Group Seeks Probe of NNPC on Planned New Greenfield Refineries

President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to investigate the reason behind the abandonment of Nigeria’s greenfield refineries earlier announced for Kogi, Bayelsa, and Lagos States for which feasibility studies had already been fully paid for and completed. 

In a statement, Nigeria's civil technology organisation, BudgIT said it was wrong for the government to plan another round of greenfield refineries project while the one it spent huge scares resrouces to conduct feasibility study were abandoned at the point of construction.

The state-run oil firm Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently announced plans to construct two 100,000 bpd greenfield refineries in Delta and Imo States.

According to Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT's Principal Lead, “It is wrong for any government institution to tease citizens with announcements for greenfield crude oil refineries, award huge sums for feasibility studies, abandon the project when it’s time for construction, then repeat the cycle in another state. 

He said what guarantees do citizens have that taxpayers’ money earmarked for the refineries in Imo and Delta state will not suffer the same fate as those spent on Kogi and Bayelsa States? What are the lessons learnt from Kogi, Bayelsa, and Lagos greenfield projects? Can these lessons be made public?”

The NNPC exports a large portion of the 445,000 bpd of crude oil allocated to domestic refineries through Crude Oil Lifting contracts (COL) largely due to (1.) NNPC’s inability to make existing refineries work – despite monies spent on turn around maintenance, and (2.) the failure of NNPC’s new, greenfield refineries to see the light of the day – despite monies spent on them.
The organisation in the forefront of transparency in government finance noted that In the past, NNPC has been accused of carrying out its export of unused Domestic Crude Allocation (DCA) through politically-connected middlemen – many of whom do not have adequate capacity to handle the volume of crude oil in their Crude Oil Lifting contracts but simply extract rent and pass the contract on to those who do. 

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu had previously promised to cut out the rent-seeking middlemen the award of Crude Oil Lifting contracts and also to cut down the number of contractors to sixteen (16) when he was the GMD for NNPC.

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World Bank Boosts Nigeria's Education Sector With $611 Mln Grant

Nigeria education sector has received a boost as the World Bank Group has
approved a grant of $611 million to strengthen the country's Universal Basic Education (UBE) and tackle challenges in the education sector.
Adamu Adamu, minister of education expressed government gratitude to the Bank for the initiative on Wednesday at the launch of Better Education Service Delivery For All (BESDA) in Birinin Kebbi State.
The minister, who was represented by the Vice-Chancellor, Federal University Birnin Kebbi, Prof. Bello Shehu, said the government was grateful to the bank for the grant.
”We thank the World Bank for initiating BESDA Project and for providing a total sum of 611 Dollars in supporting Federal Government in strengthening the Universal Basic Education, as well as addressing other challenges in the education sector.”
The minister added that no nation could rise above the level of its educational development and stressed the need for developed education system that was knowledge based.
According to him, such a well-articulated system will equip and prepare the people to compete in a knowledge-driven economy in the 21st century.
The Team Leader of BESDA, Hajiya Aisha Garba, said that the 611 million Dollars was a loan to Nigeria by the World Bank to support Universal Basic Education.
She said that the bank urged Federal Government to utilize the grant strictly for upgrading facilities in UBE and tackling other challenges in the sector or risk refunding it.
“We released this fund to assist the 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory but failure to use it and achieve good results, World Bank will collect its money.
“The money was released to address the first pillar of the Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP) 2016-2019 on Out of School Children.”
According to her, the major objectives of BESDA is to increase equitable access for “Out of School Children”, to improve literacy in focus, as well as strengthen accountability for results in basic education in Nigeria.
The Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Ismail Yombe, thanked the World Bank and Federal Government for initiating the programme and assured them of full implementation.
He expressed the commitment of the state government in ensuring quality education.
Yombe said that the state government had approved the establishment of six Tsangaya schools with over 2000 pupils aimed at reducing the out of school children problem.

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How competition is reshaping the Nigerian Beer Market

Earlier in the year, we highlighted that intense rivalry, following the entry of AB-InBev, and a new fixed rate charge on alcoholic beverages, which became effective in In June 2018, were the factors to watch in the Nigeria beer market in 2018. 

Looking at the Q3-18 earnings, we note that increased competition has actually constrained price increases despite government levy on beer.
With the completion of its new plant in Shagamu, AB-InBev flooded the market with its regional premium, Trophy lager and simultaneously introduced its flagship premium beer, Budweiser, into the Nigerian market. 

This boosted supply, constrained volume growth and forced key competitors (Nigerian Breweries (NB) and Guinness), to hold-off plans to pass on the burden of the new fix charge on beer to consumers.
Accordingly, NB’s 9-month revenue fell 6.5 percent y/y to 238.1 bln naira while PAT tumbled 38.4 percent to 14.8 bln naira. 

Notably, NB reported a negative operating profit of 3.9 bln naira in Q3-18 amid volume pressures. Similarly, GUINNESS’ 3-month revenue also weakened 3.3 percent y/y to 28.9 bln naira on weaker volumes, although PAT recovered significantly due to improved finance cost. 

On the contrary, INTBREW sustained an aggressive q/q topline growth as its Q3-18 stand-alone revenue came in higher at 30.2 bln naira, the highest in the last four quarters. 

Overall, we see further pressure on NB and GUINNESS’s numbers going forward.

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Ghana Shops For Airline’s Investors

Ghana is looking for credible private partners to invest in its planned new national air carrier.
The government would not hold more than 10 per cent shares in the proposed company.
The Minister of Aviation, Joseph Kofi Adda, said the government was not interested in taking huge shares because it does not want the company to be under state control.
“What we are looking at is not more than 10 per cent, that is the extent to which the government will be involved,” he said in Accra.
“We will have one or two representation on the board, but the government or the minister will not interfere in the operations of the new company in terms of policy, strategy and operations.”
Adda spoke on the side-lines of a stakeholder meeting on the establishment of a home-based carrier, with interested companies or potential partners, in Accra.
The event formed part of processes which will lead to the selection of a suitable firm to partner with the government to establish the home-based carrier.
Adda explained that the event was to allow interested companies to indicate their interest in terms of how they want to participate; what percentage of shares, the sort of equity they are bringing on board, among others.
“Ghana has travelled the road of having a national airline before. Indeed, more than once, Ghana Airways and Ghana International Airlines existed before, and we have learnt some lessons, and it goes without the saying that this time around, we would not repeat those mistakes.
“We intend to get it right and the government will not attempt to be involved in owning and running an airline. This is not a government’s business”.
“The lessons from the past are very clear and we all know them. Ghana Airways and Ghana International Airlines were companies set up and dominated by the state, and that made it difficult for the board and chief executives to manage it independently.
“The government was always interfering; telling them what to do and that was a real difficulty that we had in the past,” he stated.
He cited abuses, poor planning and misapplication, among others, as some of the lessons, adding: “We lost so much money running Ghana Airways and Ghana International Airlines but that won’t happen again”.

