President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote



President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has expressed delight at the news of being awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, the nation's second highest award previously the exclusive preserve of Vice Presidents, Senate Presidents and Chief Justices of Nigeria.

In his first reaction to the news, Dangote said he was elated and surprised that he was considered worthy for such a high national honour.

He told NIGERIANFACTORS,: "I am really elated and surprised by this honour considering that it is usually for very highly placed government officials such as Vice Presidents, Senate Presidents and Chief Justices of the Federation. I am really excited and feel greatly honoured by this government.

"The challenge now is for me to work hard to justify this honour. As you know, awards of this nature come with a high degree of responsibility."

On how he first got wind of the news of the award, he revealed that a friend sent him a text message Friday night to alert him.

"I think this is a very direct message to us in the business community that the government is taking notice of our effort, and I will like to call on all members of the private sector to redouble their effort towards building a strong and virile nation."

By this award, Dangote has become the first individual outside government to clinch the coveted award.

Meanwhile, the National Honour Award Committee of the Special Duties Secretariat has defended its landmark choice to honour Dangote with the award of GCON, saying that it’s within the constitutional right of President Jonathan to so do.

Speaking to NIGERIANFACTORS, the Secretary, National Honours Merit Award Committee, Mr. Adeyemi Tunde, made it clear that it is within the constitutional right of President Goodluck Jonathan to approve honours award to deserving citizens of the country including all those to be honoured this year.

He said: "Giving honour to anybody in the country is the constitutional right of Mr. President (Jonathan). So I don’t see what is wrong with that."

CNPP Wants House to Strengthen EFCC

Farida Waziri, EFCC Chairman

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has urged the House of Representatives to strengthen the Economic Crimes Commission (EFCC) by ensuring that special courts are established for speedy dispensation of corrupt cases rather than dissipate energy on who should head the anti-graft agency.

The CNPP stated this in a statement made available Friday by its Publicity Secretary Mr. Osita Okechukwu.

The House had on Wednesday commenced the move to amend the EFCC Act to exclude all former ex-security officers from being appointed as the chairman of the anti-graft agency.

The sponsor of the amendment, Hon Bassey Ewa, claimed "the EFCC has become a political tool against perceived enemies," thus necessitating the amendment.

The lawmakers also proposed that only the serving or retired Justice of the Supreme Court or that of the Court of Appeal should be eligible for the position.

But the CNPP faulted the claim of the lawmakers, saying that there was no proof that the retired justice would perform better than ex-officers.

It also stated that what the lawmakers should support was the establishment of special courts and not the status of who would head the agency.

The CNPP added that the time had come for the House to decisively use its oversight function to accede to the request of the EFCC for the legislation of special courts which would assist the anti-graft agency in quick dispensation of justice.

It also reminded stakeholders that the EFCC under the retired ex-officers had performed better than the ICPC that was headed by retired jurists.

Nigerian political structures economically wasteful -Sanusi

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi yesterday said that the present political structures of Nigeria are too cumbersome and economically wasteful to guarantee rapid development of the country and a state of emergency should be declared in Nigeria’s educational sector because procrastination on the issue will inflict incalculable and irreversible damage in the nation.


Sanusi who spoke as the Guest Speaker on the occasion of the presentation of Professor Adamu Baike’s book, “Against All Odds” at Arewa House, Kaduna noted that the present 36 States are spending 96 percent of their revenues to pay salaries of their respective civil servants in an economy that is to develop on a long term basis, and posed a rhetorical question, “do we need 36 States, do we need the number of ministries that we have”?

He also pointed out that the federal government is spending 70 percent of its total revenue to pay workers’ salaries as well as taking care of the overhead cost, maintaining that it has denied the growth of some vital sectors of the socio-economy of the nation, leaving only 30 percent for 150 million Nigerians.

CBN Boss whose paper presentation was entitled, “Re-Invigorating Education in Nigeria”, lamented that there are 71,000 Nigerian students in Ghana who are paying not less than 155 billion naira as tuition annually, compared with the annual budget of 121 billion naira for the entire federal university education in Nigeria.

According to him, “Ultimately we will have to be confronted with the task of taking very difficult steps in looking at the political structures that we have. Do we need 36 States, do we need the number of ministries that we have. It is an economy in which states spend 96 percent of their revenues to pay their civil servants. Is this an economy that is likely to be developed in the long term?

“These are difficult questions that we need to ask, we have created states and local governments and ministry structures that are economically unviable, and the result is that we do not have funding for infrastructures, we do not have funding for education, we do not have funding for health.

“I don’t know how many people know that 70 percent of the total revenue of the Federal government is spent paying salaries and over head, and leaving the remaining 30 percent for 150 million Nigerians.

“For example, according to a newspaper account, and quoting the chairman, committee of governing councils of Nigerian Federal Universities: “there are 71,000 Nigerian students in Ghana who pay not less than 155 billion naira as tuition annually, compared with the annual budget of 121 billion naira for the entire federal university education in Nigeria. Findings placed Nigeria third on the list of countries with the highest number of students studying overseas.

Declare your 2010 books-Law firm tells EFCC

Victory and Rose Associates, an Abuja-based law firm, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to explain how it spent its 2010 budget.


A letter made available to Sunday Trust, addressed to the chairman of the commission dated 16th October and signed by Ogboli Charles and Osuagwu Ugochukwu read in part: “we are in possession of the EFCC’s budgetary allocation for 2010. Our records show that the commission was allocated N9,017,327,453 for 2010.”

Citing sections 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Freedom Of Information Act, the firm asked the Commission to explain “how the sum of N198,000,000 and N340,000,000 were utilized for media advocacy and insurance respectively and which company is handling the insurance policy of the Commission and total number of staff and/or properties benefiting under this insurance scheme.”

It also demanded to know “why the commission re-advertised in the Federal Tenders Journal for the Construction of the Port Harcourt office block and received budgetary allocation for this project in he 2011 Appropriation Act when under the 2010 budget, the Commission had already been allocated the sum of N24,750,000 for the same Port Harcourt office block.”

Jonathan: ECOWAS, Highly Marginalised in Global Trade

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday said that members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were being  marginalised  in the flow of global trade and investment. The President made this disclosure in his address at the 2nd ECOWAS Investment Forum which commenced in Lagos Thursday . He therefore appealed  for partnership between member states and external partners to ensure that the observed imbalance is corrected.

Jonathan whose speech was presented by Vice President, Namadi Sambo, emphasised that the West African region had shown a lot of promises given the various economic and political reforms that most countries in the region had embarked upon. “In spite of the current global economic and financial markets volatility, West Africa has shown a lot of promises given the various economic and political reforms that a number of our member states had embarked upon. The forum is put in place to demonstrate that the region currently offers tremendous opportunities for foreign investors.

“I am glad to note that   various initiatives of ECOWAS Commission indicate that these objectives of regional integration is being achieved in phases from our ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), through the Common External Tariff (CET) that has been accepted by all the 15 member states to the current harmonisation of the member states investment laws under the common market. ‘’ With these giant strides, i see our region becoming an Economic Union sooner than expected, where the boundaries that had separated our interaction over the centuries past would become irrelevant,” Jonathan is also the Chairman of ECOWAS Commission added.

