Osinbajo: Nigeria To Make Forex More Flexible, Conclude Eurobond End Of Q1

Nigeria hopes to conclude the sale of a $1 billion Eurobond by the end of the first quarter of 2017 and will seek to make its foreign exchange market more flexible, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

Nigeria is in its deepest recession in 25 years and needs to raise money to make up for shortfall in its budget. Its revenues from oil have plunged due to low international prices and militant attacks in its crude-producing heartland, the Niger Delta, have cut its output.

The government began the process of appointing banks for the sale of the Eurobond in September and had said it wanted to issue the bond by the end of the year. It has yet to announce a lender to lead the sale, however.

“At the very latest, between the end of the year and the first quarter of next year we will begin to see all that process concluded,” Osinbajo told Reuters in an interview.

The vice-president said the severe loss of petro-dollars had caused “serious” foreign exchange shortages and had been worsened by attacks on its oil pipelines and export terminals.

The government had wanted to issue the Eurobond to help plug a gap in its record N6.06 trillion ($19.9 billion) budget this year, in addition to tapping concessionary loans from the World Bank and China as its oil revenues fell.

So far only the African Development Bank (AfDB) has come to its aid, approving a $600 million loan, the first tranche of a total $1 billion package.

Osinbajo also said his office was working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make the foreign exchange market more flexible and more reflective of actual demand and supply.
The regulator had in June officially ended its policy of pegging, or fixing, the naira’s exchange rate at N197 per dollar to let the currency float freely.

But despite the devaluation of the naira, the central bank has continued to manipulate the exchange rate, which has discouraged investors and created a crippling shortage of dollars for businesses that need to import, while on the black market the naira is changing hands at N475 per dollar.

To keep down the street price of dollars, the central bank sanctioned the arrest of FX dealers in Lagos, Abuja and Kano, but the crackdown turned out to be futile.

Nigeria’s crude production, which was 2.1 million bpd at the start of 2016, fell by around a third in the summer following a series of attacks by Delta militants who want a greater share of the country’s energy wealth to go to the impoverished southern oil-producing region.

“At one point we were losing almost 1 million barrels per day (bpd) which translated to 60 percent of oil revenues … and that affects the availability of dollars,” Osinbajo said.

I Approved DSS Raids & Arrest Of Judges - AGF, Malami Abubakar

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said on Tuesday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had no exclusive rights to any investigations, including matters relating solely to financial crimes.

He also said his office received full briefing and gave backing to the arrest of some judges by the Department of State Services over allegations of corruption last month.

Malami spoke in Abuja as he appeared before an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives at the National Assembly.

The committee, which is chaired by Mr. Garba Dhatti, is investigating all cases of invasion of property and arrests of persons by the DSS from May 2015 till date.

The AGF said there were reasonable grounds to justify the arrest of the judges, looking at the high number of petitions that had been received by his office, the DSS, EFCC and other anti-graft agencies.

Citing Section 15 (5) of the 1999 Constitution, he stated that the state had a responsibility to halt all acts of corruption and could deploy any agency with the capacity to achieve that purpose.

He also said the state waded into the matter after the National Judicial Council was duly notified but was not willing to act.

Malami also told the session that judges had no immunity against prosecution, adding that there was no requirement of law which stipulated that only the EFCC must investigate financial crimes.

His position was a clear reference to an earlier submission to the committee by the EFCC. The anti-graft agency had insisted that the DSS acted outside its jurisdiction since the alleged offence of the judges fell under financial crime and did not pose a threat to national security.

Asked whether he ordered the raids on the homes of the judges, Malami replied, “When we are talking about constitutional obligations, it goes without saying that all state instruments, Ministries, Departments and Agencies are under obligation, inclusive of the legislature and the judiciary, to take steps that will abolish all corrupt practices.

“It is in respect of that obligation that whatever issues that arose from the search and arrest of the judicial officers were carried out.

“The state was in receipt of multiple petitions of corrupt practices by the judicial officers and there was further apprehension that if immediate steps were not taken, the possibility of destroying existing evidence that were believed to have been kept within their respective domains would eventually be tampered with.

“Arising from the responsibility created and established by Section 15 of the constitution, the state had to act.

“But, the question of which agency has the responsibility of executing it, my response to that derives from the fact that multiple petitions were written to the Office of the AGF, DSS, EFCC and a lot of other agencies of government.

“To my mind, I have a discretion to look at and weigh the situation and decide which agency against the background of the petition, who will act for the purpose of ensuring that the obligation of the provisions of Section 15 (5) of the constitution are carried out.