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Why Most Household In Short Of Power Supply In Nigeria

At least 15 power plants in the country are currently idling away as many Distributions Companies (DISCO) reject supply from generating firm, plunging generation down to 2,390 Megawatts.
Reports from the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing indicated that power generation has nosedived to about 2,390 Megawatts from around 4,000 it has hover in recent months.
This development explains while supply from DISCO has remained abysmal in recent time with many households subjected to power outages in the process of rationing supply.
The idle plants are Sapele, Afam IV & V, Geregu, Omotosho, Geregu NIPP, Alaoji, Omotosho NIPP, Odukpani NIPP, Ihovbor NIPP, Gbarain NIPP, Okpai, Afam VI, AES, ASCO and Rivers IPP.
Joy Ogaji, Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies, said the generating plants are being forced to shut down and operate and below optimum due to distributions and transmission challenges.
“Specifically, generation companies are pinned down by some operational impediments. The frequency of instructions to either increase load or decrease load (ramp up and ramp down) and, in some cases, shut down, has induced damaging stresses to the components of the machines.
“These instructions, reflective of the grid behaviour, are subjecting key electrical components of the power plants to operational stresses. Our available generation has always been steady between 7,500MW and 8,000MW; you can check the records at the National Control Centre, Osogbo.” Ogaji said.
The nation generates most of its electricity from gas-fired power plants, while output from hydropower plants makes up about 30 per cent of the total.
But the three hydropower plants accounted for more than 50 per cent of the electricity generated as of 6am on Monday, with Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro producing 366MW, 354MW and 494MW, respectively.
Egbin, the biggest power station in the country, saw its output drop to 176MW on Monday from 306MW on Saturday.

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Nigerian Army Recovers Body Missing General Alkali

The Nigerian Army has recovered the body of the missing Gen. Idris Alkali from an abandoned well around the village where his vehicle was found.
Announcing the discovery, Brigadier General Umar Mohammed said the body of the retired general was found in an abandoned well in Guchwet, Jos South local government.

The retired military officer was declared missing in September, after leaving Abuja for Bauchi.
He did not reach his destination.
Early in October, based on intelligence, soldiers drained a pond in Dura, in Jos LG, where they found the general’s car and four other vehicles.
Many arrests were made and the district head of Dura was declared wanted. He gave himself up.

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Fear Grips Opposition As Buhari Meets Four PDP Govs In Aso Rock

Fear grip some members of the main opposition party on Tuesday as four governors from the stable of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
All the governors are from the South-South region of the country.
The meeting was held inside the President’s office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja shortly after Buhari returned from his condolence visit to Kaduna State.
The governors in attendance included Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State; Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State; Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
At the end of the meeting, Dickson told State House correspondents that they discussed issues pertaining to the country and their respective states with the President.
He, however, did not give details of the issues discussed. “My colleagues and I came to have an audience with the President to discuss issues pertinent to our country and pertinent to our respective states.
“We had a robust and fruitful discussion with the President and he promised to look into it in any way possible,” the governor said.

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Nigerian Governors Offer Workers 22,500 naira Minimum Wage, Labour Kicks

Rising from a meeting on Tuesday, governors of the 36 states in Nigeria said they are willing to pay a national minimum wage of 22,500 naira to their workers against the 30,000 naira being demanded by representatives of workers.

According to the chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF)and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdul’aziz Yari the decision was arrived at after a briefing from the forum representatives at the Tripartite Committee.
He said that the welfare of all Nigerians is the ultimate concern of the governors, saying in all our states, we are concerned about the deteriorating economic situation experienced by the vulnerable segment of our population.
He said that in agreeing to a National Minimum Wage, the Forum was even more concerned about development, particularly in the health, education and infrastructure spheres.
“It is therefore our considered position that since the percentage of salaried workers is not more than five per cent of the total working population, our position must not just reflect a figure, but also a sustainable strategy based on ability and capacity to pay, as well as reflective of all our developmental needs in each State.
“After all, Section 3 of the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission Act provides that “the Commission shall recommend a proposition of income growth which should be initiated for wage increase and also examined the salary structure in public and private sector with reasonable features of relativity and maximum levels which are in consonance with the national economy”
“It is in this sense that we feel strongly that our acceptable minimum wage must be done in such a way that total personnel cost does not exceed 50 per cent of the revenue available to each State.
“Governors therefore agreed to pay a national minimum wage of N22,500.”
The meeting with the governors were the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma.
The Organised Labour had scheduled Nov. 6 to embark on nationwide strike to compel the government to peg a new minimum wage at N30,000, up from the present 18,000 naira.
The leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and United Labour Congress of Nigeria (TUC), on Tuesday held mass protest across the country as part of sensitisation of workers and Nigerians for the planned industrial action.

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PDP Candidate, Atiku Says Earn Paltry 20 mln Naira yearly

Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 2019 presidential election in Nigeria who is believed to be a multi-billionaire has declared a paltry yearly personal income of 20 million naira.

According to papers filed with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in compliance with the electoral law.

Atiku, who prides himself as a businessman and job creator said he earned only 60.2 million naira in three years and paid a paltry 10.8 million naira tax between 2015 and 2017.
Some reports have estimated Atiku’s wealth at about $1.4 billion.
In 2014, Atiku boasted that he was the greatest employer of labour in Nigeria, with about 50,000 Nigerians on his payroll.
“As an individual, I believe my record in employing young Nigerians is unrivalled by any single private investor in Nigeria,” the former vice president said.
He has investments in media, shipping, education, and other sectors. One of the companies, where he has a substantial interest is Intels, which recently ran into trouble with the Nigerian government for not remitting revenue due to the Nigerian treasury.
He is also the founder of American University in Yola and has a chain of schools under ABTI brand.
He owns Prodeco, a property development company and Prodeco International, operating in Oil & Gas Free Zones.
Prodeco, founded in 1996, engages in building, marine, and infrastructural construction in the oil and gas industry.
He also has an interest in agriculture, with Atiku Abubakar Farms.
The PDP candidate’s credentials indicate his highest educational qualification as a Diploma in Law of 1969 from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU).

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President Buhari Refuses To Submit Academic Credentials To INEC

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to submit his academic credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the forthcoming 2019 general election.
A list of presidential candidates released by INEC on Thursday identified 70 out of 91 political

parties fielding candidates for presidential elections in 2019 including Buhari who failed to attach necessary documents as required for his re-election bid.
Buhari, a retired major general, told the electoral body that his credentials are still with the military and attached an affidavit to support his claim.
“I am the above-named person and the deponent of this affidavit herein. All my academic qualification documents as filled in my Presidential form, APC/001/2015 are currently with the Secretary of the Military Board as of the time of this affidavit,” Buhari said.
The military, however, denied being in possession of his credentials.
“Records available indicate that Major General M Buhari applied to join the military as a Form Six student of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina on 18 Oct 61,” former army spokesman Olajide Olaleye said in 2014.
“His application was duly endorsed by the Principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended him to be suitable for a military commission.
“It is a practice in the NA that before candidates are shortlisted for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the Service, the Selection Board verifies the original copies of credentials that are presented. However, there is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 1960s,” he added.
However, the other 70 candidates, whose names were published in INEC’s list submitted relevant documents including the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Abubakar submitted relevant documents, with a Diploma in Law in 1969 from the Ahmadu Bello University being his highest qualification.

