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We Have Capacity To Meet Currency Needs Of Nigeria -CBN

Lateefat Ibrahim
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The Central Bank of Nigeria has given assurance that it has the capacity and enough materials to produce the required indent of the Naira for all.

The apex bank appealed to the public to disregard any contrary report to the stand of the CBN, by exercising more restraint, as they work to increase the circulation of the new notes in the country.

This was to debunk claims which quoted the CBN govemor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, as attributing the current challenge in the distribution of the newly redesigned Naira banknotes to shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.

False and misleading
The CBN said the news was false and misleading.

In a statement issued on Saturday, CBN spokesman, Osita Nwasinobi, said at no time did the CBN governor made such statement during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday, February 10, 2023.

Mr Nwasinobi said Emefiele only told the meeting that the NSPMC was working on printing all denominations of the Naira to meet the transaction needs of Nigerians.

He said while the CBN appreciates the concerns shown by all stakeholders about the distribution of the new Naira notes, “we are alarmed at the extent to which vested interests are attempting to manipulate facts and pitch the public against the Bank.”

Nwasinobi said the CBN remained committed to performing its monetary policy functions, as stipulated in the CBN Act, 2007 (as amended).

No such plan
On a particular voice note trending on the social media alleging that the CBN planned to shut down some banks, particularly in a particular geopolitical region of the country, the CBN said there was no such plans.

The claims were said to be illogical and does nor comply with the workings of the Nigerian banking system.

Nigerians have been advised to ignore such recordings as they do not represent the policy thrust of the CBN and are only the desperate attempts of persons bent on inciting the public against the Bank.

 

Lateefah Ibrahim

Child Abuse: Lagos Sensitises Parents On Child Protection

Lateefat Ibrahim
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Parents and caregivers in Lagos State have been urged to ensure adequate protection of their children against any form of abuse.

They were also advised to quickly report any case of child abuse to concerned authority for proper investigation and rightful punishment on the perpetrators of such act.

The State the through the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) and the Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA) are sensitising about 400 parents under Education District II, to be abreast of knowledge and information on how to prevent abusive acts on their children.

Protect children

Speaking at the Parents Association Conference on Child Safeguarding at Adeyemi Bero hall, Ikeja, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi explained that it has become expedient to protect children from abuse that could lead to violence.

She explained that the conference was designed to enlighten parents on the process of reporting cases and show them how to prevent violence in form of domestic and sexual acts, and the process that can be adopted to raise thier children to become more responsible in the society.

Vivour-Adeniyi who was represented by Dr. Olive Oluwagbemileke noted that punishment has not been an effective tool to correct wrong behavior of children, rather than discipline, stressing the need to explore other mild ways of reprimanding children for wrong doings.

According to her “When parents are frustrated about child wrong behavior, they want the child to suffer for that and this has led to violence in the society and illicit rebellion and aggressive behavior from the child.”

Multi-agencies efforts

The Director General Office of Education Quality Assurance. Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, who was represented by Director Monitoring and Investigation of the agency, Mr Kamardeen Akodu also noted that the meeting was to review activities of the multi-agencies involved in the protection of child rights in the State.

He said the agencies monitor schools and investigate cases of children below the tertiary institutions, such as primary and secondary schools both in private and public.

According to him “Any case of abuse involving children of school age, we work with DSVA Youth and Social Development Police, Ministry of Justice, health and other agencies to ensure the case is adequately investigated.

“We are also concerned about the protection of remaining children in that school
If one child has been abused, we concentrate on the school to see what the management of the school have to protect other children and we engage the school management and to ensure that such act doest not happen again.”

“Where the school is found responsible for exposing the children to insecurity and we notice that the level of exposure Is so high such that children are not safe in that school, we can shut that school while we guide the school to do the right thing.”

He said academic activities shouldn’t stop, while investigation and procedures to the closure of schools are in progress.

Collaborations

The State Coordinator of the Bimbo Odukoya foundation and the Child Protection Network, Mrs Aderonke Oyelakin said the essence of the conference was to emphasise collaborative effort as a way to instill good values in Children and enlighten parents on how to curb all forms of violence against children in Lagos State.

Signs to watch out for

She said DSVA organised the event to enlighten them on the signs to watch out for and how to prevent thier children from such any form of abuse.

