Headlines
Closure of Borders Cause of Inflation, But They’ll Not Be Reopened, Says FG
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The Federal Government admitted on Wednesday that its temporary policy to close land borders was responsible for the current rising inflation in the country.
But it still defended the closure, insisting that it would remain in place until the country’s neighbours learnt to respect trade protocols.
The FG said it had to close borders because Nigeria could not continue to subsidise economies of her neighbours.
Nigeria had in August closed its land borders on the grounds that smuggling of goods from its neighbouring countries was hurting its economy.
On November 4, the Federal Government listed five conditions for reopening the country’s land borders.
As one of the conditions, the government said Nigeria would not accept imported goods that were repackaged by neigbouring countries and brought to Nigeria.
But since the border closure, headline inflation rose to 11.61 per cent as of October from the 11.24 per cent recorded in September.
On Wednesday, Ahmed told State House correspondents that inflation rose due to hikes in food prices arising from the closure of the borders.
She was responding to questions after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting ended in Abuja.The FEC meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, the minister stated that the border closure was a temporary measure adopted by the government to protect the economy against trade malpractices by neighbouring countries and would be reopened when all of Nigeria’s demands were met.
She gave details, “On inflation, headline inflation declined every month for several months before we noticed an optic in the last two months. And now, headline inflation is at about 11:61 per cent as of the end of October.
“The slight increase in this inflation between September and October is due to food inflation. The food inflation relates to prices of cereals, rice and fish. And part of the reason is the border closure.
“But, the border closure is very, very short and temporary and the increase is just about two-basis point. Remember, there was a time inflation was nine per cent and it grew to about 18 per cent in January 2017 when we were in recession.
“The relationship between inflation, interest rate and growth is managed by the monetary authorities and is a management that is tracked on a regular basis.
“So, if you reduce interest rate, you expect more borrowing for investments in the real sector. But, at the same time, that also has the tendency of reducing money that is used for consumption on a day to day basis.
“So, it is a balance that we continue to watch on a regular basis. We expect that this will be moderated as border closure impact fizzles out and also as the monetary authorities continue to support the MPR (monetary policy rate), therefore ensuring that interest rates are not on the high side.”
Ahmed insisted that the government had little choice but to shut the borders else Nigerians would suffer the economic consequences, especially now that the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement was coming into effect.
“What we are doing is important for our economy. We signed up to the ACFTA; we have to make sure that we put in place checks to make sure that our economy will not be overrun as a result of the coming into effect of the ACFTA.
“That is why we have this border closure to return to the discipline of respecting the protocols that we all committed to”, the minister added.
On his part, the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, explained that the gains of the border closure outweighed any other impact it might have caused, adding that Nigeria was subsidising the rest of West Africa.
He argued that the practice of importing goods into neighbouring West African countries and re-packaging them for Nigeria to look as if they were manufactured in such countries was not healthy for Nigeria’s economy.
Mohammed disclosed that up till Tuesday this week, Nigeria and and its neighbours were still engaged in discussions on why it was important for all the parties to respect the ECOWAS trade protocol on transit of goods.
He said, “The border closure, frankly speaking, is what we needed to do and we had to do it. We cannot continue to subsidise the rest of West Africa. And the benefits for border closure for me, I think far surpass the very little increase in inflation.
“We have been able to save about 30 per cent from our fuel consumption, which means that over time we have been subsidising the fuel consumption of other countries. Within the last three months, we have been able to increase by 15 per cent, duties collected from imports.
“Within the same period, we have been able to drastically reduce the volumes of arms and ammunition that have been coming into the country through smuggling, ditto with illicit drugs.
“All Nigeria is saying is, please, let’s respect the protocol on transit. ECOWAS set up a protocol on transit of goods, which is very simple. If a container meant for Nigeria is dropped in Cotonou, the authorities in Benin Republic should escort the container to the customs in Seme border, and that way proper duty will be levied and will be paid.
“But, on the contrary, what we have seen happening over the years is that our neighbours will put about five containers on one truck and drive them to the border as if it is only one container that they are going to pay duties on. Worse still, less than even 50 per cent of what is meant for Nigeria will come through the approved border.”
The Punch
A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has alleged that Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, spent millions of dollars to prevent the release of records of his alleged drug trafficking case.
Von Batten-Montague-York made this allegation in a post on its verified X handle late Tuesday.
According to the firm, Tinubu’s claim that he was not attempting to block the release of the records is contradictory to the action of his own legal team in the ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case.
It accused Tinubu of having petitioned the court and consulted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, as part of efforts to prevent the records from being released.
“Despite claiming innocence, Tinubu has spent millions of dollars to ensure that his drug trafficking records are never released.
“The description of the underlying matter is merely a civil case. The involvement of US law-enforcement agencies in the records dispute demonstrated that the matter involved sensitive investigative material,” the firm said.