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Nigeria's Diamond Bank directors quit, paving way for recapitalisation

The board chairman of Diamond Bank, Oluseyi Bickersteth and three other directors have resigned from the commercial lenders with immediate effect, the bank said on Wednesday.

This sudden resignation of the four directors of the bank would pave way for the lender to be repositioned for new investors to inject fresh fund into the mid-tier lender.
Diamond Bank shares rose to their highest in almost two months in late trading on Wednesday, gaining 9.45 percent to close at 1.39 naira.
Two banking sources told Reuters that the lender was also in talks with new investors.
The bank did not provide any reason for the resignation of Bickersteth, appointed in July, or for the other directors, but said in a statement to the local bourse that it would update the market in due course.
“The bank has been facing capital challenges which has been a major drawback for the share price. With a new investor coming on board that has boosted confidence,” one trader said.
Chief Executive of the bank, Uzoma Dozie is expected to continue to run the bank until next year, before resigning.
“News of board resignations is supposed to be bad news but investors started to buy the stock,” another trader said.
Analysts have noted that the bank has maintained a 16 percent capital adequacy ratio, the minimum required by the central bank, which has limited growth and profitability.
In 2016, the bank said it was conducting a capital management plan and would ensure it met regulatory requirements, adding that it was considering raising fresh capital and selling some assets to strengthen its capital base.
In May, Diamond Bank posted a 2017 loss, its first time in the red in six years, despite asset sales.
The mid-tier lender struck a deal with British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta earlier this year to sell its UK subsidiary, after selling its West African business last year, bringing to an end its 18-year push abroad.

The Bank was founded by Pascal Dozie, who served as its chief executive for over ten years before quitting the stage to become the chairman of the board and later move on to head the board of MTN Nigeria.

 

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Nigeria Seeks Population curb To Address Economic Challenges

Nigeria is planning a major policy on population growth management to address the challenges of increasing population in line with its economic recovery measures.

Finance minister Zainab Ahmed said in Abuja the government is proposing to put a limit on the number of children a woman could have to curb rapid population growth in the country.

However, the measure, which was meant to placate the large Muslim community in the country and seek their buy-in could trigger protest from the women activist group.

Ahmed who spoke at the ongoing economic summit said the government plans to engaged traditional rulers and other leaders across the country to seek their cooperation in mobilising the populace to support the policy.

She said the burgeoning population growth pose “great challenges” to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the government.
Ahmed said, “We have been engaging traditional rulers and other leaders. Specifically, we have found out that to be able to address one of the great challenges that we identified in the ERGP, which is the growth in our population, we need to engage these institutions.
“And we hope that with their support, we will get to a point where we can come out with the policy that limits the number of children that a mother can have because that is important for sustaining our growth.”
When asked about the sustainability of the ERGP by successive governments, Ahmed argued that the plan would be sustained as it was purely a document that focused on the development of the Nigerian economy.

Nigeria has a large Muslim population who believed in polygamy practice. however, the measure could bring the government in collusion with women activists who may want to protest against the seeminly discrimnative nature of the policy.

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Ex-Delta Governor Ibori Loses Appeal Against UK Corruption Conviction

A former governor of the oil-rich Delta State, James Ibori, who was jailed in Britain for laundering tens of millions of dollars in stolen public funds through British banks and properties lost an appeal against his conviction in London on Wednesday.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling against Ibori is a relief for the British authorities at a time when they are trying to stem the flow of dirty money from overseas through London.
Ibori, who in his heyday was one of Nigeria’s richest and most powerful men, pleaded guilty in a London court in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering involving sums amounting to at least 50 million pounds ($66 million).
He received a 13-year jail sentence of which he served half, as is common in the British system, and is now back in Nigeria.
Anti-corruption campaigners had hailed the case as a milestone for Nigeria, where no one of his stature had been successfully prosecuted, and for its former colonial ruler Britain, long seen as too complacent about the proceeds of Nigerian corruption being laundered in the UK.
“(Wednesday’s ruling) sends a clear message to the world that James Ibori, a man who stole millions from the Nigerian government and laundered those proceeds in the UK, has been rightly held to account,” said Ben Wallace, Britain’s minister for security and economic crime.
Ibori owned multi-million-pound homes in Britain, South Africa and United States, including an English country house near the private school where his children were being educated. He also owned a Jaguar and a Bentley and was buying a $20-million private jet at the time of his arrest.
This contrasted sharply with the situation in Delta State, a maze of mangrove creeks criss-crossed by pipelines and plagued by violent conflict over access to oil money, where most people make do without electricity or clean water.
Wallace said that following Wednesday’s ruling, Britain would work with the Nigerian authorities on the repatriation of criminal assets for them to be used for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
“We will pursue this vigorously through the legal process,” he said.
ALLEGED POLICE CORRUPTION
Despite his guilty pleas, Ibori appealed against his conviction alleging that one of the British police officers who investigated him had taken bribes from a private detective in return for inside tips about the probe. The officer denies this.
Ibori also alleged that British prosecutors had covered up the corruption, tainting the judicial process. These allegations had threatened to turn the case into a major embarrassment for Britain.
But three senior appeal judges said the bribery was not proven, and if it had happened, Ibori himself had instigated it as the private detective was working for him.“As Ibori was instrumental in (the officer’s) corruption, if corruption there was, he cannot, even arguably, rely upon it to escape his convictions,” the ruling said.
Ibori has now resumed political activities in Delta State.
In a statement sent to media after Wednesday’s ruling, he accused the Court of Appeal of being part of the cover-up and said he would take his case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Britain is currently trying to crack down on money-laundering by people involved in corrupt politics or business abroad. Police say about 100 billion pounds of dirty cash moves through or into Britain each year.
The Ibori case, which pre-dated the current crackdown by over a decade, relied on evidence obtained in Britain and Nigeria during several years of close cooperation between the British police and Nigeria’s own anti-corruption force.

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Senate Approves $2.78 bln Eurobond Issue for President Buhari

Nigeria's Senate has approved President Muhammadu Buhari's request to raised $2.78 billion in Eurobond to fund part of this year's budget deficit, however, counsel the government on the need to exercise restraint on excessive external borrowing.
Lawmakers said the new bond issue will raise foreign borrowing to 32 percent of Nigeria’s total debt from 30 percent at June 2018.

