The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has lamented how some banks management stole billions of naira in the name of borrowing.

He, there called for collaborative measures by relevant stakeholders as a way of militating against bank failure in the country.

Bawa said forensic analysis of the annual reports, bank statements and other financial documents of some of the failed banks investigated by the EFCC clearly showed a pattern necessitating collaborative measures that could make the nation’s banking sector work more effectively.

Baba stated this on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 while delivering a goodwill message at the opening of a two-day workshop with the theme: “Effective Investigation and Prosecution of Banking Malpractices that Led to the Failure of Banks” organized by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, in Lagos.

The EFCC Chairman, who was represented by Ahmed Ghali, Zonal Commander, EFCC, Lagos Command, said though many households, small businesses and large corporations had always relied upon banks to provide their financial needs at one time or the other, most banks had fallen short of expectations in this regard due to fraud, mismanagement, inexperience and the initial absence of regulatory laws and authorities.

Taking a historical look at the failure of the banking sector in the country, he said: “Failure in the banking industry was first experienced in Nigeria between 1930 and 1958, when some banks failed and were liquidated.

“As a matter of fact, more than 21 cases were recorded in Nigeria between 1930 and 1958 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was established. Alpha Merchant Bank, Financial Merchant Bank and Republic Bank were some of the banks affected during this period (CBN statistical Bulletin, 1988).”

“In a bid to change the narrative and save the Nigerian banking Sector from a near collapse, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2004, increased the minimum paid up capital of banks to N25billion from N2billion. The policy, which was effected in 2005, was intended to consolidate the existing banks into fewer, larger and financially stronger banks. As a result of the implementation of this policy, the 89 banks that existed as at 2004 decreased to 25 larger, better-capitalized banks in 2005.

“Furthermore, the enactment of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Act in 2006, became a major landmark in the Nigeria’s Banking sector as it made provisions for the insurance of all deposit liabilities of licensed Banks operating in Nigeria.(Section 2(a), NDIC Act, 2006).

“In 2010, the CBN however came up with another policy, which is a fundamental reversal of the consolidation policy in 2005.

“The new policy was aimed at categorizing banks into tiers by function and allowing varying levels of capital depending on the bank’s function as opposed to the single current minimum capital of N25billion.

“These reforms indicated that the banks did not just fail; they were destroyed and brought to their knees by acts committed by identifiable people. The tragic collapse of some of the failed banks evidenced that the banking industry has been cajoled and manipulated by human beings and smart fraudsters. Thus leaving the bank literally struggling for breath”.

While emphasizing the need for forensic analysis of financial documents and water- tight investigation as a way of checkmating the trend in the sector, Bawa further stated that lack of good corporate governance and accountability were reasons for bank failure in the country.

According to him, “In some of the failed banks, the management stole billions of Naira in the name of borrowing, some even gambled with depositors funds to speculate on the stock market and manipulate share prices.

“Some banks granted loans to billionaires and captains of industries whose wealth actually was money belonging to the poor which they “borrowed” and refused or were not able to pay back.”

The EFCC boss, who also urged the NDIC to embrace technology to meet up with the investigative and prosecutorial challenges of the 21st Century, also called for cooperation from those who should furnish investigators with relevant information.

He also lamented the the slow pace of court proceedings and interference from different quarters during investigations, saying: “ This is a major challenge to the effective investigation and prosecution of fraud in banks.”

[PM News]

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said that Nigeria cannot afford another civil war.

El-Rufai who spoke at the closing ceremony of the orientation course organized for members of the 2022 Batch B (Stream 2) National Youth Service Corps members posted to Kaduna State on Tuesday August 9, urged youths not to fan the embers of violence and war in the country.

Represented by the state’s Acting Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, El-Rufai said; 

“The youth must remember that the NYSC came into being after the civil war that tore every fabric of the Nigerian state. The war was a needless savagery that we cannot afford to repeat.

“Nigerian youths must, therefore, distance themselves from fanning the embers of violence and war in Nigeria. As a country, we must avoid a repeat of that dark part of our history. And Nigerian youths must refuse to be ready tools for war mongers.”

He further noted that the national youth service is a reflection of the hope placed on young graduates as bearers of a greater Nigeria.

Veteran singer and social activist, Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, has said the reports that he is planning to end his marriage are not true.

In a post on his Twitter page during the week, he had written, “My people, if I tell you that after over 45 years of marriage to my wife, I am going back to bachelorhood, what would you say?”

