ABUJA – PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said that he needs a longer time to rest in London, United Kingdom, where he is on medical vacation.
The President said his need for further rest is necessitated by the series of medical tests conducted on him.
Expressing gratitude to Nigerians, who had been praying for him, he, however, said there is no cause for alarm.
The President’s appreciation was contained in a brief statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, yesterday.
The polity was awash with mixed reactions, yesterday, following President Buhari’s comments that he needs a longer time to rest in London. While some okayed further rest for him, others urged the presidency to be open about Buhari’s health status and stop taking Nigerians for granted.
Meanwhile, Senate President Bukola Saraki, yesterday, conveyed President Buhari’s greetings to senators while reading the president’s letter on extension of vacation and Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s letter on confirmation of Justice Walter Onnoghen as Chief Justice of the Federation, CJN.
Also, the Acting President has sent the name of a non-career ambassadorial nominee from Ogun State to the Senate for confirmation.
No cause for worry– Buhari
Adesina’s statement read: “President Muhammadu Buhari thanks millions of Nigerians who have been sending good wishes and praying for his health and well-being in mosques and churches throughout the country.
“The President is immensely grateful for the prayers, show of love and concern. President Buhari wishes to reassure Nigerians that there is no cause for worry.
“During his normal annual checkup, tests showed he needed a longer period of rest, necessitating the President staying longer than originally planned.”
President Buhari left Nigeria for London on January 19, 2017.
He was due to return after 10 official days but at the expiration of the period, he wrote to the National Assembly, extending his medical vacation indefinitely.
The continued stay of the President has, however, brewed controversy, dividing Nigerians in many respects.
Jolted by the statement, State House correspondents later sought more clarification from Adesina on President Buhari’s state of health.
The interview, at the Old Banquet Hall, Abuja, after a meeting on Promoting Effective Policy Monitoring and Evaluating and Performance of Ministers, Department and Agencies in the implementation of the 2016 Budget of Change organized by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, went thus:
The proposed law would empower the governor, by an order, to “designate land in each local government in respect of which cattle or other ruminants may be permitted to graze.”
If passed by the House, the law would ensure that no cattle or other ruminants shall by any means move or graze at night anywhere in the state; just as it will also make provision for the impounding of cattle or other ruminants.
Urging his colleagues to give the bill favourable consideration, Ntuen said: “It will also restrict cattle movement and grazing to the hours of 7am and 6pm.
“Any herdsmen found in possession of firearms shall be charged with unlawful possession of firearms. Any confiscated cattle shall be taken to government cattle ranches or any other designated areas as may be directed.
“Any property or farm products destroyed by the cattle shall be valued by the agricultural officers and made to be paid for by the herdsman.”
Speaker,Onofiok Luke,who described the bill as “a reflection of the Assembly’s people-centred philosophy, said there was need for the House to act proactively to safeguard lives and property of residents in the state.
“The House of Assembly is here to make laws that will safeguard the lives and property of our people at all times because this is what we were elected to do.”
Luke himself had in his first term in 2013 moved a motion on the floor of the House seeking full government control of the activities of herdsmen in the state.
He had warned then that it was important for government to take proactive steps to ensure that areas were designated for grazing, where herdsmen and their cattle would be put in close monitoring by relevant authorities in the state.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has appointed his wife as the country’s first vice president. Mehriban Aliyeva was appointed as Vice President on the 21st February, 2017 after a constitutional changes introduced the powerful position of first vice president, the second most senior official in the country.
Aliyeva, 52, has been an MP for the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party since 2005 and head of the influential Heydar Aliyev Foundation – named after her father-in-law and former president.
Born into the powerful Pashayev family, Aliyeva has sometimes been seen as a possible successor to her husband, who took over in 2003 after the death of his father Heydar, a former KGB officer and Communist-era boss.
Mehriban Aliyeva (née Pashayeva) was born into a family described in Wikileaks cables as “the single most powerful family in Azerbaijan.” Her grandfather was noted Azerbaijani writer Mir Jalal Pashayev. Her uncle Hafiz Pashayev was Azerbaijan’s first Ambassador to the United States. Aliyeva’s father Arif Pashayev is Rector of the National Aviation Academy in Baku, and her mother, Aida Imanguliyeva (1939–1992) was a prominent philologist and arabist.