The Senate said it approved the issuance but warned against accumulating too much foreign debt. “The federal government should do everything possible to reduce or limit its request for more external borrowing and (seek) other means of generating revenue internally,” it said. 

“This is to avoid a cleverly managed re-conquest of our country through a debt overhang.”

On Wednesday, the government also approved Citigroup, Standard Chartered Bank and local firm FSDH Merchant Bank as financial advisers on the planned bond issue, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed told reporters.

Nigeria, which emerged from recession last year, approved a three-year plan in 2016 to borrow more from abroad. It wants 40 percent of its loans to come from offshore to lower borrowing costs and help to fund its record-high budgets.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who will seek a second term in a presidential election to be held in February, signed a record 9.12 trillion-naira budget for 2018 into law in June as part of an attempt to foster economic growth.
Lawmakers also approved debt issuance of $82.54 million to refinance the balance of a $500 million matured Eurobond.
Nigerian government officials have met fund managers on a non-deal roadshow in New York held to update bondholders on the country’s growth plan following the recession, an investor presentation seen by Reuters showed.

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NNPC Denies Holding $3.5bn Subsidy Fund

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has denied claims that it has in its custody 3.5 billion dollars Subsidy fund.
NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
He explained that at the hit of the shortage of products supply at the close of last year, the National Assembly asked the NNPC to do everything possible to stem the hiccups.
Ughamadu said the corporation initiated the move to raise a revolving fund of 1.05 billion dollars, since the corporation was, and still the sole importer and supplier of white products in the country.
He noted ever since, the fund had been domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria, adding that at no time was it in the custody of the NNPC.
Ughamadu said the fund, called the National Fuel Support Fund, had been jointly managed by the NNPC, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Other managers include the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OGF), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF).
He further clarified that NNPC did not independently spend a dime of the fund which he said was to ensure stability in the petroleum products supply in the country.
He added that the corporation was fully aware that it was only the National Assembly that has the statutory responsibility to appropriate on petroleum subsidy matters.

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Ethiopia Names 50 Pct Female Cabinet In Government Overhaul

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed named Ahmed Shide his finance minister in sweeping changes to the Horn of Africa nation’s government that included appointing women to half of cabinet posts.
Abiy appointed Aisha Mohammed as defence minister and created the Ministry of Peace that will be headed by Mufuriat Kami, making them two of 10 women in his cabinet. Others include Adanech Abeebe to head the Ministry of Revenue and former deputy mayor of the capital, Dagmawit Moges, as transport minister. Lawmakers approved the appointments that also reduced government ministries to 20 from 28.


Abiy Ahmed
“This is to show respect to the women for all the contribution they have made to the country,” Abiy told lawmakers in the capital, Addis Ababa. “The new cabinet is expected to reform their respective ministries, remove the walls of bureaucracy, bring innovation and technology to provide services efficiently.”
In Africa, only Rwanda has as made similar strides in creating an inclusive government.
Abiy has enacted far-reaching political and economic reforms since coming to power in the continent’s second-most populous nation in April. He’s pledged to open up the telecommunications, shipping, power and aviation industries, moved to reduce the role of the military and made a peace deal with neighboring Eritrea, a long-time foe.
Reducing the number of ministries “is a move we would only expect from a confident administration,” Jared Jeffery, an analyst at Paarl, South Africa-based NKC African Economics, said in an emailed response to questions. “The fact that the prime minister and EPRDF are able to do this is a sign of unity,” he said, referring to the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front.
Shide previously served as Ethiopia’s information minister, while Mohammed was formerly construction minister. Workneh Gebeyehu was retained as foreign affairs minister.

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Nigeria Parliament Moves To Probe NNPC Over $3.5 Bln Fuel Subsidy

Nigeria’s upper house of parliament plans to investigate an alleged $3.5 billion fuel subsidy fund at state-oil firm NNPC, lawmakers said on Tuesday.
The Senate alleges NNPC used the fund to subside the price of imported petrol without the house’s approval, the lawmakers said.
Fuel subsidies are a contentious issue in Nigeria, where prices are kept artificially low at 145 naira ($0.48) per litre, often as a populist tool.
That has meant that as fuel prices increase globally, it has become unprofitable for private petrol marketers to import, forcing NNPC to step in to prevent major shortages.
However, state oil firm money spent on subsidies is meant to be included in Nigeria’s national budget, subject to approval by the national assembly.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said parliament would set up a committee to look into the issue.
A spokesman for NNPC said the oil company would await a decision from lawmakers and then decide how to respond.
“We have to call for the resolution (by the Senate), analyse it and respond accordingly,” he said.
In April, the Senate said the state oil firm illegally paid 216 billion naira ($707 million) in fuel subsidies in 2017, which should be reimbursed to the government.
Fuel shortages are a recurrent issue in Nigeria’s energy sector due to the country’s limited refining base and its cap on prices. This often creates long queues lasting hours at petrol stations whenever there is talk of fuel price increases.

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Why ex-President Obasanjo Forgives Atiku, Back His Presidential Bid