He added, “I have said it that this marriage thing is not easy. The longer you stay, the harder it gets. What should I do? I am tired o.”

However, in an interview with Saturday Beats, the ‘Area Fada’ said, “Some people are asking me how I have managed to stay in marriage for 45 years. It is hard-work. It is not that it has entirely been a sweet experience for me. My marriage is not perfect but we are a perfect match made in heaven.

“Every year, rumours have it that I want to divorce. This is not the first time; it has actually been going on for the past 20 years. That is how people see things because we all think differently.”

Speaking on why he made such post on social media, he said, “Young people usually believe that love is all they need to marry. That is a big lie. That was what I was trying to say (in my post on social media). When I talk, people should think deeper. I have been married for 45 years. What remains again? I can as well finish 10 or 20 more years because it is a life sentence.

“I wanted to know how many people have been inspired by my marriage. Very soon, I will be marking my golden jubilee in marriage. It is not like I want a divorce. People should not take what I say literally.

“Yes, I said I am tired but it is normal. Even as an activist, it got to a point that I became tired of everything. However, it seems like when I talk to people, they do not listen. But, there are still a few persons who listen and are inspired by what I say.”

 Asked how he thinks people who look up to him felt when he insinuated that he was tired of being married, the ‘Fake Pastor’ said, “Why should those who look up to me be discouraged? Should I lie that marriage is easy? One has to face the facts. Moreover, marriage is not for everybody.”

Speaking on why he still finds marriage challenging despite spending almost five decades in it, he said, “Marriage will be challenging, especially when the kids leave. Then, it is only two people that will be facing themselves, especially in this kind of toxic environment. It could also be an issue if the woman and the man are not making as much money as they used to.

“Physical changes can also occur which a partner may not be comfortable with, but those are the things to expect. Being tolerant does not even guarantee that the marriage will not have issues. One has to keep working on one’s marriage till one dies.”

[PUNCH]

President Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration has been advised by Nigerian governors on how to revive the economy of Nigeria.

The governors listed certain steps that would help prevent the nation from economic collapse.

According to Premium Times, the governors presented the proposal to President Buhari during a meeting last month.

Naija News gathered that the Governors advised the President to offer federal civil servants who are older than 50 years a one-off retirement package to exit the service.

The Governors also called on President Buhari-led government to stop the Central Bank of Nigeria from financing the government’s budgetary expenditures and convert its N19 trillion debt into a 100-year bond.

See the list of the steps placed before President Buhari to save the country’s economy.

A. Reduce FGN expenditure immediately (with estimated savings in 2022 in brackets):

1. Eliminate PMS subsidy/under-recovery – (N6-7 trillion)

2. Eliminate NNPC’s Federation-funded projects – (N300 billion) 

3. Cap Social Investment Program (SIP) and National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) budgets to N200 billion – (N570 billion)

4. Eliminate extra-constitutional deductions from FAAC – (N100 billion)

5. Reduce SWV items for SDG and NASS Constituency projects – (N300 billion)

6. Reduce duplications (e.g. empowerment programmes) and waste – (N100 billion)

7. Reduce the 1 per cent granted to NASENI to 0.2 per cent. Amend the Act in the 2022 Finance Bill.

B. Reduce Personnel Costs of FG MDAs:

8. Offer federal civil servants above 50 years (a) a one-off retirement package to exit the service – (N350 billion), and employ lower-cost, more ICT-compliant youths and women graduates.

9. Begin implementation of the updated Stephen Oronsaye Report – (N1 trillion)

10. Expedite privatization of non-performing assets. (Billions of Naira)

11. 2023 – 2025 MTEF to be revised and updated to reflect the above expenditure management measures and Government’s commitment to restore fiscal discipline.

12. Planned 22 per cent increase in salaries in 2023 to be reconsidered.

13. Reduce fiscal deficit to no more than 2 per cent of GDP in 2023 – 2025.

14. Foreign trips by MDAs, including budgetary-independent agencies such as CBN, FIRS, NPA, NIMASA and NCC, etc. to be put on hold for at least one year.

15. Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to issue requests for Visas to foreign embassies for FGN officials and their families, unless express approval is granted by the Presidency.

