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Naira: First Bank’s Decision To Open Saturday, Sunday Excites Customers

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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First Bank of Nigeria, FBN Limted has assured customers that all its branches across the county will open this weekend to attend to them in view of the deadline set by the CBN to demonetize the current N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes.

This, is indeed, is a welcome development, and some customers who spoke to The Source said they are really excited by the announcement.

The Kazeem Adeduntan-led commercial banks said it’s branches will open Saturday and Sunday to attend to customers who may want to deposit existing naira notes, which by next Tuesday, January 31 seize to be legal tender, according to the apex Bank’s Naira Redesign policy.

“This is to notify the general public that all our branches will be open on Saturday and Sunday just to receive cash.

“All old Naira notes of series 200, 500, and 1000 will cease to be in use from the 31st of January,” the nation’s premier bank said in a notification to customers.

The bank’s position is contrary to rumour being peddled among some customers  that it will no longer collect the old naira notes from customers after Today, January 27, 2023.

On November 17, last year, following its decision to redesign the old naira notes, the Godwin Emefiele-led government bank directed all the commercial banks in the country to work on Saturdays to enable customers return existing naira notes for new notes.

The banks“have also been instructed to receive the existing banknotes beyond the threshold stipulated by the Cashless Policy without charges to customers,” Osita Nwanisobi, CBN’s Head Corporate Communications, said.

But only a few banks have so far obeyed the directive.

The critical step by First Bank, sources in the industry informed the magazine is most likely to push other commercial banks to act in the same manner as the deadline approaches.

Adeleke’s Sack: Timi Frank Calls For Probe, Says “Don’t Rob The Man A Second Time”

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has called on the National Judicial Council, (NJC) and anti graft agencies to probe the judgement of the election petition tribunal which handled Osun state governorship petition.

Reacting to the judgement, which nullified the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke on Friday, in a statement in Abuja, Frank described the majority judgement of the  Election Petition Tribunal as highly questionable.

According to him, the verdict fell short of expectations and does not reflect the will of the majority of the people of Osun that freely elected Senator Adeleke as Governor.

He called on the NJC to urgently cause a probe of the verdict with a view to restoring Adeleke’s mandate as well as penalizing any of the tribunal members found to have compromised on integrity.

He also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to urgently investigate the judges, who wrote the majority judgement and prosecute those found to have based their decision on other considerations, rather than the true facts canvassed during the hearing of the case.

The former APC scribe also advised the United States of America to place a visa ban on the Osun Tribunal Judges found to have used their highly exalted position as arbiters to derail and frustrate the growth of democracy in the country.

He commended the Judge who wrote the minority judgement for sticking to the truth and siding with the wishes and aspirations of Osun people that elected Adeleke during the last governorship election.

Frank urged the people of Osun to remain calm and law abiding with the certainty that the mandate they freely gave to Adeleke would be retrieved at the Appellate Court.

He vowed that Nigerians will not fold their arms and watch any attempt to use the judiciary to again steal Adeleke’s mandate through the backdoor.

There Is Terrorism In Nigeria – Aregbesola; Says Jailbreakers Won’t Live To Tell Story

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Rauf Aregbesola and Prison Officials

By Akinwale Kasali

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has disclosed that the Federal Government on Thursday foiled another jailbreak attempt months after the attack on Kuje Correctional Center, Abuja.

The  Minister made this disclosure at the 64th session of the State House Ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Though Aregbesola did not disclose the particular Correction Center where the jailbreak was foiled, he stressing that those behind it have been “sent to their maker.”

He boasted that no fleeing inmate could hide forever as their biometrics have been stored permanently on the Nigeria Police database.

He added that the root cause of the perennial jailbreak is because It is the season. “I know you don’t want to hear it. Have we had what we are having in Nigeria today before? It is the season and it is global.

Why do we have assassinations in America? Bad as it is, it is horrible, but in America, people get killed every second. In California, within the last week in America, 20 people have been killed. Did you ask why? It has nothing to do with technology; it could even be linked to climate change.

