Video: Adama Barrow takes oath of office as Gambia’s president

Teenage girl rapes man at knifepoint

A 17-year-old woman from Michigan may be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty of rape.

Lestina Marie Smith was said to have pinned down a 19-year-old man at knife point and forced him to engage in oral and vaginal sex with her.

The incident happened on Jan. 11 in Saginaw Township.

She was arraigned on Tuesday morning, Jan. 17, on two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Each charge carries a maximum punishment of life in prison, according to M.Live.com.

Smith was denied bond and is being held in the Saginaw County Jail.

She’ll would appear in court on Feb. 3  for a preliminary examination to determine probable cause.

NDLEA uncovers building stocked with multi-million naira cannabis in Ondo

The men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has discovered a building stocked with cannabis also known as Indian hemp.

It was gathered that the cannabis which were packed in hundred of bags was worth several millions of naira.

The building is located at Opopoola Street, Akure, the Ondo State capital.

According to a source, a team of  men of the anti-drug agency stormed the building last Monday to impound and arrest the owners but the owner had fled before their arrival.

The NDLEA men were said to have laid seige to the building for several hours in search of the owner but no person was arrested.

It was learnt that the anti-drug agency faced a big task to evacuate the indian-hemp to the headquarters of the command in Akure.

-Punch

Gambian president, Jammeh declares state of emergency

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on Tuesday declared a state of emergency, citing foreign interference in a presidential election he lost to opponent Adama Barrow last month. 

The declaration was necessary “due to the unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign inference in the December 1 presidential elections and also in the internal affairs of The Gambia,” Jammeh said on state television. 

This had created an “unwarranted hostile atmosphere, threatening the sovereignty, peace, security and stability of the country,” he added. According to the Gambian constitution, a state of emergency lasts seven days if the president declares it unilaterally but up to 90 days if the national assembly confirms it. 

According to Gambian state radio and TV, the state of emergency will be for 90 days. Also, according to an “Order paper” tagged, “Fourth Assembly”, with sub-title, “First extraordinary session ” and dated 17th January 2017,  the order sought a 90 days stay of a proclamation of a state of emergency in the country effective from 17th January to 17th April, 2017. 

It read thus: “Be it resolved that this August assembly do consider and approve a resolution

- Vanguard

How Saraki funded undeclared foreign accounts – Banker

The Head of the Funds Transfer Unit of the Guaranty Trust Bank, Mr. Amazi Nwachuckwu, appeared before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on Tuesday, giving details of how the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, funded his offshore accounts between 2009 and and 2012.

Nwachukwu, who had within the period served at the Central Clearing and Foreign Operations Units of the bank, appeared before the CCT as the second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Saraki on charges bordering on asset declaration.

Saraki was the governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011 after which he was elected to the Senate.

The prosecution had alleged that the Senate President did not declare the foreign accounts to the Code of Conduct Bureau while being governor and a Senator during the period.

While being led in evidence by the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), he said the Senate President transferred funds to his foreign accounts between 2009 and 2012.

The witness confirmed that Saraki was keeping dollar, pounds sterling and naira accounts domiciled in the Ilorin, Kwara State branch of the GTB.

He said Saraki transferred over $3m from his dollar account to his foreign account during the period.

He also said Saraki transferred the sum of $73,223.28 to America Express Services Euro Limited, New York, through their bank, America Express Bank, New York.

He said, “Dr. Saraki filled the form in Kwara State Government House, Ilorin.

“He gave instruction to transfer the sum of $73,223.28 to the beneficiary America Express Services Euro Limited, New York, through their bank, America Express Bank, New York to account number 730580 maintained by America Express Service Euro Limited.

“The purpose of payment was funding for amounts utilised on AMEX (American Express) cards issued to the customer (dollar credit card no. 374588216836009).

“For his dollar account number 441/441953/2/1/0, the customer signed the fund transfer form. The form was received from the account officer in Ilorin branch. We then processed it and transferred it to our corresponding bank abroad.

