read by Justice Onnoghen.

I’ll get judgment at Supreme Court –Ibrahim

 Jimoh Ibrahim has reacted to the judgment which ordered INEC to remove his name as the candidate of the PDP in Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State.

Ibrahim said in a statement shortly after the judgment that he was sure of getting justice at the Supreme Court.

He said there was no way the incumbent Governor of Ondo State, Dr.  Olusegun Mimiko, would succeed himself by planting Jegede  as his successor.

His statement read in part, “I have read the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered today (Wednesday).  We have nothing to lose as the Supreme Court sits on the same case tomorrow. We shall get justice at the Supreme Court and if the PDP wins Saturday election, we shall have our four-year mandate to rule Ondo State.

Jubilation

No sooner had the judgment been delivered than wild jubilation broke out among Jegede’s loyalists in Akure.

 Hundreds of women stormed the INEC office at Alagbaka, in the state capital to jubilate the ruling.

 From Oyemekun Road to NEPA, Arakale, Alagbaka, Isikan, Oluwatuyi, Ijapo, Stadium Road, Hospital Road, Owode, Araromi, and Ilesa Garage areas, hundreds of jubilant supporters of Jegede trooped out singing and dancing.

 The supporters, who displayed posters and campaign banners of Jegede, sang and danced in front of the INEC office while the armed security operatives deployed there monitored them closely.

 Ibrahim’s party secretariat deserted

 The campaign secretariat of Ibrahim was deserted following the ruling by the appeal court.

Our correspondent, who visited the secretariat around 4pm observed that although few cars branded in the posters of Ibrahim were parked in the front of the campaign office, people inside the office were less than 20.

The secretariat of the Poroye-led executive of the PDP, which is some few metres away from Ibrahim’s campaign office, was also deserted.

Poroye, however, said he was confident that the Supreme Court would rule in favour of Ibrahim and the PDP would be the eventual winner of the poll.

 Jegede is now PDP candidate –INEC

Meanwhile, INEC has declared Jegede as the candidate of the PDP for the election coming up on Saturday.

The commission said it took the decision following the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which ordered it to remove the name of Ibrahim as the PDP candidate.

The Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Agusta Okagwu, made the position of the commission known in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday night.

She said, “In compliance with the judgment delivered today, Wednesday, November 23, 2016, by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, the Independent National Electoral Commission hereby declares that Mr. Eyltatyo legede (SAN) is now the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party  for the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, November 26, 2016.

“lt will he recalled that in compliance with the order given by the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, on Friday,  October 14,  2016 (re-affirmed on October 27,  2016), the commission named Mr. Jimoh lbrahim as the PDP candidate for the governorship election.

“However, with today‘s judgment by the Court of Appeal, the commission, hereby, recognises  Mr. Jegede as the candidate of the PDP for the said election.’’

Demand for postponement

The Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, has called on INEC to provide a level playing field to all the candidates participating in the governorship election.

According to him, this would give the PDP governorship candidate, Jegede, the opportunity to prepare the names of his agents in all the polling units ahead of the election.

Akinmade said the remaining two days were not enough for the governorship candidate to prepare for the election.

He said, “It is only fair that INEC shifts election by 14 days so that Jegede could have enough time to prepare his agents’ list. If the Edo State governorship election was postponed, I see no reason why the Ondo State election cannot be postponed so as to ensure fair play.”

The state women leader of the PDP, Mrs. Easter Ebiwonjumi, who spoke to our correspondent, stated that women in the state were happy about the court’s order in favour of Jegede, adding, however, that there was the need for INEC to postpone the election.

Mimiko reacts

The Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has described the emergence of Jegede as a victory over judicial rascality.

Mimiko, who arrived in Akure on Wednesday night from Abuja, said President Muhammadu Buhari had no hand in the intrigues that led to the substitution of Jegede’s name by INEC.

He, however, said he believed that certain elements in the Presidency were behind the plot. He called on INEC to postpone the poll in order to ensure fairness and justice for Jegede.

He said, “Initially, we thought INEC was under an undue influence from the top. With my interaction with the President, however, he (Buhari) has no hand in it. But certain elements in the Presidency are part of this conspiracy and complicity.”

Also, the candidate of the AD, Chief Olusola Oke, said that the victory of Jegede at the appeal court would benefit his party because it would curb massive rigging in the Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
He said, “We are set for the election and we are set to win. Jegede’s return to the race is to the AD’s advantage. Now, we will have state power checking the federal power because the fear of the people before now was that the federal might could be deployed to design victory for the All Progressives Congress candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu, without any check.
“Now it means that this will not be possible; it means that only genuine results will most likely come out of Ondo State and once that happens, we are confident of winning because we are accepted by the people of the state.”

Culled from The PUNCH

UK car output dips on slow domestic demand but exports rise

UK car manufacturing slipped in October for the first time in 14 months amid slower domestic demand, according to the industry's trade body.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said production dipped 1% last month against October last year, to 151,795 units.

