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Peter Obi to Tinubu: Nigerians need solutions to challenges, not excuses

Bankole ABE
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Peter Obi to Tinubu: Nigerians need solutions to challenges, not excuses

A FORMER presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address several challenges facing Nigerians and stop making excuses.

Obi described Nigeria as the world’s poverty capital, adding that it was depressing to hear the people in authority claim that Nigerians were not the only people on earth suffering from hunger and poverty.

He said rather than making excuses in times of crisis, great leaders offer assurance, direction, and solutions.

Obi said this in a post on his X handle on Friday, June 21.

He suggested that to address the nation’s challenges, Tinubu’s government should have a comprehensive plan of action.

The former governor of Anambra state said apart from being the poverty capital of the world, Nigeria also ranks among the most insecure and hungriest people on earth, has poor education quality and the highest number of out-of-school children.

He also pointed out high infant mortality, corruption, unemployment, the high-income gap between the poor and the rich, the high corruption perception index, infrastructure and healthcare challenges, among others.

“It is disheartening to hear those in charge, who were hired to address our problems, make statements like ‘we are not the only ones struggling with poverty and hunger.

“Instead of merely acknowledging that other countries face similar challenges, we need to hear a thorough plan of action to tackle our unique struggles.

“We need a comprehensive approach to tackle our specific challenges, not generalisations that dismiss our experiences. A true leader provides direction, guidance, solutions, and reassurance in times of crisis,” Obi stated.

According to him, the hallmark of visionary leadership and a trait of nations that are making progress is that they “don’t state the obvious but offer a roadmap for overcoming obstacles.”

“Just like a pilot who doesn’t just announce turbulence, they assure passengers that they will do everything possible to ensure a safe journey,” he added.

He urged those in leadership positions to offer tangible solutions, not mere reminders that other nations face similar challenges.

The ICIR reported that the country has faced more hardship since President Bola Tinubu announced the fuel subsidy removal on May 29, 2023 – the day he assumed office.

The announcement led to an increase in fuel pump prices and an astronomical rise in the cost of transportation and foodstuffs.

In February this year, some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) took to the streets of Lagos, Edo and Osun states to protest the worsening economic crises in the country. 

There were similar protests in Edo, Osun, Niger and other states.

The ICIR reports that most Nigerians are yet to benefit from several promises of palliatives by the federal government as inflation and prices of essential commodities continue to snowball. 

 

Nigeria’s public debt stock rose to N121.67trn in Q1 2024 – DMO

Ehime ALEX
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Nigeria’s public debt stock rose to N121.67trn in Q1 2024 – DMO

NIGERIA’s total public debt portfolio has risen by 24.99 per cent in a space of three months to N121.67 trillion as of March 31, 2024.

The country’s Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed this in its latest report released on Thursday, June 20.

It declared that the federal government and the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) owe $91.46 billion in dollar terms.

“Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) official exchange rate of $1 to N1,330.26 as of March 31, 2024, was used in converting external debt to naira,” the DMO noted.

External debt rose to N56.02 trillion or $42.12 billion, representing a 46.57 per cent increase compared to N38.22 trillion or $42.495 billion the debt office declared as of December 31, 2023.

Also, domestic debt rose to N65.65 trillion or $49.35 billion, representing an 11.05 per cent increase relative to N59.12 trillion or $65.73 billion as of December 31, 2023.

A cursory look at the data indicates that while the total public debt dropped to $91.46 billion in dollar terms as of March 2024 from $108.23 billion as of December 2023. It, however, increased in naira term to N121.67 trillion as of March 2023 from N97.34 trillion as of December 2023.

The increase in the debt profile in naira terms resulted in the loss in value of the Nigerian currency against the dollar in the three months between December 2023 and March 2024.

In December 2023, the DMO calculated the the public debt profile at the rate of N899.393/$1, but at N1,330.26/$1 as of March 2024.

According to DMO, of the domestic debt, the federal government owes a substantial N61.58 trillion or $46.29 billion while the states and FCT owe a paltry N4.07 trillion.