He also advised member states to open their financial markets and institutions to other member states within the region as well as to permit local market participants to invest abroad. He said further: “It is my belief that by creating confidence in financial co-operations among member states via regional payment system, regional stock exchange, regional credit data base and the information on investment climate indicators, the region is providing the basis for harmonised single economic space as well as steps towards the common currency aspiration of the community.

“However, more ambitious objectives related to regional  trade-related payment systems can be met only if member states collaborate in these various arrangements and initiatives of the commission towards deeper macroeconomic   convergence.”

2012 Budget: FEC Holds Emergency Session Today

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the National Economic Team, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

A special Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting has been scheduled for today at 10am to consider the draft copy of 2012 budget in preparation for its transmission to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan, soon.

This is to give fillip to the pledge by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the National Economic Team, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that next year’s Appropriation Bill would be presented to the National Assembly earlier this year than in the past.

THISDAY gathered that the emergency meeting of the FEC is sequel to the scheduled trip of Jonathan to the United Nations General Assembly next week. It was learnt that the meeting was brought forward because the cabinet prefers that every member of the FEC was in attendance when such a crucial deliberation would hold.

To ensure that the meeting becomes a reality, the economic team met Thursday, in addition to several other meetings in the Villa, to ensure that the push for an economically and socially viable Nigeria was not a mirage at the end of the tenure of the administration. The meetings, THISDAY further gathered, was part fulfilment of Jonathan’s pledge to continue to provide conducive environment for investment.

This came on the heels of a reassurance by Jonathan that the present administration was prepared to encourage every investor that was ready to put his money into the production sector of the Nigerian economy. He said this when Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Timipre Sylva, led officials of  Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea, to the Presidential Villa. The firm is to build a $7-billion shipyard that is expected to provide employment for over 2,000 youths in the state.

Jonathan told the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Jai-Seong Lee, that his administration believed that foreign investment flow into the country would bolster Nigeria’s efforts at generating more employment for its “youthful” population.

He assured the visitors that he would do all within his powers to support the project. “Hyundai has a long-standing relationship with Nigeria. You have always played a key role in our economy, especially in our oil industry. We appreciate what you have done and we are elated by your latest investment in a shipyard project at Brass,” Jonathan said.

He assured the Hyundai chief that relevant government ministries and agencies would be on ground to give the firm all necessary support to ensure that the shipyard was completed on schedule. Sylva said the company, which investment was a major breakthrough for his administration, would have a turnover of over $20 billion.

He said when completed, the shipyard would build and service ships as well as provide floating vessels for storage and processing of petroleum products - services that are currently being brought into the country from foreign shipyards. “You will agree with me that Mr. President did well by signing the local content law and since then it's been working. This is the first example of how that law can really empower Nigerians.

“Hyundai heavy industries is going to invest about $7 billion and we are going to create initially about 2,000 jobs and for a state like Bayelsa that has youths problem, you know what that means to us and that is why I am very excited and I thought I should bring them to Mr. President to give them words of encouragement which he has done.

“They are going to invest in a shipyard; that means most of the top sites in the oil companies would be built in Bayelsa State. They are going to invest 100 per cent which is the beauty of it. What we are doing is provide the enabling environment. We have acquired the land and we have given it to them and we are building a road to where the industry is to be located. For us, the gain is in the jobs they are going to create and the taxes they will be paying to us when they commence operations,” he explained.

He said construction would start next year, while the first phase would be completed between 2013 and 2014.

Minimum Wage Crisis: ENSG Sues Labour

NLC President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar

The Enugu State government has dragged labour bodies before the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja seeking among other things, a declaration that the current industrial action embarked by workers in the state at the instance of Congress is unlawful.

The government in the suit dated 12th September, 2011 in which the NLC and six others including the Chairman and Secretaries of the state chapter of the body and the Trade Union Congress(TUC) are mentioned as defendants, is also asking the Court to declare that the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2011 merely required an employer to pay every worker a wage that is not less than N18,000 per month and did not apply, to the determination of wages payable generally to other workers or employees in such organization.

The suit furthers seeks a declaration that the 2nd to 7th defendants (all labour leaders in Enugu) cannot unlawfully take part in any strike or engaging in any conduct in contemplation or furtherance of any strike unless and until after they have fulfilled all conditions prescribed by law for calling such actions.

Consequent on the above, it is seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and they represent, jointly or severally, from embarking on, or continuing in furtherance of, any strike/industrial in violation of the provisions of section 31 (6) (a) of the Trade (Amendment) Act or an order of perpetual injunction restraining from embarking on such action until they have fulfilled all conditions prescribed by the relevant laws.

Meanwhile the Court Wednesday granted an application by the government seeking leave to serve the defendants the originating processes including the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction by publishing in a named National Daily.

The Court presided over by Hon, Justice M.N Esowe also granted the claimant’s application to abridge the period within which the
Respondents are given to respond from 7 to 3 days. The matter has been adjourned to the 21st of September, 2011 for hearing of  the motion on notice.

Customs Agents Seek Ports Concession Review

National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) has slammed proponents of single window for the clearance of goods in the nation’s seaports, airports and international borders.

The group, which is made up of seasoned licensed customs agents across the country, flayed the promoters of the project as it was a waste of resources and duplication of the single window platform already put in place by the management of Webb Fontaine Limited and used by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for the clearance of goods in the nation’s seaports.

In a position paper it presented to the Chairman of the House’s 12-man Ad-Hoc Committee on Concession Agreement, Hon. Leo Okuweh Ogor, NCMDLCA argued that the process that led to the award of the contract to the management of Single Window Systems and Technology Limited (SWSTL) did not follow due process and transparency, even as it called for the review of the port reforms that led to the hand over of the nation’s seaports to private investors.

Founder of NCMDLCA, Mr. Lucky Amiwero, told participants at the on-going public hearing on concession agreement at the National Assembly that there was no need for the Federal Government to enter into a fresh contract for a facility that was already in place.

Giving an insight into how the present process is presently implemented, Amiwero said: “The question to be asked is why the duplication, the special feature of the new platform, the special features/hardware that will be deployed to take over the present platform and implication in terms of process and procedure to import trading activities due to customised process”.

The Economic Commission for Europe (ECA), United Nations Centre for Trade4 Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) defines single window as a facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised information and documents with a single entry point to fulfil all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements. If information is electronic, then individual data elements should only be submitted once.

It is a model aimed at eliminating the multiplicity of the processes involved in cargo clearance, which has made Nigeria one of the most expensive countries to do business in the world. SWSTL management had two years ago proposed to the Federal Government its ability to put in place a single window model for the clearance of goods imported into the country.

The proposal, which was accepted by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), mandated the Federal Ministry of Finance to work out the modalities for its implementation.
Amiwero, who is also the Managing Director of Eyis Resources Ltd, contended that going by what is presently in use in the nation’s seaports, airports and international borders, there was no need to bring in a fresh facility for the clearance of cargo in the country.

He also stressed the need to review the various port concession agreements in Nigeria in order to control inflation and harness maritime potential for the good of Nigerians, the government and genuine investors.
He made it clear to members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Concession Agreement that it was wrong to increase port charges arbitrarily.

He bemoaned the high cost of clearing consignments at the nation’s ports. He also condemned the arbitrary increases in port charges by the concessionaires whom he said might have misinformed or misled the government functionaries to achieve profiteering goals by enriching a privileged few Nigerians and foreigners at the expense of the vast majority of the Nigerian people.
Amiwero recalled the events of the pre-port concession era, saying that when the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) advertised the concession of the port in 2003, no fewer than 37 issues were canvassed by the bureau to justify the concession.

