Welcome to EagleWatch

Federal Ministry of Finance has constituted a committee to recover unremitted operating surpluses of 31 agencies of government, running into N450bn. This was made known in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday in Abuja by the Special Media Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Festus Akanbi. It would be recalled that the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 stipulates that any Federal Government funded agency that generates revenue must remit 80 per cent of its profit as operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Funds accounts. The Fiscal Responsibility Commission that is in charge of executing this, has always called attention to the fact that many of the Federal Government MDAs short change government by not remitting or under remitting their operating surplus. The commission has had cause to challenge agencies such as NNPC for not remitting operating surplus in nine years, by claiming operational losses. The agencies under review included the Central Bank of Nigeria, ...

Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, Tuesday, justified the counter attack by the police on members of the Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN). The clash which resulted in the death of some of the Shiite members occurred in Tamburawa, on the outskirts of Kano city, when security agents tried to stop the Shiite members from engaging in procession. Speaking with State House correspondents, Idris said police officers have the responsibility to ensure law and order. He said, “obviously from time to time, we have been experiencing upheavals from this set of people. As police officers, we have responsibility to ensure there is law and order and when you have people taking over the whole country, dominating streets and buildings. We have to come in to maintain sanity in those areas. “As of early yesterday (Monday) we got information that they were trying to block Kano to Zaria road. They later assembled in large numbers and our officers were deployed to the place to ensure freed...

Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, Tuesday, raised questions on Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje’s legal attempt to stop the prosecution of five judges accused of fraud. Ogungbeje, a legal practitioner on October 28 approached a Federal High Court in Abuja through an ex-parte application, seeking an order to restrain further action against the judges. The applicant asked the court to stop President Muhammadu Buhari, the Department of State Services, DSS, and others from re-arresting or taking any “untoward action” against the five judges. However, delivering a bench ruling, Justice Gabriel Kolawole of Federal High Court, Abuja, held that the motion was shrouded with complexities. He said that a number of issues, including the locus standi of the plaintiff, would have to be concluded before any vital pronouncement could be made on the prayer. He also said that the applicant should put the respondents on notice by effecting service on them. The plaintiff had sought an order...

House of Representatives has passed into second reading a bill for an Act to make provision for the offences relating to terrorism, prohibit the financing of terrorism and consolidate all acts relating to terrorism and other related matters. Also the bill seeks to checkmate terrorism and afford Nigerians the opportunity to join the committee of nations in the fight against terrorism. It would be recalled that the Terrorism Act, 2011 did not contemplate the financing of terrorism in Nigeria which the amended Act of 2013 provided for. Sponsoring the bill, Honourable Mohammed Monguno Tuesday at the plenary explained that the bill criminalises international terrorism, funds supporting the Officialterrorism and seizure of terrorist cash and property. The bill contemplates dealing with charities linked to terrorist groups as well as request from foreign states and to foreign states on extradition of persons involved in terrorist activities. Honourable Nnenna Ukeje (PDP, Abia State) in her c...

Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday in Abuja said that no Nigerian bank was in distress. CBN stated this in a statement by its acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor. “For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to further state that no Nigerian bank is in distress. “The CBN, as the industry regulator, has a duty to depositors, in particular and the economy, in general to ensure the soundness of all financial institutions. “We, therefore, wish to assure all depositors of the safety of their deposits,” it stated. The apex bank reiterated that the banking system in the country remained resilient enough to weather the current economic storm. The apex band described as false and malicious insinuations on the social media that Heritage Bank was under financial distress and unable to discharge its obligations to its depositors. “For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to further state that Heritage Bank remains viably strong thus, not in state of distress. “Heritage Bank is n...

Federal Government, yesterday, gave fresh conditions for peace to reign in the Niger Delta region. At a meeting with members of the Niger Delta Peoples Congress, NDPC, held at the Presidential Villa, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo told the group to prevail on militants to stop bombing of oil facilities and pipelines. He also told the group, led by Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, Bayelsa State, King Alfred Diete Spiff, to address the issue of continued vandalism in the region, which has negatively affected the country’s revenue from oil. According to him, the problems in the region had always been there, adding that the elites in all parts of the country have a key role to play to end the problems in their different regions. Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting held behind closed-door, Coordinator of the group, Chief Mike Loyibo said the initial 16-point demand presented to the government by some elders of the region about two weeks ago was not all encompassing. He sai...