Oyelakin who identified that abuse could come in form of neglect, exploitation, sexual, physical or emotional explained that it has become imperative for parents to know the laws of the land, particularly, that has to do with Child right and what government has put in place to protect the children at all levels

“Parents should be able to educate thier children with the basic information about thier body parts. Don’t hide anything from them.
There must be Zero tolerance against any form of abuse of children and we must be ready to fight the perpetrators of this dastardly act, and collectively we have to fight it out of our society.”

She however enjoined parents to be intentional and be friends with their children as well as observe what goes around them in order to secure a better future for them.

Optimal protections

The Chairman Parents Forum Education District II, Mr Abdul-Wasiu Jenrade lauded the initiative by DSVA to bring together parents and shed more lights on the need to ensure optimal protection of children.

He said “Whatever happen to our children is the cause of the parents, the conference is an eye openers for everyone to take congnizance of the fact that we must key into this noble reservoir of knowledge to further safeguard our children.”

He acknowledged the State Government for putting adequate measures in place for everyone to be able to use the various platforms to exclalate matters of any form of abuse on children.

Some of the participants also lauded the initiative of the DSVA and other relevant agencies for convening such a forum, as they urged schools to adopt a Child Protection Policy and paying maximum attention to their children wellbeing.

 

Lateefah Ibrahim

Over 1.6m Candidates Register for 2023 UTME

Dominica Ijeoma Nwabufo
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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed that over 1.16 million tertiary institutions admission seekers have so far registered to sit for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

 

The Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede stated this on Saturday, during a monitoring tour of some CBT centres in Abuja.

 

Oloyede, during the tour visited the CBT centre located at Total Child International School, Dutse, JAMB Abuja zonal office, Life Camp, Global Distance Learning Institute and Sascon International College, Abuja respectively.

 

He also said that the Board would not extend the deadline for the 2023 Unified UTME registration, while warning centres against the extortion of candidates.

 

It would be recalled that the sale of the 2023 UTME commenced on Saturday,

14th January, 2023, and is set to close on Tuesday, 14th February, 2023

 

The JAMB Registrar said, “Registration is going on well except for some of the centres resident in schools. 

 

“UTME is not a school-based examination, it’s individual candidates and you can see what that school, Stella Maris is doing, collecting N30,000 from candidates in the name of JAMB and then ending up missing the telephone number of the candidates

 

“So once they keep the telephone number of candidates it is unlikely that the candidates when we are contacting them if we want to make a change in their timetable, you send a text to them and it will not get to them after they have graduated from the school and want to do a change of course they don’t have access to it.

 

“And that is a way of extorting the parents and we will take adequate steps to make sure that we stop that. One of the reasons is that we will tell every CBT center to stop doing bulk purchases of pin and bulk registration so if s center sells more than one pin to a source or collect money for more than one pin from a source then we will sanction such center.”

 

He urged candidates to report cases of extortion, saying that there is a code for candidates to reach the board when they come across any case of extortion, while promising there will be a reward for such actions.

Dominica Nwabufo

Jamaica Plans To Source Vehicles From Nigeria

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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The Jamaican High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Esmond Reid, says plans are underway for his country to start sourcing for vehicles from Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing, IVM, in Nigeria.

Reid, in company of Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known during a facility tour of IVM plant in Nnewi, Anambra State on Saturday.

He said: “For us, it is a tremendous opportunity to witness vehicle manufacturing taking place here in Nigeria, which is one of our brothers in the South.

“It is also a chance to be able to discuss commercial opportunities for sourcing vehicles from Nigeria.

“This is my first visit. I will go and consult with my stakeholders back home to look at the timeline and determine the negotiations and engagements and when we will start the business of sourcing the vehicles.”

Assessing the plant, the high Commissioner described it as top class, promising to encourage Jamaican citizens to come and see for themselves.

“I congratulate the management of this company and I’m very grateful to the minister for making this visit possible for me. This can become the start of something great,” he said

Commenting, Onyeama called for strict enforcement of the Presidential Executive Order mandating government officials to buy and use Nigerian cars.

“I’m very proud. This plant is world class compared to some of the vehicles manufacturing companies I have seen in some other countries. Innoson is doing well.

“Left to me, every government official should be obliged to buy and use a Nigerian manufactured car. There is a Presidential Executive Order that requires government officials to buy Nigeria.