The latest allegation from the firm came against the backdrop of the ongoing legal battle over the release of records held by the US Department of Justice, DOJ, FBI and DEA, concerning historical investigations involving Tinubu.
United States District judge, Beryl Howell, had granted Donald Trump-appointed attorney, Jeanine Pirro, additional days to release the alleged drug-trafficking records.
Tinubu had joined the request of the US Department of Justice for a 10-day extension to respond to a motion seeking the release of records relating to allegations of drug trafficking.
Born on December 24, 1971, in the Mbeya Region, Dr Emmanuel John Nchimbi grew up in a family rooted in public service. His father, Mzee John Nchimbi, hailing from Songea District, served as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and Regional Police Commander for Mtwara.
Beyond his law enforcement career, the elder Nchimbi was actively involved in politics, serving two terms as a National Executive Committee (NEC) member for Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) through the armed forces wing and later as a CCM regional secretary.
Dr Nchimbi began his primary education at Oysterbay Primary School in Dar es Salaam from 1980 to 1986. He pursued his O-Level studies at Uru Secondary School (Form I to III) from 1987 to 1989 before transferring to Sangu Secondary School, where he completed Form IV in 1990.
He then moved to Forest Hill Secondary School in Mbeya for his A-Level education between 1991 and 1993.
Advancing to higher education, Dr Nchimbi earned an Advanced Diploma in Administration from the Institute of Development Management (IDM) Mzumbe in Morogoro between 1994 and 1997.
Upon graduating, his political trajectory accelerated rapidly: he was elected as a member of CCM’s National Executive Committee (NEC), and by 1998, he was elected Chairman of the CCM Youth Wing (Umoja wa Vijana wa Chama cha Mapinduzi – UVCCM).
Alongside his rising political responsibilities, Dr Nchimbi built a professional background in public service and academia. He worked at the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) from 1998 to 2003.
During this period, he pursued further studies, obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) specialising in Banking and Finance from Mzumbe University between 2001 and 2003. He was later appointed District Commissioner for Bunda (2003–2005) and went on to complete a Doctorate (PhD) at Mzumbe University between 2008 and 2011.
He served in that capacity until October 2006, when he was reshuffled to serve as Deputy Minister for Labour, Employment, and Youth Development until February 2008. He subsequently served as Deputy Minister for Defence and National Service until November 2010.
Source: The Star
Headlines
Tinubu Orders Arrest, Suspension of Three Perm Secs As ICPC Uncovers Another Fake Govt Agency
President Bola Tinubu on Friday ordered the immediate arrest and suspension of three federal Permanent Secretaries over their alleged involvement in the operation of another fake agency uncovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, who disclosed this to newsmen after briefing President Tinubu on the latest findings from the commission’s ongoing investigation into fictitious agencies and weaknesses in public sector processes named the affected Permanent Secretaries to include M S Danjuma, Engr Nadungu Gagare, and Richard Pheelangwah.
The Commision’s latest discovery is coming barely few weeks after exposing the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
According to Aliyu, the newly uncovered entity, operating as National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, had allegedly secured office accommodation within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) without authorisation from the President.
The discovery, he said, was made during the broader investigation into the PFIPC, which President Tinubu had directed the ICPC to undertake.
The fake agency, according to ICPC boss, was promoted by Prince George Buchi Nwabueze, who allegedly operated under several variations of his name, including George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Buchi Nwabueze.
Aliyu disclosed that the commission was engaging relevant officials in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to establish how the purported agency came to operate from government premises and to obtain other vital information required for the investigation.
“I have briefed Mr President comprehensively on these new developments. ICPC will continue with its investigation,” he said.
Following the fresh findings, Aliyu said President Tinubu had directed the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze, as well as the immediate suspension of the three named permanent secretaries.
The commission is expected to establish the roles played by the suspended officials and other individuals in the emergence and operation of the purported agency.
Aliyu said the latest discovery underscored the need for tighter controls and greater scrutiny of government institutions and internal administrative processes.
He commended President Tinubu for ordering a wider policy audit of federal agencies and government processes, describing the initiative as a proactive measure to strengthen the governance system.
His said: “President Bola Tinubu must be commended for the proactive step of directing the policy audit of MDAs and internal government processes towards strengthening government governance system.”
The latest development has widened the scope of the ICPC’s investigation into the proliferation of fictitious government entities and alleged exploitation of official structures by individuals seeking to create the impression of government authority.
The commission’s investigation into the PFIPC was initiated after the purported agency came under scrutiny, with the President subsequently directing the ICPC to unravel those behind its operations and determine whether public officials facilitated its activities.
With the discovery of another purported agency operating from government premises, the ICPC probe is now expected to examine broader institutional weaknesses that may have enabled unauthorised entities to gain access to federal government facilities and present themselves as legitimate government bodies.