“The corresponding bank then transferred it America Express Bank Limited.”

He said the transfer was for the “funding for amount utilised on the payment cards issued to Saraki.”

He said the former Kwara State Governor transferred the total sum of £1,526,194.53 from his pounds sterling account to his Fortis Bank, London account in three instalments within two days on February 15 and 16, 2010.

He also said the GTB also offered a N375m loan to Saraki through a letter dated February 10, 2010.

According to the witness, Saraki instructed GTB to transfer the pounds sterling equivalent of the loan to fund mortage on a London property.
He said, “In Exhibit 7 is a letter dated February 10, 2010.

In the 14th out of the 16 counts preferred against the Senate President, Saraki was said to have failed to declare his interest in “an American Express Service Card with No: 374588216836009 wherein you (Saraki) transferred huges sums of money in dollars from your Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account No441441953210 in Nigeria to the American Express Service, Europe, whilst you Executive Governor of Kwara State.”

The offence is said to be contrary to section 15 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, CAP. C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and as incorporated under paragraph 11(1) and (2), Part I o the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution.

It is said to be punishable under section 23(2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act as incorporated under paragraph 18, Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution.

- Punch

Mavrodians panic as MMM cancels requests for payment

The joy of participants (Mavrodians) in MMM over the return of the scheme on January 13, a month after it froze their accounts, has turned out to be shortlived as they have been fed excuse after excuse.

On Tuesday, four days after its return it cancelled all (GH) requests by participants to get their money back, creating panic once again.

“MMM has crashed o. Mmm deleted automatically every GH request few minutes ago. We are stranded now,” a participant, who did not want his identity disclosed wrote in a message to PUNCH.

But the scheme had another excuse ready; a system upgrade is to be blamed. It explained that the site was not fully shut down for the upgrade because that would cause panic.

They said, “Please note that the GH orders were not cancelled because if cancelled, you will see it at the right hand side as deleted. It was removed because of the following reasons:

There is an ongoing upgrade because programmers are always working on the MMM system every day so the promised New Model can be unveiled as soon as possible.”

It added, “There is no cause for any alarm over the removed GH orders, if you check your Mavro, you will notice the value of the removed GH order has been restored and had also increased though it is still showing pending withdrawal.”

But for many participants, there was call for alarm. For instance, a user pointed out that contrary to the claim in the statement there was no pending sign on his account.

“My mavro isnt showing pending o. And I hope the order will be restored automatically when they are done cos I cant start waiting for another week to get paired, haba,” a participants complained in response to the post.

Another participant told one of our correspondents that while the GH requests were removed, the provide help function was still active.

About three million Nigerians, who are believed to be participants of the illegal scheme, had received a shocker on December 13 when their accounts was frozen with one suicide attempt reported.

At the time, those behind the scheme blamed the freeze on bad publicity and the need to prevent technical challenges that may be occassioned by the Yuletide rush.

They also promised to be back stronger on January 14, insisting that the scheme had not crashed as was widely reported.

Upon the ‘return’ of the scheme 24 hours ahead of schedule many Mavrodians had broken into wild jubilation, mocking the country’s financial sector regulators and Nigerians who had made fun of them for falling victim to one of the world’s biggest financial scams.

January 13 and the rest of the year belonged to Mavrodians they concluded, taking to the social media and posting videos of the celebrations. One Mavrodian hit the studio and posted a video of him singing, “MMM is back again/my salary is back again/my house rent is back again.”

The joy is turning out to be premature. MMM came back with new rules and most of all frustration for many who had seen their financial calculations rubished in December and their plans, including at least one wedding plan, truncated.

First, just days before its return, it announced the use of Bitcoin, something many participants are not familiar with, saying “due to the recent sharp price fluctuations of Bitcoin, MAVRO-BTC is being introduced in the system”.

Then upon its return and as thousands of participants tried to get their money back (GH) after the wait, it said it would pay the poor investors first, to the frustration of those who invested higher amounts and millions in the scheme.