“That order has to be imposed and made mandatory. In France, it is impossible to see a French Government official driving a non French car, same in Japan, Korea, UK and U.S.

“We have to do the same here.This will encourage and support our citizens and demystify technology,” the Minster said.

Onyeama said he facilitated the visit to IVM when the Jamaican High Commissioner requested to see the impressive things going on in Nigeria.

He said; “We consider these Caribbean countries as our brothers and sisters and we want to increase the level of trade and collaboration among ourselves.”

The Chairman of IVM, Innocent Chukwuma appreciated the Nigerian Government for supporting manufacturing companies in the country.

Chukwuma urged Nigerians to always patronise his products, assuring them of quality and durable vehicles.

Also, the South-East President, Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture, Honfery Nkeonadi lauded Innoson for making Africans proud with such innovation.

 

 

NAN/ Mercy Chukwudiebere

 Nigeria produced over 100 million Sim Cards in 2022

Dominica Ijeoma Nwabufo
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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says Nigeria has been able to locally produce over 100 million Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards in 2023.

 

NCC’s Head of Financing and Stakeholders Engagement Team, Aderonke Sola-Ogunsola, disclosed this at this year’s AFRICANXT event in Lagos, South-West, Nigeria.

 

She said this achievement followed the Nigerian Government’s ban on SIM importation last year.

 

Sola-Ogunsola explained that the locally produced SIMs have been ordered by various telecommunications companies putting an end to the importation of SIM in Nigeria.

 

Speaking on the topic ‘Mandate and Strides Towards Full Digital Economy in Nigeria’, She said that through the Nigeria Telecommunications Indigenous Content of the NCC, the country could serve as the SIM manufacturer hub for West Africa.

 

Given this, the Commission said the country is now working towards becoming a hub for the supply of SIM cards to other West African countries.

 

While noting that the Nigeria Telecommunications Indigenous Content policy was put in place to encourage innovation among the youths and promote the digital economy, Sola-Ogunsola said:

 

“There is the need to ensure individuals, businesses, and the nation harness derivable benefits and the opportunities offered by the emergent digital culture, to improve quality of life, grow businesses, and leapfrog the national economy. This remains the overarching objective of government policies, plans, and strategies.”

 

The Head of Digital Skills and Services at NCC, Freda Bruce-Bennett, said that Nigeria was rapidly becoming a digital economy.

 

Bruce-Bennett added that out of seven unicorns in Africa, Nigeria had five which were Andela, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Jumia and Opay.

 

The AFRICANXT event, formerly called Social Media Week, is an annual event held every February. This year’s theme is: ‘’Cooperate. Collaborate. Innovate. Unlocking Our Potential, Ensuring Africa’s Prosperity.”

 

 

Dominica Nwabufo

Somaliland Agrees To An Unconditional Ceasefire

Shakirat Sadiq
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The administration of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland said late on Friday it had agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, following five days of clashes in the east of the territory that health workers say have killed dozens of people.

“Heavy fighting broke out between Somaliland forces and militiamen in and around the town of Las Anod, the administrative centre of the Sool region,” on Monday after local leaders said they wanted to rejoin federal Somalia.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international recognition for its status, and has faced opposition from some clan elders in disputed areas along its border with Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland state.

“Somaliland gov has agreed to an unconditional cease-fire tonight despite past attacks by militias,” Somaliland’s defence minister, Abdiqani Mahamoud Ateye wrote on Twitter.

 

BBC /Shakirat Sadiq

Nigerian Government Orders Massive Distribution Of Petrol To Marketers

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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The Nigerian Government has taken actions to stop the ongoing petrol crisis across the country, promising massive distribution of the product.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timpre Sylva gave the assurance after his tour of some selected petroleum dispensing outlets in Lagos State on Friday

He said that he came on the directive of President Muhammdu Buhari, to assess the situation of things about distribution and adherence to price regulation.

The Minister said that “an inter-ministerial intervention, initiated by the government, has set out to ensure proper management of petrol distribution across the country.”

Sylva reassured Nigerians that with the current steps, all hiccups leading to the current situation was been addressed.

 

According to him, “the situation is pleasant because he observed the availability of products in the state.”

“Fuel is everywhere, both in Lagos and Abuja.

“I visited many stations in Ikeja and on the mainland. From every indication, there are products everywhere and I want to assure you that the queues will disappear in a matter of days,”he said.