16. Move from State Income Taxation to Consumption Taxation:

17. With the introduction of 3 per cent Federal Income Tax, state-level PIT should be abolished.

18. State Sales Taxes (flat rate of 10 per cent) should be enacted for the 36 States and FCT.

19. Increase VAT levels to 10 per cent with a timeline to raise it to between 15 per cent and 20 per cent.

20. Ensure re-introduction and passage of VAT into the Exclusive List.

21. End CBN financing of FGN expenditures and convert the N19 trillion Ways and Means outstanding into 100-year, 1 per cent bonds immediately.

22. Introduce a flat 3 per cent Federal Personal Income Tax on all Nigerians earning more than N30,000 per month. – (N100 billion)

23. Persons earning less than N30,000 per month whether employed or not, including farmers and traders should pay a monthly FPIT of N100.

24. Telecom firms and NIMC should collaborate to ensure the deduction of this from the phone credit of individuals and linking to NIN and BVN.

25. Centralize the collection of all federal oil and non-oil taxes in one agency, the FIRS while Customs, NPA, etc assess and issue demands.

26. Improve offshore crude oil and gas production.

27. Resolve lingering issues of ownership of gas in PSCs (eg Nnwa-Doro, OML 129). This will help position Nigeria to take advantage of the gas needs in Europe.

28. Provide incentives and resolve issues to expedite the development of vandalism-resistant deep offshore fields like Bonga SW (Shell), Preweoi (Total), Zabazaba (ENI) and Owowo (Exxon).

29. Encourage (and pre-finance, if necessary) Dangote Refinery to early completion to reduce massive future outflows of foreign exchange.

C. Central Bank of Nigeria

30. The Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry, and Development Bank of Nigeria should be recapitalised

31. Funds in NIRSAL controlled by CBN should be redirected to the Development Banks.

32: CBN should be directed to focus on its core and statutory mandate of exchange rate management, interest rate management and inflation targeting. It should also be directed to cease competing with development and commercial banks.

33. CBN’s subsidized interventions in the real sector should be ended and the relevant institutions recapitalized to provide these services.

The governors made the recommendations on the CBN after determining that the naira exchange rate has deteriorated because:

i. CBN has printed N19 trillion “Ways and Means” for FGN expenditures contrary to the CBN and Fiscal Responsibility Acts and in violation of the law.

ii. Trillions of Naira are chasing a few billion dollars, putting pressure on the foreign reserves and the exchange rate.

iii. CBN’s ‘fixed exchange’ stance discouraged foreign investment (peak of $90bn investment commitments in 2018, to $20bn in 2021), and Diaspora inflows ($20 billion in 2022 to less than $17 billion in 2021)

iv. PMS subsidies under the guise of ‘under-recovery’ have wiped out virtually all accretions to the foreign reserves.

v. CBN has resorted to using swaps, deferred LCs and other innovations to hide the real levels of charges on our foreign reserves – Gross of $36 billion vs. Net of $15 billion as at end of June 2022.

vi. Exchange rate policy now favours consumption by the rich – cheaper medical tourism ($3bn annually), education ($6bn annually) and business and technical services like aviation remittances, etc. ($15bn) in 2019.

[Naija News]

An actress, Cynthia Okereke, who was recently kidnapped and released, has said her abduction was a mistake, as she was not the target of the kidnappers.

Recall that Okereke and a colleague, Clemson Cornell, were kidnapped in Enugu State, and their kidnappers were said to have demanded a ransom of $100,000.

In an interview with Sunday Scoop, Okereke said, “They told me I was not the one they were looking for. They stated that since they could not get who they originally wanted, they had to take me. It was a coincidence.”

She also stated that contrary to some reports, a ransom was paid before she was released. She said, “It is a lie.”

Asked how much was paid to secure her freedom, the actress said, “That is what I won’t tell you, but a ransom was paid. I don’t want it to go viral but ransom was paid. My husband was the one who took the ransom to Ngwa in Abia State.”

Recounting her experience in the kidnappers’ den, she said, “They did not give me anything. For the first two days I was there, I was not given any food. It was on the third day they gave me milk and a malt drink. Because my stomach was empty, I knew that I would vomit if I took it, so I declined.”

Asked if the kidnappers recognised her as an actress, Okereke said, “When they captured us at Centenary Junction in Enugu, they said, ‘Cynthia Okereke, you think we don’t know you’? So, I asked them what they wanted and pleaded that they should take my car when they shot into the air. They said they did not need the car.”

