Politics

BBNaija season 4 winner, Mercy Eke claimed she dreamt that Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, won the 2023 presidential election. 
The 29 year old media personality, actress, video vixen and entrepreneur, said this via her verified Twitter handle on Thursday, adding that her dream always came to pass.

She emphasized the her aspirations do come true, urging others to pray and work harder.

She tweeted, “I had a dream Peter Obi won the 2023 presidential election. My dreams always come to pass. Is (it’s) possible guys. We can do this. PO is clear, let’s push and pray harder. We are close to making Nigeria great again.”

President Muhammadu Buhari, on on Wednesday, explained the reason he approved the redesign of the new Naira banknotes.

Speaking at the launch of the new banknotes, which preceded the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the President explained in detail the basis for his approval to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the  ₦‎200, ₦‎500 and ₦‎1000 banknotes.

He said, ‘‘the new Naira banknotes have been fortified with security features that make them difficult to counterfeit.’’

He also added that the new banknotes would help the Central Bank design and implement better monetary policy objectives as well as enrich the collective memory of Nigeria’s heritage.

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President Buhari commended the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele and his Deputies for the initiative, while also thanking the Managing Director, Executive Directors and Staff of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting PLC “for working tirelessly with the apex bank to make the currency redesign a reality, and for printing the new Naira notes within a comparatively short time.”

Acknowledging that international best practice requires central banks and national authorities to issue new or redesigned currency notes every 5 to 8 years, the President noted that it is now almost 20 years since the last major redesign of the country’s local currency was done.

‘‘This implies that the Naira is long overdue to wear a new look.

‘‘A cycle of banknote redesign is generally aimed at achieving specific objectives, including but not limited to: improving security of banknotes, mitigating counterfeiting, preserving the collective national heritage, controlling currency in circulation, and reducing the overall cost of currency management.

‘‘As is known, our local laws – specifically the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007 – grants the Central Bank of Nigeria the power to issue and redesign the Naira.

‘‘In line with this power, the Central Bank Governor approached me earlier in this year to seek my permission to embark on a currency redesign project. I considered all the facts and reasons presented before me by the Central Bank.

‘‘There was an urgent need to take control of currency in circulation and to address the hoarding of Naira banknotes outside the banking system, the shortage of clean and fit banknotes in circulation, and the increase in counterfeiting of high-denomination Naira banknotes. It is on this basis that I gave my approval for the redesign of the ₦‎200, ₦‎500 and ₦‎1000 banknotes.

‘‘While this may not be apparent to many Nigerians, only 4 out of the 54 African countries print their currencies in their countries, and Nigeria is one. Hence, a majority of African countries print their currencies abroad and import them the way we import other goods.

‘‘That is why it is with immense pride that I announce to you that these redesigned currencies are locally produced right here in Nigeria by our Security Printing and Minting PLC,’’ he said.

 In his remarks, the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, thanked the President for his unwavering support for the redesign and distribution of the new notes, which he said will control inflation, make policies more effective, ensure financial inclusion and fight corruption.

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The CBN Governor also noted that by international best practice, the redesign of notes should be every five to eight years, and the currency in circulation had been in usage for 19 years, with spiraling challenges on the economy, especially on security and counterfeiting.

Emefiele also appreciated President Buhari for his insistence that the initial notes must be designed and produced within the country, further placing confidence in Nigerian Security Printing and Minting.

 “Mr. President, only a President of your esteemed and incorruptible stature could have done what we are witnessing today,’’ he added.

The CBN Governor listed the benefits of the redesigned naira notes to include enhanced security, greater durability, attractiveness and promotion of rich cultural heritage.

Speaking to State House correspondents, the CBN governor said, “The practice worldwide is that currencies should  be redesigned  or replaced or reissued every five to eight years. But for Nigeria, we have not had the opportunity of redesigning and reissuing currency in the last almost 19 years. 

“The Central Bank of Nigeria, by law has a mandate to reissue and redesign currency for the country and for Nigerian people, every five to eight years. And I want to hope that after the event of today, the Central Bank of Nigeria can just take it as part of its programmes to see to it that within five to eight years, the currencies are designed or reissued. 