According to him, the management of BPE said the port reform would improve efficiency of operations, reduce the cost of cargo clearance, facilitate further development of the nation’s transport infrastructure, eliminate congestion and facilitate the emergence of Nigeria as a hub for the West Africa sub-region.

He expressed regret that five years after the exercise was concluded, the objectives for which it was meant to achieve have not been attained. His words: “Five years after the ports were concession, these objectives, laudable as they appear, are far from being achieved, as cost of doing business at the ports has risen far higher than what used to be.”

Post-Election Violence: Judicial Panel Submits Report

Justice Mohammed Lawal Bello, chairman of the commission

The Judicial Commission of Enquiry set up by the Kaduna State Government to investigate the violence that trailed the April elections Tuesday submitted its report. The commission also said there would be lasting peace and stability in the state if its recommendations were implemented.
Submitting the report to Governor Patrick Yakowa at the Government House Kaduna, the chairman of the commission, Justice Mohammed Lawal Bello, also called on the state government to implement the reports and recommendations of past commissions of enquiry that were set up to investigate other crises in the state.
According to him, 90 per cent of the recommendations were from the memoranda submitted to the commission by the people of the state. He said the commission was optimistic, based on its findings, that majority of the people were in support of harmonious co-existence, irrespective of ethnic, religious or political affiliations.

“If the people are not willing to live peacefully, whatever the recommendations of the commission and however beautiful the plans of government, there is little or nothing that can be achieved” he added.

He disclosed that a total of 255 memoranda were received, and said the commission visited all the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps, the emirates and chiefdoms, as well as Jaba, Jema’a, Zangon Kataf, Lere and Birnin Gwari local government areas to ascertain the facts on the ground.
While commending the commission for a job well done, Yakowa said his administration would study the recommendations with a view to implementing them to ensure security, peace and harmony in the state.

He decried the non-implementation of reports of previous commissions of Enquiry and assured the people that his administration would make a difference.

Deputy Speaker Picks Holes in Port Concessioning

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha,

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, has faulted   the concessioning of the nation’s seaports in 2006. Ihedioha spoke at the ‘All Mariners’ Summit’, which took place at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, and expressed regret that despite the fact that the House participated in a committed manner to the port reform processes to move the sector forward in line with the international best practice, the exercise was not fair and transparent. “Today however we have seen that the process was not all fair and transparent”, he said.

The legislator expressed regret that the Ports and Harbour Bill was sent to the National Assembly in August 2006 while the House was on recess, only for the members to discover that the ports had already been concessioned. “In addition, it was not a product of adequate consultation and so the content of the bill did not reflect proper industry expectations and concerns.

However, we engaged both the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Federal Ministry of Transport to address these concerns to enable the bill move forward. “But nothing was done till the first week of May 2007 when to our amazement, some provisions of the proposed law were ‘implemented ‘by ‘splitting’ NPA into two autonomous organisations”, he said.

Ihedioha, who was represented by Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, stated that the House responded by passing a resolution declaring the exercise illegal and called for a reversal to the position of the law.

Noting that the Presidency implemented the resolution in September 2007, Ihedioha, who was the Chairman, House Committee on Marine Transport for four years (2003 to 2007), expressed regret neither NPA nor the Ministry of Transport has come up with an alternative legislation to the bill previously submitted.
“All we hear is that the bill has been floating between the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), National Council for Privatisation (NCP) and the Presidency for four years while our ports are run on a concessioned arrangement, seemingly without an enabling law”, he said.

The Deputy Speaker however gave an assurance that he would ensure the smooth sail of the bill whenever it comes before the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
He also assured that the leadership of the House would take keen interest in and deal appropriately with the recommendations of the planned probe of the concession agreement between the Federal Ministry of Finance and Single Window Systems and Technology Limited.

On Cabotage, Ihedioha said while the Cabotage law came into being before he was appointed the chairman of the House Committee on Marine Transport, “we put in place the requisite legal instruments for its implementation, especially as regards the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
“Information available to me is that about $100 million has so far accrued in that account. There are questions as to why the funds are lying in the banks and have not been made available to operators for whom it was set up in the first place”, he added.

The lawmaker also noted that in an effort to boost development of personnel and infrastructure in the sector, the committee included obligatory provision in the NIMASA Act 2007 that guaranteed the putting aside of at least 2 per cent of their revenue for the Maritime Fund.

He explained that the idea was to take funds generated within the sector for the dedicated development of indigenous capacity and infrastructure in the sector. “Once again, information available to me is that about $100 million, including the rolled over funds of the defunct Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund (SASBF), has accrued into that account. There are also questions as to why the funds are still in banks and have not been made available to operators for whose benefit it was set up in the first place”, he said.

Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, in a keynote address at the summit, noted that the challenge of building capacity for the maritime sector had since been identified as critical to the sustainable development of the sector. Akpobolokemi said it was necessary for Nigeria and the sector to focus on the development of human capacity as the only viable route to harnessing the unlimited potentials in the maritime sector.

The NIMASA helmsman disclosed that the management of the agency has concluded plans to kick start the process of establishing additional maritime academies through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework, which would eventually evolve into full fledged maritime component of the oil and gas industry.

FEC Awards N33bn Contracts for Power, Erosion, ICT in Schools

Minister for ICT, Mrs. Omobola Johnson

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) Wednesday approved contracts for erosion control in the South-east, provision of Information Technology in 387 schools across the country, completion of hydro dam in Taraba and remediation of sludge pits at Kaduna refinery and petrochemical company dumpsites at the sum of N33.13 billion.

The criteria for the choice of benefiting schools to be provided with computers and laptops were not disclosed. However, the Minister for ICT, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, said 100 classmate personal computers for students and 21 laptops for teaching, two printers and one server, broadband internet and 5kva solar power equipment would be provided for the schools.

She said that the equipment for teaching ICT across the country would be installed in nine schools in each of the 36 states of the federation, three in the federal capital territory and 10 additional schools in each geo-political zone. The equipment would also cover refurbishment and securing of equipment storage room, provision of wireless mesh and charging platform for each of the schools.

“Council approved the request in order to create a generation of Nigerians with a broad base of theoretical and practical knowledge of ICT on which they can leverage when they step into the labour market, in the cost of N16, 666 million and a total cost of N6, 449 billion with a completion period of 36 weeks each.

Asked where the funding would come from for the ICT in schools projects, Johnson replied: “The funding is coming from the universal service provision fund which is a percentage of the revenue of the GSM telecoms company.

The Communication Act of the USPF which gets contributions from telecom companies and other businesses in that sector so that services can be extended to undeserved and un-served areas in Nigeria.”

Also among the approved power projects was the variation for the upgrading of the hydropower component of the construction of Kashimbila Gamovo multipurpose Dam which would serve the purpose of irrigation, power and potable drinking water for parts of Benue and Taraba States.

The project, however, did not include the hydro component which was supposed to generate 40 megawatts with an augmented budget of N17, 69 billion with 36 months as completion period which was part of government policy for optimising hydropower generation. Council also approved award of contracts for the control of erosion and landslides in parts of the South East for N5.4 billion in Nanka in Aguata local government area of Anambra state, Sakamor/ Nwangene flood and dredging works, Obinagu/ Akpulu/ Enugueze-Umunneobagu in Enugu and channelisation of Iyi Okwu and Iyi udele stream in Ebonyi State.