However, exports rose for the 15th month in a row, with 122,765 cars built for overseas markets, a 1.7% rise.

This offset a 10.9% fall in production for the home market.

Exports accounted for 80.9% of UK production in October.

The SMMT said the UK motor industry remained strong, with production up by 9.2% so far this year, and more than 1.4 million vehicles produced.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "October's figures underline the export-led nature of the industry, with eight out of 10 cars built for overseas customers.

"Despite model changes which have ended the consistent growth pattern of the past year or so, we are still on track for a record number of exports."

Concern about the UK car industry's position in a post-Brexit world has prompted executives to urge the government to help shield the sector from any deterioration in trade relations.

Government promises of "support and assurances" to Nissan helped persuade the Japanese carmaker to build both the new Qashqai and the X-Trail SUV at its Sunderland plant.

Mr Hawes said in a statement on Thursday: "Given this dependence on global trade, it is crucial that British-built cars remain attractive to international buyers and exports are not subject to additional tariffs, costs and other barriers to successful trade.

"It is also essential government ensures there is economic stability and a competitive business environment to ensure we continue to attract the global investment that is behind this performance."

BBC

We can’t meet ASUU’s N284bn demand now–FG

 

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige

The Federal Government on Wednesday said while it had met seven out of the eight demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, it could not meet the union’s demand for earned allowance worth N284bn.
This, the Federal Government said, was due to economic recession.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, said this while answering questions from State House correspondents at the end of a meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Ngige said there was no way the government could pay the allowance because there was no money.
The minister said the government had conceded to the union the right to exclude endowment funds that accrued to universities from the Treasury Single Account.
He said while the government agreed to ASUU’s demand to exclude endowment funds from the TSA, that did not mean that universities’ councils would not have right to audit such an account.
Ngige added, “The other aspect of it is the earned allowance. The earned allowance is the only one that is not sorted out now because everybody knows and agrees that we are in a recession.
“If we are in a recession and you are asking us to pay you N284bn, nobody will pay it because the money is not there.
“So, they (ASUU) agreed and the National Assembly also agreed, but the government offered them some amount pending when we finish auditing of the first tranche of money that has been given to them in that same area of earned allowances.
“That tranche of money that they collected is being audited, but the auditing process is very slow because some people for some strange reasons are not allowing auditing to take place. So, a time frame has been fixed of six months within which the auditing will be done.
“Within those six months, government has offered something that they will be paying on a monthly basis and ASUU has also made a counter proposal to government so both parties have gone back to their principals.
“ASUU has a principal which is the national executive body and government has come  back to look at our finances viz-a-viz with the National Assembly which will appropriate that particular fund because for 2016, there is nothing in the budget for it. It will be done and appropriated as and when due.”
Ngige said ASUU was expected to return to the negotiating table with its counter proposal.

Skyscanner sold to China travel firm Ctrip in $1.75bn deal

Skyscanner, the UK-based travel search business, has been bought by Ctrip, China's biggest online travel firm.

According to BBC News, the deal values Skyscanner at about £1.4bn ($1.75bn).

The firm, which has its headquarters in Edinburgh, is available in more than 30 languages, with about 60 million monthly active users.

It was set up to let users compare prices from different travel sites when searching for flights, hotels, and rental cars.

Skyscanner said it would continue to run independently, with the same management team.

Ctrip was founded in 1999 and is one of China's best-known travel businesses.

The deal would "strengthen long-term growth drivers for both companies," said James Jianzhang Liang, co-founder and executive chairman of Ctrip.

"Skyscanner will complement our positioning at a global scale and Ctrip will leverage our experience, technology and booking capabilities to Skyscanner's," he added.

Skyscanner was set up in 2003, and co-founder and chief executive Gareth Williams said the deal took his firm closer to its goal "of making travel search as simple as possible for travellers around the world".

"Ctrip and Skyscanner share a common view - that organizing travel has a long way to go to being solved. To do so requires powerful technology and a traveller-first approach," Mr Williams said.

The sale comes about a year after Skyscanner announced a fresh round of investment to help it expand. Its backers include investment firm Sequoia as well as the Malaysian government's strategic investment fund, Yahoo Japan and fund manager Artemis.

Shanghai-based Ctrip became China's biggest internet travel service after merging with a similar business, Qunar, last year. That deal gave Chinese internet giant Baidu, which controlled Qunar, a 25% stake in Ctrip.