On how they were transported to the criminal’s lair, the actress said, “We were wrapped with a trampoline and taken to an unknown destination. It was the following morning that one of them asked me if I know where I was. I said I didn’t no, and told me we were in Ebonyi State.”

Recalling some of the things the kidnappers told her while in their camp, she said, “They said Nollywood is not supporting Nnamdi Kanu (founder of the Indigenous People of Biafra), that we should come out en masse to support him. According to them, ‘Kanu is fighting for every one (Igbo people).”

Meanwhile, when Sunday Scoop put a call through to the other kidnapped actor, Clemson Cornel, the person who answered the phone stated that he was receiving treatment in the hospital.

[PUNCH]

The Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, popularly called Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo has stated that obedience is better than sacrifice.

Naija News reports that is as his wife, Faith Oyedepo, urged winners to be obedient in the affairs of the Kingdom (of God).

The Christian couple gave the charge while speaking at the Winners Chapel monthly leadership conference.

This online newspaper reports that many have interpreted those words as a subtle endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, for the 2023 presidential election.

Obi’s supporters, who are most youths and social media active, have been campaigning under the alias ‘Obi-dients’.

Recall that Peter Obi had recently paid a visit to the Living Faith Church, where he met the Oyedepos and took photos that later became viral.

Speaking at the leadership conference, Bishop Oyedepo, while unravelling the mystery of the covenant of obedience, said: “To be obedient is better than sacrifice. Obedience may be costly but the end result is always priceless.

“When you live your life as a seed, its impact lives for generations after you.”

On her part, Oyedepo’s wife stated the need for Christians to be obedient to spiritual instructions to enjoy the good of the land.

She said: “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Isa. 1:19-20).

Mrs Oyedepo also urged the church to pray for God’s Spirit to serve and be obedient.

[Naijanews]

The 2022 Batch ‘B’ Stream 11 corps members in Sokoto State, have gotten the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar’s assurance that the Shari’a Law is not binding on non-Muslims in the state.

Speaking on Thursday August 4 when the NYSC management team in the state led by the state coordinator and some selected corps members paid him a courtesy visit, the Sultan assured the corpers of their safety in spite of the security challenges facing the country.

Abubakar reiterated that they would be allowed to practise the religion of their choice and nobody would be coerced to become a Muslim against his or her wish.

He said; 

“In Sokoto, Sharia law is only binding on Muslims, nobody will force you to wear Hijab or force you to obey Islamic laws if you are not a Muslim.

“If you are posted to schools, impact the lives of the students, make them better than you met them.

“If you have a problem at the place of your primary assignment or where you are posted to, contact the district head over there; they are your guardians in the community.’’ 

Suddenly, it is all quiet on the eastern front. No street heckles or flag waving or mooning over a yellow sun, no hooting or baying in public. The rabble no longer raves. Few wonder what happened to the Nnamdi Kanu crowd. Some may wonder if they are withering?

The answer is before our eyes. The Biafran babblers are alive and well. They just swapped icons, rechristened the shrines and rewrote the rites. They left the prophet for a secular priest. They have had a switch of battle gear.

Maybe it is not quiet. We can hear and feel the cacophony. The chants and caterwauling are everywhere, especially on the phones. The twitter bees, the Instagram grimes, the Facebook freaks. They are alive and well, but they have not been at war at the side of their icon, who is griping in detention.

It’s farewell Kanu. Welcome Obi, at least until the new priest peters out. They are at his worship. They embrace it because it does not, for the first time in years, feel like they are outside the mainstream. They are not falling foul of the law, not howling from the fringes. They have Peter Obi as their man. He is mainstream. He belongs, not to the MASSOB, or Kanu’s assembly called IPOB. They can say they have a legitimate tribe and rhetoric. They may pretend to love Nigeria. They may claim to embrace INEC, cling to a political party no one in the police or DSS will harangue.

But that is where it stops. They have transferred the temperament of their former master into the new. And they have not spared any incoherence, any lack of finesse, and threats and tantrums, any show of rabid, primitive cants, or any ululations. They have abused, cursed, thrown imprecations. They have hugged lies about their candidate. They have pelted lies about others. They have distorted material.

Obi has turned out to be an excuse for even closet Biafrans to betray open emotions about Biafra without being accused of it. This includes intellectuals who did not show mercy to him while he reigned in Anambra as a pharisaic chief executive. It is like wearing a colour beneath another colour. Obi has become a shelter for both miscreants and activists of the crowd.