“When things are hard, people who cannot manage their stability resort to those types of things. You can’t say there is no terrorism in Nigeria; we are managing it. You can’t say there is no banditry in Nigeria; we are managing it. It is because of the level of insecurity in Nigeria, and we are arising from it. It is as simple as that.”

He assured Nigerians that future jailbreaks will be difficult and some of those who attempted post-Kuje have been “sent to their maker.”

“So, we are doing our best to ensure that it will be difficult for anybody to attack our facilities. You may not know that some had attempted and we have sent them back to their maker.

“Take it; it is no longer game as usual. We are equipping our men to, on their own, defend those facilities. And those sister agencies are equally upping their capacity to protect and defend our facilities. And we’re improving the design of our facilities to make them almost impregnable.

“So it’s sad; we are not happy that the facilities are being attacked. But it’s a function of the season and we will be deceiving ourselves if we don’t admit it. So we are up for it. Whoever attempts to dare our will, will not live to tell the story,” he threatened.

According to the minister, the Federal Government has done its best by capturing the biometrics of all inmates nationwide.

He said, “As of today, there is no single inmate of our facilities that is not captured biometrically and that is the best we can do. We’re still working on DNA, another way to identify them.

“We have met with all agencies and institutions that can use the biometrics we have to trace and arrest them. They are doing their best. The most effective agency in capturing them is still the police force. They are doing wonderfully well. Like I would normally tell people, they can only run; they cannot hide.”

Cross River: Jitters In PDP Over APC’s Penetration, Successful Campaign

By
The Source
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Ben Ayade

By Stanley Ekpenyong (South-South Bureau Chief)

A few weeks before the commencement of the 2023 general elections, there are feelers that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Cross River state are troubled by the penetration of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the nooks and crannies of the state.

The magazine also gathered that the opposition party is rankled by the unprecedented success the APC recorded in its just concluded campaign in the Northern Senatorial of the district of the state where the governor, Professor Ben Ayade is running as a senatorial candidate on APC’s ticket.

The governor represented the district in the Senate between 2011 and 2015.

Cross River was almost 100 per cent PDP until May 20, 2021, when Governor Ayade defected to the APC and radically altered the political landscape.

On the 11th of February, he will be slugging it out with the PDP candidate and the current Senator representing the senatorial zone in the Senate, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe who attained his current position through the instrumentality of the Court of Appeal.

Political pundits are, however, predicting a landslide win for the governor given his immense popularity in the senatorial district occasioned by his achievements there.

Daniel Wogor, a PDP chieftain in Yala, one of the council areas in Cross River North told the magazine that “putting partisan politics aside and if truth is to be told, Governor Ayade will record an easy win over our candidate, the support the governor enjoys here is massive. It is obvious Ayade will be returning to the Senate”

Cross River North’s senatorial district boasts of a plethora of industries, an airport, a world-class hospital, and an international university among other projects and infrastructures all made possible by the governor.

Governor Ayade’s popularity and acceptance in Cross River North came to the fore during the APC electioneering campaign there as thousands of enthusiastic residents waving their voters cards and chanting “Ayade Back to the Senate” thronged campaign grounds in the five local government areas that make up the senatorial zone visited.

Monarchs and Chiefs in each of the council areas also gave their royal blessings and endorsements to the governor and other candidates of the party.

Multiple sources close to the Cross River PDP campaign council told this Magazine that the party is weighing several options to counter APC’s penetration as well as the success of its recent campaigns.

“One of the measures we are considering will be the game changer; by the time we are done, the political scale will tip massively in our favour,” one of the sources said.

The Magazines’ findings show that the opposition party will in the coming days set up what it called ward campaign councils.

Every ward in the state, it was gathered, will have a PDP campaign outfit whose duty is to sell the party’s candidates door-to-door akin to the door-to-door and house-house preaching style of the Jehova witness.