“Breakdown of the projects are Sakamor/Nwangene flood control and dredging works in Anambra state in the sum of N1.23billion with a completion period of 18months; Nanka recent landslide control works also in Anambra state in sum of N1.111billion with a completion period of 12months; Obinagu/Akpulu/Enugueze-Umunneobagu erosion control in Enugu state in the sum of N1.482billion with completion period of 15months; and the channelization of Iyi Okwu and Iyi Udele stream in Ebonyi state in the sum of N1.544billion, with a completion period of 14months,” Hajia Hadiza Mailafia, the Minister of Environment said.

Remediation contract for the sludge pit of the Kaduna refinery and Petroleum Company dumpsite and impacts negatively on the residents off the area who have said they were more concerned with the impact on the environment and safety than on compensation. The contract was awarded to Messrs Osprey Investments Group in the sum of N1, 811 billion.

Council also ratified the convention on the status of stateless persons which would give impetus to the United Nations Charter on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights so that everyone has a right to nationality.

“Every UN convention is relevant to all member states because in the first instance the idea is to ensure there is nobody in the world that does not have a state. And the convention enables the states to make possible under their laws the rules that will grant every person the right to statehood. And this is why you see in most state the make provision for citizens to naturalized, if for example you want to change your citizenship from Cameroonian to a Nigerian and you have lived in Nigeria for some years and the laws of the country has nothing against you, Nigeria should accord you the citizenship.

“If you are married to a non-Nigerian, the laws of Nigeria should not allow your spouse to be without a state, the law must allow your spouse access citizenship by registration.

All these process you see in our laws where every year we grant citizenship to those that have lived here and do businesses here is in conformity with this UN convention. It is relevant to us, it is relevant to all member of the UN and is relevant to the people world and Nigeria being a frontline African state that has contributed so much to the UN we feel it is not good for us to already have accented to this convention without ratifying it, it is just good for us”, Maku explained.

House Makes U-Turn on Islamic Banking

Aminu Tambuwal, House Speaker

Perhaps worried by the barrage of criticisms that trailed the seeming endorsement given by the House of Representatives on Islamic banking and cash withdrawal limit last Thursday, the lower chamber has reversed its position on the proposed policies.
The House said Tuesday that its acceptance of the presentation made by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, on the two issues was neither an endorsement nor acceptance of the policies.
Sanusi had appeared before the House to explain the controversial policies, but his explanation had ended in a monologue, as the lawmakers were not allowed to ask questions on the policies. 

The change of position by the lawmakers is coming just as the Anambra State government has faulted a portion of Sanusi’s briefing wherein he alleged that the state was the first to obtain a loan from the Islamic Development Bank.
Leader of the Anambra Parliamentary Caucus in the House, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, said Sanusi misled the House and the entire world when he alleged in the presentation on the Islamic banking policy that Anambra State took a loan from the Islamic Development Bank.

She presented to the chamber a letter from the Anambra State Ministry of Finance and Budget to support the position of the state. The letter signed by the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Eze Echesi, said the state did not at any time take any loan from the Islamic Development Bank and did not at any time make any contact whatsoever with the said financial institution.

Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha said the letter of protest should be laid formally before the House, but cautioned that the lower chamber should not allow the controversies arising from the policies of the CBN to distract it from its legislative agenda.
Ihedioha directed the Ad hoc Committee on Rules and Business to make copies of the letter available to every member, while the Ad hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs was asked to address the complaint of another lawmaker that the image of the House had been battered in some media commentaries on the controversial policies.

Chairman, Ad hoc Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Bamidele Opeyemi, who briefed newsmen shortly after the plenary, said though the lawmakers applauded Sanusi’s presentation, their action was not an endorsement of the policies.
Opeyemi acknowledged that over a hundred lawmakers raised their hands seeking more clarification on the policies, the decision by the deputy speaker not to allow questions was deliberate to avoid turning the chamber into a battle ground and heating up the polity.
He said such engagement would be better handled at the committee level.

In the same vein, a member of the House, Hon. Bello Kaoje, has warned the CBN against the dangers of forcing the policies on the populace and advised the apex bank to provide sufficient enlightenment on them and allow Nigerians to make their choice.
Kaoje, representing Bagudo/ Suru Federal Constituency of Kebbi State, expressed his views during an interaction with newsmen in Abuja Tuesday.

He said that for the proposed policies to succeed, the CBN must be prepared to carry all strata of the Nigerian public along through sustained enlightenment, campaigns designed to highlight the advantages of the policies to the citizenry.
The lawmaker said that without adequate enlightenment campaign, the policies, laudable as they might appear, might fail to achieve their desired results.
Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Dr. Abdul-Lateef Adegbite, has disowned Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad over his recent comment that Muslims were ready to go to war if Islamic banking was not allowed to operate in the country.

Adegbite described the statement as his (Ahmad’s) personal view and does not reflect the view or position of the council.
Commenting on the controversy generated by Ahmad’s statement, Adegbite while answering questions from journalists at the two-day National Stakeholders’ Summit on Security and Public Awareness, in Abuja, said the purported statement was a personal opinion which should not be seen as official statement from the council.

He however noted that the concept of Islamic banking was a genuine one, which is practised globally and should not be seen as a tool for Muslim domination of the country.
He said: “About 16 countries in Africa are already practising Islamic banking. The first Islamic bank, Jaiz, that is coming on board has so many non-Muslims on its board. Anybody can go to the bank and buy into it. No discrimination whatsoever. People are just being naïve and ignorant.”

He however emphasised that such controversial statements was the opinion of an individual.
“Don’t bring me into that. Everybody is entitled to his opinion. That does not represent the opinion of the council,” he said.
Ahmad had told journalists in Kaduna last weekend that, “Jaiz bank has come to be and there is nothing they (Christian leaders) can do about it and if we have to go to war on this, we’ll go to war”, adding that, “let those wearing cassocks stop disturbing our peace.

Gentlemen (journalists), being peaceful doesn’t mean we are cowards. We warn them to stop disturbing our peace if they want us to live together in Nigeria. Everybody can go his way; we don’t have to live together. We can’t live under people dictating to us how we should live our lives even within the laws of the country.

“Whatever they call themselves, whether archbishops, priests or whatever they are, let them stop disturbing our lives. We have had enough; let the government warn them because these abuses are enough. We have been patient but there is a limit to what we can take. On this Jaiz bank, there is no going back. Everything has been done according to the law.”

CBN Raises Interest Rate to 8.75%

Sanusi Lamido, CBN Governor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  Tuesday raised further the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)  to 8.75 per cent from 8 per cent, representing an increase of 75 basis points.
The MPR, the benchmark interest rate at which the commercial banks borrow from the apex bank, was raised to 8 per cent from 7.5 per cent in May. It had also been increased by 100 basis points from 6.5 per cent to 7.5 percent in March.  

The implication of the increase is that borrowers including manufacturers, corporate bodies and individuals will have to pay more for funds since the commercial  banks will  get such funds at higher rates from the apex bank.