Mehriban Aliyeva finished secondary school in 1981 and married Ilham Aliyev, the son of Heydar Aliyev, in Baku on 22 December 1983.She continued her studies, in which she excelled, at the Azerbaijan Medical University and later at the Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy, from which she graduated in 1988. From 1988–92, Mehriban Aliyeva worked at the State Research Institute of Eye Diseases of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow, which was led by Dr. Mikhail Krasnov. Two articles in The Times in 2005 described her as a “qualified physician”and “former eye doctor.”
The Aliyevs have two daughters, Leyla (born 3 July 1985) and Arzu (born 23 January 1987) and a son Heydar (born 2 August 1997). Leyla is the editor of Baku magazine, published by Azerbaijani Russian businessman Aras Agalarov, and is married to his son Emin Agalarov.
TheApex social-political organisation in Igbo land, Ohanaeze has condemned the killing and maltreatment of members of the Radio Biafra faction of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) by Federal Government agencies.
The group also called for a true fiscal federalism, saying it is the only way to solve Nigeria’s political problems.
Briefing newsmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, the President-General of Ohanaeze, Chief John Nwodo recalled how members of the two agitating groups were killed in Anambra, Asaba, Aba and Port Harcourt, among others, and some of the victims thrown into the river.
According to him, security agencies have refused to release bodies of killed Radio Biafra IPOB and MASSOB members to their respective families.
Nwodo wondered why members of Radio Biafra IPOB and MASSOB are maltreated by security agencies, unlike members of Boko Haram, Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) andAvengers, among others.
He said Federal Government’s continuous maltreatmentof IPOB and MASSOB m embers would only end up making Biafra inevitable.
Nwodo was in Port Harcourt to meet with the Igbo living in the state and to pay a courtesy visit to Governor Nyesom Wike. He said anything short of true federalism, where federating units are given a level of independence to develop at their own pace and contribute their quota to the centre would make the political crisis in Nigeria to linger.
He lamented the marginalisation of South East and South-South in the areas of political appointments, as well as occupying key positions in the security agencies. According to the President-General, the federal character principle has been grossly violated in favor of a section of the country, noting that the Igbo are also qualified to occupy key and sensitive positions in the country.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo boss insisted that Nigerians should write their own constitution, as against the current one written by the military.
“Today, under this makeshift federation, people are grumbling. We call for fiscal freedom in Nigeria for things to move forward,” Nwodo said.
He, however, urged the Igbo to bring back their wealth and invest at home, to give the youths hope and sense of belonging. He also lauded IPOB and MASSOB for going about their agitation peacefully.
, pointing out that despite the high level of insurgency in the North, no insurgent has been charged of treason or detained.
“What the Federal Government is doing is unfair, unfriendly and unusual. I, therefore, call on the northern elite to speak up against this unfair treatment meted out against the South. Time has come for the negotiation of the Nigerian federation and there is no going back.
“Some have declared war on the Nigerian state tearing our national flag to shreds and planting their own while embarking on mass killing of our nationals and they are not arrested or detained. Others from the Niger Delta break pipelines and kill people and are rather called for negotiation and dialogue but for the Biafran agitators, they are killed even when they are holding lawful meetings,” he said.
The organisation, whose new Executive was elected on January10, 2017 and led by Chief John Nnia Nwodo, had earlier visited Lagos and Abuja, two cities that have largest Igbo population outside the seven Igbo dominated states. The states include, Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu , Imo and Rivers.
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has insisted that it wants Biafra restoration and not Igbo presidency as agitated in some quarters.
The group noted that any Igbo man or woman that presents him or herself as a presidential candidate of any party will become an object of public ridicule. It added that it no longer talks about the Igbo alone, but Biafrans beyond the Igbo speaking parts of the South East and South South.
The Head of Directorate of State (DOS) of IPOB, Mr. Uchenna Asiegbu, in a statement yesterday, warned Igbo politicians who were going round seeking support for either 2019 or 2023 presidency to desist from it or be ready to face the music.
“We are aware that some Igbo politicians are working tirelessly to impose their master in Abuja on our people, by defending Muhammadu Buhari. They say his administration loves and favours our people, we are not worried because they are defending their office and the little crumbs they are getting from Abuja.
“Therefore, we warn those calling for a president from Igbo extraction to beware because Biafra is at the corner and we are not interested. The Igbo elite have disappointed the entire race since after the civil war.
“Very soon, those saddled with the attitude of a governor and a minister will no longer be considered serious players or relevant in the scheme of unfolding events that actually matter in the lives of our people.