Meanwhile, the party’s campaigns have continued to be dogged by the disagreement between the Governor Nyesom Wike-led G-5 faction and the mainstream PDP led by the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu and its presidential candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

The party’s gubernatorial candidate, Professor (Senator) Sandy Onor who is funded by Wike is loyal to the River state governor and no mention of Atiku is made in all his campaign tours across the state.

Similarly, the Ayu/Atiku faction in the state is headed by the immediate past governor, Senator Liyel Imoke. The faction has been campaigning for the Atiku/ Okowa presidential ticket but does not campaign for Senator Onor.

Matters came to a head recently at the Bekwara local government area where Senator Onor who currently represents Cross River Central in the Senate and Senator Jarigbe attempted to forge a rally.

However, the rally ended in a fiasco as Senator Onor insisted that Senator Jarigbe, a member of the Atiku/Ayu faction must not campaign for the Atiku/ Okowa ticket.

A furious Jarigbe and his supporters were to walk out of the rally thus bringing the event to an abrupt end.

Osun Election Tribunal: Akeredolu Says The Will Of People Prevailed

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu,SAN, has hailed the judgment of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, which declared Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola as the winner of the July 16 Osun Guber poll.

Governor Akeredolu, who is chairman, Southern Governors Forum, said the judgement reflects the will of the people of the state that voted massively for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Oyetola in the election.

A statement by Richard Olatunde, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, the Tribunal’s judgement has again restored the hope of a common man and reinforced confidence in the judiciary.

“We received with delight, the news of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal which declared Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola as winner of the July 16 governorship election in the State.

“This is indeed a victory for democracy. No doubt, the judgment will further consolidate and deepen our country’s democratic values and Election Petitions jurisprudence.

“It will also sustain the faith of the people in our democratic process. The will of the people has prevailed.

“I congratulate my dearest brother, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola (Ileri-Oluwa). I also rejoice with the good people of Osun State and the entire APC family. This is a victory for all.

“While we relish the victory of the moment, I like to assure my dearest brother, Gboyega that we will be with him all the way to the Supreme Court.

“We shall hold hands together and march on this path of shared conviction. At the end, this victory shall be permanent.

“Evidently, this ruling has put paid to issues surrounding the election. We are confident that this mandate restored will provide a new lease of life for Osun State.

“We urge our party members to savour this victory with joy while also seeing it as a great booster ahead of the forthcoming elections.”

Tribunal Judgement: Gov Adeleke Rejects Verdict, Heads To Appeal Court

By
Ayodele Oni
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Ademola Adeleke

By Ayodele Oni

Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke has described the judgement of the governorship tribunal as  “a miscarriage of justice,” vowing to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.

Reacting to the verdict of the Tribunal from his country home, Ede, Governor Adeleke faulted the resolution of the over-voting question in favour of Mr Oyetola, calling it ” an unfair interpretation against the will of majority of voters”

While urging his supporters to remain calm, Governor Adeleke vowed to appeal the judgement at the Court of Appeal, insisting he remains the rightful winner of the July 16 election.

“I call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgement and we are sure justice will be done.

“Let our people be reassured that we will do everything possible to retain this widely acclaimed mandate.”

Osun: Tribunal Sacks Adeleke, Affirms Oyetola

By
Ayodele Oni
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Ademola Adeleke Weeping

By Ayodele Oni

The Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo has reversed the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke as the duly elected governor of the state.

The Tribunal, in a split judgement, of two to one, declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), should withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Adeleke and return same to former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola

The majority judgement, which was read by the Chairman, Justice Tertse Kume said Oyetola scored the majority lawful votes of 314,931 against Adeleke’s 219,666

The minority judgement is still being read.

Breaking: Nassarawa Gov Loses First Son

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nassarawa state has lost his first son, Hassan Sule.

According to a terse statement on Friday by Governor Sule Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Addra the state government said Hassan died suddenly in Lafia, the state’s capital without mentioning the cause of his death.