Recession: FG plans tax relief for manufacturers

The Federal Government, in a bid to ease the burden of the current economic recession on the manufacturing sector, is planning some form of tax relief for the sector.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, dropped the hint on Wednesday in Abuja while responding to questions from journalists at the end of the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting.
She said the tax relief was part of measures by the Federal Government to reduce the negative impact of the foreign exchange crisis on the sector.
Based on the Gross Domestic Product report for the third quarter released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the manufacturing sector’s growth rate was recorded at -2.93 per cent year-on-year.
This is lower by 1.02 percentage points than what was recorded in the second quarter of the year.
The report had blamed the decline in manufacturing activities to the continued drop in the naira to dollar exchange rate, which has made industrial inputs more expensive.
Adeosun said since the sector was one of those badly hit by the economic crisis, the Federal Government would support it with some form of incentives next year.
In addition, she said massive investments in infrastructure would be made to reduce the operating costs of the manufacturing sector.
The minister stated, “It is clear from the figures that the manufacturing sector is the one that is really challenged and the challenge in the sector is clearly that of foreign exchange availability. I think that the sector will benefit from more consistency of the foreign exchange policy.
“On the fiscal side, we are rolling out a number of measures to support the manufacturing sector in terms of tax reliefs and other measures that will allow the balance sheet of the sector to be repaired. They (manufacturers) have taken quite a hit and we will continue to try and support them through it.
“We have a fiscal road map that we will be rolling out and it includes a number of measures around revenue mobilisation, tax reliefs and the fiscal instrument, which will be issued in 2017 to get the economy back to recovery.”
Responding to a question on the position of the Central Bank of Nigeria that the Federal Government should quickly settle its indebtedness to economic agents, the minister said the issue was also affecting the fiscal stimulus objective of the government.
She said with huge debts owed local contractors, money released to the contractors through the banks for projects was not being felt.
Adeosun explained that since the contractors were also indebted to the banks, they were usually denied access to those funds released by the government.

She said while the debts had risen owing to the fact that the government changed its accounting system from cash-based to accrual-based, the ministry would work with the CBN to address the liabilities.
“We are working on a solution with the CBN that will enable us actually reflect these obligations and begin to pay them off because, indeed, they are affecting a number of sectors in the economy and the ability to get the economy growing,” Adeosun stated.
Meanwhile, the Federation Account Allocation Committee distributed a sum of N420bn among the three tiers of government for the month of October.
The minister put the gross revenue received for the month at N238.7bn, adding that this was lower by N41.03bn than the N279.74bn allocated in September.
She attributed the decrease in revenue to challenges in the oil sector caused by the activities of militants in the Niger Delta, as oil production dropped by about 950,000 barrels per day in August.

Trump considers ex-rival, Ben Carson as housing secretary

Former Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson waves as he leaves Trump Tower. Photo: AFP

Donald Trump’s one-time presidential rival, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, appeared to be a cabinet in the president-elect's administration after he has been mentioned his possible Housing and Urban Development appointment.
“I am seriously considering Dr. Ben Carson as the head of HUD. I’ve gotten to know him well–he’s a greatly talented person who loves people!” the president-elect said on Twitter.
Carson himself indicated on Fox News that the HUD position “was one of the offers that’s on the table.”
“Our inner cities are in terrible shape and they definitely need some real attention,” he told the broadcaster, adding that he had been interested in housing for a long time.
Carson quit the presidential race in March, only to endorse Trump one week later.
Trump similarly telegraphed his support for General James Mattis as a potential secretary of defense on Twitter over the weekend.
“General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General’s General!” Trump wrote Sunday.
On Tuesday, The New York Times quoted the real estate tycoon as saying he was still “seriously considering” Mattis for the job.
Trump is in the process of forming his cabinet, with a stream of would-be appointees making the pilgrimage to his Manhattan tower and traveling to New Jersey over the weekend where they met the president-elect at his golf club.
Trump’s picks so far include ultra-conservative Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general, hawkish congressman Mike Pompeo as CIA director and retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn as his national security adviser.
Steve Bannon, seen as an ideologue of the ultra-conservative alt-right movement, was named as chief strategist, while Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee, was named White House chief of staff.
Trump is reportedly considering former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani for the secretary of state post.
AFP

Hillary Clinton: I wanted to curl up with book after election loss

In her first public appearance since she lost a week ago to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton has laid bare her disappointment at her election defeat.
The Democratic candidate said in a speech in Washington DC that she had never wanted to leave the house again.
She told a children's charity that the election had prompted soul-searching for many Americans.
Mrs Clinton won the popular vote but was beaten to the presidency in the all-important US electoral college.
"Now I will admit coming here tonight wasn't the easiest thing for me," she said as she was honoured by the Children's Defense Fund.
"There have been a few times this past week when all I wanted to do was to curl up with a good book and never leave the house again."
There was little ceremony and no sign of security for the former presidential candidate who is known simply as "Hillary" in this circle of friends.
The audience were on their feet and chanting her name as she took to the podium. When she talked about her disappointment, murmurs of agreement spread through the room in waves.
That murmur grew louder as she urged those listening not to lose heart - this was an emotional plea for action.
The event was entitled Beat the Odds, which offers hope for some of America's most underprivileged children and celebrates their achievements.
But I spoke to one man who told me that he could offer little hope to the young African Americans he mentors in the wake of this election.
Hillary Clinton used her voice tonight to try help change that and dissuade others from feeling despondent.
The candidate may be gone, and right now "Hillary" looks like she might run home and curl back up on the sofa, but there is a still a spark left in the first woman who got this far in trying to reach the White House.
She continued: "I know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election. I am, too, more than I can ever express.
"I know this isn't easy. I know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was.
"The divisions laid bare by this election run deep, but please listen to me when I say this.
"America is worth it. Our children are worth it. Believe in our country, fight for our values and never, ever give up."
In her concession speech after her shock defeat last week, Mrs Clinton said rival Donald Trump must be given the chance to lead.
Since then she has kept a low profile, although she was spotted while out walking.
In a phone call leaked to US media she also blamed her loss on FBI director James Comey, who announced a new inquiry into her use of a private email server in the run up to the vote.