“It is because mainly the Central Bank should be able to have full control of the size currency in circulation, that is the sole mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria, because it has implications for monetary policy management in the country. 

“There is no need for anybody to think that this programme is targeted at anyone. Like you heard the President speak in the chambers, he said that this discussion to redesign and reissue  this currency started earlier in the year. 

“We took painstaking efforts in looking at the pros and cons and the reasons when and why it should be done. And the President in his wisdom, decided that yes, it must be done. 

“In the past, I have to confess that attempts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to redesign our ratio currencies have been resisted. It is only a president of the esteem and statute of President Muhammadu Buhari that could have done this. And I want to seize the opportunity to appeal to members of the public that there is no need for any insinuations, giving the impression that this is targeted at any individual there is no attempt at that. We’re doing our work and we would continue to do our work.

“In other countries you will find, say in the US, if you want to withdraw $10,000 from the counter, you will be interrogated, you will fill numerous forms, they will even track the use of that $10,000 cash that you are withdrawing. If you want to withdraw £10,000 from the counter, they will refuse and if you insist then you will fill forms.

“The problems we have had in the past is that we say this is a cash economy. There is no economy that is inbuilt thinking that it has to be cash economy. The world has moved away from predominantly cash to cashless economy. And I think Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria is prepared at this time to move towards a cashless economy.

“And that is the reason why with the reissue of these notes, we will insist that cashless would be nationwide. We will restrict the volume of cash that people can withdraw over the counter.

“If you need to withdraw large volume of cash, you will fill uncountable forms. We will take your data, whether it is your BVN, your NIN so that enforcement  agencies like EFCC or ICPC can follow you and be sure that you are taking that money for good purpose. We have to work as a country.

“Nigeria is the biggest country both in population and economy in Africa and we have to ensure that we do things the right way that also positions us as leader in Africa and one of the leading countries in the world. We must do things right and i think it would start from today.” 

On the call by some groups asking for an extension of the policy implementation, he said, “Well, it is in their minds when they said the time is too short. We will not go with them on that destination. What we are saying is this; we announced this programme October 26t, 2022. And we have said that from today, this currency that is reissued will be legal tender in Nigeria and all over the world wherever it’s going to be accepted.

“So we believe between October 26t, 2022 to January 31, 2023, we believe that is more than 100 days. Like the president has said, if you have cash it should not take you more than 100 days to be able to deposit it in your bank and take whatever little quantity you need  for use. We have made adequate arrangement; the banks have been told that they will keep their currency processing center open from Mondays to Saturdays even to late hours every day.

“We have also offered that the Central Bank of Nigeria currency processing centers across all 36 states including Abuja, 37, will be available to process cash from Mondays to Saturdays. 

“It might interest us to know that on a daily basis, the deputy governor operations calls the banks, the CBN currency processing centers to find out if there are queues or if there are some form of congestion about people depositing cash. There is none.

“We have also made available through our agency banking arrangement people in the villages can use POS and their stores to receive and pay cash.

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“In 2018, we had 86,000 touch points of agency banking, as at October the number of those who have financial system touch points are 1.4 million. So there is no local government that you don’t have agent bankers that can do this on our behalf. So it’s as good as saying we have over one million points or branches of banks where you can deposit or take your cash to.

“There is no reason for anyone to say he cannot access cash or be able to pay his take into a bank. So we are not going to go with those people  on their journey to say that time is short. In our wisdom and the wisdom of Mr. President time is not short. We have more than ample time to do so.”

On how the CBN will address the issue of counterfeit notes in circulation with the resigned notes, Emefiele said, “Let me tell you this, these notes cannot be counterfeited because of the security features in them, nobody can counterfeited them. What you could only find will be people making photocopy of these notes.

“If you follow due process to check the authenticity of a currency, take them through the UV light, you will find that this currency cannot be counterfeited. The best you will find is photocopies.

Asked how much mopped up so far, the CBN governor said, “Like I told you, those kind of volume we don’t like to disclose. Like we told you, N3.23 trillion is in circulation and out of that N2.72 trillion is outside the bank vault. And we will insist that those N2.72 trillion must return to the bank vault by January 3t, 2023. If you choose to hold it after January 31st, 2023 it will become useless in your hand that’s all.