Hassan, the magazine’s checks revealed, got married to his first wife, Hajiya Sule, in June last year.

The statement reads: “His Excellency, Abdullahi A. Sule, the Governor of Nasarawa State, on behalf of his family, announces the sudden demise of his son, Hassan Sule, whose sad event occurred on Thursday January 26, 2023.

“Hassan died at the age of 36.

“The late Hassan will be laid to rest in Gudi, Akwanga Local Government Area today.”

Petrol Scarcity: NARTO Warns Members Against Hoarding, Diversion

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Amidst the biting fuel scarcity across the country, Yusuf Othman, the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, has warned its members against diversion of Petroleum products.

For close to two months, Nigerians have suffered untold hardship with no end in sight to the fuel scarcity. While some blame the NNPP Limited for the problems, the marketers are not spared for allegedly diverting the products into neighbouring countries.

The product is now sold well above the government’s regulatory price of N165 per litre due its unvailability in many parts of the country

President Muhammadu Buhari, last week, set up a committee headed by him to find a lasting solution to the problem, even though doubt lingers among Nigerians on the capacity of the administration to end the crisis.

Speaking on Monday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, Othman warned his members not to compound the problem by diverting the product, saying the scarcity has affected the Nat economy negatively.

NARTO President, Yusuf Othman, gave the warning in Abuja in reaction to the lingering fuel crisis in the country.

The NARTO boss called on “law-abiding and patriotic members who are into the transportation of petroleum products to please desist from illegal bunkering, smuggling and diversion of petroleum products.”

“This is because these actions are detrimental to the economy of our great nation. This association will not support, defend, or sympathise with anyone caught committing these crimes,” Othman said.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Yimipre Sylva, had while announcing the 14- member committee to be chaired by the president, warned that the federal government will not continue to watch while untold hardship is being visited on Nigerians by those he failed to mention their names.

“The Federal Government will not allow misguided elements to bring untold hardship upon the citizenry and attempt to discredit government’s efforts in consolidating the gains made thus far in the oil and gas sector of the economy,” Silva said in a statement signed by His media aide, Horatius Egua.

New Notes: Professor Drags Emefiele To Court

By
Uche Mbah
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Professor Joshua Alobo

By Uche Mbah

A Law Professor, Joshua Alobo, has dragged the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to an Abuja High Court, seeking restraint from implementation of the January 31 deadline for the withdrawal of old N200, N500 and N1000 notes from circulation.

Pressures have been mounting on CBN from different quarters to extend the deadline, but the CBN remained adamant, with the full support of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Senate has proposed the end of August while the House of Representatives proposed end of July.

In a suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/114/2023 filed by Alobo, he wants the court to issue an injunction compelling the CBN to extend the “duration where the old notes cease to become legal tender to a period of three weeks when the redesign notes will be sufficiently dispense by the commercial banks.”

Joined in the suit are the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

According to Alabo, the CBN Governor had on October 26, 2022, announced  introduction of a new series of redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes into the financial system. But he insisted that the general Public is yet to get the new notes. He claimed that as at January 25, Banks still dispense the old notes over the counter and automatic teller Machines.

He described the terminal date of January 31 for usage of the old notes as “discriminatory against the rural dwellers, poor and less privileged persons in the society, as politically exposed persons are paid with the redesigned notes.”

He noted:

“That cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria is innovative and welcome development but the rural dwellers that constitute bulk of the population do not have access to internet and banking facilities.

“The legal tussle for the arrest of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria by the Department of State Security, DSS, at the Federal High Court resulted in uncertainty as to the full implementation of the redesigned Naira notes.

“The legal action at the FCT, High Court for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of the Governor of CBN also necessitated anxiety in the country on the implementation of the policy.

“The Governor of CBN arrived Nigeria on January 13, 2023 and visited the President at the Aso Rock. The reception was well publicized in both electronic and print media.

“The current daily limit of transaction to N20, 000 is against the Central Bank daily limit of N100, 000.”

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