(Full text of the remarks made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the reconciliatory visit by the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to Abeokuta on October 11, 2018.)
I am happy to welcome the distinguished leaders of goodwill who have led the PDP Presidential Candidate and my former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, to my humble abode and I welcome the Presidential Candidate himself.
Let me start by congratulating President-to-be, Atiku Abubakar, for his success at the recent PDP Primary and I took note of his gracious remarks in his acceptance speech that it all started here.
Yes, when it started, it was meant for Atiku to succeed Obasanjo. In the presence of these distinguished leaders of goodwill today, let me say it openly that we have reviewed what went wrong on the side of Atiku. And in all honesty, my former Vice-President has re-discovered and re-positioned himself. As I have repeatedly said, it is not so much what you did against me that was the issue but what you did against the Party, the Government and the country.
I took the stand I had taken based on the character and attributes you exhibited in the position you found yourself. I strongly believe that I was right. It was in the overall interest of everyone and everything to take such a position.
From what transpired in the last couple of hours or so, you have shown remorse; you have asked for forgiveness and you have indicated that you have learnt some good lessons and you will mend fences and make amends as necessary and as desirable.
Whenever or wherever you might have offended me, as a Christian who asks for God’s forgiveness of my sins and inadequacies on daily basis, I forgive and I sincerely advise you to learn from the past and do what is right and it will be well with you. Obviously, you have mended fences with the Party and fully reconciled with the Party. That’s why today, you are the Presidential Candidate of the Party. In addition to appreciating all that the Party has done for you, may I advise you to work together with all those who contested for the Party’s flag with you as a team for your campaign.
There are still areas, nationally and internationally, where you have to mend fences and make amends.
You will know how to handle what is already out and what may yet be put out by the opposition. But, I am convinced that if you continue with the attitude that brought you here with these distinguished leaders of goodwill, with remorse and contrite heart, the rest of the coast within and outside the country can be cleared. And if there is anything I can do and you want me to do in that respect, I will do.
I am sure with the right attitude for change where necessary, and by putting lessons learned by you to work, you will get the understanding, cooperation, support and mandate – all at the national level. With Nigerians voting for you, it will mean that you secure their forgiveness and regain their confidence. It will be with the hope or assurance of a Paul on the road to Damascus Conversion. After all, change and conversion are of man. I believe that with a contrite heart, change is possible in everybody’s life and situation.
For me, relatively and of all the aspirants in the PDP, you have the widest and greatest exposure, experience, outreach and possibly the best machinery and preparation for seeing the tough and likely dirty campaign ahead through. From what I personally know of you, you have capacity to perform better than the incumbent. You surely understand the economy better; you have business experience, which can make your administration business-friendly and boost the economy and provide jobs.
You have better outreach nationally and internationally and that can translate to better management of foreign affairs. You are more accessible and less inflexible and more open to all parts of the country in many ways. As Pastor Bakare, one-time running mate of the incumbent President said, “You are a wazobia man.” And that should help you in confronting the confrontable and shunning nepotism.
As you know, along the road to where you are today, many leaders and ordinary people cooperated and overtly and covertly worked hard. On your behalf, I thank them all. May their coast continue to be expanded. And when you become Nigerian President which, insha-Allah, you will be, remember what we did together in government – we ran an administration by Nigerians for all Nigerians where merit and performance count more than blood relationship, friendship or kith and kin. Although some time and ground have been lost, you should endeavour to start from where we stopped and recover some lost ground, if not time.
Please uphold truth, integrity, principles, morality and fight corruption, crimes and insurgency. The fundamental law of the land, our constitution must be scrupulously defended. I make one demand and one demand on you today, I need you to say before God and man that you will always remain irrevocably committed to upholding ALL the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the whole country will remain your single indivisible constituency.
Constitutionalism, popular participation and inclusiveness are pre-conditions for reversing the deficits of the past three and half years. They will ensure abiding faith in our indivisibility, oneness and faith in the survival of all against none.
The fundamentals for our development, economic growth and progress are hard and soft infrastructure. Remember to always give adequate places in your administration to our youth and women.
All the authorities involved with the preparation, all processes and conduct of the election must ensure that the election is free, fair and credible.
Once again, congratulations and I wish you well. My distinguished brothers and leaders of goodwill, thank you for making this happen. I will now count on you to encourage all hands to be on the deck to take Nigeria to the level God has created it to be – autopilot level.
God bless you all and God bless Nigeria.

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These Are the Best Countries to Live and Work in—And to Boost Your Salary

Moving abroad boosts the average worker’s income by $21,000, with the best-paid staff found in Switzerland, the U.S. and Hong Kong.
That’s the conclusion in a survey showing that 45 percent of expats said their existing job paid more internationally and 28 percent changed locations for a promotion. In Switzerland, famous for both sky-high mountains and prices, the annual income boost totaled $61,000. Expat salaries there averaged $203,000 per year -- twice the global level.
Show Me the Money
Switzerland tops the list of destinations for the biggest pay packets
In HSBC’s annual Expat Explorer, Singapore topped the ranking as best place to live and work for a fourth straight year, beating New Zealand, Germany and Canada. Switzerland ranked only eighth, with the high cost of raising children and difficulty making friends going against it.
“Singapore packs everything a budding expat could want into one of the world’s smallest territories,” HSBC said.
Sweden, one of the world’s most gender-equal countries, got top billing for family, while New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan led the way in the experience category.
Despite the cultural, financial and professional advantages of moving abroad, the survey of 22,318 people uncovered that women trailed on a variety of metrics.
While relocating boosted women’s income by roughly 27 percent -- topping the increase experienced by men -- only about a quarter moved to develop their careers, compared with 47 percent of their male counterparts. Just half worked full time, and the overall level of education was somewhat lower. Women’s average annual salary was also $42,000 lower than men’s.

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Nigeria’s economy performing poorly – IMF

Growth prospects in Africa are being held down by poor economic development in Nigeria, South Africa and Angola, the International Monetary Fund has said.
The Breton Woods institution, which said this at the Annual General Meetings of the IMF/World Bank currently going in Bali, Indonesia, also revised downwards growth prospects for Nigeria in 2018 from 2.1 per cent to 1.9 per cent.
Speaking to journalists in Bali, the Deputy Director, Research, IMF, Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, said the largest economies on the continent were holding down economic development in Africa as a result of poor growth rate.
He stated, “Nigeria’s growth, 1.9 per cent this year; 2.3 next year. South Africa, only 0.8 per cent this year; Angola, contracting by 0.1 per cent this year. So, the aggregate – over three per cent this year, close to four per cent next year – is despite the largest economies in the continent doing poorly.
“The continent could do much better once these economies are on a more solid footing, particularly South Africa and Nigeria, because they are really large and affect a number of countries in their neighbourhood.”
The IMF had in its World Economic Outlook report in July projected that Nigeria’s economy would grow by 2.1 per cent in 2018 and 2.3 per cent in 2019.
Also on Tuesday, it projected that inflation in Nigeria would increase to 13.5 per cent next year.
After 18 straight months of decline, the nation’s inflation rate rose to 11.23 per cent in August from 11.14 per cent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said last month.
The IMF, in the WEO report, said inflation pressures in sub-Saharan Africa had broadly softened, with annual inflation projected to drop to 8.6 per cent in 2018 and 8.5 per cent in 2019, from 11 per cent in 2017.
It noted that in South Africa, inflation had moderated to 4.8 per cent from 5.3 per cent in 2017, with the easing of drought conditions, “but is expected to edge back to 5.3 per cent in 2019 as temporary disinflationary effects subside.”
The Washington-based fund said in Nigeria and Angola, tighter monetary policy and moderation in food price increases contributed to tapering inflation.
“In Nigeria, inflation is projected to fall to 12.4 per cent in 2018 from 16.5 per cent in 2017, and to rise to 13.5 per cent in 2019. In Angola, inflation is projected to fall to 20.5 per cent in 2018 from 29.8 per cent in 2017, and to decline further to 15.8 per cent in 2019,” it added.
According to the WEO report, growth is on the mend for sub-Saharan Africa, with the region’s average growth projected to rise to 3.1 per cent in 2018 (from 2.7 per cent in 2017) and 3.8 per cent in 2019.
The IMF said, “The growth forecast for 2018 is 0.3 percentage point lower than the April 2018 WEO forecast. The acceleration relative to 2016–17 reflects a more supportive external environment, including stronger global growth, higher commodity prices, and improved capital market access, following efforts to improve fiscal balances in the aftermath of the commodity price slump.
“Growth performance varies, however, across countries. About half of the expected pickup in growth between 2017 and 2018 reflects the growth rebound in Nigeria. Nigeria’s growth is projected to increase from 0.8 per cent in 2017 to 1.9 per cent in 2018 and 2.3 per cent in 2019 (0.4 percentage point higher than in the April 2018 WEO for 2019), buoyed by the impact of recovering oil production and prices.
“In Angola, the region’s second largest oil exporter, real GDP is expected to shrink by 0.1 per cent in 2018, following a 2.5 per cent contraction in 2017, but is projected to increase by 3.1 per cent in 2019.”