The debt office failed to disclose what the federal government as well as the states and FCT owe from the external debt portfolio.

The ICIR reports that with the increasing quest of President Bola Tinubu-led administration to secure more loans, the Nigerian government currently owes more than what the DMO had declared.

Recently, the World Bank approved a $2.25 billion loan for Nigeria to bolster its economic stability and support its poor and vulnerable populations.

The Britton Woods Institution disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, June 13, The ICIR reported.

The loan constituted $1.5 billion for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing Program and $750 million for the Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilisation Reforms Programme-for-Results.

Last year, the World Bank raised the alarm that Nigeria had used over 96 percent of its revenue generated in 2022 to service debt and added that the constant fiscal deficit has aggravated the nation’s public debt stock.

FG berates RCC’s failure to complete East-West Road despite N40bn funding

Ehime ALEX
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FG berates RCC’s failure to complete East-West Road despite N40bn funding

THE Federal Government has criticised Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) for failing to complete even one kilometre (km) out of the 15km East-West Road section from Eleme Junction to Onne Port Junction in Rivers State, despite the over N40 billion mobilisation funds paid to the company.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, expressed dismay during his inspection tour of ongoing road projects in the south-south zone on Wednesday, June 19.

In a statement posted on the ministry’s website, Umahi said, “We are very sad with the manners and behaviours of this contractor, RCC. The federal government has paid over N40 billion on this project, and not even one kilometre has been completed.”

Lamenting the sufferings of road users, he expressed the intention to source funds to maintain the road for the time being pending when the company remobilises to the site.

“So, we have to see where we can search for funds and get any contractor around here to maintain the road. We need to maintain the road. We need to pity the people. It’s not acceptable what our people are passing through for an excuse from RCC that they are importing machines for the job,” the minister decried.

The east-west road has been a tale of sorrow, tears and deaths for motorists and other road users.

On April 26, 2024, a pregnant woman and four other road users were burnt to death by a tanker explosion, which occurred as a result of a collision of two trailers, whose drivers were jostling for space in the bad spots.

Over 50 trucks and tricycles, among others, were razed in the inferno, the Guardian documented in a report.

Also, on October 13, 2022, four people were killed after a 40-foot tanker lost its balance on the narrow bridge along the road pushing a moving Toyota Sienna car and Toyota Hilux from the only narrow bridge into the Aleto River.

The incident happened barely seven days after eight persons in a commercial bus from trailer park in Onne, heading to Port Harcourt died after their bus skidded off while trying to navigate through the bad spots.

In August 2017, a teenage girl was smashed to death by a heavy-duty vehicle in an attempt to navigate through a bad spot.

Of the 338km in the east-west road covering Warri to Oron through Kaima and Ahoada, the major section said to be causing the grave pains is about 15km.

The ICIR has reported of the inordinate delay in project execution by the RCC.

It documented how the construction of the 9th Mile – Orokam road, a 72km road contract awarded RCC at N38.03 billion in May 2017 with a completion period of 36 months was not completed more than five years later.

The project was intended to improve transportation infrastructure and restore the nation’s road network as part of the implementation of the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, like other road projects.

Data on the Govspend platform tracked that between 2018 and June 2022, RCC at different times received over N3.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the road.

At the time, the then Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Shehuri, directed RCC to immediately provide palliative measures to the rough portions of the road to ease the sufferings of road users.

Police accused of brutalising Kaduna journalist for snapping cattle in officers’ custody on highway

Bankole ABE
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Police accused of brutalising Kaduna journalist for snapping cattle in officers’ custody on highway

A KADUNA-BASED journalist, Idibia Gabriel, said he has been brutalised by officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) in the state for taking their pictures while transporting a herd of cattle they seized from a forest.

Idibia said he suffered eye injuries as a result of the torture and inhumane treatment meted out to him by the aggrieved officers. The Police have however denied claims of torture and brutalisation. 

In a chat with The ICIR on Thursday, June 20, Idibia said the incident happened on a public road on Tuesday, June 11.