“There will be no election in Biafraland, not just in Igbo speaking territories but all across Biafraland in 2019 because enough of the same old, discredited, washed out and corrupt individuals recycling themselves in political office year after year with nothing to show for it.
“Biafra is on the verge of being restored and we won’t trade it for anything in the world, not even an Igbo presidency of the United States of America. Very soon, the world will understand how serious we are about Biafra. People should relax and watch events as they unfold,” Asiegbu declared.
Meanwhile, a faction of the pro-Biafran group known as Customary Government of the Indigenous People of Biafra (CG-IPOB) has disassociated itself from the statement credited to Emma Powerful that IPOB would never be part of Nigeria politics and cannot support Anambra State election.
The group, in a statement signed by its Director of Information, Ndubuisi Anaenugwu in Onitsha yesterday said it has increasingly become necessary to reiterate that IPOB stands for ‘Indigenous People of Biafra, and there are about 70,000,000 of these indigenous Biafrans living everywhere across the globe.
“All of these people are referred to as indigenous persons of Biafra. The public should, however, note that the IPOB being referred to by Emma Powerful are people who pay allegiance to a company called IPOB Limited, registered in the UK.
The Customary Government of IPOB being administered by Anthony Aniebue under the leadership of Retd Justice Eze Ozobu and Dr Ikedife has been in the Federal High Court, Owerri with the government since 2012 and the case is still progressing with positive results.
“But the whole world will understand how massive IPOB is and the yearning of ordinary people for freedom before 2019”.
“These Igbo political contractors parading themselves as some sort of an elite, are endlessly strategising on new supposedly beneficial political permutations to no avail”.
“Every one of these politicians always have one spectacular move or strategic maneuver that will turn the Igbo fortune around but in the end nothing ever materialises. Same old Abuja slaves, same old story, so there is nothing new for us to reckoned with”
“As the British would say, “no brainer”. Thereby warn Biafrans choosing president of Nigeria from Igbo extraction is like taking purgatory than heaven, darkness than light, hope than despair. We are IPOB, we exist solely for Biafra restoration, nothing more nothing less. Igbo presidency would not solve anything, instead it would make matters worse”.
“Even the Goodluck Jonathan administration was considered more beneficial to the North than any part of Biafraland. Jonathan did not complete one major landmark infrastructural project anywhere in Biafraland but he built a modern railway line between Kaduna and Abuja in the hope that the North will love him, which never happened. That is how Biafran politicians behave” Asiegbu stated.
“The neglect of Biafraland by Goodluck Jonathan tells you even Igbo man enter there as president of Nigeria the person will stand with the north, you need to know about these politicians and their mindset. Our people believes in charity always begin in the North and that is why they are in the fine mess they find themselves in today’s Nigeria politics” he stated
“Biafra is on the verge of being restored and we won’t trade it for anything in the world, not even an Igbo presidency of the United States of America. Very soon the world will understand how serious we are about Biafra. People should relax and watch events as they unfold,” Asiegbu declared.
ENUGU—Following the Nigerian Army denial that it did not kill 11 members the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, during the group’s rally in support of US President, Donald Trump, on January 20, 2017, IPOB has asked the army to wait for them at the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague.
IPOB also accused the army of alternating between calling its outing in Port Harcourt a “protest” and a “rally” at the same time. The group, therefore, said it was only a liar that could describe a rally as a protest, saying that “the Nigerian Army has been caught in another web of lies.” Deputy Director of Army Public Relations of 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, had in a statement denied killing of IPOB members and labeled the group as a “criminal gang.”
But Radio Biafra IPOB spokesmen, Mr Emma Nmezu, and Dr. Clifford Chukwuemeka Iroanya, in their reply to the Army, said it has become customary for the army to kill IPOB members and deny it. “This is not the first, neither is it going to be the last time that the Nigerian Army will kill our members and shamelessly come out to deny it.” IPOB gave a list of its members killed by the Army to include IPOB massacres in Onitsha, Aba, Port Harcourt, Nkpor, Asaba; Shiite massacres in Kaduna and Kano, among others. Part of the Radio Biafra IPOB statement read: “International human rights groups have consistently labeled the Nigerian Army as perennial liars incapable of ever telling the truth when it comes to their culpability in the mass execution of unarmed civilians. “IPOB and those who read the haphazardly written statements from Col. Aminu Iliyasu are left wondering how on the one hand he stated that Radio Biafra IPOB conducted a rally in support of President Trump while on the other hand, he called it a protest.