Even the poor may have to wait a while to get their money as a result of the system upgrade.

Nigeria rejigs trade policy to align with WTO’s template

Nigeria’s trade policy is being reviewed by the Federal Government to ensure it meets the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) template on trade, Trade Adviser to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Chiedu Osakwe has said.

He said the policy was last reviewed in June 2002. Though Nigeria has been involved in bilateral trade with different nations, it still does not have a detailed and recent trade policy to back up its trading, he explained.

He said: “The government is working on reviewing the trade policy for so many reasons. Nigeria and the WTO are working together on the trade policy review.

“Iam leading this process technically for the ministry. The update of the trade policy is in line with the working of the global economy and the change that comes with it. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Centre for Employment Training (CET) will come to force in 2020. Brexit has happened, the European Union (EU), one of our major traders, is minus one. The government is trying to rebalance its trading relations with the global economy.

The minister’s aide continued: “With the internet economy that has emerged, President Muhammadu Buhari has introduced Aso Demonstration Day as part of the smart digital Nigerian project to encourage young Nigerians, entrepreneurs with start-up ideas to be encouraged into joining the internet economy; provide an electronic platform for small and medium scale entrepreneurs; employ over 70 per cent of the workforce and give them a platform to express themselves.

Osakwe said two African countries Coted’Iviore and Ghana have joined the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and that Nigeria’s position was being review by the government.

‘’It is the subject of analysis and consultation with all the stakeholders. Nigeria is subjecting EPA to a thorough process of review and consultation with stakeholders. Nigeria will not rush or be stampeded into any agreement that is not consistent with Nigeria’s own priority.

Also, the Export Expansion Grant (EEG), Osakwe said was being reviewed ‘’to establish that its previous weaknesses and abuses no longer reoccur but the EEG programme will be sustained by the government through an improved and enhanced way. The reason is that producers and manufacturers will be given the support they need in an unprotective environment through incentives and packages’’.

Nation

NNPC to fast-track repairs of vandalised pipes

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has promised to fast-track the repairs of all pipelines vandalised last year to ensure stable gas supply to thermal power plants for improved power supply.

The Corporation made the commitment during a closed door meeting of operators and stakeholders in the power sector with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, in Lagos.
A communiqué issued after the meeting, which was made available to The Nation, noted that the NNPC stated that work was ongoing on the repairs.

The report noted that the Okpai power plant in Delta State was the best performing thermal power plant last year while Shiroro was the best hydro power plant.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said transmission projects in Shagamu, Ikeja West, Ajah, Ayobo, Omotosho, Agege and Ogba slated for completion between this April and end of this year, when completed, would improve power supply to Lagos State and environs.

According to TCN, the completion of outstanding works at switch station in Akwa Ibom State, which was inaugurated in November last year, is imperative to take full advantage of added generation capacity to deliver incremental power.

The TCN said the capacity of the grid is dynamic and with the inauguration of Ikot Ekpene switch yard, transmission capacity will be above 6,500megawatts (Mw) from the current capacity of 5,500Mw.
Stakeholders in the power sector, according to the communiqué, noted the need for government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to pay their debts, which is well over N1trillion, to power sector operators and service providers to improve liquidity in the sector.

The operators agreed they would submit all outstanding audited accounts before their next stakeholders meeting next month to improve transparency within the sector while the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) said all service providers should pay their bills to the it as well as suppliers to service providers to ensure the sector remains functional.

Fashola directed that customer service shall be the focus of the power sector this year and urged operators and service providers to step up the user experience of their customer by increasing metering and reducing estimated billing and prioritise safety.

Against the background of incidents in the past year, all the operators agreed to prioritise safety in all their undertakings to avoid future accidents.

- Nation

Sambisa tour: BBOG joins FG’s search team

The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group has sent a delegation to join the Federal Government’s team on a day search sorties for missing Chibok girls to Sambisa Forest.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the group reviewed the conditions it earlier gave to the government to travel with the team heading for the North East to witness first-hand the military’s ongoing search for the girls.