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Nigeria needs President who understands economy – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday harped on his argument that Nigeria requires a President with a sound knowledge of the economy to make a headway.
This, he said, was what a former German Chancellor, the late Helmut Schmidt, who was one of his international friends, told him during a discussion about African countries.
He argued that there was no way that a President with a poor knowledge of the economy could meet the needs of the citizens, adding that even Jesus Christ understood economy.
Obasanjo spoke in Lagos at this year’s edition of Foursquare Gospel Church annual public lecture, which held at the church’s national headquarters in Yaba.
He chaired the lecture with the theme, “The trying triangle of economy, faith and politics – Looking through the eye of the needle.”
The lecture was delivered by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Rev. Fr. Matthew Kukah.
Commenting on the lecture, the former President said even if Kukah was right in his description of politics as a game, politics must be the most serious game created by man.
He said he agreed with Kukah that even Jesus Christ had a good knowledge of the economy.

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Nigeria To Borrow $2.78 Bln Via Eurobond, President Seeks Parliament Approval

Nigeria plans to raise $2.78 billion from the International Capital Market (ICM) to finance the deficit in the 2018 budget, a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari requesting National Assembly approval and read at the plenary by the Senate President on Tuesday showed.

According to the letter, President Buhari, the fund would be used to finance deficits and key infrastructure projects in the 2018 budget.
The amount being requested will be raised through Eurobonds and other securities in the international capital market, the president said.

In the same letter, Buhari also sought legislative nod for an external capital sourcing of $82.54 million to refinance the balance of 500 million dollar matured Eurobonds in the international capital market.

Buhari said the requests were pursuant to Section 21(1) and 27(1) of the Debt Management Office (Establishment, Etc.) Act of 2003.
The lawmakers on Tuesday resumed from their annual recess, which began on July 25.
Although the break was earlier scheduled to end on Sept. 25, it was extended to Oct. 9 to enable them to participate in the just-concluded primaries of their political parties.
In another letter dated Sept. 10, the president requested Senate to confirm the appointment of Olanipekun Olukoyede as Secretary of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This is coming amid the pending confirmation of Ibrahim Magu, whose nomination by the president as substantive Chairman of the EFCC has been rejected twice by the lawmakers.
Also requested by the president was Senate consideration and approval of 346 billion naira as the 2018 budget proposal of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The figure is 18 billion naira lower than the 364 billion naira budget approved for the commission in the 2017 fiscal year.

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How courts can help AMCON recover N5.4 trillion debts – Onnoghen, Bulkachuwa

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, and the President of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa, have tasked the nation's 'bad bank' the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to leverage on the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) infrastructure in courts in its debt recovery mandate.
The two justices’ spoke on Monday in Abuja at the interactive session between Justices of Supreme Court; Court of Appeal, AMCON and National Judicial Institute (NJI).
The discussion, which centred on how AMCON can effectively recover its outstanding 5.4 trillion naira debt, was on the theme ‘Strengthening AMCON Recovery Drive.’
In his opening address, Onnoghen said the judiciary must be aware of the daunting task before AMCON in recovering the huge debts before its sunset period.
Onnoghen said this required judicial support on one hand and for AMCON to think outside the box and come up with innovative ways of accomplishing its mission within the ambit of the law.
He said this was the only way AMCON would recover as much debts as possible.
“It is for this reasons I will encourage the use of ADR, as part of the mechanism put in place to resolve asset management related disputes in our courts,” the CJN said
The chief justice insisted it was in Nigeria’s interest that AMCON should succeed in its assignment
“Certainly, judicial time and capacity are scarce public resources; as such repeated delays constitute waste of these precious resources.”
He said a better understanding of the current trends in this area of the law would go a long way in curbing delays and waste of judicial time and resources, thereby helping AMCON in fulfilling its mandate.
The judiciary, the CJN assured, would continue to do its best to ensure judges remained conversant with the AMCON regime towards engendering efficiency, uniformity and improvement in the quality of judicial services in our courts.
On her part, Bulkachuwa, said the ADR was key to fast tract debt recovery activities of AMCON and the eventual industrialisation of the Nigerian economy.
She urged AMCON to consider leveraging the ADR infrastructure now available in Nigerian courts towards speedy debt recovery.
The appeal court president said the CJN had consistently encouraged the use of ADR in view of the delays in adjudication caused by the density of cases in the dockets of the trial and appellate courts.
“The appellate courts trust this form of interactions holds the key to fast tracking debt recovery by AMCON and the eventual industrialisation of the Nigerian economy.
“The judiciary has been playing its constitutional role through dynamic and proactive, but fair and objective interpretation and enforcement of the AMCON Act by expeditiously determining AMCON cases by enacting AMCON practice directions at the Federal High Court, court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
Apart from the CJN considering an exclusive practice direction for AMCON at the Supreme Court, she said, the chief justice also advised AMCON lawyers to adopt the fast track window for all AMCON appeals at the Supreme Court.
The court of appeal has since issued a circular directing the expeditious disposition of all AMCON appeals, Ms Bulkachuwa said.
AMCON managing director, Ahmed Kuru, reminded the justices that his agency currently has a lot of cases pending at the Federal High Court because obligors of the corporation deliberately raise issues that would cause delay in justice.
“AMCON currently has over 3,000 cases pending at the Federal High Court. Given the litigious tendency of our obligors, we anticipate more than 50 per cent of the cases will proceed to the Court of Appeal and eventually the Supreme Court.
“We hope the special ‘practice directions’ issued by the President of the Court of Appeal will be very instrumental to speedy determination of the eventual appeals.
”The practice direction prescribed three months for concluding all AMCON matters. If the national assignment of recovering over N5 trillion of bad debts will be achieved, the practice direction needs to be strengthened and encouraged.”
Kuru said AMCON has enjoyed the support and counsel of both the immediate past and incumbent CJN through the practice directions for expeditious hearing and determination of AMCON matters.
He appealed for its sustainability because ”it would go a long way to helping AMCON especially with its sunset in mind”.
He said the quest to recover more funds was the reason why AMCON moved from restructuring towards enforcements, meaning that even more AMCON cases would arrive the courts in the years ahead.

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Nigeria central bank may reduce $8.1 bln MTN repatriation demand

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may slash the amount it has ordered South African telecoms firm MTN to repatriate as part of ongoing negotiations and review of its decision on the illegally transferred funds by the telecoms firm outside the country.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said during a visit to London that the regulatory bank's decision will soon be reviewed and the issues settled amicably.

“I don’t think it will be staying at $8.1 billion,” Emefiele said, adding he expected the issue to be dealt with “amicably and equitably”.