The bill seeking for an Act to authorise the issue of N607,952,023,580 from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund has scaled second reading at the House of Representatives.

The Deputy Majority leader of the House, Hon. Peter Akpatason who presented the bill said that out of the total amount, the sum of N76,569,904,857.00 is for personnel costs, N138,199,851,110.00 was for overhead costs; while the balance of N393,182,267,614.00 was for capital projects.

The bill was titled “Bill for an Act to Authorize the issue from the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund of the Federal Capital Territory Administration Account, the total sum of N607,952,023,580.00 (Six Hundred and Seven Billion, Nine Hundred and Fifty Two Million, Twenty Three Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty Naira) only, of which the sum of N76,569,904,857.00 (Seventy Six Billion, Five Hundred and Sixty Nine Million, Nine Hundred and Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty Seven naira) only, is for Personnel Costs.

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“And the sum of N138,199,851,110.00 (One Hundred and Thirty Eight Billion, One Hundred and Ninety Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty One Thousand, One Hundred and Ten naira) only, is for Overhead Costs; while the balance of N393,182,267,614.00 (Three Hundred and Ninety Three Billion, One Hundred and Eighty Two Million, Two Hundred and Sixty Seven Thousand, Six Hundred and Fourteen naira) only, is for Capital Projects; for the Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for the financial year commencing from 1 January and ending on 31 December, 2022”.

In a related development, the members at the Committee of the Whole, considered and adopted the Senate report for a Bill for an Act to Establish Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Service (NHFSS) to Prevent, Combat Forest Crimes and enhance Security within Nigerian Forests; and for Related Matters.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bis3xual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community in Nigeria has thrown its weight behind Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

In a statement signed by its president, Jasper B. E., the group said it came to this decision after assessing all tbe candidates, noting that Obi is the most LGBT-friendly.

Jasper said the LGBT Community in Nigeria has found renewed hope in a future where they will live unchallenged, free of threat to life and unafraid of discrimination once the Labour Party candidate for the presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi is sworn in as the President

According to him, the former Anambra State governor, during a meeting with its leadership, promised to promote the secularity of the state by helping to abolish cultural practices that are inimical to the existence of the Community as well as putting a stop to the implementation of Sharia Law throughout the federation.

“The Lesbian, Gay, Bis3xual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community in Nigeria has found renewed hope in a future where we will live unchallenged, free of threat to life and unafraid of discrimination once the Labour Party candidate for the presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi is sworn in as the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are going to ensure this by massively voting for him and mobilizing persons of similar persuasion, who are presently forced to be in hiding, to come out and ensure a Peter Obi victory,” Jasper said.

“We have, as a consequence, formally collapsed our Community into the OBIdient Movement for the electioneering period even though our members have been part of the Movement from the onset.

“Our resolve stemmed from the assurances and guarantees from Mr. Obi after he espoused his vision of an egalitarian Nigeria to us at a meeting where he outlined how every Nigerian, irrespective of orientation, is allowed to thrive and recognized on the basis of their talents and what they can contribute to the economic growth of the country.

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“The LGBT Community in Nigeria, therefore, hereby endorses Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party as its preferred candidate, whom it would vote for in the February 2023 Presidential Election on account of being the most LGBT-friendly candidate based on our assessment of all those contesting. No other candidate has been able to clearly articulate the protection of our members as Mr. Obi did.

“Our confidence in an Obi presidency has been further strengthened by his promise of a speedy repeal of the repressive Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2014 and other legislations that hostile homophobes have exploited to make life a living hell for us in Nigeria. This 2014 Act is the singular piece of legislation that is being used as the greatest weapon for legitimizing state-backed attacks on our persons and community. We are eager to see it go and only an Obi presidency will guarantee us that.

“We would like to clarify that our preference of Mr. Obi is not all about his global view of s3xuality and s3xual orientation because he has shown us that he is in tune with the realities of contemporary times. At the meeting with the leadership of our community, in addition to his assurances to protect the Community, he also promised to promote the secularity of the state by helping to abolish cultural practices that are inimical to the existence of the Community as well as putting a stop to the implementation of Sharia Law throughout the federation.