“IPOB will like to remind this quota-system Colonel that the General Abdulsalami Abubakar-written Nigerian Constitution which he referred to is very explicit on the responsibilities of the Nigerian Armed Forces (not just the Army alone), especially in Section-217(2) and this does not in any way stipulate using live ammunition on peaceful and unarmed civilians. “We will also like to remind Iliyasu that security agencies, media organizations, foreign embassies, and specifically, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State were all informed ahead of time of the pro-Trump rally, through an official letter signed by the leadership of Radio Biafra IPOB.
“This Colonel must understand that a rally or even a protest is not an armed rebellion that will warrant deployment of troops of 29 Battalion of Nigerian Army with a mandate to fire live bullets at peaceful and unarmed civilians. “May we ask why the same deployment of troops was not carried out on those who protested against President Trump in Abuja on the same date? “How come troops were not deployed to shoot and kill civilians during the recent “anti-Buhari” protest that was led by the likes of Charles Oputa a.k.a. Charlie Boy? Why must the Hausa-Fulani dominated Nigerian Army and Police regard every IPOB assembly or rally as an opportunity to embark upon some kind of mini Jihad designed to kill as many non-Muslims as possible? “IPOB is extremely pleased that what transpired that day was captured on pictures and videos as most of the unspeakable atrocities of the Nigerian Army and police are.
“On his insinuation, borne out of panic, that Radio Biafra IPOB will post old videos and pictures from our archives in social media, we advise the Colonel not to worry but to leave the authentication of the evidence we have to the civilized panel of judges at the International Criminal Court, ICC.” “It is reassuring to observe that at least the lying Nigerian Army is aware that all their murderous outrage on January 20, 2017 were captured on video.”
ABUJA – A lead investigator with the Department of State Service, DSS, Mr. Babatunde Adepoju, on Tuesday, revealed before an Abuja High Court at Maitama, that a lawyer that represented President Muhammadu Buhari during his certificate saga, offered N500, 000 to Justice Adeniyi Ademola who is facing corruption charges.
Adepoju testified as the sixteenth prosecution witness, PW- 16, in the ongoing trial of Justice Ademola, his wife, Olabowale, and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Joe Agi.
The defendants are answering to an18-count corruption charge the Federal Government preferred against them. The embattled Judge who hitherto served at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court before he was asked to temporarily step down from the bench by the National Judicial Council, NJC, was among other allegations, accused of receiving gratifications from Agi to the tune of N38.5m, including a BMW Saloon 320i car gift valued at N8.5million. The Judge allegedly received the car which was purchased from Coscharis Motors Ltd on January 5, 2015, through his son, Ademide. At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, the PW-16, told the trial court that investigation by the DSS showed that the N8.5m car was not the only gift the first defendant received from persons whose cases were pending before his court. While being cross-examined by Agi’s lawyer, Mr. Jeph Njikonye, the witness, told the court that the security agency uncovered that President Buhari’s lawyer, Mr. Kola Awodehin, SAN, also gave the accused Judge N500, 000 as gift. He told the court that the monetary gift was handed to Ademola during the wedding of his daughter.
The DSS operative said the issue came to the limelight during interrogation of the 3rd defendant, Agi, SAN, which took place on two separate dates, December 13 and 23, 2016. He said Agi maintained that N30m gift, which was paid into Mrs. Ademola’s account in three tranches of N10m, was based on instruction of his clients, adding that it was not the only wedding gift the judge received. The witness said that Agi told him that as at the time Awodehin, SAN, gave the gift to Justice Ademola, the suit seeking to sack President Buhari from office over his alleged none possession of requisite educational qualifications, was still pending before the judge. Adepoju said the DSS did not investigate Agi’s claim. Nevertheless, Agi’s lawyer, Mr. Njikonye, tendered the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the record of proceedings in the certificate saga suit between Chukwu Okafor vs General Muhammad Buhari. Trial Justice Jude Okeke admitted the document into evidence and marked it as Exhibit FFF. Going through the exhibit, the witness confirmed that the third counsel for Buhari in the suit was Mr. Awodehin, SAN, as well as the fact that it was handled by Justice Ademola.