BBC to broadcast in Yoruba and Igbo

BBC

The BBC World Service is set to broadcast in 11 new languages.

Among them are Yoruba, Igbo and Pidgin.
Others are Afaan Oromo and Amharic, spoken in Ethiopia; Tigrinya, the main language of Eritrea; Gujarati, Marathi and Telugu and Punjabi.
The World Service started out in 1932 as a radio channel for English-speakers in the British empire but has transformed over time into a respected provider of news to global audiences.
It already broadcasts in 29 languages, including Hausa, reaching an estimated 246 million people around the world every week.
The expansion is said to be as a result of a funding injection of 289 million until 2020 announced by the government last year.
 According to the BBC Director General, Tony Hall, the move is historical and reinforces the importance of the organisation globally.
Hall said, “This is a historic day for the BBC, as we announce the biggest expansion of the World Service since the 1940s. The BBC World Service is a jewel in the crown – for the BBC and for Britain.”
Also, Director of the World Service, Fran Unsworth, the new funding from government would have no impact on the service’s independence.
She said, “Where the money comes from is irrelevant. The World Service is going to do what it’s always done – go over the heads of government providing a service directly to citizens of the world.”

Senate considers Buhari’s N180bn virement request

Nigeria senate

The Nigeria Senate on Wednesday gave consideration to President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for legislative approval for virements totalling N180.8bn in the 2016 budget to cater for some sectors of the economy.
The Senate referred the request to its Committee on Appropriations and Finance, which was mandated to report back to the lawmakers in one week.
In the virement request, which was read in both chambers of the National Assembly on October 25, 2016, the same day the Senate rejected the $29.96bn external borrowing plan of the President, Buhari explained that the request was for the transfer of funds already appropriated for special intervention programmes, both recurrent and capital, to critical recurrent and capital items.
The virement is to take care of shortfall in provisions for personnel costs, inadequate provision for the amnesty programme, continued requirements to sustain the war against insurgency and the depreciation of the naira.
Meanwhile, soon after the House of Representatives rose on Wednesday, members of the All Progressives Congress went into a closed door meeting to discuss the virement request.
Investigations showed that the main agenda was to canvass support for the N180bn request to be approved at the committee stage.
The meeting was convened by the Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila.
One member, who did not want to be quoted, shared some of the details with one of our correspondents.
“A lot of explanations went on at the meeting. It was essentially to woo the APC caucus in particular to support the virement, especially now that it has successfully reached the committee stage,” the source said.

Senate summons Adeosun as it fails to stop ASUU strike

Nigeria Senate

Attempts by the Senate to stop the warning strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, which started on Wednesday - yesterday -, have failed.

Senate President Bukola Saraki presided over a three-hour closed-door meeting with the officials of the union.

Saraki did not, however, speak with journalists after the crucial meeting.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund, Senator Jibrin Barau, who addressed journalists, said the Senate could not stop the warning strike.

He, however, said its intervention would prevent the strike from transforming to an indefinite action.

Barau added that the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had been asked to attend a meeting of a committee comprising officials of ASUU and the ministries of education and  labour on Thursday.

The meeting on Wednesday was also attended by the officials of the Ministry of Education as well as representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who was absent at the meeting, was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwuka.

Barau said the lawmakers had a “fruitful deliberation” with the striking lecturers, adding that “a way forward has been found” and that “the issues will soon be resolved.”

He admitted that the warning strike would continue while the Senate worked towards preventing the lecturers from embarking on a total strike.

The senator announced that a sub-committee, made up of representatives of all the stakeholders had been set up while the panel would continue with the roundtable discussions on Thursday.

He said what the Senate had done was to create a template for dialogue, describing an end to the crisis as “a work in progress.”

Barau said, “We have had a fruitful deliberation and a way forward has been found by creating a sub-committee of this committee to sit and find out certain things in the Ministry of Finance, which will bring us closer to the resolution of this problem.