The CBN  said the MPR was raised due to  uncertainty over the “dark clouds” on the international landscape and the rising spectra of structural fiscal deficit including likely increase in liquidity occasioned by the implementation of N18,000 new minimum wage for workers; the injection of funds by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and  Federal Allocation.
It also emerged Tuesday that the country’s gross external reserves stood at $33.73 billion as at July 21, 2011. That was an increase of $1.84 billion or 5.77 per cent over its June 30, 2011 level.

Addressing journalists on the outcome of a two-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi explained that the decision to further tighten monetary policy was informed by the need to take precautionary measures in the event of adverse development in the international economy.
Sanusi disclosed that the resolve to raise the MPR by 75 basis points was supported by a majority vote of eight members of the committee while one member favoured an adjustment by 50 basis points. Three other members voted for retaining the MPR at 8 per cent.

Essentially, he stated that the decision to tighten monetary policy was approved by a majority of 10 to 2.Sanusi noted that MPC agreed to maintain the corridor at +/-200 basis points around the MPR. The governor who read the Communiqué No.77 of the MPC said the committee noted that inflationary pressures that were traceable to the high expenditure levels associated with the April 2011 general elections as well as the effects of rising international energy, commodity and food prices had moderated by June 2011. He tied the development partly to the tight monetary policy of the bank since September 2010.

He added that the committee however, observed that the inflation outlook remained uncertain as a result of the expected implementation of the new minimum wage policy and the imminent deregulation of petroleum prices.
“The federal government itself is not going to increase the salary bill because no civil servant in the federal civil service earns less than N18, 000. But you are going to find that across the board, as the states increase that, assuming they are able to pay, that exerts pressure on prices especially if it feeds into other sources of liquidity injection especially AMCON and FAAC,” he said.

Besides, Sanusi pointed out that significant injection of liquidity from FAAC in the third quarter coupled with the impact of AMCON recapitalising the intervened banks to the tune of N1.6 trillion will both add to inflationary pressure.
He said the committee okayed the favourable growth projections but cautioned that the current security challenges, infrastructural bottlenecks and uncertainty in the global economy as well as fiscal developments could undermine investors’ confidence and output growth in the short-term.

Sanusi also said  the committee expressed worry over sluggish growth of credit to the private sector in the first quarter due to the heightened credit risk in the real economy as a result of persistent structural problems caused by inadequate power supply and critical infrastructure deficit.

He added: “The Committee noted the modest accretion to external reserves in recent months but remained concerned about the sustained low level of accretion in the face of higher oil output, higher oil exports and higher oil prices... given that the current oil price level may not be sustained in the event of a slowdown in global economic recovery, the Committee reiterated the need for pursuing policies to foster macro-economic stability, economic diversification as well as encouraging foreign capital inflows.”
It however, commended  the CBN for the limit placed on the foreign exchange sales to the BDCs

Amnesty Chides JTF over Maiduguri Killings

Hafiz Ringim, Police IG

Amnesty International has accused Nigeria’s military of killing 23 people, while shooting at random, after the bomb blast in the city of Maiduguri on July 23.

The group acknowledged a report that the bomb, which was allegedly set off by Boko Haram injured three soldiers but accused the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) of responding by shooting and killing a number of people, apparently at random, before burning down a market.

“President Goodluck Jonathan must get a grip on the Nigerian armed forces and immediately prevent them from carrying out further human rights violations and unlawful killings,” said the group’s Deputy Director for Africa, Tawanda Hondora.

Amnesty called on the government to investigate what it terms as heinous crimes and put on trial those found to be responsible for the killings.

“Allowing troops to go on the rampage will not bring to justice those who carry out these terrible bomb attacks on civilians,” he said.

“While staying within the law, the government must step up efforts to bring to justice members of Boko Haram who wreck untold suffering on people in the middle belt,” it continued.

Amnesty said one human rights defender said: “Soldiers went on the rampage. They shot several people and burned all their shops and properties and burned their cars.”

Jonathan: With FoI Act, No More Hiding Place

 President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan Monday warned public servants who had been circumventing public procurement laws to desist from doing so as any infraction would henceforth be visited with the full wrath of the law. 

Ignorance, he said, would never be an excuse, as he warned contractors who he said he had received reports of their collusion with civil servants to aid abandonment of contracts.

Jonathan said there was no more hiding place for them with the passage and assent into law of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act which requires that government business should no longer be shrouded in secrecy.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, represented the president at the fourth National Procurement Forum to mark the 10th anniversary of the public procurement reform in the country.

He warned that civil servants and government appointees needed to study, understand and apply the provisions of the Public Procurement Act as it was the only guide to conducting government businesses.

He noted that all the necessary legislations were now in place to ensure that transparency which would drive transformation were in place in a manner that would make government business to run transparently and where anybody could make inquiries and get answers, “so people have to work transparently in the discharge of their duties”.

 “I strongly advise all public officers whether elected or appointed to study the Public Procurement Act and understand and apply its provisions in the conduct of government business.  There will be no sacred cows for any infractions especially by those responsible for budget implementation at the federal level. And of course ignorance of the law will never be accepted as an excuse,” he warned.

He asked the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) to step up sensitisation efforts to cover ministries, government agencies and Nigerian missions abroad to ensure that a uniform system was adopted in the conduct of government business.

“Finally, I am happy to note that with the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, the media and the general public now have a tool to work for good governance. It is no longer possible to hide behind officialdom as everything is now in the open.

“I believe that the fight against corruption has now entered a critical stage and all public servants must take note that the old era has passed away. This is the era of transformation; the era of transparency and accountability not just in words but by action because the tools for public participation are now fully in place,” he pointed out.

Jonathan said the cream of attendees at the forum was a proof of the interest Nigerians have on the issue and urged the drivers of the programme to continually improve with an aim to perfect the system.

“I am fully aware of the many challenges which the BPP is confronted with in efforts to implement procurement reforms. Some of them include the tendency by corrupt officials of MDAs to circumvent BPP’s guidelines and the Public Procurement Act to satisfy selfish interests. Other common challenges which I understand the Bureau is battling with are contract splitting, manipulation of prequalification processes, and disregard for bidding regulations, payment guidelines etc.

“The Federal Government has also received reports of collusion between civil servants and contractors, and cases of contractors abandoning projects after receiving advance payments. There is also the problem of name-dropping in attempts to intimidate officials of BPP.

“My administration will continue to give every support that the BPP requires to sustain and improve on the achievements it has recorded thus far. I urge the Bureau to remain fair, firm and resolute and resist any form of intimidation or inducement in its resolve to enthrone a procurement regime that is open, competitive and cost-efficient and delivers value for money without compromising faster budget implementation,” he said.

He noted that as the system was being perfected, delays were being reduced in securing approvals, while integrity of the process was not being compromised which was the aim of the law.

Also Monday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo called for sanctions, including imprisonment, for culprits of the public procurement system abuse to serve as a deterrent. 

Obasanjo, whose administration passed the Public Procurement Act of 2007, said it was gratifying to see a gradual emergence of a "transparent" procurement system. 

The Director-General, BPP, Mr. Emeka Eze, said certain powers were bent on frustrating the due diligence efforts.

Eze said the bureau, through the help of civil organisations, had waxed from strength to strength notwithstanding the current opposition.

According to him, the bureau had won two out of the 11 cases against it, while five agencies had been recommended for investigation and eventual prosecution if found wanting.

