Nigeria’s Inflation Rate in Various States
The National Bureau of Statistics has said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 19.64 per cent on a year-on-year basis in July, the highest since 2005.
The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer, National Bureau of Statistics, Prince Semiu Adeniran, said this in the Consumer Price Index for July 2022 released by the bureau in Abuja on Monday.
Giving a breakdown of the report in a statement, Adeniran said the CPI measures the average change over time in the prices of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living.
According to him, it is a core macroeconomic indicator used in the derivation of the inflation rate for policy, planning, and monitoring of an economy.
Adeniran said the report showed that in July 2022, on a year–on–year basis, the headline inflation rate was 19.64 per cent.
“This is 2.27 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in July 2021, which was 17.38 per cent.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate increased in July 2022 when compared to the same month in the previous year of July 2021.
This means that in July 2022, the general price level was 2.26 per cent higher than in July 2021,’’ Adeniran said.
He said increases were recorded in all Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose divisions that yielded the Headline Index.
Adeniran said the increase in inflation was caused by an increase in food index attributed to the disruption in the supply of food products.
The statistician-general also said the increase in inflation was caused by an increase in the cost of transportation arising from the higher cost of energy.
According to him, the increase in the inflation rate was also due to an increase in import costs as a result of currency depreciation, as well as a general increase in the cost of production.
He said on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in July 2022 was 1.817 per cent, which was higher than the rate recorded in June 2022 at 1.816 per cent.
“The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending July 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 16.75 per cent.
This is showing a 0.46 per cent increase compared to 16.30 per cent recorded in July 2021.’’
Adeniran said the composite food index on a year-on-year basis was 22.02 per cent in July 2022, showing a rise compared to 21.03 per cent in July 2021.
He said the rise in the food index was caused by increase in prices of bread and cereals, food products, potatoes, yam, and other tubers, meat, fish, oil, and fat.
The statistician-general said on a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index in July 2022 was 2.04 per cent lower than the 2.05 per cent recorded in June 2022.
“The index for all items less farm produce (Core inflation), which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 16.26 per cent in July 2022 on a year-on-year basis.
“This was higher when compared to 13.72 per cent recorded in July 2021. On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index was 1.75 per cent in July 2022 higher when compared to 1.56 per cent recorded in June 2022.
He said the highest increases were recorded in prices of gas, liquid fuel, solid fuel, passenger transport by road, passenger transport by air, garments, cleaning, repair and hire of clothing.
Adeniran said on a year-on-year basis, in July 2022, the urban inflation rate was 20.09 per cent, 2.08 per cent higher compared to 18.01 per cent recorded in July 2021.
He said on a month-on-month basis the urban inflation rate was 1.82 per cent in July 2022, showing a decline compared to June 2022 at 1.82 per cent.
Adeniran said the rural inflation rate in July 2022 was 19.22 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which were 2.47 per cent higher compared to the 16.75 per cent recorded in July 2021.
“On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in July 2022 was 1.811 per cent, which was higher compared to June 2022 at 1.809 per cent,” he stated.
Adeniran said all items inflation for the states in July 2022 on a year-on-year basis was highest in Akwa Ibom with 22.88 per cent, followed by Ebonyi with 22.51 per cent, and Kogi with 22.08 per cent.
The statistician-general said the slowest rise was recorded in Jigawa with 16.62 per cent, followed by Kaduna State with 17.04 per cent and Borno with 18.04 per cent.
Adeniran said on a month-on-month basis, July 2022 recorded the highest increase in Adamawa with 2.87 per cent, followed by Abuja with 2.84 per cent, and Oyo State with 2.77 per cent.
While Bauchi recorded the slowest rise on month-on-month inflation with 0.82 per cent, followed by Kano State with 0.83 per cent and Niger State with 1.03 per cent,” he submitted.
He said food sub-index inflation for the states in July 2022 on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kwara with 29.28 per cent, followed by Akwa Ibom with 27.22 per cent, and Kogi with 26.08 per cent.
The statistician-general said Kaduna State recorded the slowest rise in food inflation year-on-year with 17.16 per cent, followed by Jigawa with 17.46 per cent and Anambra with 19.25 per cent.
Adeniran said on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation sub-index was highest in Kwara with 3.90 per cent, followed by Delta with 3.61 per cent, and Benue with 2.94 per cent.
While he said Taraba, Gombe, and Niger recorded the slowest rise on a month-on-month inflation with 0.14 per cent, 0.94 per cent, and 1.13 per cent respectively.