According to him, he was apprehended and whisked to the CID Police Station in the Gabasawa area, in Kaduna, the state capital, on the allegation that he snapped them while they were transporting the cattle to an unknown destination.

The incident occurred around the Valid Oil filling Station, located near the busy Kachia Expressway at Angwan Boro, Kaduna, at about 8:30 in the morning.

X- Ray result of Gabriel Idibia as obtained by The ICIR
Gabriel Idibia X-ray result as obtained by The ICIR

He said he was detained and then freed in the evening after he was brutalised and the images he took were deleted from his phone.

He noted that following the brutal treatment he received while under police detention at the CID, Kaduna branch office, he was discharged with near blindness in one eye.

“I am at the National Eye Centre now. I heard that there was a crisis at the Express where I live in Angwan Boro, Sabo Area. So I rushed outside to see what the cause was. I saw many policemen guiding a large number of cattle from the refinery side and heading towards Sabo.

“So I approached a policeman and asked him what the problem was and he shunned me. I approached another one, and he too shunned me, so I took a shot of the cattle as they were moving to go and clarify with the PRO because most times, if you tell him they will deny that nothing like that happened. As soon as I took the shot, the one coming next to me, seized my phone. I rushed and followed him and showed him my ID card that I am a journalist, and he collected the ID card.

He said he was in the police vehicle for hours with two other persons. According to him, one of the suspects was arrested for a similar offence while the other one was picked up for trying to obstruct the Police vehicle.

“He said I should stand up and write my statement. I wanted to manage to write but I could not see well so they took me outside and asked me to write by force. I wrote according to their instruction, they said I should write that I was trying to obstruct them. I said I didn’t obstruct them, and they said I should write. So I wrote that I obstructed them, they took the statement from me and went to rewrite it and the IPO signed it.

“We sat down from 12 noon till 6 pm before they released me on self-recognition,” Idibia said.

Responding through a chat with The ICIR on Thursday, June 20, the spokesperson of the Kaduna Police Command, Mansir Hassan, confirmed the arrest but insisted that Idibia was not brutalised in any way.

“He was in my office. Nobody brutalised him. He is our friend. Immediately after the incident, he was in my office. So I was surprised when I read that he was brutalised.

“No sign of injury when he came to our office. In fact, we have CCTV cameras in our office, we have everything. There is no way we will allow any of our men to brutalise any journalist,” Hassan stated.

According to the PRO, Idibia was arrested when policemen came out from the forest after rescuing some cattle and he was seen recording them.

“They arrested him and immediately they brought him to the office, they discovered that he was a journalist and released him on self-recognition and immediately he came to my office,” Hassan added.

He, however, promised to take the journalist to the state’s Commissioner of Police when he returns from his trip.

Attacks and harassment of journalists by security operatives have remained a great concern in Nigeria.

The ICIR reported in December 2023 how security agents abused their power and flouted the Nigerian Constitution by harassing 39 journalists in the line of duty, nationwide.

Four reporters with The ICIR were harassed by state actors in the line of duty that year.

Meanwhile, in 2024, the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja invited and detained The ICIR’s executive director, Dayo Aiyetan, and reporter, Nurudeen Akewushola, over an investigation of sleazes in which its former Inspector-Generals were complicit.

Why Lagos, others face serial cholera outbreaks – CAPPA

Itoro ETUKUDO
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Why Lagos, others face serial cholera outbreaks – CAPPA

THE Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has blamed the recurring cholera outbreaks in Nigeria on the government’s failure to invest in safe water for the citizens. 

In a statement signed by its media and communications officer, Robert Egbe, and mailed to The ICIR on Thursday, June 20, CAPPA noted that the government’s failure to invest in public water and sanitation had resulted in the federal government’s confirmation of cholera outbreaks in more than 25 of the nation’s 36 states, including Lagos.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cholera is an acute diarrheal infection characterised, in its severe form, by extreme watery diarrhoea and potentially fatal dehydration.

A report by The ICIR in 2023 shows that Nigeria is one of the 13 African countries battling cholera with several outbreaks of the disease since 2021 when the country reported 111,062 suspected cases and 3,604 deaths.