Nigeria’s apex court, the Supreme Court has halted all appeal cases before the Appeal Court in respect of Ondo State People’s Democratic Party (PDP’s) candidate in the forthcoming gubernatorial election. The Supreme Court, in a letter dated November 14, 2016 and signed by the Head/Receiving Unit, Mr Mohammad Ndayako, ESQ, confirmed that all appeals in respect of Ondo State PDP matters have been received at the Supreme Court. Specifically in the letter addressed to the Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Registrar said: “This is to confirm you that the records of appeals in respect of the above mentioned Civil Appeals compiled by the Appellants have been transmitted to and received by the Supreme Court Registry, Abuja and given Appeals Nos. SC.953/2016 and SC.954/2016 respectively on November 11, 2016.” In a press statement signed by the Ondo State PDP candidate, Dr Jimoh Ibrahim, the letter has thus put an end to who really is the PDP flagbearer in the state saying: “By...

Senate yesterday mandated its President, Bukola Saraki to urgently intervene in the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, warning strike, with a view to putting a halt to it. The senators also called on the executive to engage ASUU to proffer solutions on how best to implement all the agreements that both sides entered into since 2009 as well as the implementation of all key necessities that are vital for the well-being and development of universities as canvassed by the union. The lawmakers also commended ASUU for chosen path of dialogue rather than confrontation as a means of resolving all the outstanding issues between it and the Federal Government. The action of the lawmakers followed a Point of Order (42 and 52) raised by Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North) title: “The Need for the Federal Government to urgently re-engage ASUU to amicably resolve the issues in dispute.” Barau explained that there are series ...

The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad has said that for the nation’s hard-won democracy to move forward, the practice of neutralizing constitutional powers of the legislature must stop. The Speaker gave the suggestion in Abuja on Monday while delivering a lecture at the maiden annual birthday lecture series in honour of Professor Epiphany Azinge, SAN. Dr. Ahmad whose lecture was titled “ The Legislature in Emerging Democracies: Challenges and Prospects “, expressed displeasure that Nigerian courts hysterically issue interim injunctions against the legislature. “Undoubtedly, the courts have unfettered right to declare null and void the result of any investigation or any proceedings or any manner of voting or result thereof, what courts in developed democracies do not do is attempt to stop the action of a whole arm of government, in this case the legislature, from exercising its constitutional powers.” He wondered why since independence no Nigerian court has eve...

The National Assembly last week once again demonstrated leadership when it provided a road map to help the country navigate out of its recurring budget delays. The lawmakers came up with a document to guide and fast-track budget formulation and implementation in the country. This development can best be appreciated against the fact that barely six weeks to the end of the year, Government is yet to forward to the National Assembly, the 2017 budget estimate bill for consideration. Last week, the lawmakers came up with 15 - key strategies to reform the nation’s budgeting system. Some of the strategies include the adoption of a budget calendar, which will begin with the submission of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) by the second week in July and end with the President signing the Appropriation Bill into law by the third week of December every year. The strategies, which also include provision of laws on development plans by the Federal Government are aimed at easy and timely ...

The Federal Government plans to sell N95 billion of bonds today, the Debt Management Office, DMO, has said. Data obtained from the DMO said it would sell N35 billion of a bond maturing in 2036, N25 billion of paper maturing in 2026 and N35 billion of debt maturing in 2021, using the Dutch auction system. Results of the auction are expected to be released Thursday. All the bonds on offer are reopenings of previous issues. Yields in the secondary market in the last one week have slightly inched upward. Analysts at Capital Bancorp noted that due to current market conditions, yields at the primary auction may close around the current yields in the market. “Following the above, the yields at which Capital Bancorp will bid at this auction through a licenced Primary Dealer and Market Maker, PDMM, are 14.5 per cent, 15 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The country issues sovereign bonds monthly to support the local bond market create a benchmark for corporate issuance and fund its budget...

The Supreme Court has again re-validated its earlier order contained in its July 6, 2012 judgement which annulled the handing over of the multi-million dollar Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom State, to United Company RUSAL, an aluminium manufacturing and processing company based in Russia. National Mirror gathered that in its latest unanimous ruling by a five-man panel headed by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, given on July 11 this year, the apex court dismissed the application by UC RUSAL against BFI Group Corporation (BFIG) and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for lack of merit. A company, Dayson Holdings Limited, had filed the application seeking a review of the July 6, 2012 judgment of the Supreme Court annulling the controversial handing over of ALSCON to UC RUSAL by Bureau of Public Enterprises in 2006. It would be recalled that following the privatization process, which culminated in the final bid held on June 14, 2004, BFIG had emerged as...