Forex: CBN Intervenes, Raises Dollar Supply

Sanusi Lamido, CBN Governor

Apparently concerned by the rising demand for the United States dollar at the foreign exchange (forex) market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Monday increased its supply of the greenback at its regulated Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) by 60 per cent to a total of $400 million.

THISDAY checks showed that the total amount offered by the apex bank at the auction represented an increase of $150 million, as against the $250 million it had offered at last Wednesday’s auction.

But the demand for the dollar at the bi-weekly auction climbed further by 50 per cent, to a total of $545.5 million Monday, compared with the $362 million recorded at the previous auction. 

The value of the naira slipped slightly due to the strength of the unmet demand at the WDAS. It dipped by 15 kobo to N150.26/$1 compared with the N150.11/$1 it stood at last Wednesday.

However, data by Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA) showed that the local currency maintained its Friday’s value of N165/$1 at the parallel market. It also stood at N164.50/$1 at the Bureau De Change (BDC) section of the market.

Operators have continued to express concern over the disparity in the value of the dollar between the official and parallel markets. This, they alleged, had resulted into round tripping in the system.

An analyst and Head of Research, BGL Plc, Mr. Olufemi Ademola, argued that because of the volatility in the other market, especially the stock market, investors might be pulling out of equity market for other investment opportunities where returns were higher.

Ademola, who spoke in an interview with THISDAY, insisted that the parallel market of the forex market reflected its real volume of demand and supply.

He explained: “There was rumour in the market sometimes last month that the CBN was planning to devalue the naira and so there may be speculative trading in the market. You can’t speculate in the official market because of the CBN regulations, but you can do that in the parallel market. The parallel market measures the true movement of demand and supply of the market. 

“We have noticed that there are some periods of the year that demand usually go up because Nigeria will always travel. Summer period is one of such periods. Again, around September, you see a lot of pressure, particularly on the pounds. In December when most Nigerians living abroad come back, the naira appreciates because they will come back with dollar to celebrate the yuletide.”

He stressed that with the country’s robust oil revenue, which he argued were enough resources to demand and supply at the market and the new CBN policy, which lifted the restriction on bond holdings, there would soon be inflow of funds into the system. 

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Slamad Bureau De Change Limited, Mr. Amaeze Olisaemeka, urged the apex bank to raise the amount of dollar available to BDC operators.

“The CBN has a very good intention for the market, but we are appealing for an increase in the supply side of the market, either at the WDAS or from banks,” he said.

‘Why Licensees For Independent Power Projects Failed’

Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji

Managing Director of Chevy Chase Limited, Mr. Chukwude Okonjo said majority of the 34 operators licensed by the Federal Government to build Independent Power Plants (IPPs) failed because the authorities did not conduct adequate due diligence to determine their competence.

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC ) had licensed about 34 IPPs but six years after obtaining the licences, only few of the operators have demonstrated that they have the capacity to execute the projects.
Also a recent verification by NERC showed that some of the licensees could not be traced to the addresses they gave to the regulatory agency.
But Okonjo told THISDAY that both the government and the operators should be blamed for the failure of the licensees to perform according to their operating licenses.

According to him, the government did not provide adequate incentives to encourage private participation in the power sector.
“The problem lies on both sides – I don’t know how much due diligence that was conducted on the operators that were licensed to determine whether they have the capacity. Most of them also have funding problems – they were not able to access funding and this problem is also tied to the fact that the tariff or revenue that will accrue from power generation is too small to encourage people to actually invest. So, some of them were actually waiting to see if the government will revisit the issue of tariff. That is one major problem. The second major problem is the fact that the enabling environment was not just there,” he said.
He however noted that the government has stated putting adequate structures in place to enable the IPPs to thrive, adding that the recent creation of the Bulk Trader in the power industry will boost investment in IPPs.

“In fact, the government is also enhancing the transmission infrastructure to ensure that the power to be generated can be absorbed because even if we are to generate 30,000megawatts, we cannot transmit the power. So, we have to address this transmission problem,” he said.

He advocated for the creation of a buffer fund that will give private operators in the sector a sort of guarantee.
According to him, the buffer fund will assure the operators that that if they generate power and there is problem, there is a guarantee to take care of the problem.

“I think that is what the Bulk Trader is going to do. Again, there is the issue of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). If you don’t have proper PPA, which is your off-take agreement from the beginning, how do you expect that the financier will take u very seriously? They will not take you seriously until they know how they will be able to recoup their money if they give you the loan,” he added.

GTBank Set to Divest from GT Assurance

 Managing Director/Chief Executive of GTBank, Mr. Segun Agbaje

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) has said it had concluded arrangements to divest from GT Assurance Plc (GTAssur), its insurance subsidiary.

The bank had agreed to  sell its 67.68 per cent equity stake in the insurance firm, valued at N11.910 billion to Assur Africa Holding (AAH).

The move was in line with the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banking model.

A statement  filed by the bank to both the management of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), a copy of which was made available to THISDAY Thursday, however explained that completion of the deal was subject to regulatory approvals.

It said the transaction was expected to be concluded at the end of the third quarter of 2011.

GTAssurance was listed on the NSE on Friday, November 21, 2009. The management of the company had listed a total of 10 billion shares of the company at 50 kobo each at N3 per share.

The insurance firm is reputed as one of the most profitable companies in the Nigerian insurance industry. Its share price which stood at N1.43 per share as at close of trading at the stock exchange Thursday , however remained one of the most attractive in the
sub-sector, considering the downturn and the unimpressive performance of the sub-sector.

AAH is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Mauritius for the purpose of GTAssur acquisition. The shareholding structure of AAH is made up of six members, comprising three private equity funds with substantial investments across Africa.

They include - African Development Partners I, advised by Development Partners International (DPI) based in the United Kingdom, AfricInvest II LLC and AfricInvest Financial Sector Limited, both advised by AfricInvest Capital Partners (ACP) based in Tunisia and three international developmental finance institutions which includes DEG (Germany), Proparco (France) and FMO (Netherlands).

The acquisition is also being made in conjunction with a number of Nigerian investors.

Commenting on the deal, Managing Director/Chief Executive of GTBank, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: "This is a critical milestone in the
implementation of our compliance plan with the new licensing regime of the CBN, on the back of shareholders' approval obtained at the Bank's Extra-ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in October 2010."

On the selection of AAH as GTBank's preferred bidder, Agbaje affirmed that with the pedigree of the new buyer, the Bank was confident that AAH would continue to promote a culture of corporate governance in GTAssur that is consistent and compatible with best practice.

In addition, he stressed that AAH's robust post-acquisition plan for GTAssur as well as its support of the GTAssur management team and its strategy to profitably grow the business beyond the Bank's divestment contributed to its selection as the preferred bidder for GTBank's 67.68 per cent shareholding interest.

Agbaje said: "Over the last 7 years, GTBank has imparted on GTAssur our unique and enduring culture based on ethical and professional conduct as well as a high level of corporate governance, a legacy which has helped project the company from a marginal position (97th in market share) as at 2003 to a leadership position (fifth) by 2010.

In this regard, we are proud of our contribution to the development and deepening of the Nigerian insurance industry."

"This sale realises significant value for our shareholders. Together with the ongoing disposals of our other non-banking subsidiaries, it demonstrates clear delivery of our strategic focus of concentrating the Group's financial and management resources on our core business of commercial banking, with a view to enhancing our market positioning in the segments where we have strength and scale."