The BBOG delegation included the convener of the group, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, the spokesperson of the Chibok community, Dr Manasseh Allen, Aisha Yusuf and Ibrahim Usman.

It will be recalled that following the invitation extended to the group by the government to participate in the search mission the BBOG had given certain conditions before its members would join.

Specifically, the group requested a  Pre-Tour Meeting with government officials and a retraction of some remarks allegedly made by the Chief of Army Staff, which it found to be slanderous.

The government in a letter signed by the Minister of Information ad Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had rejected the conditions given by the group and insisted that the team would proceed on the trip as scheduled.

Following the position of the government, NAN reports that the BBOG reviewed the conditions and indicated acceptance to participate in the exercise.

In a letter to the Minister on Sunday night, the group asked the government to “quickly provide us more details of the tour duration and detailed logistics including the names of the local and
international media on the delegation.

” We need this information to enable us to send you a more substantial letter conveying our acceptance to join the Guided Tour”.

NAN reports that the Minister responded to the request by giving details of the trip and other requests by the group.

- Nation

Fresh battle to save Naira begins

BUREAU de Change (BDC) operators have been looking up to this week with high hopes.  They will be receiving the first batch of dollar sales for the year from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the cash expected to boost dollar liquidity and strengthen the naira against the greenback.

Besides, the BDC operators, under the aegis of Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), will today begin the implementation of the newly launched Uniform Weekly Exchange Rate for Licensed Bureaux De Change Portal.

The portal is being launched to promote exchange rate convergence and achieve uniform exchange rate for the naira against the greenback across all licensed BDCs. It was created with the understanding that the Foreign Exchange (forex) market is driven by information flow. The positive information flow, it is believed, will translate to better pricing for the naira and improved investment sentiments among others.

Having recognised these facts, the ABCON, the umbrella body for all CBN-licensed BDCs, last Tuesday, lunched the Uniform Weekly Exchange Rate for Licensed Bureaux De Change Portal.

ABCON President Aminu Gwadabe, who launched the portal at a media forum in Lagos, said the technology will bring exchange rate convergence, eradicate currency speculation and ensure the naira’s speedy recovery against the dollar.

According to him, such feats are in line with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele’s plan to stabilise the naira and boost investors’ confidence in the local economy. The CBN chief told BDCs at a meeting that he was looking at ways to boost dollar liquidity and eliminate the spread at the parallel market.

The apex bank’s chief also promised not to devalue the naira again.

The decline in the prices of oil since mid-2014, cut government revenue and triggered currency controls that crippled industries and contributed to contraction of the nation’s economy.

Last June, the authorities removed a 15-month currency peg to attract inflow. Although the naira has plummeted almost 40 per cent since the unit was floated, traders said it is still being managed by the government. The rebound in oil prices has helped the country in boosting its forex reserves to $26.7 billion as of January 10.

According to Gwadabe, the BDCs Weekly Rate was launched to make it a reference point for realistic rates in the market that will boost foreign investment inflows, displacing the damaging effect of foreign media platform like Abokifx.com to the economy.

Gwadabe was confident that with the gradual recovery in crude oil prices, enhanced commitment of the CBN to economy diversification which has led to rising production of local rice and drop in import bills, as well as President Muhammadu Buhari’s political will to implement key economic reforms, the task of achieving a single determined exchange rate will be achieved.

He urged the media and general public to adopt a single rate in their reporting and forex dealings, and also always quote rate on the ABCON website- www.abcong.ng for consistency and uniformity of reporting.

The ABCON chief reiterated the need for the public to deal with CBN-licensed BDCs only and urged the public to report errant operators for necessary sanction.

“ABCON wishes to reiterate its willingness to embark on a comprehensive media campaign on the roles, activities and location of members nation-wide so as to provide a guide to the public in dealing with only CBN-licensed BDCs and for the public to report any errant operator for necessary sanction”, he said.