Asked if President Buhari was bribing the judge to win the case against him by presenting a wedding gift to the judge incharge of the case, Adepoju said: “No my lord. In my opinion, it would be speculative to say the gift by President Buhari’s lawyer was a bribe to Justice Ademola. It is not a bribe.” He further dismissed as speculative, any insinuation that gifts Justice Ademola got from friends through Mr. Agi, during the wedding, amounted to bribery. It will be recalled that over 10 different suits querying the educational qualification of President Buhari suffered natural deaths shortly after the All Progressives Congress, APC, took over power in May 29, 2015, including the one filed by Okafor. Justice Ademola had on June 30, 2016, struck out a similar suit by Mr. Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe after the defendant, without adducing any reason, filed a withdrawal notice. All the plaintiffs had applied for an order invalidating the Certificate of Return issued to President Buhari by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe specifically sought for “an order directing INEC to issue a new Certificate of Return to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, being the candidate who came second in the 2015 Presidential Elections”.
President Buhari had engaged a consortium of lawyers, comprising of 13 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANS, to defend him. Buhari equally went before the Court of Appeal in Abuja to challenge a ruling Justice Ademola delivered on May 26, 2016, wherein he held that the suit was properly served on the defendant by the plaintiff. Meanwhile, FG, on Tuesday, closed its case against the defendants after it called a total of 19 witnesses. The defendants, through their respective lawyers, told the court that they are ready to make a no-case-to-answer-submission, regarding all the allegations against them. They are contending that FG failed to establish a prima-facie criminal case capable of warranting them to enter their defence to the 18-count charge. Justice Okeke adjourned the case till March 15 for adoption of written addresses on their no-case-submission. In the charge, FG alleged that Ademola had in the course of his official duty, collected bribe from the senior lawyer through a Guarantee Trust Bank, GTB, account number 201/110160/1/1/0, operated by his wife who as at then was the Head of Service in Lagos State. Trial Justice Jude Okeke had earlier admitted into evidence, bags of cash, both foreign and local currencies which were allegedly recovered from the official residence of the Judge. FG brought the cash totalling about N39.5m in three Ghana-Must-Go bags and tendered it in evidence through an exhibit keeper at the DSS, Mr. Umar Ahmed, who testified as the 11th prosecution witness.
Source: Vanguard Newspaper.
Everybody must not agree with us. Our message is simple:Follow your ideology and let your work speak for you where ever you found yourself. No country has ever fought for freedom with one voice or one group. It is not right to attack me because I am not following your Leader.
For several years, our people have followed blindly without asking necessary questions. They have followed foolishly. I want to present those questions here:
1. How exactly do you want to separate our people from Nigeria?
2. If we reject Nigeria, why do we still use her naira and Nigeria passport?
3. What is Biafra ideology and how do we think we can make Biafra better than Nigeria?
4. To what extent do we trust the few people leading pro Biafra groups? Are they humble or arrogant? How do they treat the people they are leading?
5.What would Biafra constitution look like? What of the political and economic structures of the proposed nation? What of education and health system?
6.How do we recruit Biafra politicians? What of civil and public servants?
7. What of foreign policy and defence?
Customary Government of IPOB has always been guided by the above questions. Several Biafra institutions have been set up to start responding to the above questions even as we are still in Nigeria. We have since addressed the first question. From the beginning, we announced that we shall restore Biafra without breaking Nigeria laws or wasting innocent blood. Consequently, legal, diplomatic and political processes were adopted. We have just announced the activation of political strategy through the Customary Govt political arm – MOBIN. MOBIN has gone into alliance with UPP, a registered political party in Nigeria.
We have also, notified the public that Biafra stands for equity, fairness and justice. Biafra will be led by humble and visionary Leaders with fear of God. Nigeria has never offered us a level playing ground, hence, the justification to embark on this sacred mission to restore our ancient Nation- Biafra. We are being open and straightforward .We are ready to debate anybody anywhere.
Good morning.
Ndubuisi Anaenugwu
Director – Directorate of Information, CG-IPOB
22/02/2017
07087187189
It has come to the attention of the Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that some Nigerian Politicians are jittery over the recent activation of the last strategy to restore Biafra Political Strategy. These Politicians have money, power, media coverage, security and unlimited access to our enemies.
A principal officer of IPOB Customary Government, Mr Ndubuisi Anaenugwu Director – Directorate of Information spoke to BVI Channel 1, saying
“We have none except God and millions of innocent lives wasted during the civil war including the poor masses scattered everywhere in Nigeria and world over. The general public is hereby put on red alert on the activities of the agents of power drunk politicians.