House Endorses Islamic Banking, Withdrawal Limit

Aminu Tambuwal house Speaker

The House of Representatives has accepted the arguments advanced by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in favour of the apex bank’s policies on Islamic component of non-interest banking and the limitation of daily cash withdrawals.

The lower chamber of the National Assembly gave its nod to the controversial policies after it received a comprehensive briefing on them at Thursday’s plenary. 

But, significantly, members were not allowed to ask any questions after his presentation.

There has been a lot of public outcry over the policies and the House had invited Sanusi to clarify the basis for introducing the non-interest banking and limiting the amount of cash a customer could withdraw from his bank account in a day.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon Emeka Ihedioha, who presided over the session, ruled that the clarifications offered by the apex bank were satisfactory and members had become more enlightened on the policies.

Ihedioha said that in view of the volume of explanations already made and the fact that the House would not have sat yesterday because of the death of the Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Dogondaji, the interaction should not be reduced to a question and answer session. 

The House had earlier observed a minute silence in honour of Dogondaji who died in the early hours of Thursday.

However, a cross section of lawmakers, who spoke to newsmen outside the chambers, disagreed with this position, arguing that the presentation made by Sanusi still left many questions unanswered and they were not given the opportunity to seek further clarifications.

Sanusi, who briefed the House for about one hour, said the introduction of the non-interest banking was to provide bank customers, particularly small scale businessmen, with an alternative banking platform that would allow them to borrow money to finance their enterprises without running into the  huge debt burden usually associated with the conventional banking system. 

The cash withdrawal limit policy, Sanusi said, was intended to reduce cost of service, increase access and convenience as well as advance Nigeria into the club of countries that run cashless economies. Both policies, he said, were in the overall interest of the Nigerian economy.

Apart from these policies being in line with global trends, Sanusi explained, they were in the interest of the poor masses in the country that had been bearing the huge cost of banking services even though their share of the cash flow in the economy had remained very low.  

He said under the policy on cash transaction, there is actually no embargo on the amount of money a bank customer could withdraw except that withdrawal beyond the stipulated limit would attract a cost to the customer.

“For the avoidance of doubt, no limit exists on cash transaction, but the very few high volume cash users should bear commensurate service cost while most of Nigerians are exempted from subsidising them. The 90 per cent of Nigerians who are poor people are subsidising 10 per cent who impose the huge cost of cash on the system.

“The industry proposal is not to place limit on cash transactions, but to provide that the 10 per cent of customers who make high volume cash transactions will bear the associated cost and eliminate the subsidy by the mass public (90 per cent) of banking customers. 

This will have direct impact on banking industry efficiency and cost structure – reducing the cost of cash to the financial system will result in significant savings that can be passed on to customers in form of reduced cost of banking services and lower lending rates to borrowers,” he said.

On Islamic banking, Sanusi lamented that he had been grossly misunderstood on the policy by persons who launched a media war against him without taking the pains to read the details of the policy. 

He said that contrary to the perception in some quarters, Islamic banking is simply a non-interest bank which transacts banking business, trading, investments and commercial activities without charging interest on loans. 

The bank, he also said, does not support alcohol, pornography, gambling, speculations and other ventures that are not in accordance with Islamic commercial jurisprudence.

According to him, the idea of non-interest banking was conceived long before he was appointed governor of CBN. The policy, he said, had been embraced by many countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and America and does not discriminate against any religion.

“The greatest danger to any government policy in this country is the tendency for people to view it from some primordial angles. This tendency to view every single national matter as either ethnic or religious will not get us anywhere. We had an election in which the issue of concern was not education, health or electricity but whether the president comes from the North or South and whether he is a Muslim or Christian.

“Let us remove the product (non-interest banking) from religion because it is already a universal banking product, even though it might have had religious roots. The CBN is not setting up or promoting Islamic banking, non-interest banking is already operational in more than 70 countries of the world and it is not discriminatory,” Sanusi said.

Meanwhile, the Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (ACN/Lagos), has expressed reservations about the manner in which the explanations were taken without questions. 

Gbajabiamila said it was an error of judgement to allow the CBN governor to appear before the House in plenary without the members having the opportunity to interact with him and seek further clarifications. 

He said the encounter was more or less a monologue and not even a lecture because in a typical classroom situation lecturers are obliged to take questions from students.  

The session, Gbajabiamila said, would have been more enriching if the lawmakers had been allowed to seek more explanations on some of the grey areas of the two policies under review.

Another lawmaker, Hon. Daramola (ACN/Ekiti), faulted the decision by the leadership of the House not to allow members ask questions after the briefing.

However, Hon. Umar Adam Katsayal (CPC, Katsina State) said members of the parliament needed to engage their constituents in some enlightenment programmes to facilitate the acceptability of the policies.

Former Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Hon. Uche Ekwunife (APGA/Anambra), said that since many Nigerians were ignorant of the rudiments of the policies, there was an urgent need for the CBN to educate the populace on the dynamics of contemporary banking especially as it affects the non-interest banking.

Also reacting to the briefing, Hon. Robinson Uwak (PDP, Akwa Ibom) explained that a lot of Nigerians were yet to understand the policies. 

He urged the apex bank to take measures to help win the confidence of the generality of Nigerians towards the reforms in the banking sector. 

Uwak, however, berated the CBN governor, whom he said attempted to ridicule critics of his policies, especially some of the clerics who picked holes in the new policies, rather than addressing the core issues.

JTF Patrol Team Escapes Explosion in Maiduguri

Haliru Mohammed, Defence Minister

Some men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) deployed in Maiduguri, Borno State, Thursday narrowly escaped being wounded or killed by a bomb targeted at them by suspected members of Boko Haram.

Though the bomb exploded at the London Chiki area of Maiduguri metropolis, no casualty was recorded.

Residents of the area told THISDAY that they heard a loud bang which was followed by thick smoke around 9am.

Confirming the incident, the newly appointed spokesman of JTF, Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed, said an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted at a team of JTF exploded in the area but no casualty was recorded.   

He also said they were yet to make any arrest in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, more business centres and markets have been opening their doors to customers. Also some banks have resumed operations, although limited to between three and four hours.

In some of the banks visited, it was gathered that they only operate between 9am and 12 noon, while some operate from 9am to 1pm.

House Summons Sanusi on Bank Transaction Policy

Sanusi Lamido, CBN Governor

By Onwuka Nzeshi       

The House of Representatives Tuesday summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, over the controversy surrounding the proposed policy of the apex bank to limit daily cash withdrawals by bank customers to N150,000 for individuals and N1 million for corporate organisations.

A resolution passed by the lower chamber of the parliament directed Sanusi to appear before the lawmakers tomorrow to offer explanations on the new proposal and other sundry policies of the apex bank which, in the perception of the public, might have some negative impacts on the populace. 

The House will also Thursday at plenary deliberate on the alarming rate of road accidents being recorded on the Nyanya/ Mararaba expressway in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.  

Hon Zephaniah Jisalo, member representing AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, Abuja had drawn the attention of the House to the multiple ghastly road accidents which claimed over 20 lives on the road on Monday and demanded an end to such incidents.   

The House observed a minute silence in honour of those who lost their lives in the latest fatal road accident. 