NAN
Peter Obi is My Friend— Archbishop Chukwuma
Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, , has reiterated his call for a new Nigeria, insisting that Nigerians cannot afford to witness another set of bad leadership in 2023.
Chukwuma, who spoke in Enugu on Monday, said at the nick of time, Nigerians would elect leaders that would uplift the people from the suffering they were currently passing through under the APC-led government.
According to him, APC and PDP have nothing new to offer to Nigerians and the country..
He maintained that the Church had not endorsed any candidate, adding that politicians should be able to win people to their side rather than hiding under Obidient mantra to win elections.
While restating his position that Enugu State since 1999 has been entrenched into Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) without any strong opposition, the Archbishop added that it was not justifiable for anyone to claim that the state was Obidient.
“There is no doubt that I said, both Atiku and Jagaban are expired and they have no new things to offer us.
“And I talked about being Obidient nationally, but the situation is that living in Enugu and seeing what has happened in the past years when PDP has been in power for years and other parties have not surfaced until now, it has become very much necessary for people to know that Enugu as it is has been so entrenched into a party called PDP.
“Talk about the National Assembly, House of Assembly and local government all being powered by PDP and so, I have not seen anywhere other parties have power in Enugu State to say they are Obidient.
“I totally support Obidient nationally, but state wise, I’m talking about the personalities in the state, and I do know that those in the state that are not corrupt will be endorsed and voted for by us.
“We’re praying that the right people under God will come up in this nation to vie for positions that will make Nigeria to be better.
“Let it be clear to Nigerians that, I’m not against Peter Obi and I’m not against Obidient nationally, but state wise, Obidient may not work.
“Because, it is going to be a matter of personality and not a matter of party and again, Obidient is Peter Obi personified, nobody in the state is Peter Obi, so it may not be possible for you to say states can be Obidient like Enugu, because it depends on the strength, structure and the power of the party in government particularly the incumbency.
“So I want us to please get it clear, all those who have been writing things against me should note that I’m not a person anybody can destroy, and by the grace of God, nobody has settled me and nobody can settle me, I’ve not received money from anybody.
“I’m only expressing myself with what I’ve observed and seen.
“Enugu as far as I’m concerned, may not be Obidient but many will be Obidient nationally because Peter Obi is Obidient personified,” he insisted.
Chukwuma, who is also the Bishop of Enugu Diocese, maintained that the church was focused on praying for an end to insecurity, poverty, violence, hunger, and other issues confronting the country.
While reacting to the news making the rounds on the social media, where he was quoted during the burial of a former Military Administrator of Osun and Abia states, Colonel Anthony Obi (rtd), to have lashed out at the candidates and supporters of the Labour Party in Nigeria, the Anglican Archbishop, explained clearly that he was not against Peter Obi’s presidential ambition, rather against corrupt politicians who think they could win elections by hiding under Obidient movement.
“Let us be very careful of corrupt politicians who may want to run under the Obi or Obidient movement because they feel that it is catching much wave.
“All that I’m saying is that we must think about the personality, integrity, and pedigree of the person in any party that is going to vie for position in Nigeria, they should not hide under Obidient movement as if to say, they are going to win election.
“My own concern is that Peter Obi, found to be very credible, Nigerians should be out to make sure that young people should be given a chance and allow him to clean the mess that we’re in within the country,” the Anglican high priest said.
He said Nigeria was in dire need of people who have knowledge on human capacity development, economy, agriculture, business and finance, not corrupt politicians who had continued to recycle themselves in power.
He urged political parties to refine their paths with people-oriented programmes that could lift the country out of poverty.
The cleric maintained that he remained a voice, and responsible, adding: “I, Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma has been a constant, responsible clergyman for the past thirty something years as a Bishop”.
“It is quite clear that in this country people know me as speaking out, I’ve been condemning the evil in this society and in Nigeria.
“And we are very much aware that even in my synod, I condemned the evil things happening in this government, particularly led by Buhari and I meant it that we need a new Nigeria,” he concluded.
Notorious Kidnapper Wadume Sentence to 7years in Imprisonment
Justice Binta Nyako has sentenced the Taraba based kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala, popularly called Wadume, to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine.
Wadume was convicted by the trial judge for unlawfully dealing in prohibited firearms and for escaping from prison custody.
The Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice had earlier brought the criminal prosecution before Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court in Abuja.
After the trial lasted for three years, Nyako convicted Wadume on counts two and 10 of the 13-count charge brought against him and six others.