Domain Name Registrations and Renewals at the registry, Nigeria Internet Registration Association, NiRA, continued to be on the increase standing currently at 3,483 at the end of October. The latest statistics, which was released in the third quarter report of the association showed that on a monthly basis and yearly there was an increase in registration on a yearly basis. According to the association, the domain names registered and renewed in October 2016 was 5,306, which is more than the registration in October 2015 of 3,450 and that it almost double the registration in October 2014 of 2,717. A further analysis of the report showed that registration in the month of September rose from 1,531 in 2014 to 1,975 in 2015 and then to 3,236 while renewals increased from 839 in 2014 to 1,347 in 2015 and then to 1,679 in 2016. The trend, which is also reflected in October, showed that registration increased from 1,581 in 2014 to 2,101 in 2015 and then to 3,483 while for renewal, the trend wa...

The National Assistant Publicity Secretary, Nigeria Institute of Town Planners, Mr.Dan Sani, has called on government at all levels to enforce environmental planning laws to enhance the health and well-being of citizens. Sanni who made the call at a press conference to mark the 2016 World Planners Day themed: “Planning around the World You Live” in Lokoja said it was not enough to have laws that are not kept or enforced. “We are appealing to governments to make the laws operational to ensure that our cities, towns and villages are well planned because the health and lifespan of a people is determined by their particular environment. “There is interplay between us and the environment we live. Even our lifespan is tied to the environment we live. So, how our environment is planned is the engine that determines the functionality of our body organs. “A well-planned environment that is pollution free, traffic free, congestion free and stress free tend to guarantee long life and there is ne...

The Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Ameachi, has said that the decision of the Federal Government to sign a commercial coastal rail project contract agreement with the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation, CCECC, was aimed at improving movement of persons and cargo across the nation’s seaports. The project is expected to run through the Calabar and Port Harcourt links and also extend to Onne Ports Complex in Rivers State. The Minister made this disclosure in Lagos while speaking at the formal inauguration of the executive committee of the African Maritime Journalists Association AMJA. Amaechi, who was represented by an official in the Ministry; Mrs. Ijeoma Adindu, restated Federal Government’s commitment to addressing the challenges that hinder seamless movement of cargo and by so doing, check port congestion. He said: “In line with current effort at improving the efficiency of the nation’s seaports by ensuring a seamless movement of cargo within the country, the ...

The underfunding of Joint ventures cash calls with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC’s has risen to $2.5 billion. The group managing director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who disclosed this at the 34th Annual International Conference of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Exploration (NAPE) said that the joint ventures would relieve government of the cash call burden by sourcing for its operational funds estimated at $7-9 billion annually. He disclosed that this was aside the inherited arrears estimated at $6 billion. “The Joint Venture (JV) cash call exit model we are pursuing guarantees government most of the revenue that normally accrues to it from the joint venture operations by lifting the royalty and tax oil upfront. “This contributes 75 per cent to 85 per cent of the accruable revenues to government. Consequently, the effect on government take will be minimised. We are working assiduously to kick start this from 1st January, 2017,’’ he said. The Corporation’s b...

Nigerian Conservation Foundation, NCF, as well as other conservationists in the country said they have discovered images of Chimpanzees in Omo-Shasha-Oluwa, OSO, forest traversing Ogun and Ondo states. According to NCF, the cameratrap photos are the first firm evidence of chimpanzees in South West Nigeria for over a decade, saying the discovery has been greeted with a lot of enthusiasm by conservationists. The finding, according to a statement from the Foundation, has been described as a surprise by experts on the project. Commenting on the issue at the Foundation’s headquarters in Lagos over the weekend, the Director General of NCF, Mr. Adeniyi Karunwi, said that the deployment of camera traps and the positive results coming out are signs of NCF’s commitment to conserving the nation’s forest habitats with particular attention on the OSO Forest. “This is part of NCF’s effortsto ensure the survival of species in the OSO Forest Reserve,” he declared. This is as Dr. Andrew Bowkett fro...

A new report by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has shown that power distribution across the country fell to as low as 2,472.00 MW on the 28th of October, 2016. Despite the low figure recorded in the month, Power sent out between July and October still averaged 3,000MW. According to the Bureau, NBS, Daily Energy report Produced and Sent Out from July to October, 3,803.07MW of energy was sent out on the 17th October, 2016. This contradicts earlier figures that put energy generation at well over 4,000MW. This is in spite of 60,546MW and 92,511 MW of energy generated on the 28th and the 17th of October respectively by the various generating companies. It would be recalled that the Federal Government had on November, 2013, handed over the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN to private sector operators. However, there seem not to be any significant improvement in power situation nationwide with many saying rather than improve, the situation has worsened. In the period under revi...