“So, whatever evolved from the search and arrest of the judicial officers revolved around the need to comply with the responsibility and obligation vested in them by provisions of the constitution and the need to ensure that the investigation was not in any way tampered with negatively.

“These were the circumstances that led to the operations. It was a clear exercise of the constitutional mandate in respect of what is expected of the State to abolish corrupt practices.”

The AGF explained how his office felt compelled to act after it became apparent that the NJC would not act on the petitions before it.

He added, “When we got the petitions, I had cause personally to write to the NJC, requesting that they take administrative steps to investigate the allegations contained in the petitions.

“A response was made to my office that the NJC could not act unless the petitions were accompanied with affidavits. But, I felt there were no reasons why the petitions could not be looked into on their own merit by placing sanctions on the AGF, while it was a constitutional obligation.

“Incidentally, multiple petitions were also written to the DSS and I requested that they equally write to the NJC to look into the petitions, but it was the same response the DSS got from the NJC that without a supporting affidavit the petitions could not be looked into.

“So, we have a situation where there is reasonable grounds for suspicion for commission of corruption and we have a body saddled with the primary administrative responsibility of looking at such things first, but it seems not to be cooperating in that respect.

“Meanwhile, when issue of commission of corruption practice is established, the executive has the responsibility of investigation without recourse to the judiciary.

“That is how the idea of taking the advantage of Section 15 (5) arose.

“I asked the EFCC and the DSS and another agency to investigate because they were in receipt of several petitions on the same subject and I was informed by the DSS before the search and arrest and I did not object.”

Malami further disclosed how he received reports on the raids.

He said, “The DSS presented a formal report to me before and after effecting the search and arrest; they informed me that the operation will be done at any hour without restriction.

“I had no objection that the operation would be carried out at night because I have taken time to go through the administration of Criminal Justice Act and I was convinced that this operation can be conducted at any hour, any moment without restriction.

“I didn’t have to inform the Inspector-General of Police or Commissioner of Police in the State about the DSS operation because they were also under the same constitutional obligation to act. One of the agencies had investigated, came up with a report and I was convinced.”

Why NCC Directed Big Telcos To Increase Data Tariffs –OFFICIAL

AN Official of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given reason behind the directive to the five big telecoms operators in the country to increase their data tariffs from Thursday, December 1.



The reason is reportedly in order to allow small operators and new entrants to acquire market share and operate profitably.

The NCC official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Monday said the regulator came up with the new data regime after some new entrants into the market complained that there was no way they could break even if they operated on same data regime with the likes of MTN, Glo, Etisalat and Airtel, Daily Trust reports.

He said NCC yielded to their pressure when last month it notified the operators of the new rate.

Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, on Tuesday urged the Federal Government not to increase the cost of data to avoid further pressure on mobile telephone users.

Rector Of Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe Dies During Sex With Teenager

UGHELLI- THE Acting Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, Bayelsa State, has slumped and died at a hotel in Ughelli during alleged sex romp with an unidentified female teenager.

The rector was said to have slumped at his hotel room in Zekoh Place located at Onoharigho street, Ughelli and was rushed to a private clinic, few kilometers from the hotel were he was confirmed dead on arrival. 

“He had gone to the hotel in company of a female teenager and booked a room for an hour of love session with the girl,” a source at the Ughelli Area Command told Vanguard. 

Speaking further, the source said: “The girl raised an alarm when the chief slumped but absconded following reports that the victim was confirmed dead. “Though no arrest has been made in connection with the incident, a female manager of the hotel was arrested for questioning but has since been released.” 

Suspecting foul play over the incident, a family member who spoke to Vanguard at the Rector’s Upper Agbarho residence said: “We are having a meeting with elders of the family if an autopsy would be conducted after which we would take a stand on the matter.”

11-Year-Old Girl With Massive Boobs In Sierra Leone Cries For Help

11 years old class five pupil, Mamie Sam of Roman Catholic primary school in Sierra Leone is currently calling on government and other humanitarian organizations to immediately come to her aid as she is not at peace at the moment.

She currently resides with both of her grand parents Saidu Moriba and Mamie Sellu at 9 Poimie road, Lago square section Sebwema town. Speaking to Awoko at her residence she explained that some time last year she went on a fishing expedition together with her grand mother and other women in the town.
After the exercise she started experiencing her Bosom becoming large. While taking bath together with the elders in the stream one of the women spoke about her Bosom saying her Bosom is becoming abnormal and it is not a good thing for her.

During the night hour she said her Bosom scratched throughout the night giving her sleepless night and it’s kept projecting up to the current length as she continue to scratch. The following morning when she went to school her class and school mates were provoking her and there after she stopped going to school almost a year now.