Gwadabe informed that the CBN will impose between N500, 000 to N2 million fines on any BDC operator that violate regulatory policies and while such operators may also face license suspension.

He called for public support for ABCON’s determination to highlight positive rates development in the market through the BDCs Weekly Rate for media coverage which was launched at the event.

“We also seek your support and partnership to assist the CBN and government to eliminate or reduce to the barest minimum, activities of parallel market operators. We also want to, through our partnership with you, give visibility to registered BDCs in the market and create more awareness on the role of operators in selling forex to the retail end of the market,” he stated.

The ABCON chief spoke of the need for the CBN and Federal Government to harmonise the multiple official exchange rates in the country and adopt a unified rate for transactions.

Calling for the adoption of a single forex market rate system, Gwadabe said that licensed BDCs will post an exchange rate every Monday on its website from January 16 to “highlight positive rate development in the market” and counter domains such as Abokifx.com, which publishes ‘high’ unofficial prices daily.

Trading in the parallel market became more regular since 2014 after the CBN strengthened capital controls as crude oil prices tumbled at the global market. Dollar trades for about N490, compared with the official rate of about N315.

Gwadabe, who said that the BDCs will initially quote a rate of N399/$, added that the parallel market rates will be disregarded as they were not recognised by law, raising the hope that exchange rate will continue to improve in the course of the year, despite the challenges being faced in the forex market.

Stakeholders seek transparent price discovery

Associate Research, Eczellon Capital Limited, Mustapha Suberu, said there was need to allow a transparent price discovery in the market, which he believed would stimulate dollar inflows into the economy and subsequently, lead to local currency stability.

He called for more transparent forex market that would allow foreign investors to invest in the economy and bring about positive market-determined rate.

Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa, Ike Chioke, said the incorporation of a long-term diversified strategy in fiscal policy is required to cushion shocks in various segments of the economy and revive the naira.

To him, the persistent pressure on the naira could have been minimised if a counter fiscal policy had been developed, as the CBN cannot continue to defend the naira with foreign reserves.

Chioke said: “To reduce this pressure, an inward looking policy (tax incentives, infrastructure development and production subsidy) should be emphasised to reduce the dependence on imported goods.”

Apart from oil receipts, the development of the agricultural sector will in the short-term reduce the forex burden of food imports and on the long run, enhance foreign receipts if its comparative advantage in the sector is efficiently deployed.

A BDC Operator and Managing Director, E.M Consolidated Investment Limited, Emeka Moses, said the BDCs always make returns to the CBN which monitors and sanctions defaulters.

He said the introduction of Bank Verification Number (BVN) has made it easier for the CBN to detect and monitor BDCs for compliance.  “I want the CBN to continue to carry out spot checks on BDCs and ensure that those that violate regulatory guidelines are sanctioned”, he said.

Moses said the portal will enables the public to know the prevailing rate at each day and demand adherence to such rate during transactions.

“If the public knows the rate, it will be easier to detect and spot BDCs that sell above such rate, and get them reported to regulators,” he said.

A former Executive Director with Keystone Bank, Richard Obire, said that the implementation unified rate across all CBN- registered BDCs by ABCON will bring sanity to the forex market. Obire said: “I do not know how the group wants to achieve this but if well implemented, it will bring orderliness to the market. It is easier to achieve such feats Personal Travel Allowance and Business Travel Allowance transactions.  It is really a good initiative that will reduce the level of uncertainty in the market.”

Revenue leakages on Diaspora funds lingers

The Federal Government has been losing billions of dollars as Nigerians in Diaspora avoid official transactions when remitting dollars home.

Going by the figures released by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Matters, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Nigerians in the Diaspora sent home $21 billion in 2015, which boosted the local forex market last year.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said: “In 2016, they remitted $35 billion which is higher than what was remitted in 2015. This remittance by Nigerians living abroad is the highest in Africa and the third largest in the world.”