The cases were reported largely among children between ages five and 14 across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Four states among the 33 affected states namely Bauchi, Jigawa, Kano and Zamfara plus the FCT, accounted for 53 per cent of the cases.

“While the Lagos State Ministry of Health has warned that the current outbreak, associated with the cholera subtype known as Serovars O1, is highly aggressive and contagious, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported that 1,141 suspected cases have been recorded so far in 2024, with at least 30 deaths resulting from 65 confirmed cases of the outbreaks from January 1 to June 11,” the CAPPA’s statement reads.

The ICIR reports that as of today, June 20, cholera has reportedly claimed 21 lives in Lagos State.

CAPPA’s executive director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said that millions of Nigerians still suffered from an acute lack of access to potable water supply and relied on unsafe water sources for use and drinking, adding that the solution to controlling cholera lied in the effective management of public water and sanitation systems.

“The disease, even though preventable, is particularly vicious in areas where sanitary facilities are insufficient, and the availability of safe water supply is inadequate. As such, the resolution to controlling cholera lies in the effective management of public water and sanitation systems,” he said.

He added that the growing trend of privatising essential utilities like public water supplies was the cholera epidemic in the country.

According to him, the vulnerable population suffer the most and are left helpless against water-borne outbreaks like cholera.

Also, CAPPA’s policy and research officer, Zikora Ibeh, pointed out that although the Lagos State government had acknowledged the severity of the current outbreak and the increased risk in urban slums and crowded areas, the acknowledgement needed to be translated into concrete plans that put the needs of the general public ahead of those of corporate interests, Ibeh stated.

He added that the cholera epidemic in Nigeria was an example of social inequality, noting that Lagos, a progressive city, did not have a sufficient public water supply or sanitary facilities.

Ibeh frowned at underfunding public water infrastructure, inadequate public water workers and depending too much on outside vendors, leaving low-income citizens without access to clean water and at risk of avoidable illnesses.

To guarantee that all Nigerians, regardless of socioeconomic status, have access to clean and safe drinking water, CAPPA encouraged the federal government and state authorities to establish sufficient public water supply infrastructure and put in place a better emergency preparedness for medical personnel.

Court reinstates Bayero, annuls Kano State Emirate Law 2024

Bankole ABE
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Court reinstates Bayero, annuls Kano State Emirate Law 2024

A FEDERAL High Court in Kano on Thursday, June 20, reinstated deposed Emir Ado Bayero as the Emir of Kano, consequently annullng the state government’s reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the emir.

The Court abrograted the Kano State Emirate Law 2024, which had dissolved the five Emirates in the state.

It also dismissed the state government’s repeal of the Kano Emirates Council Law, which the state had used to remove Sanusi and install Bayero as emir.

The judge, Abdullahi Muhammad Liman, in his ruling, ordered all parties involved in the case to maintain the status quo.

In April, the Kano State House of Assembly abolished the law which brought Bayero into office and enacted the Kano State Emirate Law 2024. The repealed law had created an additional four emirate councils – Bichi, Rano Karaye and Gaya, under the state’s immediate past governor and current national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje.

Ganduje’s party was defeated by the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) led by his predecessor, former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Since the incumbent Governor Abba Yusuf took over power, the state government had vowed to return Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, sacked by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

A kingmaker in the defunct Kano Emirate, Aminu Babba Danagundi, also known as the Sarkin Dawaki Babba, through his attorney, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN) sued the Governor Yusuf-led government to contest the new law’s validity and requested that the court void it.

Sanusi’s reinstatement threw the state into confusion as the dethroned Emir Bayero refused to relinquish his office.

The matter had been pending in court, as both the state High Court and a Federal High Court in the state issued conflicting orders on the matter.

Bayero moved into a mini palace in the Nasarawa neighbourhood of the Kano City, while Sanusi occupied the main palace in the city centre.

The development had led to name-calling between the federal and state governments, with Kwankwanso declaring that the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government was behind the impasse over the state’s emirship.