“We will start sitting tomorrow (Thursday), including the Minister of Finance (Kemi Adeosun), who has not been able to attend this meeting but we are sure she will be here tomorrow and the Director-General of the Budget Office.

“We have created a template on how to resolve this problem. And you know ASUU is a democratic body, they have to consult. So, it’s ongoing; it’s a work in progress and a very important headway has been created. A good template has been created and we see light at the end of the tunnel.”

The National President of ASUU, Abiodun Ogunyemi, who earlier declined to speak on the outcome of the meeting, later thanked the Senate for its intervention.

 He said, “We have discussed and our union will work with him (Saraki). We will do all possible, with the approval of our membership, to get the matter resolved as soon as possible.”

The Senate had, on Tuesday, expressed its resolve to intervene in the face-off between the Federal Government and ASUU.

The lawmakers had specifically asked to intervene in the matter and prevent ASUU from embarking on the one-week warning strike.

The lawmakers, during the plenary on Tuesday, urged the two parties to embrace dialogue.

A document containing the demands of ASUU, which was obtained from one of its executive members after the meeting, indicated that demands bothered on the implementation of the 2009 agreement and the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding between the union and the Federal Government.

Under the ‘Payment of fractions of staff entitlements’, ASUU said, “The 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement Implementation Committee had submitted a report of the outstanding balance of N65, 833, 047,372.24 (2009-2013) plus N62,417‚645‚224.23 (2014-2016), amounting to an unpaid balance of N128‚250‚692‚596.47. This was in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Government and ASUU, while resolving the crisis of June-November, 2013.

“ASUU stated that the initial N30bn paid university staff as part of EAA (earned allowance) in 2013 was given to the governing councils, not the union, as presented by the ministry. The union also corrected the impression that the record of the balance of the EAA had not been submitted by the lMC. The minister subsequently directed the Director of Tertiary Institutions to expeditiously address the matter to enable him to follow up on the matter.”

Boko Haram suspects protected me in prison – Fani-Kayode

Femi Fani-Kayode

Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation, said he was protected by Boko Haram suspects during his four-day detention at Kuje Prison.
Fani-Kayode said this in an article titled, ‘Head bloodied but not bowed and the ascension of President-Elect Donald Trump’ on Wednesday.
The ex-minister said he spent over two weeks in the underground cell of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission without being interrogated.
He said he was then transferred to Kuje Prison where he was kept in a cell along with jailed terrorists.
Fani-Kayode said, “At Kuje, I was kept in the terrorist wing of the prison which was built by the British government specifically for convicts and suspects. There were 47 of them in the facility and I was with them throughout. These were tough, disciplined, hardened, surprisingly well-educated and intimidating men.
“This was a frightful place and those that were locked up there were very dangerous and frightful people yet thankfully the Lord went ahead of me.
“The single cells, though small, were clean, well-ventilated, dry and very neat. The inmates were surprisingly very kind and friendly towards me and turned out to be my best friends and bodyguards whenever I toured the other parts of the prison.
“Most of those men were not Boko Haram killers but had been falsely accused, tortured and just dumped into prison and I felt nothing but pain and sorrow when I heard their stories.”
Fani-Kayode said during his time at the prison, he met with the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in detention for over a year.
He said they spoke for about three hours and they were protected by inmates during the meeting.
The ex-minister added, “When I went to visit the great and brilliant freedom fighter, Nnamdi Kanu, who is the leader of IPOB and easily the most courageous,  powerful and credible Igbo leader in Nigeria today in his cell, we had a very instructive and long discussion.
“I had never met Nnamdi before and I was amazed at his depth of knowledge, his immense courage and his deep convictions. There is no doubt in my mind that that man is going places and in him the Igbo have an Ojukwu and a Nnamdi Azikiwe all rolled into one.  He is destined for greatness.
“My Boko Haram friends accompanied me to that meeting, drew a 10-man security cordon around me when we entered the general area of the prison and waited outside as Nnamdi and I spoke for almost three hours.”
While congratulating the United States President-elect, Donald Trump, the ex-minister said the incoming US leader would help to curb President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged Islamic agenda.
He said Trump would team up with Russian President, Vladmir Putin; and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Nethanyahu, to curb terrorism worldwide.
Fani-Kayode said, “Those that came to power last year on the mantle of Islamic domination, religious intolerance and racial discrimination and that espoused the most hideous form of ethnic bigotry and religious fanaticism certainly have a lot of soul-searching to do because their friends in the Obama White House are on their way out and their darling Hilary is not coming in to replace him.
“I assure you that President Donald Trump, who I have known and studied closely for many years, will literally give them hell.  Not only will he resist their constant and gross violations of human rights and civil liberties, he will also bring them to justice for their regular use of genocide against religious and ethnic minorities in our country.”