The cash withdrawal limitation policy which is billed to take effect from June next year, has been roundly condemned by a cross section of Nigerians particularly politicians who claimed that the country was not ready for the envisaged switch to a cashless economy.  

Sanusi will also be expected to answer questions on the equally controversial policy of Islamic banking, an issue that has pitted him against the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and raised more questions than answers on the constitutional status of Nigeria as a secular state.  

The summon followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Aliyu Yakubu (PDP Yobe) in which the lawmaker alerted the chamber on the implications of the policy. 

Yakubu argued that the daily cash withdrawal limitation would cause undue hardship to citizens of the country as hundreds of communities in Nigeria have no commercial banks, microfinance banks and have no access to the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) through which they could make multiple withdrawals to meet their daily cash needs. 

He expressed concern that the policy would affect local farmers and traders who have no banks in their localities, adding that while the move to make Nigeria a cashless society was commendable, there were a lot of logistic challenges that could make the policy impracticable in the country.

Yakubu also argued that the policy might be an effort in futility considering the current scenario where inter-banks transactions carried out even in major cities and urban centres take at least 48 hours to be completed.  

In the substantive motion, the lawmaker urged the CBN to extend the deadline to enable commercial banks to expand their branch networks to the rural communities which were not currently enjoying banking services. 

He tasked the CBN to enunciate a new policy that would encourage banks to establish outlets in the rural areas just as he tasked Sanusi to prevail on commercial banks to improve their information technology facilities to enhance speedy transactions wherever they operate.  

In a contribution to the debate, a former Chairman, House Committee on Banking and Currency, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, urged the House to intervene in the controversy and ensure that the CBN introduced measures that would not only advance the banking sector but impact positively on Nigerians. 

Ozomgbachi said that while reforms were needed in the banking sector, any new policy must be designed and promoted in such a way that Nigerians were not made to suffer unnecessarily.

Ruling in favour of the summon, Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, said the House needed to be properly informed on the proposal as well as other sundry policies including the vexed non-interest banking policy recently introduced by the CBN. 

He said the explanations expected from Sanusi would enable the House to make informed decisions and take appropriate action in the interest of the public.  

“We need more information to take proper action on these proposals. To this end, the governor of the Central Bank should appear before the House on Thursday at 10am,” Tambuwal said.

Senate to Probe BPE over Failed Privatisation

Senate President, David Mark

Against the backdrop of a recent revelation by Vice-President Namadi Sambo that 80 per cent of government companies that had been privatised had failed to operate properly due to lapses in the privatisation process, the Senate Tuesday set up a seven-man ad hoc committee to investigate the privatisation and commercialisation activities of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) from 1999 to date.

The setting up of the committee followed the adoption of a motion by Senator Ahmad Lawan (ANPP, Yobe North) who incidentally is to chair the panel. The motion was co-sponsored by 25 other senators.

Other members of the committee, which has four weeks to submit its report, are Senators Babafemi Ojudu (ACN, Ekiti), Alli Ndume (PDP, Borno), Philip Aduda (PDP, FCT), Ifeanyi Okowa (PDP, Delta), Hope Nzodima (PDP, Imo) and Mohammed Magoro (PDP, Kebbi).

Although it is not expressly stated in the committee’s terms of reference, it was gathered that the audience with all the directors-general (DGs) of the BPE since its inception, including its pioneer DG, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Dr Julius Bala, Mrs. Irene Chigbue and the incumbent DG, Ms. Bola Onagoruwa, is to enable the committee to investigate the process through which the BPE privatised the companies and establish the agreements and conditions upon which the privatisation was consummated.

It will also determine how much was realised from the sale of the companies and where the proceeds were paid into while also determining how many jobs were lost and gained after the privatisation of companies.

Other terms of reference of the probe panel are to identify the factors militating against the expected improved and good performance of the privatised companies as well as determining the best way forward for the privatisation exercise and the desirable development and growth of the sold companies.

In his remark after announcing the committee’s composition, Senate President David Mark charged the panel to approach its assignment with an open mind, saying: “There should not be any witch-hunting.”

He told the committee members that the Senate had no predetermined position on the investigation because, according to him, “the bureau would have done a few good things and a few bad things”.

Mark said: “To the best of our ability, we should approach it with an open mind; no playing to the gallery in this exercise. Let us do a thorough work so that when the findings are brought here, people will appreciate the fact that those who have been put in the committee have done a thorough work; a work that can stand the test of time.”

He charged further: “The public should be involved and those who are stakeholders should be involved. Definitely, the searchlight will be on the members of the committee and you must be above board, absolutely above board in what you are going to come up with.

“I believe that there could have been problems with the implementations and those problems must be brought out not just to apportion blames, but you must also make recommendations so that as we continue the privatisation exercise, those mistakes that were made in the past will not be repeated in the future.”

He therefore charged the committee to make recommendations that would be beneficial to the nation in the future.

Presenting the motion earlier, Lawan noted that the Federal Government embarked on the privatisation and commercialisation of federal public enterprises through the enactment of the Privatisation and Commercialisation Act No 25 of 1988, Bureau of Public Enterprises Act No 78 of 1993 and Public Enterprises Act of 1999.

He said the primary and fundamental purpose of privatisation by the Federal Government was to divest and free the subsidies that were paid into the operations of the enterprises, so as to fund better the provision of critical and crucial infrastructure.

The senator however expressed concern that the Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), Sambo, told the nation that 80 per cent of government companies that had been privatised had failed to operate properly due to lapses in the privatisation process.                      

He lamented that due to the collapse of the privatised companies, there were massive loss of jobs and colossal loss of economic returns to the Nigerian economy, citing the steel sector that used to employ up to 20,000 workers but now has less than 4,000 after the exercise.

Seconding the motion, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia) said there was no aspect of the privatisation exercise that had succeeded.

He said: “Our problem in Nigeria is that we start with good intention and at the end of the day what we see is not what the original intention is.”

Lamenting that corruption is the bane of privatisation, whereby those who buy the companies strip them of machineries and send the tools abroad, Abaribe said: “Someone must be called to account if we are to stop this ugly trend.”

Also supporting the motion, Senator Smart Adeyemi (PDP, Kogi) said: “Privatisation is the worst major government policy since our independence,” adding that, “it is a policy that has handed over our collective wealth to some privileged Nigerians. Privatisation has further enslaved us as a people”.

Describing privatisation as “a policy without human face”, Adeyemi said: “At the time it was conceived, we were told that it is a policy that will enhance efficiency of the privatised public companies.”

In his contribution, Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba said privatisation would have ordinarily been a good policy but for the selfishness of those charged with implementing it in Nigeria.

He said: “The reason why privatisation is a desirable policy is the realisation all over the world that government has no business in business.”

On his part, Senator Ganiyu Solomon (ACN, Lagos) lamented that it would appear that the privatisation exercise was not designed to succeed by those in charge of its implementation.

The Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu however said the main essence of the motion was to ensure that privatisation would be made to serve our people and not to jettison the policy.

He also lamented that the policy was programmed as a huge fraud, adding that “at the time it was done, some people took advantage of the weakness in our monitoring policy”.

Others who spoke in support of the motion included Senators Abdu Ningi (PDP, Bauchi), Nurudeen Abatemi (PDP, Kogi), Kabiru Garba Marafa (ANPP, Zamfara), Gbenga Kaka (ACN, Ogun) and George Akume (ACN, Benue).