Obi knows this. He is happy to be their catharsis, to be their excuse for unfurling their bile at the system, for acting like revolutionaries. He is playing to it by acting as though he is the saint of Nigerian politics. Perhaps the purists of the Biafran cause are unhappy, and they unleashed a past video clip of Kanu on the social media. In it, Kanu lashes out at Obi as governor and stated what this essayist wrote about him over building a NEXT supermarket while still the governor of Anambra State. The video clip referred to him as a sort of sexual being on the fringe. You can imagine an Aso Rock sweltering with romps of the evil flesh. His so-called Obidients know this. But it counts for little.

They also know that this is the same Obi, whose emissaries were intercepted, while a governor at Apapa, by then police chief Marvel Akpoyibo with over 200 million cash. The matter became a cause celebre  with impeachment dangling until the timid state house of assembly was on the take. This is the man they call stingy because he dared to spend on himself and his family, his wife being accused of spending N1.5 billion on tours. The man that admitted he placed Anambra money in his family account, and was not ashamed to confess when confronted. He did not follow due process. This is the man who is speaking from both sides of his mouth for maintaining an offshore account while a governor. This is Obi, who claimed he saved money, while pensioners were looking desperately at their graves.

I can excuse those who think that being stingy is good for the economy because they are looking at how they run their family and personal finances. But no economy works in history by saving money. It stifles the economy. He has not been able to tell us how he will do it, and whether he has done it. We have no landmark in Anambra State to attribute to him, no enduring legacy.

But this essayist can understand why Obi knows that the crowd that adores him will not question him. He is therefore using religion as a bait. He is now on a weekly pilgrimage to churches. Jonathan did the same. The pastors, ever opportunistic, see him as a darling. He is visiting a sectional hue of pews. This is the man who divided the church in Anambra State in his time between Catholics and the others. He is trying to push himself as the Christian candidate of the south while his messengers foul the air with sanctimonious growl about Muslim-Muslim ticket. I am sure Kanu will chuckle in his cocoon, especially when he contemplates what he alleges as his sinful romps in hotels.

There is a divide here. He is pushing himself as a southern candidate. His core followers are advancing him as the Igbo candidate. But how do we reconcile the Biafran with an Obi, who even MASSOB, has denied has anything to do with them? Obi is taking a Machiavellian attitude to the matter. If Biafran impulse will propel him, he will take it. The Biafrans on board believe Obi is their best revenge on the Nigerian state. They can take over the zoo by acting as members of the zoo.

But this psychology is nothing new. The private man and public man may not always cohere. In their huts, they are Biafrans. On the frontlines of battle, they are Obi. It is like Mr. Mani in A.B. Yehoshua’s novel who calls himself a Jew but does not believe in Jehovah. He embraces the culture but renounces its mystery. One of 20th century’s top philosophers, Hannah Arendt, obsesses over this schizophrenia in his opus, The Origins of Totalitarianism. The Obi followers accept Biafra but reject Nigeria. They abandon the mystic of the cause, Nnamdi Kanu, and have followed Obi, its inauthentic saint. It is the pragmatism of the cause. Kanu is the unarmed prophet, sulking behind bars. Obi is out in the open, a bird in hand. Machiavelli warned against the unarmed prophet, who fights without power. Elijah was armed against his foes. So was Jesus until he was crucified. They see Obi as armed with electoral quest. It is their own version of the Trojan War. Obi is the Greek Gift that they will ride in the battle for conquest.

They have now evangelised others from outside the southeast to give a regional legitimacy to their cause. They call themselves Obidients but they obey only one call: the sound of the east. Those in south-south have been seduced as by the cooing of Obi’s voice as by evangelism of the Biafrans. Mind you, they have not abandoned Kanu. But their icon has no power for now. Obi is like Zik, Kanu like Ojukwu. One is a flair, the other a flare.

While Obi hops from church to church and beclouds the hypocrisy among political pastors, the nation watches as his sectional army taunts and harangues others. But Obi will do nothing to restrain his rabble because he knows they are doing a good job in keeping the faithful within their own bubble where they reinforce their own self-delusions. That will last until their last call at the polls. This is not the time to properly interrogate in details the false intimations of Obi’s agenda and hypocrisies. But it is safe to say one thing. Before he peters out and hurtles towards an electoral Obi-tuary, the country knows the content of the crowd and its origin. They are a caterwauling group trying to seduce, without much success, those outside its ethno-religious tent.