Kalu: I didn’t join APC to escape EFCC trial

Orji Uzor Kalu

Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, said he did not join the All Progressives Congress because of his travails in the hands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Kalu was responding to questions from reporters after he was received by the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee of the APC in Abuja on Wednesday.
When asked whether he was joining the party because of his travails at the hands of the EFCC, Kalu said, “My family members are here (APC) and I am coming to join them.”
He explained that his decision to join the party was largely due to pressures from his family, friends, political associates and other well wishers who placed a premium on his political value.
The former governor added, “All my friends are here. I am not saying my friends are not in the other party but it’s time to take stock.
“It is important to go along family lines in order to rebrand Nigeria. I am back to join where my family are.
“If I had joined earlier at the time they were forming government, it would look like I am trying to join them to form government.  This is the right time for me to join because this is the middle time between now and the next season to do politics. I am joining now to be able to play raw politics.”
He maintained that his decision would help convince his kinsmen especially in the South-East that “the APC is an all inclusive party which has the growth and development of Nigeria as the reason for its existence.”
The entrepreneur, publisher and businessman also announced that since he registered in his ward on Sunday, over 4, 800 others had registered as members of the party.
He announced that there two sitting members of the House of Representatives from Abia would soon make public their decision to join the APC.
The politician dismissed insinuations that the APC would disintegrate before 2019. He expressed confidence that the party had come to stay.
Kalu, who described himself as a complete Nigerian, said he schooled in the North, learnt to do business in the South-West and “by virtue of my birth, I’m an Igbo man.”
“The South-East and other parts of the country will be delivered to the APC in 2019,” he vowed.
Kalu pledged to abide by the party’s rules and regulations as well as carry out any task entrusted to him by the party.

What recession means to ordinary Nigerians - Mike Onwukwe

I bring to the attention of the good people of Nigeria what the situation is like back home these days because any Nigerian who fails to speak up is an accomplice or accessory after the fact. The country is rapidly going grey in all fronts. The land is in peril and devoid of any real or imagined blueprint for recovery. It is better that you go to hell twice than to travel to Nigeria now. The man at the helm of affairs is called President Muhammadu Buhari who strikes me as a fading patriarch coming to terms with the realities and intricacies of governance. Yes! This is somebody who considered absconding immediately after he took over the realms of governance. That tells you his intellectual depth and preparedness for the arduous task. He is excused because he lacks the capacity to provide good governance.
Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party ran a well-oiled campaign. Buhari and the All Progressives Congress were busy preparing for war and reaching out to jobless youths and other miscreants, arming them for a showdown. In a flash of the pan, Jonathan conceded defeat before the battle-ready youths could be unleashed and Buhari found power and the Presidency on his laps clearly overwhelmed and buffeted.

Two reasons lend credence to this. First, it took him more than six months to assemble the much vaunted technocrats that turned out to be obsolete, recycled and expired politicians. Secondly, since he assumed the mantle of leadership, no blueprint or Marshal Plan has been laid out to steer the country out of the woods. The naira continues to plummet against other currencies.

Under Buhari, Nigeria continues to wallop from one misstep to a near fall. Boko Haram, we were told had been degraded, is still on the prowl.

The Niger Delta region, awash with rivulets of blood, is still on the mend with the boys becoming more potent and destructive. Nigeria is in recession, a deep one, and the reason is traceable to the dwindling oil revenues (no thanks to turmoil in the creeks) that used to accrue to Nigeria in the past and now the President, governors and ministers and LG chairmen have no money to fritter away like before. The common man is at the butt of this mismanagement and faced with recession, a result of several years of squandering and mismanagement of various regimes. Recession means to the common man the withdrawal of kids from schools, tradesmen idling away, women and men carrying long hairs, commuters trekking more distance avoiding taxis, self-medication, tenants owing landlords, boom in fried akara and second hand clothes and major events either cancelled or scaled down.

Fulani herdsmen are still marauding the villages (except in Ondo State) on a mission to depopulate the people. Power situation remains the same if not worse and funds said to have been recovered from politicians are not yet accounted for. Recruitment into the civil service remains a clandestine exercise reserved for the children of the rich and their cronies.

The country has turned into comic and hilarious cartoons. Here are few examples. In the Ijeshatedo area of Lagos, a housewife who stole head of stockfish lay helpless after being cornered like a rat at the dead of the night by full glare of vehicle headlamp. Other women had circled her, striped her naked intent on lynching until better heads prevailed. A similar scenario played out in Ilasamaja where a woman was strolling home after buying fried yam and akara for dinner for her household only to have it snatched by two boys on Okada. In Somolu, a housewife snatched a pot of rice from the hot stove still smouldering with hot flame because she had no food for her kids. A vigilance group in the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State arrested one Kaduna Enatime, a father of two, for alleged theft of a pot of soup, 12 wraps of fufu and a half basin of garri. He was nabbed at the dead of the night at two O’clock in the morning and was swiftly taken to the paramount ruler where he was publicly humiliated.