Sylva said the situation, witnessed in Lagos, had been achieved in 15 states across the country, stressing that the President had ordered that queues must be cleared, immediately.

On arbitrary price hikes by some marketers, the Minister said that he had directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, to upscale its regulatory activities and ensure marketers abide by the current price regime.

He said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, NNPC, retail outlets were selling at N184 per litre and over 900 outlets operated by the company were selling at the same price.

“And that is the official price everybody is expected to sell, but l admitted there are sharp practices still ongoing,” he said.

Explaining how the situation degenerated into a crisis point, Sylva stated that government did not see it coming.

According to him, “sabotage plays a key role in the sector as those who do not mean well for the country take advantage of the upcoming elections, to create panic by engaging in market disruptions.”

The Minister explained that other factors like insecurity, foreign exchange scarcity and lack of currency availability further compounded the situation.

He, however, said that “the inter-ministerial body, inaugurated by the President, is not working in synergy to put in check all seeming challenges and block all potholes.”

 

 

NAN/ Mercy Chukwudiebere

Nigerian start-ups win $300,000 Saudi Arabia

Dominica Ijeoma Nwabufo
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Two Nigerian startups have emerged winners in the final awards at #LEAP2023 to strengthen the country’s position as the leading startup hub on the continent.

Nigeria participated in six categories; and won two out of the six globally categorised pitches while taking the 2nd spot in another category. Each winner has $150,000 in their kitty to boost their startup vision among other supports that include mentorship and early exposure to wider markets.

Sponsored by Digital Cooperation Organisation, the Nigerian team to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was led by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

Over 10,000 Startups submitted applications from different countries. After rigorous scrutiny, the applicants were down to 220, and only 90 startups were selected to pitch their business ideas in the semi-final. Eight Nigerian Startups participated in the semi-final, and three reached the final stage.

RiceAfrika Technologies – is a tech-driven agric optimisation startup that deploys IoT-enabled harvester and its FARMEasy mobile app for smallholder farming communities in Africa. RiceAfrika believes Africa can feed itself and feed the world. It emerged as the global best in ‘The Tech for Humanity Award’ category and is coming home with 150,000 dollars.

While Wicrypt is an innovative Tech startup decentralizing the internet globally. The startup has a custom OS and hardware that allows users to share data with people around them and charge an affordable rate also won 150,000 dollars after he was announced as the global best in the ‘The Into New World Award’ category.

About 90 global startups fought for the chance to be one of the 15 nascent businesses selected to pitch before a judging panel consisting of Shark Tank India’s Ghazal Alagh, Baroness Karren Brady, an aide to The Apprentice’s Alan Sugar, Saudi angel investor Tala Al Jabri, and Dragon’s Den stars James Caan and Steven Bartlett.

LEAP23 is touted as the world’s most visionary and valuable technology event with a prize purse of US$1.54 million for winning startups. The event hosted a raft of global celebrities and tech industry luminaries ranging from music icon will. i.am and FIFA World Cup winner Carles Puyol to Amin H Nassr, CEO of Aramco, and Jae Sook Evans, Chief Information Officer at Oracle.

LEAP23 was held from February 6-9 at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Centre and hosted the inaugural LEAP Rocket Fuel Startup Pitch Challenge, powered by Saudi Arabia’s National Technology Development Programme (NTDP).

The initiative is a collaboration between the Kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the MiSK Foundation, and NTDP.

Professor Pantami leader of the Nigerian delegation expressed his delight while maintaining that Nigerian Startups have all it takes to compete with their peers on the global stage.

“I am so proud of our Startups who emerged as the global best in these categories. It is quite a long journey that followed a rigorous process until the end; from over 10,000 applications to the final 12, in which three Nigerians took part and two emerged winners. We are delighted that our startups are not only amazing but went through a lot of nurturing and mentorship to be the best in the world,” he noted.

The Minister stated that Nigeria is on the right track in implementing its National Digital Economy Policy and Strategies to ensure that Nigerian Startups add value to the global tech ecosystem. We are building the ecosystem and making it more conducive for nurturing innovation-driven enterprises. Our startups are creating solutions for the local market that can easily scale to the global market.

“The journey started in 2019 shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for Digital Nigeria. Now we are reaping the positive benefits of our commitment. In the space of five months, we have Nigerians that are making us proud on the global stage.