Meanwhile, Justice Nyako, on July 22, 2022 delivered judgement on other defendants in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/30/2020, which are: Aliyu Dadje (a police inspector), Auwalu Bala (aka omo razor), Uba Bala (aka Uba Delu), Bashir Wazlri (aka baba runs), Zubairu Abdullahi (aka Basho) and Rayyanu Abdul.
The details of Court papers, which emerged on Sunday, August 14, showed that the case of the prosecution team was upheld.
Inspector Dadje was sentenced to three years for tampering with Police records to conceal a crime.
Dadje was the Station officer at the Ibi Divisional Police Headquarters, Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba State at the time of the crime.
(Journalist101)
Presidential Candidates to Pay N10M before Mounting their Posters in Anambra State
PRESIDENTIAL candidates of the various political parties who wish to mount or paste their posters anywhere in Anambra State for the purposes of the 2023 elections are to pay N10m, according to a statement by the Anambra Signage and Advertising Agency(ANSAA).
A public notice issued yesterday by the managing director of the agency, Mr. Tony Ujubuonu also said that senatorial candidates are to pay N7 million, while House of Representatives candidates are to pay N5 million. Similarly, those wishing to contest for the state House of Assembly are to pay N1 million.
The agency also pegged the statutory costs for out -of- home media and mobile advertising at N100,000 for 48 sheets billboards, N500,000 for spectacular billboards, N500,000 gantry displays, N100,000 for irregular shaped billboard; N50,000 for branded vehicle and N5,000 for tricycle rear branding respectively.
The state government has also banned the pasting of posters on bridges and road demarcations along the streets of the state, just as it prohibited the pasting of campaign posters on street light poles; roundabout and other public buildings.
According to the notice, materials for advertising such as posters, public address system, banners, fliers, bunting, T-shirts, caps and sundries must be fully paid for and approved by the government authorities before they could be displayed for public consumption in any part of the state.
The payments, the government said, are to be made to the state’s revenue account before pasting the posters anywhere, waring that politicians who default in the payments would face legal prosecution before the election.
The notice further said that every billboard must be displayed through a registered advertising practitioner after the advertising content must have been vetted by the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON.
Campaigns for the 2023 general elections will officially commence next month according to the time table of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
(Vanguard)
Miyetti Allah Drags Benue Governor to International Criminal Court
The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, also known as Miyetti Allah, has dragged Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State before the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hague, over the alleged seizure of cows.
The National Secretary-General of the Fulani socio-cultural group, Saleh Alhassan, stated this while reacting to the inauguration of the state’s Community Volunteer Guards.
In a statement on Friday, Alhassan said Governor Ortom will face justice for allegedly seizing over 25,000 cows belonging to members of the group and detaining over 4,000 herders.
The Miyetti Allah alleged that the Benue governor has violated the rights of Fulani herders in his state, adding that Ortom was known for seizing cows belonging to Fulani herders.
He said: “He (Ortom) would go to Benue and Taraba states border communities and seize cows, making our members suffer. We don’t have herders in Benue. So, the livestock that he seized shows that he is part of the problem.
He is destroying the economy of our people in the border states. We have raised that issue, prepared our documents and sued him before the International Criminal Court in Hague.
“We sued him for stealing our cattle in Nasarawa and Taraba border communities and for also detaining our innocent youths and dumping them in his dungeon because he is a governor.
“He is not arresting herders for violating anti-open grazing law because there are no herders in Benue. The law which he assented to in his state Assembly stated that for a herder to function, there must be a ranch.
Ortom has failed to provide a ranch for us. Let him finish all this wickedness. He will still leave and the herders in Nigeria will continue to exist, prosper and be better.”
Alhassan described Ortom as a failure, stressing that the Benue governor doesn’t have any developmental achievements to show after being in office for eight years.
He said: “I just pity the innocent people of Benue State. We have asked these people to investigate and probe the quantum amounts of security votes he (Ortom) has diverted from the state.
He is a total failure and has seen failure staring at him in the face. After almost eight years, what are the developmental achievements he can present?
“We have stopped taking him seriously with regards to governance. We are taking a number of legal actions against him. We have also written to the President (Muhammadu Buhari) for compensation.”
(Journalist101)
Big Tent For Peter Obi Appoints Charles Odibo as Communications Lead
Accomplished Communications Practitioner, Charles Odibo, has been appointed the Director of Media and Communications for the BIG-TENT of the Labour Party Presidential campaign organization.
Making the announcement at a media session on Wednesday, August 11, 2022, Professor Pat Utomi, Convener of the BIG-TENT stated that a professionally run communications team is desirable to actualise the work that has been done over the years leading to the emergence of the third force through which the Labour Party has become the platform for the emergence of a new Nigeria.