In the midst of pervading anomie and gloom, cooler and wiser heads are supposed to prevail but we are not anywhere nigh where the President can run the country as a bridge builder and not as a President of the North. The cabinet members should go back to his mother’s lap for new lessons in governance. They are eloquently intelligent but do not cut it.

The regime, whose head believes that women belong to the kitchen, made a somersault and headed to Germany where the head of state is a woman; a regime that used more than N300m to clear weeds in an IDP camp that shelter hunger-stricken people. A man who cannot generate money as a private person, a man who borrowed money to buy nomination form cannot change overnight and make money for the government.

He may have run three times for the job but he is clearly ill-equipped and unprepared to rule this country. There are no ideas and no think tanks. Nothing really has changed so much if not for the quantum leap into poverty and hardship. He is clearly a pacesetter in excuses, complaints and in no hurry to fix anything due to shallowness of thought. Jonathan assembled an economic team and you could see brilliant minds at work. The ancient Romans believed that it was better to know nothing at all about a subject than knowing half of it. The failure of Buhari’s regime to deliver democracy dividends has endangered mutual trust and confidence between the ruler and the ruled and may enthrone dissent in various forms. When this happens as it will, democratic values and legitimacy suffer and the common man will be at the butt of the joke.

Here are my personal observations, not anybody else’s opinion. Housewives will no longer snatch smouldering pots of soup or steal stockfish but will turn over their kids to their neighbours with the pretext of fetching water only to abscond forever due to hunger and inability to feed their children. This interlude playing out back home makes me believe that Nigeria as a nation is on evacuation alert and this should worry us to the marrow.

The fact that you claim to dramatise the fight against corruption is no confirmation that you fight it. His disdain for corruption may be curated but his immediate lieutenants are tarred with brush of corruption. This President has mediocrity as writ large.

The old dictator is just waking up after sleeping for six months before appointing ministers and snoring for 20 months before thinking about whether to have an economic plan or not. What would Buhari do with a $29. 9bn loan except to borrow ideas from the “demons that have taken over Aso Rock” and fritter it away. His hubris sticks out like festering open sore.

Mike Onwukwe, an International Security Adviser based in South Sudan wrote via Mikeonwukwe@gmail.com

Nigeria to lose 300, 000bpd as militants bomb three oil pipelines

The Niger Delta Avengers militant group said it has bombed three oil pipelines in southern Nigeria, an attack it said would lead to a production loss of 300,000 barrels per day in the OPEC-member nation.

Attacks on pipelines by several militant groups have slashed Nigeria’s oil production helping to tip the country into recession as it struggles to adapt to the low price of crude globally.
The Niger Delta Avengers, blamed for a wave of such attacks since the start of the year, said the latest bombing was to register its displeasure with way the government was handling grievances in the oil region.
“At about 11.45 pm November 15, 2016, our Elite Strike Team 03 struck Nembe 1, 2 and 3 truck line operated by Agip, Oando and Shell with supply capacity of 300,000 barrel per day to Bonny export terminal in Bayelsa State,” the NDA said in a statement late Tuesday.
“We are only reiterating our strong resolve that time is running (out) against the Nigerian government, that there is doom ahead,” it said.
“The Nigerian government needs our cooperation more than we need the government as it concerns the extraction of the crude oil and hydrocarbon resources in our God-given land,” it said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the attacks from the government.
Nigeria has deployed troops to end the renewed insurgency in the region and has initiated peace talks with the oil rebels.
But divisions between rival militant groups appear to be making it hard for the government to strike a lasting peace deal.

A 2009 amnesty deal with militants helped end sabotage, but the violence reignited after President Muhammadu Buhari’s cash-strapped government temporarily ended amnesty payments and charged a prominent warlord with graft.

AFP

Inflation hits 94-month high at 18.3%

Hopes that the country’s inflation rate would moderate as a result of the various intervention programmes of the government were on Monday dashed as the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday announced that the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation rate, rose to a 94-month high of 18.3 per cent in October.
The 18.3 per cent inflation rate, which is about 0.48 per cent higher than the 17.9 per cent recorded in September, is the highest since January 2009 when the NBS started publishing the revised version of the CPI.
The bureau attributed the increase in inflation rate to pressures recorded in some sub-indexes such as housing, electricity, gas, water, lubricants for personal transport and education.
It explained that while the prices of food items such as bread, cereals, fish and meat also recorded significant increases, those of fruit items moderated during the period.
The report read in part, “The CPI, which measures inflation, increased by 18.3 per cent (year-on-year) in October 2016, 0.48 per cent points higher from the rate recorded in September.
“Increases were recorded across almost all major divisions, which contribute to the headline index. Communication and restaurants and hotels recorded the slowest pace of growth in October, growing at 5.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
“The food index rose by 17.1 per cent (year-on-year) in October, up by 0.47 per cent points from 16.6 per cent recorded in September. During the month, the highest increases were seen in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, as well as fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment and education.”
The report added that the least growth pace recorded in October was experienced in communication (5.7 per cent), restaurants and hotels (9.4 per cent), and recreation and culture (10.3 per cent).
The NBS noted that the urban index rose by 19.9 per cent (year-on-year) in October from 19.5 per cent recorded in September, while the rural index increased by 16.95 per cent in October from 16.4 per cent in the previous month.