Meanwhile, the state police command, which had also faced criticism from the state government, said on Thursday that sufficient manpower and resources had been placed around key locations in the state, including the court where the decision would be made to prevent a breakdown in law and order.

The ICIR reported that a Federal High Court in Kano on June 14 ordered the state government to pay N10 million in compensation to Bayero, for breaching his fundamental human rights.

The court headed by Simon Amobeda, gave the directive while delivering the judgment in the case initiated by Bayero seeking the enforcement of his fundamental human rights.

The judge described the order given by the state Governor Abba Yusuf to arrest the deposed emir as illegitimate.         

The ICIR reported on Thursday, June 13, that the Kano State Police Command banned durbar activities in the state as the Muslim faithful celebrate Eid-El-Kabir. 

The state government has yet to respond to the latest ruling by the Federal High Court.

Amid insecurity, Plateau approves N800m for covid-19, N3.5bn for lawmakers refreshment

Bankole ABE
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Amid insecurity, Plateau approves N800m for covid-19, N3.5bn for lawmakers refreshment

DESPITE insecurity plaguing Plateau, the state government has appropriated a whooping 3.5 billion naira for the  State Assembly, to set up a refreshment and meals committee.

The government has also budgeted the sum of N800 million for COVID-19 despite the fact that the global pandemic which reared its head in 2020 has abated.

The Plateau State House of Assembly has 24 members representing 17 local government areas. If the N3.5 billion allocated for refreshments and meals is divided per head, it means each lawmaker will get N145.8million per year, their monthly allocation would amount to N12.15 million each while each of them would receive a weekly allocation of N2.8million.

A review of the state’s 2024 appropriation bill by The ICIR shows that the amount budgeted for the refreshments and meals in the approved budget is higher than the one approved in the 2023 budget and represents 1.2 per cent of the total budget.

In the previous budget, N1.05 billion was approved by the assembly for meals and refreshments, representing 0.5 per cent of the total budget.

The ICIR observed that the N295 billion budget, titled: “Budget of Restoration, Infrastructure, Human Capital Development and Promotion of Economic Growth,” consists of N157. 5 billion for recurrent expenditure, which represents 53.33 per cent of the total budget, and N137.8 billion for capital expenditure, representing 46.66 per cent.

The total size of the 2024 budget is N145 billion more than the 2023 approved budget, which was N149. 9 billion.

File Photo : Plateau state governor, Caleb Muftwang
File Photo  Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang

According to the governor, the 2024 budget aimed to restore the state’s past glory in all its ramifications and salvage it from infrastructural decay.

Rising Insecurity in Plateau

Over the years, Plateau state, situated in the north-central region, had been battling insecurity as a result of the activities of bandits and terrorists.

On December 24, 2023, suspected gunmen reportedly killed over 70 people in an attack on several communities in the Barkin-Ladi and Bokkos local government areas (LGAs).

According to reports, the assailants attacked residences, looted farm produce, and set houses ablaze.

Earlier on January 24, it was reported that at least 15 people, mostly children and women, were killed by assailants in Kwahaslalek village, a community in the Mangu LGA of the state.

The ICIR gathered that Killings continued in the LGA despite a 24-hour curfew declared by the state government.

 

Speaker of the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gabriel Dewan
Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gabriel Dewan

Despite all these security challenges bedevilling the state, the house went on to approve over N3.5 billion for refreshment and N800 million for abating COVID-19.

Channel money to insecurity – Budget expert

Many are questioning the appropriateness of these expenditures given the economic challenges facing the state and the nation.

Speaking on the amount allocated for refreshments and meals in 2024, the acting head of Open Government and Institutional Partnership, BudgIT, Iyanu Bolarinwa, called on the Plateau state government to look at areas of insecurity and channel the money into helping vigilantes.

According to the budget expert, because the police infrastructure in the state and across the country cannot currently guarantee adequate security, the money should have been channelled to boost the activities of local vigilantes.

“The entire framework for security across the country is weak, so we need the actions and responsibilities of our state vigilantes. The state must do well to empower them.