Their strategy is to hire thousands of unemployed youths to engage us on social media freedom fighting. Their operational modus is to use foul languages and threat including throwing stones to silence genuine and responsible Biafrans. From the evidence clearly showing on line revealed that 90% of such attacks are coming from Radio Biafra handlers and their followers.”
He went further to say that the Customary Government of IPOB wishes to inform the general public that the quest to restore Biafra is a divine mandate. No human force can stop or kill an ideological drive devoid of materialism. The public is advised not to be confused by the activities of social media freedom fighters who lack the knowledge and wisdom to appreciate the meaning of freedom fighting.
For emphasis, the last phase of freedom fighting ends with political process. The Customary Government of IPOB has gotten to that stage. This is the time to test our popularity before the people we want to liberate. If we fail, we shall go back to the drawing board. If we win, Biafra wins.
Let nobody deceive you that our quest is personal. The enemies are scared of our intellectual might. Biafrans should count themselves lucky that men of proven integrity, men of greatest wisdom and unparalleled knowledge have come out to restore our indigenous identity.
As a civilized Team, the Customary Government of IPOB has thrown up an open challenge to engage any person, group, organization, Nations etc on an open debate in any platform as per our sacred mission to achieve Biafra.
Russia’s love affair with President Donald Trump might be over before it started. Russian coverage of the new White House administration has waned over the past two weeks in a sign that the Kremlin does not expect to have better relations with Trump than it did with his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.
The findings are based on a study from the RBC news agency that monitored coverage from major Russian networks, which tend to be controlled by the Kremlin. The study looked at Pervyi Kanal, Rossiya 1, Rossiya 24, TV Tsentr, Pyatyi Kanal, NTV, RBC TV, Life and Zvezda over three Sundays in February and counted all mentions of the president’s name. Russian TV, for example, said the name Trump roughly 153 times on Feb. 5. A week later, that fell to about 116 mentions. By the third week of the review, Trump only came up about 38 times.
When Trump is mentioned, the conversation tends to be less than glowing, RBC found. He was increasingly being compared to Obama and questions about his ability to repair relations between Washington and Moscow had also become routine.
Russian journalist Konstantin Eggert wrote last week in an op-ed published in Deutsche Welle that the Russian media had received orders from the Kremlin to only show Trump in a negative light. The shift appears to mark a sudden turnaround for Russia.
During the 2016 presidential election, Trump vowed to maintain a “very, very good relationship” with Russia, and many Russians interviewed at the time by ABC News said they preferred the New York real estate magnate over Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival. A YouGov agency in April similarly found Russia was the only major nation to back Trump over Clinton. At the same time, the Obama administration said Russian hackers were leaking emails from Democratic officials to help fuel Trump’s campaign. Clinton later won the popular vote in November, while Trump became president after securing the Electoral College Vote.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has rolled out a new foreign exchange window to stem the tide of demand pressures which had battered the Naira in the unofficial foreign exchange market. But the new measures, which increased supply of foreign exchange resources to the market, came on stream, yesterday, just as the fortunes of Naira nose-dived further in the parallel market, closing N520/ USD1.
This was also coming against the backdrop of a surge being recorded in foreign reserves. Nigeria’s foreign reserves climbed more than one year high to cross over $29 billion with strong indication of hitting $30 billion before end of first quarter 2017, barring any negative development in the external sector. But currency dealers have continued to witness excess demand which broke the N500/$1 mark two weeks ago and has since pressured upwards, with dealers yesterday speculating that the trend would continue through this week.
Transactions at the CBN’s new forex window meant to meet the needs of Nigerians for personal and business travel, medical needs, and school fees, are to be settled at a rate not exceeding 20 percent above the interbank market rate. In a statement, titled ‘New Policy Actions in the Foreign Exchange Market, signed by its Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okoroafor, the apex bank said all banks would receive amounts commensurate with their demand per week, which would be sold to customers who meet usual basic documentary requirements. The apex bank stated: “The CBN would meet the needs of parents, guardians and sponsors who are seeking to make payments of school and educational fees for their children and wards. Such payments must be made by commercial banks directly to the institution specified by the customer. “This would also apply to customers seeking to make payments, or purchase foreign exchange, for medical bills and paid directly to hospitals. The supply of FX to retail end-users (PTA, BTA, school fees, medical bills, etc) would be sustained by the CBN.”
Source: Vanguard Newspaper.