Recovered loot to part-fund N2.69tn 2017 budget deficit

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma

The Federal Government is proposing to fund part of the 2017 budget deficit of N2.69tn from funds recovered from treasury looters.
The proposal is contained in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper, which was submitted to the National Assembly.
The Senate had two weeks ago dismissed the 2017-2019 MTEF/FSP sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari, describing the documents as “empty” and as such should not be considered.
The MTEF provides the basis for annual budget planning and consists of a macroeconomic framework that indicates fiscal targets, estimates, revenues and expenditures, including the government’s financial obligations in the medium term.
The document, prepared by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, also sets out the underlying assumptions for the projections, provides an evaluation and analysis of the previous budget, and presents an overview of the consolidated debt and potential fiscal risks.
In the document, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, the Federal Government is proposing to spend the sum of N6.86tn in 2017, with total revenue of N4.16tn.
It said based on the funding gap of N2.69tn, an effective strategy would be adopted in financings the deficit.
For instance, the government said while part of the deficit would be financed with recoveries from looted funds, the rest would be from borrowings.
However, the document did not provide details of the amount to be borrowed or the recoveries to be used to finance the budget deficit.
It read in part, “Based on the revenue and expenditure estimates, the fiscal deficit is estimated to increase by about N492bn or 22.32 per cent from the estimate of N2.2tn in 2016.
“However, while this remains below the maximum three per cent of the Gross Domestic Product stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, it is projected to take a downward turn afterwards.
“The deficit is to be financed mainly by borrowing as well as recoveries of misappropriated public funds/assets.”
The document stated that the government, in consideration of its debt sustainability position, would remain prudent in its borrowing programme.
“Borrowing will be geared towards funding critical capital projects that have potential to effectively increase productivity, and hence, provide mechanism for refinancing the debt,” it added.
The Federal Government had in June this year released the list of recovered loot.
The Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had in a statement said that the recoveries were made between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016.
The government gave the breakdown of the recovered loot as N78,325,354,631.82; $185,119,584.61; £3,508,355.46 and €11,250.
According to the minister, a separate amount of cash and assets worth over N2tn have also been seized, adding that the assets and cash seized under interim forfeiture totalled $9bn, N126bn, £2.4m and €303,399.
He added that funds awaiting return from foreign jurisdictions totalled $321,316,726.1; £6,900,000 and €11,826.11.

CIBN, Skye Bank pledge cooperation

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria is exploring new ways to forge a partnership with Skye Bank Plc and enhance economic growth.

The President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Prof. Segun Ajibola, stated this when he led the council on a courtesy visit to the management of Skye Bank in Lagos.

He said the delegation was on a mission to seek areas of mutually beneficial cooperation between the bank and the institute.

While soliciting the support of players in the banking industry for the institute, Ajibola urged members to continue to contribute to the enhancement of the banking profession.

He lauded the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, for the leadership qualities he had demonstrated in strengthening the operations of the bank since he assumed office.

In a statement by the lender on Sunday, Ajibola was quoted as inviting the management of the bank to the forthcoming annual bankers’ dinner.

The CIBN president had earlier enumerated the vision of the institute under his leadership as being guided by seven Cs, which he gave as capacity building, certification, codification, communication, creativity, consolidation and constructive engagement.

He further stated, “The seven Cs is intended to transform and enthrone a contemporary institute that is responsive, reliable and resourceful in all areas of its mandate, scholarship, professionalism, relevance, ethical and result-oriented.

Financial Expert Calls For Customer Protection To Promote Stability

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has organised a stakeholders meeting for the business community in Kano State, as part of efforts to enlighten bank customers and other consumers of financial services on their rights.

The Managing Director of the NDIC Umar Ibrahim said Nigeria is in dire need of a positive attitude to revamp the economy in which customer protection will help promote financial stability in the country.

The aim of the town hall meeting, conceived to address the concerns and expectations of depositors especially small depositors who may lack or have limited capacity to fight for their rights in the complex financial system of modern banking.

A representative of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) Tijani Zakirai said the Apex Bank has been working with the NDIC and other stakeholders in the effective mobilization of bank customers across the country, but the lack of a sustained sensitization and enlightenment program remains a major hindrance to the country’s financial inclusion.

Meanwhile, traders and many other members of the Kano business community raised various financial and business questions why the regulatory authorities offered advises.

While the NDIC promises to sustain the program on annual basis, most people in hope to see more of this gathering for strong and effective financial system in the country.