She started her schooling at the Ansarul Primary School from classes 1 to 3 and then continued to Roman Catholic Primary School from classes 4 to 5. She maintained that her parents have sought medical attention at Nixon Memorial hospital at Segbwema and several herbalists within the community but no improvement.

Her grand father Saidu Moriba said this is the first time he is seeing such wonder in his life time, and that they are baffled as what to do to save her from this trouble. He revealed that several prayers and sacrifices have been done on her behalf but the problem still remains and they are asking for assistance.

We Never Ordered Operators To Raise Data Prices—FG

Nigeria’s Minister of Communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has disclosed that the Federal Government never gave any directive to telecommunications operators in the country to increase prices of data from Thursday, December 1, 2016 as claimed.

Since the beginning of this week, Nigerians have continued to kick against messages sent to them via text messages by telecoms operators, informing them that from tomorrow, prices of data would go up and in some cases, by 100 percent.

Network providers claimed they were ordered by the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to raise data tariffs.

“Dear valued customer, effective 1st Dec 2016, we will review our data plans & prices in compliance with NCC directive,” a message from Etisalat to its subscribers read.

But speaking on Wednesday on RayPower FM’s Fact File programme, which was monitored in Lagos by Business Post, the Minister said he was never consulted before the announcement was made. He stressed that the government did not authorise the operators to raise the tariffs.

However, he assured Nigerians that the government would look into the matter and continue to protect their interests.

“I can tell you that I was never a party to it (data tariff hike). Government never gave any such instruction. This government believes in democratic process and we would continue to protect the interest of Nigerians. I can assure you we would do that (protect interest of Nigerians),” he said on the radio programme.

Also on the issue of subscribers still getting unsolicited messages from operators, Mr Shittu promised to take steps to stop the menace.

He lamented that he also gets such messages from his operator. “I am also a victim of unsolicited messages from operators, but I promise government will take pragmatic steps to stop this,” the Minister said.

29-year-old Impersonates IG Idris, Defrauds Saudi Doctor

A suspected fraudster, Ekperebuike Akadonye, has been arrested by the police for allegedly parading himself as the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on the Internet.

The 29-year-old suspect, who was apprehended by the Inspector-General Special Intelligence Response Team, also allegedly defrauded a Saudi Arabia-based doctor, identified as Hassan Alkahallaf, to the tune of $10,000.

Alkahallaf was said to have earlier been defrauded by Nigerians via the Internet on two occasions, while efforts to recover the funds had proved abortive.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Akadonpe got Alkahallaf into his trap when he introduced himself as the IG and promised to help the doctor recover his loses.

He reportedly demanded $10,000 from Alkahallaf to facilitate the legal processes of the recovery and the victim was said to have paid the sum into his (Akadonpe’s) account in instalments.

A police source told our correspondent that the doctor contacted the IG through the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Nigeria after realising that he had been duped again.

“The suspect contacted his victims, including Hassan (Alkahallaf), who is attached to the Department of Urology, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, via an email address, igofnieria@outlook.com, purportedly belonging to IG Ibrahim Idris.

“He claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari, in his fight against corruption, had directed the IG to make refunds to victims who had been defrauded by Nigerians in the past.

“The doctor replied to Akadonye’s emails, believing he was the real IG of the Nigeria Police Force, and he eventually paid him $10,000 in instalments to get back his lost funds. He lied to the doctor that he would use the money to hire a lawyer who would represent him since he wasn’t based in Nigeria,” the source said.

Another source told PUNCH Metro that the IG directed the IG team to go after the suspect after the case was reported through the Saudi Embassy.

It was learnt that sometime in October, the team trailed Akadonye to Imo State, where he hails from and apprehended him.

“A mobile phone and a laptop he used in carrying out the fraud were recovered from him. He was also found with ATM cards and an identity card of a Federal Bureau of Investigation officer. He is currently being interrogated by operatives of the IG response team,” the source said.

The suspect, in his statement, allegedly confessed to the fraud, saying he took to the crime after his shops were demolished by the government.

He said, “I am a trader and I had shops in Mbano, Imo State. But they were demolished by the government. One of my friends introduced me to Internet fraud. I started by searching for prominent persons on the Internet. When I found Dr Alkahallaf, he told me he had some funds trapped in Nigeria and he wanted to claim them. I presented myself to him as the IG and told him the President had mandated me to assist fraudsters’ victims to get back their lost funds. I asked him to pay for a lawyer. He believed and paid me.”


When contacted, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Don Awunah, promised to get back to our correspondent with comments.