Author: Obayomi Abiola Benjamin

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday, intervened in inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market with the supply of 195 million dollars as part of effort to stabilise the market. The acting Director, Corporate Communications of the apex bank, Mr Isaac Okorafor, in a statement, said 100 million dollars was offered through the wholesale segment. He said that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment received 50 million dollars, while tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, got 45 million dollars. Okorafor said that the CBN was pleased with the state of the market, and assured that the…

By Akin Kuponiyi Court documents filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos Nigeria have revealed how oil businessmen, Kolawole Akanni Aluko and Jide Omokore laundered the $1.7 billion creamed off the questionable oil swap transactions between them and the NNPC, during the tenure of Diezani Alison-Madueke. Some of the money laundered through the United States and which have been used to acquire assets are now the subject of a forfeiture bid by the United States Justice Department. But the filings in a Lagos court have provided the most insightful details yet into how the entire money was laundered, while…

Barely 48 hours after the US Department of Justice released details of how part of the $1.5billion oil production contracts funds were laundered, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to seize a mansion belonging to one of the suspects, Kola Aluko, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Besides, the commission will apply for the forfeiture of two houses belonging to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was implicated by the U.S. authorities as a beneficiary of the laundered cash. About five luxury properties have also been traced to a former official of the defunct…

By Olusola Adegbite, Esq. Finally, the High Court of Osun state, via its improvised sitting in Osogbo has granted bail to the former Acting Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof.Anthony Elujoba. Prof.Elujoba, a renowned Professor of Pharmacy had be arrainged before the State High Court in Ede, over spurious allegations of abuse of office. In a shocking turn of events, a simple bail proceeding that is an elementary subject for even a Law School student, became a drama script for the Osun state justice system. The rule of men replaced the rule of law, as all manner of shenanigans…

The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday launched the National Micro, Small and Medium ‎Enterprise(MSMEs) Clinic in Abeokuta. On the occasion, Osinbajo said the project was part of government’s efforts aimed at improving the business environment toward finding solutions to problems militating the speedy growth of MSMEs‎. He said  the idea of the clinic was to increase the efficiency of MSMES by providing solutions through time-saving approach. The acting president described Nigerians as hardworking people endowed with great entrepreneurial skills capable of promoting the nation to an enviable height. He, however, expressed concern that necessary platforms for expressing and…

By Olusegun Adeniyi There is no better reflection of the state of our nation today than the Facebook exchange between the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari and the Senator of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani. It speaks to several issues: Nigeria is no better than a jungle where transgressing the boundaries of acceptable norms is standard practice for some people; the political actors care more about their personal interests than the welfare of citizens; and in the desperate struggle over spoils—which basically is what their rivalry boils down to—as it is in…

The wife of the President is sure having a good time in the United Kingdom where she had gone to pay a courtesy visit to her hailing husband, Muhammadu Buhari. Of course, it is a courtesy visit since no one has been allowed to see the president since May 2017 that he’s gone on this current medical leave. No word, no picture from the nation’s number one citizen; unlike the previous time where he allowed visitors. Even his deputy (until last night when he was invited to visit the President in UK) and the party he represented (APC) cannot boldly tell…

By NAN For the first time, a vaccine a vaccine has tested positive to abilities to act as protection against gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection. Sscientists in New Zealand say study of 15,000 young people, published in the Lancet, showed infections were cut by about a third. This is coming after the World Health Organisation in a recent publication said that the infection was fast becoming a challenge as antibiotics seemed to have minimal effect in treating the infection. WHO expressed worry as many developing countries have reported that their last resorts no longer worked against the bacteria. “These cases may just…

By NAN The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected $142.5 million into the inter-bank foreign exchange, days after intervening in the retail segment of the market with $254.3 million. The spokesperson of the apex bank, Mr Isaac Okorafor, in a statement, said on Monday that CBN would continue to carry out its regular mediation in the market to keep the market liquid and guarantee the international value of the naira in line with its mandate. A breakdown of Monday’s intervention indicates that the Bank offered $100 million to dealers in the wholesale segment, while it allocated $23 million to…

By Alex Otti A lot has been written and said about the agitation of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for self-determination. Their preferred route is through a referendum. Not long ago, a group that called itself, Arewa Youths Coalition, even if there was no youth amongst them, issued a quit notice asking Igbos in the North to relocate before October 1, 2017. This was obviously greeted by wide criticisms except for a few people that supported them. Besides IPOB, there have also been several other agitations from the Niger Delta, Middlebelt, and Oduduwa people. The intention of this intervention…