“I want to believe that the figures will reduce. Whether they will be dropped completely, I honestly cannot say at this time,” the regulatory bank chief said.
MTN and the CBN are in a dispute over the transfer of $8.1 billion of funds which the bank said the company had sent abroad in breach of foreign-exchange regulations. Nigeria accounts for a third of MTN’s annual core profit.
Emefiele said the central bank had received documents some two weeks ago from MTN and four lenders involved in the case - Standard Chartered, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Citibank and Diamond Bank - and was in communications with all parties involved.
“The central bank will be examining these, then it will be escalated up to my level,” he said, adding he expected to get the results in a couple of weeks.
The two sides are locked in a court dispute over the transaction. The central bank filed a counter-claim on Friday to a court request by MTN, which is seeking to stop the bank from forcing it to bring back the money.
Emefiele said the MTN case was a one-off, and the central bank was not looking at transactions involving any other companies operating in Nigeria.
“We respect the sanctity of these companies,” he said.
Shares in MTN lost almost 5 percent over the past week.
Emefiele also said Nigeria’s central bank would continue to intervene in the foreign exchange markets, adding that he believed in a stable exchange rate regime.
Nigeria has been battling to defend its currency and shore up its reserves of around $44 billion, hobbled by lower oil prices. At the same time, the oil exporter has suffered from high inflation, which edged up to 11.2 percent at its last reading - well above the central bank’s 6-9 percent target.
Emefiele said Nigeria’s current stance of monetary tightening would continue.

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Saudi Arabia Targets $600 bln Sovereign Wealth Fund

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom’s main sovereign wealth fund (PIF) will surpass its target of increasing its financial clout to $600 billion by 2020, as part of the efforts to wean the economy off oil.
“We are now above $300 billion, we’re getting close to $400 billion. Our target in 2020 is around $600 billion. I believe we will surpass that target in 2020,” the prince said in a Bloomberg interview published on Friday.
He added that the fund, with more than 50 percent of its investments located in Saudi Arabia will be investing in more places next year.
The young prince also said that the country’s 2019 budget will exceed 1 trillion riyals ($267 billion) for the first time.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also said the kingdom has met its promise to Washington to make up for Iranian crude oil supplies lost through U.S. sanctions.
“The request that America made to Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries is to be sure that if there is any loss of supply from Iran, that we will supply that. And that happened,” Prince Mohammed said.
“Iran reduced their exports by 700,000 barrels a day, if I’m not mistaken. And Saudi Arabia and OPEC and non-OPEC countries, they’ve produced 1.5 million barrels a day. So we export as much as 2 barrels for any barrel that disappeared from Iran recently. So we did our job and more.”
Russia and Saudi Arabia struck a private deal in September to raise oil output to cool rising prices and informed the United States before a meeting in Algiers with other producers, Reuters reported this week.
U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for high crude prices and called on it to boost output to bring down fuel costs before the U.S. congressional elections on Nov. 6.
Benchmark Brent oil LCOc1 rallied above $86 this week mainly stemming from a decline in oil exports from OPEC member Iran due to fresh U.S. sanctions. It settled at $84.16 a barrel on Friday.
Iran, OPEC’s third-largest producer, has accused Trump of orchestrating the oil price rally by imposing sanctions on Tehran and accused its regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia of bowing to U.S. pressure.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil exporter and OPEC’s de-facto leader.
The Saudi crown prince said the recent rise in oil prices was not due to Iran.
“We believe the higher price that we have in the last month, it’s not because of Iran. It’s mostly because of things happening in Canada, and Mexico, Libya, Venezuela and other countries that moved the price a little bit higher,” he told Bloomberg.
“But Iran, definitely no. Because they reduced 700,000 barrels and we’ve exported more than 1.5 million barrels a day.”
Saudi Arabic is now pumping about 10.7 million barrels per day and can add a further 1.3 million bpd of production “if the market needed that,” Prince Mohammed said.
“We have spare capacity of 1.3 million without any investment… And with other OPEC countries and non-OPEC countries we believe we have more than that, a little bit more than that,” he said. “Of course there is opportunity for investment in the next three to five years.”
Saudi Arabia is the only oil producer with significant spare capacity on hand to supply the market if needed. The kingdom has a maximum sustainable capacity of 12 million bpd.
Prince Mohammed also said he hoped to resume oil production from the Neutral Zone, which Saudi Arabia shares with Kuwait, after resolving pending issues between the two Gulf OPEC allies.
“We believe that we are almost close to having something with Kuwait. There are only small issues that have been stuck there for the last 50 years. The Kuwaiti side, they want to fix it today, before we continue to produce in that area,” he said.
“We’re trying to have an agreement with the Kuwaitis to continue to produce for the next five to 10 years and at the same time, we work on the sovereignty issues.”
The crown prince flew to Kuwait on Sunday to discuss the resumption of oil output from the Neutral Zone, a source familiar with the matter had told Reuters.
The resumption of the Neutral Zone’s oilfields could add up to 500,000 bpd of oil output capacity to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

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Nigeria Ex Vice President Atiku Clinches PDP Presidential Ticket

Nigeria's former vice president, Atiku Abubakar emerged the presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the end of the count of the votes at the presidential primary of the party on Sunday.

The former deputy to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo polled 1,532 to clinch the ticket.
The Fulani-born Waziri of Adamawa, businessman and politician beat 11 other contestants to face another tribesman, incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the February 2019 presidential election.
His closet rival, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state, scored 693 votes.
Atiku, a native of a Fulani village of Jada in Adamawa state, was earlier at the end of votes sorting declared the winner of the primary by his agents Messrs Gbenga Daniel and Ben Bruce.
With the win, Atiku Abubakar would have to face incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of APC and Donald Duke of Social Democratic Party (SDP) and some others in the February 2019 presidential election.
About 3,274 delegates were at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt and took part in the primary which produced the following results.
Atiku Abubakar – 1,532
Aminu Tambuwal – 693
Bukola Saraki – 317
Sanator David Mark – 35
Sule Lamido – 96
Kabiru Turaki – 65
Donald Jang – 19
Datti Ahmed – 5
Attahiru Bafarawa – 48
Ibrahim Dankwanbo – 111
Ahmed Makarfi – 74
Rabiu Kwankwanso – 158
72-year-old Abubakar, a businessman, who served as the second elected vice-president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), with President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Abubakar worked in the Nigeria Customs Service for twenty years, rising to become the Deputy Director before he retired in April 1989 to go into politics.
He ran for the office of governor in the Gongola State (now Adamawa and Taraba States) in 1991, and for the Presidency in 1993, placing third after MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) primaries.
In 1998 he was elected Governor of Adamawa State. While still Governor-Elect he was selected by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate Olusegun Obasanjo as his running mate.
The duo went on to win elections in February 1999, and Abubakar was sworn-in as Nigeria’s second democratically elected vice president on 29 May 1999.
Abubakar’s second term as Vice President was marked by a stormy relationship with President Obasanjo.
Abubakar ran for the presidency on the platform of the Action Congress, having quit the PDP on account of his issues with President Obasanjo.
Abubakar lost the election, placing third after Umaru Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
He joined the ruling APC and sought the party’s ticket in 2014 but lost to President Muhammadu Buhari at the primary held in Lagos.
Abubaker defected again in May to PDP where he on Sunday clinched the ticket to tackle incumbent President Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.
Abubakar is a co-founder of Intels, an oil servicing business with extensive operations in Nigeria and abroad and founder of the American University of Nigeria

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Nigeria's Cenbank Wants MTN To Pay 15 Pct Interest On Fund Illegally Transferred Abroad

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is seeking a court directive to the local unit of South Africa's telecoms firm MTN to pay 15 percent interest on the fund illegally repatriated outside the country, court paper showed the regulatory bank counter claim filed against the telecoms giant.