Mr. Odibo, according to Professor Utomi, will lead a communications team that is “professional, that is passionate and committed to the Nigerian people, and that is focused on what matters than the kind of communication we tend to see generated in some of our efforts to communicate political positions.”
The convener of the BIG-TENT described Charles Odibo, head of the Communications team as a person who has “enormous experience in dealing with branding, in dealing with targeted communication, and in dealing with media in general. Charles has done this for leading organizations in the private sector, created some iconic brands. He is going to be supported by some of our colleagues from the media.”
Expressing confidence in the communications team to deliver on what he described as “rational public conversation,” Charles Odibo who has had significant experience in the banking industry, having successfully led communication teams in three different banks knows how important it is to be able to be focused in communications that delivers value. “So we are truly fortunate that we have someone like Charles to lead our efforts in the Big-Tent to build this team that will ensure that the Nigerian people get the information that will help their choice in 2023,” said Professor Utomi.
According to Professor Utomi, part of the work that the communications team will be doing from the “directorate of the Big Tent for the Peter Obi campaign will actually be to generate a set of talking points with spokespersons in every state of the Federation.”
In his brief remarks, Charles Odibo stated that the communications directorate of the BIG-TENT will ensure that all patriotic Nigerians who desire a new Nigeria “understand, agree and believe in the same thing, because the path that we are getting on to is all about a better Nigeria. It’s all about a country that will be good for each and every one of us.”
He promised that his pan-Nigeria team will create the engagement that ensures “commonality of purpose, to make people understand that Peter Obi’s ambition is for the common good.”
(Vanguard)
Japan to Partner with Anambra Vegetable Farmers
Japan has indicated interest in partnering Anambra farmers in cultivation, processing and exportation of ugu, onugbu and other vegetables with Nimo, Abatete, Oraukwu, Nawfija and Ogbunka communities lined up as pilot centres under Phase I.
The collaboration was attracted by the state government under the auspices of Small Holder Horticultural Empowerment and Promotion (SHEP) while Japanese participation to be sponsored by Japan International Agency (JICA).
Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Foster Ihejiofor, disclosed this yesterday while declaring open a three-day training for extension agents selected from the four agricultural zones of the state.
Describing the partnership as an indication of Japan’s endorsement of Gov. Chukwuma Soludo’s agricultural development policies, Ihejiofor also explained the collaboration as timely in calibrating Anambra’s economy through food sufficiency.
Explaining that the programme will focus on domestication of production and processing of vegetables, as well as distribution to ready markets in Nigeria and abroad by Anambra farmers, the commissioner urged the extension agents to see themselves as primary drivers of regenerative agriculture practice in line with the state government’s new farming templates.
Also speaking, Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) Manager, Jude Nwankwo promised that in the second phase of the partnership, the state government will double the number of benefitting communities, using Government Cash Counterpart Contribution (GCCC) funding.
Credit: Anambra Current News
Reasons Buhari’s Led Administration Won’t Interfere in Ekweremadu’s Case
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said the Muhammadu Buhari-led government would not interfere in the legal battle involving a former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
Ekweremadu is facing trial in the United Kingdom for alleged conspiracy to facilitate the travel of another person for organ harvesting.
UK prosecutors accused the former Deputy Senate President of planning to have the kidney of a 21-year-old man removed so it could be given to their ailing daughter.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, AGF Malami said Nigeria would only provide legal assistance if sought by Ekweremadu.
“And if the request is made, we’ll look at its merits,” he said.
The Minister added, “It has never been the tradition of the Nigerian government to interfere in anything judicial, local or international. And that stands the position of the government.
On the intervention of Senator Ekweremadu, I have stated in the course of my presentation, that there has been in existence, a mutual legal assistance request and collaboration between Nigeria and other countries across the world. We will address it if there is such a request on the part of the senator.”
Malami recalled a request passed through his office and meant for delivery to the Crime Agency in the UK at the instance of Senator Ekweremadu.
However, Malami said he could not comment on the document because it was sealed and only passed through his office.
In view of the fact that, the transmission of international documents is a function of a department central authority unit in the Office of the Attorney General and on the request of Senator Ekweremadu, an agency of government was asked to respond to certain inquiries, they did, and under seal, they presented their default which was transmitted to UK accordingly.
“So the implication of what I’m trying to state in essence is we have mutual legal assistance, understanding with the UK, and whichever of the agencies, either the Senator as an accused or suspect indeed the agencies in the UK, make any request for international support we will respond accordingly,” he said.