But Gwadabe disclosed that less than five per cent of the $35 billion remitted in 2016 was officially captured by the CBN because of exchange rate divergence, which discourage Nigerians in Diaspora from sending their funds home through official channels.

He said that harmonisation of the multiple exchange rates in the country, will make the rate for Diaspora remittances more attractive to Nigerians in Diaspora.

His words:  “The single forex rate has succeeded in Egypt. Nigeria should block all forex leakages to make it work in the country. Forex market is an information-driven market. The type of information you release helps to swing rates and would also help the CBN’s plan to achieve single exchange rate,” he said.

Gwadabe said the ABCON has been working very hard to build public confidence in registered BDCs because the forex market is driven by perception adding that the ideal rate for the naira is N400/$ even as speculation is hurting the local currency.

He urged the CBN to stop banks from selling Personal Travel Allowances (PTAs) and Business Travel Allowances (BTAs) to travellers and assign the role to BDCs.

Will economic buffers save the naira?

Gwadabe urged the Federal Government to build strong buffers for the naira to withstand headwinds that come during economic crisis like in other climes.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) for instance, has more than $400 billion in their reserves. The buffer is big enough for UAE to protect its local currency at any given time.

“But the Federal Government and the CBN have stood their ground for a very long time by not allowing naira to float freely. The advantage of the flexible forex regime is that the volatility you see, whereby naira everyday is getting weaker, once it goes up, another thing will bring it down,” he said.

Continuing, he said: “The fact is that when you talk of BDCs, there are parallel market operators and black market operators. The parallel market is the opposite of official market.

“So, the BDCs are not parallel market operators. There are over one million parallel market operators in this country and they have been here even before the coming of the CBN. They have been here even before the CBN licensing the BDCs in Nigeria”.

Noting the big difference between a parallel market operator and his BDCs counterpart, he said:  “And if you look at it, last year, we were branded the black sheep in the industry. In India, the BDCs generate over $30 billion from the Diaspora remittances.

“In United Arab Emirates, the entire banking needs of banks are met by the BDCs. The working of the Lebanon economy is highly dependent on the activities of BDCs in that country. I want stakeholders to support Nigeria BDCs in building the economy.”

BDCs embrace automation of processes

On the ongoing automation of BDCs’ operations that will help online real-time operations and enhancement of compliance among operators, Gwadabe said the facility would boost operational transparency, ease of public accessibility of BDCs’ procedures, returns rendition and regulatory supervision.

Gwadabe said: “We want to introduce certification for registered BDCs. The ABCON is also coming up with schools that will train and retrain members and encourage record keeping. We believe that once we are able to introduce measures that make the operations of parallel market irrelevant, they will be eradicated.”

He said that ABCON members have been pushing to become sole handlers of PTA and BTA and also raising their operational modalities to ensure they become agents of International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs).

Gwadabe said that despite the challenges facing the economy, the CBN and BDCs will continue to work together and find sustainable solutions that can help the country wriggle out of the ongoing forex crisis and achieve full economic recovery.

He said: “We have continuously assured the CBN and taken appropriate measures to ensure that purchased funds are disbursed to end users and for eligible transactions only. We also render weekly returns on purchases from the banks to Trade and Exchange Department of the apex bank. We also ensure strict compliance to the provisions of the anti-money laundering laws observance of appropriate Know-Your-Customer principles in the handling of forex transactions.”

The CBN, last week, confirmed the operating licenses of 3,147 BDCs that met its N35 million mandatory capital base. The reviewed list was the first since May 29, last year, when the apex bank approved 2,998 operators to meet customers’ forex needs at the retail-end of the market.

The CBN said the new approvals in BDCs were in line with its plan to deepen the forex market by getting more operators involved in the retail-end of the market.

Gwadabe said that the licensing of new BDCs was a positive development that is expected to deepen dollar liquidity in the system.

Disclosing that the apex bank has a mandate to review the list of operators on quarterly basis, Gwadabe added that the list grew to 2,998 from 1,400.

“There are more approvals expected. It is a welcome development,” he said.

- The Nation