“The eight entries from Nigeria competed with over 90 Startups in the semi-finals, showcasing their innovative ideas that will transform economies and solve pertinent issues around the world. Therefore, they emerged global best. They did not only pitch to win grants but also attended various knowledge-sharing sessions, conferences, and investor meetings that have exposed them to numerous ways to accelerate their products for the best market fit. The startups interacted with the world’s best mentors, angel investors, and venture capitalists.”

“It is also noteworthy that of eight Startups we brought to this year’s LEAP, three made it to the Grand Finale, two won, and are going back home to add value to our Digital Economy. On behalf of the Nigerian government, we sincerely appreciate the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) Headquarters, Riyadh, for sponsoring our innovative startups to participate and showcase their innovations to the world”, he added.

Prof. Pantami also said that the successes of Nigerian Startups in GITEX, Dubai, United Arab Emirates in October last year, and today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is evident that the country’s innovators have accepted the challenge posed to them by the Federal Government to not stell as the African leaders but compete globally.

“The recent successes are the fruit of policies we put in place to ensure our Startups walk shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. Under President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government appreciates the outstanding exploits of startups in the country, which are helping to create jobs, fast-track economic development, and also winning awards and grants amounting to millions of naira,” he concluded.

This year’s LEAP brought together breakthrough innovative ideas and emerging developments in technology under one roof. A landmark technology event that galvanised public and private organisations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 

Dominica Nwabufo

South Africa’s Energy Crisis Poses Existential Threat- President Ramaphosa

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster in response to the country’s energy crisis, calling it ‘an existential threat to the economy.’

Ramaphosa said that ”the national state of disaster would begin with immediate effect. Our most immediate priority is to restore energy security.”

This he said, would allow the government “to provide practical measures to support businesses,” and ringfence power supply for critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and water treatment plants.

South Africans have endured power cuts for years, but 2022 saw more than twice as many blackouts as any other year, as ageing coal-fired power plants broke down and state-owned power utility Eskom struggled to find the money to buy diesel for emergency generators.

Blackouts in South Africa or load-shedding as they’re known locally, have been lasting for as long as 12 hours a day. Last month, people were even advised to bury the dead within four days after the South African Funeral Practitioners Association warned that mortuary bodies were decomposing because of the constant electricity outages.

The intermittent power supply is hobbling small businesses and jeopardizing economic growth and jobs in a country where the unemployment rate already stands at 33%.

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, said ‘‘South Africa’s GDP growth is likely to more than halve this year to 1.2%,” citing power shortages alongside weaker external demand and “structural constraints.”

Ramaphosa, who was forced to cancel a trip to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January as a result of the rolling blackouts, also said he would appoint a minister of electricity with “full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of electricity response.”

In addition, the president unveiled anti-corruption measures on Thursday “to guard against any abuses of funds needed to attend to this disaster,” and a dedicated South African police service team to “deal with the pervasive corruption and theft at several power stations.”

The vast majority of South Africa’s electricity is supplied by Eskom via a fleet of coal-fired power stations that have been overused and under-maintained for years. Eskom has very little backup power, which makes it difficult to take units offline to perform crucial maintenance work.

The utility has lost money for years and, despite steep tariff increases for customers, still relies on government bailouts to remain solvent. Years of mismanagement and systematic corruption are believed to be the key reasons why Eskom has been unable to keep the lights on.

CNN/ Mercy Chukwudiebere

Delta State Governor Mourns Security Aides

Dominica Ijeoma Nwabufo
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The Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor of Delta, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has commiserated with the Delta Police Command and families of police officers killed by unknown gunmen in Anambra State.

According to a statement released on Saturday by the Delta state government, the officers, Inspector Lucky Aleh; Inspector Celestine Nwadiokwu and Inspector Jude Obuh were attached to the Explosives Ordinance Disposal EOD Unit in Government House Asaba.

They were ambushed and killed around 1.30pm yesterday Friday, Feb. 10, by unknown gunmen along Ihiala-Orlu Road enroute Umuahia on official duty.

Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu who briefed journalists on the sad incident said the late officers would be greatly missed for their contributions to the peace and development of Delta.

He described the unfortunate killing of the officers as barbaric and unacceptable in a country seeking to be united again for peace and development.

 

 

 

Dominica Nwabufo

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