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to drive financial literacy among the youth and the unbanked segment of the economy. Speaking at the World Savings Day event in Epe , the bank’s Head Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Ismail Omamegbe, said the Bank was totally committed to deepening financial inclusion in the country. He also stressed that the bank would continue to work towards this aspiration by extending banking services to the under-banked businesses, communities and individuals across the country with our extensive network of over 750 branches. “FirstBank would continue to assist the Nigerian child and young adult to build a prosperous future by extending financial education and services to them early in life”, he said. Omamegbe took over 400 students of Government College, Ketu Epe through the basic concepts of savings, making money, and investments while letting them know that their capacity to make informed decisions will make the...

Dana Air has flown over 4million passengers in its eight years of flight operations in Nigeria. As the airline marks eighth anniversary of its commercial flight operations in the country, it has also reaffirmed its commitment to providing safe, reliable and customer–centric air transport services to its teeming guests. The Accountable Manager of the airline, Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo, in a statement hinted that in spite of the visible operational challenges in the industry, the airline remained strong. He attributed the airlines’ consistency to its innovative managerial style, passion and commitment of its staff and the unending support of its customers. He stated: “We are indeed proud to have flown over 4 million passengers in the last eight years and we are very grateful for the support and patronage we have enjoyed since commencing operations. “We would like to assure our loyal guests and the travelling public that we will not relent in our efforts to deliver worldclass air transport servi...

House on the Rock Church has announced the 11th edition of its annual gospel concert “The Experience” scheduled to hold on the 2nd of December 2016 at the Tafawa Balewa Square Lagos, Nigeria. The Experience Lagos, as it is popularly known, has been home to thousands of worshippers every December as it heralds the festive vibes of Christmas. With over 750,000 worshippers gathered at the Tafawa Balewa Square yearly, there’s little wonder, gospel ministers across the world see this one- of- a- kind concert as a glowing platform for them to express worship. Last year, The Experience celebrated in awesome style, the decade landmark and this year’s edition shows that, there is no stopping the move. The theme of the Experience 11 is Revealing Jesus. According to the Senior Pastor, House on the Rock, Pastor Paul Adefarasin “the purpose of this year’s edition is to further reach the world with the message of the Gospel of Christ, in a fashion so simple, yet effective”....

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday passed the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund bill 2016. Chairman Committee on Wealth Creation, Hon. Sola Giwa presented the report on the floor of the House following the receipt of the proposed regulations of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund for the consideration of the House. The Committee had earlier had series of meetings with the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment and Lagos State Employment Trust Fund in order to harmonize the proposal in accordance with the provision of the Trust Fund. According to the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, beneficiaries of the Trust Fund include among others micro-enterprises, small and medium enterprises, technology start-ups, employability and market stimulation business. He further stated that the loan shall be disbursed bi-annually with percentage of allocation of the Trust Fund to each beneficiary. The commissioner categorized th...

The Alliance for Democracy, AD, in Ondo state yesterday raised alarm over the renewed onslaught by the Governor Olusegun Mimiko faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in destroying the billboards, posters and banners of its candidate, Chief Olusola Oke. The AD state chairman, Seriki Adebobola, said in a statement that it was the height of desperation by agents of a sitting government to descend so low and destroy election campaign posters and banners of an opposition party. Seriki, however, said the AD members would not dignify them by retaliating despite the obvious provocation. He said: “We want the whole world to see through their evil plot to get INEC to postpone this election by creating a semblance of insecurity in Ondo state. “This they have started with series of sponsored mayhem in the guise of protests all over the state, ostensibly showing solidarity with their candidate whose name was replaced from the INEC ballot paper on the order of a court. “When this failed,...

Members of Transitional Implementation Committees, TIC to replace the dissolved 16 Local Government Councils in Kwara State were sworn- in yesterday by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. At the ceremony, Ahmed said the new arrangement would make it possible for the payment of what had since become a contentious salary arrears of Local Government workers. He directed the committees to make financial prudence their watchword and advised them to prioritize on infrastructure that would bring swift relief to the people. “In this regard, you are to avoid making unnecessary appointments, shun ostentation and avoid any conduct capable of calling your integrity into question”, he said. The governor promised the state government’s support to the local government councils within available resources and guidance to see them through the difficult times. According to the governor, when the report of the State Committee on Personnel Database Development is submitted, monthly recurrent expenditure...