EFCC Questions Ex-NDDC Boss Nsima Ekere Over N47bn Fraud

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Kwara State Government has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IHS Nigeria for the development of a technology innovation facility in the state. In a statement released by the government’s spokesperson, Mr Rafiu Ajakaye, it was said that Mr AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the governor of the state, signed the MoU alongside IHS Nigeria CEO, Mr Mohamad Darwish, at a brief ceremony attended by several officials in Ilorin, Kwara State on Saturday, November 18, 2023. The project tagged Ilorin Innovation Hub is part of the state government’s efforts to stimulate and deepen the alignment

By Adedapo Adesanya A Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, has adjourned an alleged procurement fraud case involving ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, to January 18 and 19, 2024, for continuation of trial. Mr Emefiele is standing trial on a six-count amended charge on alleged procurement of vehicles to the tune of N1.6 billion. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was granted bail on November 17, 2023, to the tune of N300 million, and two sureties and remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, pending when he meets his bail conditions. However,

By Bliss Okperan The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has announced its election of Danladi Jatau, representing Kokona West Constituency, as the new Speaker. The state parliament also disclosed on Friday that it now has a new Deputy Speaker, who is Mohammed Oyanki, the lawmaker representing Doma North Constituency. The election of the two principal officers of the legislative arm of the state followed the sacking of its former Speaker, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, by the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday. While the new Speaker is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), his deputy is a member

By Bliss Okperan The Governor of Ogun State, Mr Dapo Abiodun, has asked Nigerians to give President Bola Tinubu more time, saying he has performed well in office since taking over on May 29, 2023, noting that he inherited an almost comatose economy from former President Muhammadu Buhari. “The President Tinubu-led administration has been very bold and audacious. They’ve taken the bull by the horns. They’ve done what no government has done in the history of Nigeria,” Mr Abiodun said during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics show. Recall that a few days ago on Channels TV, the Governor

By Adedapo Adesanya The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced the introduction of Self-Service Stations in all offices in the country to enable efficient service delivery for its IT tax solutions, including the TaxPro Max. This was disclosed in a statement by the FIRS on Thursday, February 10, 2021. The agency added the self-service options will come with a designated officer to assist taxpayers. The tax regulator stated that the introduction of the Self Service Stations in all of the FIRS tax offices nationwide is to support taxpayers in utilizing the TaxPro Max solution. To enhance voluntary tax compliance,

By Dipo Olowookere The sub-Committee of Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has disclosed that in the month of April 2017, the balance on the Excess Crude Account stood at $2.299 billion, while the balance in the Excess PPT Account was $67 million. The committee made this disclosure in a communiqué issued after its meeting on Wednesday in Abuja. But the balance on the Excess Crude Account represents a drop in the month of April 2017 compared with what it was a month earlier, $2.45 billion. However, the committee also said there

By Adedapo Adesanya The Bank of England, alongside Her Majesty’s Treasury, has announced the joint creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce to coordinate the exploration of a potential UK digital currency. A CBDC would be a new form of digital money issued by the Bank of England and for use by households and businesses. It would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them. For now, the UK is simply doing its research and has made no commitment to feasibly start offering the currency. It noted in a statement, “The Government and the Bank of

By Dipo Olowookere An independent non-executive director on the board of directors of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mrs Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, has tendered her resignation. A notice from the company on Tuesday explained that Mrs Nwuneli resigned from the board because of her ongoing fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School. Mrs Nwuneli, whose resignation was accepted by the board, was appointed as an independent non-executive director of Nestle Nigeria in February 2014. During her time, she contributed to the success story of the company, which is one of the leading makers of beverages and household items in the country. According to

By Ebireri Henry Ovie Prominent leaders in Lagos East on Friday lauded the leadership qualities of the chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, describing his performance in the senate as exciting. At a meeting in Somolu, the leaders heaped praise on Mr Ashafa for advancing the interest of the people, changing the face of politics in the senatorial district and taking on a range of key domestic challenges. “Senator Gbenga Ashafa has become the standard yardstick to measure performance of politicians in Nigeria,” the leaders said. Meeting under the auspices of Lagos East Political Leaders Forum, the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The dispute between MTN and Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami, over the request for payment of $2 billion tax has been adjourned till Tuesday, October 29, 2019. The matter came up for hearing on Wednesday before Justice Chukwujeku Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. In September 2018, the nation’s attorney general told the South African GSM service provider to pay the $2 billion, but the company challenged it. This came weeks after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had asked the leading telecom company in Nigeria to return $8.1

By Adedapo Adesanya The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Nigeria would witness a 3.2 per cent economic growth in 2023 and 3.0 per cent in 2024, in line with April’s WEO projections, reflecting security issues in the oil sector just as currency depreciation and inflation grip Africa’s largest economy. This is part of a wider drop as global growth is projected to fall from 3.5 per cent in 2022 to 3.0 per cent in 2023 and 2024. The global lender disclosed this in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update Report for July 2023: Near-Term Resilience, Persistent Challenges, which

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has directed the non-inclusion of officials with no direct participation in the United Nations General Assembly from traveling in Nigeria’s delegation. This is part of a broader effort to reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria, according to a statement signed by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity on Monday. According to the statement seen by Business Post, President Tinubu ordered the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to freeze the processing of visas for all government officials seeking to travel to New York for the United Nations