“We welcome Mr. Obi’s promise to usher Nigeria into the same socio-psychological era as the advanced countries of the world where the LGBT Community is not under the constant threat of repression. We assure him that our contributions to the economic rebirth he is promising Nigerians would be glaring for all to see. The medieval mindset of hounding the LGBT Community has no place in an age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that Mr. Obi wants Nigeria to tap into.”

The LGBT Community, therefore, assured the Labour Party candidate that “its members would be able to increase their contributions to the country once the stigmatization, harassment and criminalization of their orientation become things of the past under him as president.”

Jasper added: “We further assure our dear incoming president that we shall leverage our international connection and network to attract foreign direct investment into the country being that some of these investment potentials were blocked on account of the homophobic stance of past and present governments, which will not continue under Mr. Obi as president, going by his promises to us.”

Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has named Wike his man of the year.

On Wednesday at the inauguration of the Rumuepirikom Flyover in the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers, Oshiomhole said, leadership is about character and not about making agreements that won’t be delivered on.

Oshiomhole, who was Edo State governor between 2008 and 2016, was invited to commission the project by Wike. He said executive exchanges have a way of communicating to the people that the political divide is not war.

“Two weeks ago, I had an interview and somebody asked me what are my views with particular reference to the issues in PDP as it relate to Your Excellency (Wike),” Oshiomhole told the Rivers governor.

“I said Wike is my man of the year because he is insisting that politics is not about making agreements that we do not intend to deliver on. Leadership is about character,” he added.

Oshiomhole also recalled that the 17 Southern governors in Nigeria met on May 11, 2021, in Asaba, Delta State, and resolved that the next President of Nigeria should emerge from the Southern region.

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According to him, the Asaba Declaration by governors across party divides was on their own free will and they were united on where the next President should come from.

“So, if you voluntarily reach an agreement, you are expected to obey your agreement. Now, if you disobey the agreement and said, ‘No, I will stand with the agreement’, what is wrong with that?” Oshiomhole queried.

He lauded Wike for the many “beautiful projects” in Rivers, saying results are stubborn and don’t lie.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola hinted that the Federal Government plans to open the historic Second Niger Bridge to the public on or before Christmas this year, thereby ending years of endless wait to travel on that important infrastructure that was conceived many decades ago but left on the drawing board by previous administration.

Fashola gave the hint at a press conference to highlight the achievements of the Buhari administration in the areas of Works and Housing, which was attended by the Ministers of Information and that of the FCT, Mohammed Bello.

Fashola boasted that despite the shortfall in federal revenue arising from a depressed economy and drop in oil revenue, the government has been able to construct and complete at least 8,352.94 kilometres of roads and create no fewer than 339,955 jobs between 2016 and 2022.

The minister also indicated that the rehabilitation of 12 major roads spanning 896.187 kilometres in the country within the same period has resulted in the reduction of travel time by 56.20 percent and added value to the people in the communities where the roads pass through.

Fashola said that the Buhari administration had devised a number of initiatives to draw down funds for the construction of critical road infrastructure in the country and end the suffering of Nigerians on certain roads that were notorious for being in bad shape.

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“In these last seven and half years, the administration has been very resolute in the pursuit of progressivism, which is globally recognized as the improvement of the human condition. Indeed, the Ministry of Works and Housing is present in all the states of the Federation either through a road, bridge, National Housing Programme, federal secretariat or Special Intervention Project.

“If in 2015 the complaint was the neglect or lack of life defining infrastructure across the country and today these infrastructure are being completed or within the finish line; if in 2015 the conversation was on the existence of a large number of abandoned infrastructure and the seeming lack of political will to complete those infrastructure in spite of the availability of resources and today

“The Buhari administration has made these possible in spite of lean resources; if in 2015 such critical infrastructure as the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway were either totally non-existent or in very deteriorated state  and if today the PMB administration has demonstrated that needed political will to break the jinx on our nation’s historically most difficult projects, does it not stand to reason to conclude that the party which formed the Government deserves to continue to deliver to the people of Nigeria these life defining infrastructure. Think about this,” Fashola said.