The regulatory bank has fined four banks 5.8 billion naira in July for helping MTN to transfer forex outside the country and directed the telecoms firm to return $8.1 billion so illegally taken out of the country.

MTN in rejecting the CBN directive has filed a court case challenging the regulatory bank decision to force it to return the money back to Nigeria.

The CBN filed a counter claim to a court request by MTN which sought to stop the bank from forcing it to bring back the money, the company’s lawyer said on Friday.
In asking a Lagos Federal High Court to throw out MTN’s case, the central bank also requested the firm pay 15 percent annual interest on the $8.1 billion.

The move escalates a dispute between MTN and the monetary authority in a market which accounts for a third of its annual core profit.

The central bank’s lawyer said in the court documents that the $8.1 billion MTN transferred out of Nigeria was purchased improperly from the bank and that the amount forms a large portion of the country’s total foreign reserves.

“The improper depletion of our foreign reserves is a more serious problem for the entire country far above the claims of the Plaintiff (MTN) in its application,” the central bank’s lawyers argued in the document.

Nigeria has been battling to defend its currency and also shore up its reserves of around $44 billion, hobbled by lower oil prices.

“MTN had gone to court, sued the central bank and the attorney general. The central bank has filed a response and a counter claim, meaning that nobody can resort to self-help in the matter any longer,” MTN’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, told Reuters.

“With this development, everybody has now surrendered ... the grievances to the court. Everybody has to wait for the decision of the court.”

MTN’s next move will be to file a reply to the bank’s claim, he added.

CBN’s spokesman Isaac Okorafor said the central bank “is aggressively engaging MTN and the banks, but he added “I’m hopeful that an amicable resolution will soon be achieved”.

Shares in MTN were trading 4 percent down by 1250 GMT, having earlier fallen as much as 8.5 percent to 79.85 rand, their lowest level since Sept. 21. They were the worst performer in the Johannesburg stock exchange’s top 40 index.

“The market is seeing that (the central bank’s move) as going back to that aggressive stance they had right at the beginning,” said Greg Davies, equities trader at Cratos Capital.

MTN has lost 35.3 billion rand ($2.40 bln), or 17.4 percent, of its market value since the claim was announced.“SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT”

The telecoms firm is also facing a $2 billion tax bill from Nigeria’s attorney general, the demand for which MTN has also asked the court to halt to protect its assets in the country. Olanipekun said MTN has received no response from the attorney general yet.

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Out-of-school children increases from 10.5m to 13.2m, says UBEC

Hamid Bobboyi, Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), has said that the number of out-of-school children increased from 10.5 million to 13.2 million between 2010 and 2015.
Bobboiyi made this known in Abuja on Thursday at a Pre-conference briefing on Northern Nigeria Traditional Rulers Conference on Out-of-school children.
Bobboyi, who was represented by Mr Bello Kagara, Director, Social Mobilisation, said the Demography Health Survey (DHS) jointly conducted by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education revealed this figure.
According to him, up to 2015, the figure was up to 10.5 million.
“Over the last few years due to insurgency challenge and with increasing number of birth, the DHS jointly conducted by UNICEF and the Ministry of education revealed the new figure to 13.2 million.
“For some years now, Nigeria has been besieged by Boko Haram insurgency, which has led to the near collapse of education in north-east Nigeria.
“If you add the number of out-of-school children that have been displaced and with the increasing number of birth, you will find out that our source in DHS revealed the out-of-school children has increased to 13.2 million.”
Also, the Emir of Argungun, Alhaji Samaila Mera said the involvement of traditional rulers was key to solving the problems of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
The monarch identified socio-cultural factors as a major problem confronting the challenges hindering northern children from going to school.
He added that the reasons more children are out of school in northern Nigeria was varied and rooted in the socio-cultural and economic environment barriers and bottlenecks.
The emir explained that the barriers included the cost of education, poverty and negative perceptions to formal education, saying these factors influenced the educational choices parents make in the region.
Earlier, Prof. Abba Haladu, Executive Secretary, National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education (NMEC), said Nigeria must at this point look for ways in addressing the problems.
Haladu said addressing these problems would make Nigerian children have access to basic quality education.
Similarly, Mr Terry Durnnian, Chief Education Specialist, UNICEF said the world can only address the problem of out-of-school children, if Nigeria plays her role in addressing the scourge of Boko Haram insurgency.
Durnnian pledged UNICEF’s readiness to take on the challenge of reducing the number of out-of-school children.
“We are ready to make commitment for actions, the process has begun by UNICEF to lead and support the process of reducing the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria,” he said.

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World Bank cuts sub-Saharan Africa's 2018 growth forecast to 2.7 pct

The World Bank has cut its economic growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa this year to 2.7 percent from an earlier forecast of 3.1 percent, mainly because of slower-than-expected growth in the continent’s bigger economies, the bank said on Wednesday.
The region, which had posted a fairly fast average growth rate in the years leading up to 2015, suffered a loss of momentum in economic output after commodity prices crashed in 2015-16.
In April, the World Bank had predicted that the recovery would gather pace this year, with average growth expected at 3.1 percent, up from 2.3 percent last year.
“The slower pace of the recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa ... is explained by the sluggish expansion in the region’s three largest economies, Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa,” the bank said in a statement.
Lower oil production in Angola and Nigeria offset higher oil prices, and in South Africa, weak household consumption growth was compounded by a contraction in agriculture, the World Bank said.
The rest of the countries in the region have been growing steadily this year, the bank said, including those that don’t depend on commodities, such as Ivory Coast, Kenya and Rwanda.
Albert Zeufack, the World Bank’s chief economist for Africa, urged governments in the region to stop wasting money boost productivity to support the region’s economic recovery.
High public debt in some countries in the region, combined with weakening currencies and rising interest rates, could endanger their ability to service those debts, the World Bank warned.
“Policymakers in the region must equip themselves to manage new risks arising from changes in the composition of capital flows and debt,” Zeufack said.

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