“We know that in the south-west right now, we have the Amotekun. In some states in the north, we have heard of different, uniformed local security personnel. I don’t know if we have that in the north central, but for the Plateau, we believe that it will be a welcome idea to have a state apparatus that caters for security,” he said.

On the amount budgeted for COVID-19, Bolarinwa said it sounds like a misplaced priority because, according to him, “At the current phase that we are, COVID-19 is not a priority. Apart from vaccinating people, I don’t think there are any other activities that really should take the attention of the government budgeting a lot of money to that particular area.”

He suggested that the money be directed to the state security outfit to fortify them.

“We should let them have all the equipment they need so they can keep the state secure from the areas of insecurity in the state,” Bolarinwa stated.

First Bank’s board approves Olusegun Alebiosu as CEO, others

Ehime ALEX
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First Bank’s board approves Olusegun Alebiosu as CEO, others

THE board of First Bank of Nigeria Limited has approved the appointment of Olusegun Alebiosu as the managing director/chief executive officer (MD/CEO) of the bank subject to final approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The parent company, FBN Holdings Plc disclosed this in a statement to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Wednesday, June 19.

It said the board of First Bank also approved the appointments of Ini Ebong as the deputy managing director and Omotunde Alao-Olaifa as a non-executive director, respectively.

The statement signed by the Acting Secretary of FBN Holdings, Adewale Arogundade, stated, “The Board approved the appointment of Mr. Olusegun Alebiosu as the substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive Director of FirstBank, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

“The Board approved the appointment of Mr. Ini Ebong as the Deputy Managing Director of FirstBank, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Board approved the appointment of Mr. Omotunde Alao-Olaifa as Non-Executive Director of FirstBank, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” it added.

The ICIR reports that Alebiosu was appointed in an acting capacity on April  21 this year following the sudden resignation of the former CEO of FirstBank, Adesola Adeduntan.

Adeduntan resigned eight months before the expiration of his tenure which elicited concerns among stakeholders in the financial sector.

His resignation also raised concern about the adherence to the CBN corporate governance guidelines, The ICIR reported.

Meanwhile, Alebiosu became the group executive/chief risk officer of FirstBank in 2016 before being promoted to the position of executive director, chief risk officer, and executive compliance officer, which he held between January 2022 and April 2024.

Court scraps 33 Ondo LCDAs created by late Akeredolu

Bankole ABE
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Court scraps 33 Ondo LCDAs created by late Akeredolu

AN Ondo State High Court has nullified the creation of the 33 Local Government Development Areas (LCDAs) by the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.

The judge, Adegboyega Adebusoye, in his ruling, on Thursday, June 20, described the late governor’s action as illegal and unconstitutional.

Some leaders in the four Akoko Local Government Areas in the state – Akoko South-East, Akoko South-West, Akoko North-West, and Akoko North-East – had sued the state government, claiming that the region was marginalised during the formation of the LCDA by Akeredolu’s administration.

In his ruling, Adebusoye declared that Sections Seven and Eight of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) were not followed in creating the LCDAs.

He also ruled that there were no fair boundaries among the LCDAs.

Meanwhile, the leaders who filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and the residents of Akoko land under the registered trustees of Akoko Development Initiative (ADI) have applauded the court’s ruling voiding the creation of the LCDAs.

The litigants, including the state’s former House of Assembly Speaker, Bakitta Bello, Matthew Ofosile, and Lawal Rogbitan, signed a statement stating that the court’s ruling reflected the genuine intent of the law and the aspirations of the Ondo people.

They claimed to have observed the imbalance in the state’s Executive Council’s recommendation of July 2023 to the State House of Assembly for the establishment of the 33 LCDAs and petitioned the state Governor and the Attorney-General, requesting that the government address the injustices done to the Local Government Areas and the entire Akoko Land.

They expressed delight that their decision to seek the court’s intervention over the issue was fruitful.

Akeredolu assented to the bill creating 33 LCDAs in the state in September 2023.

He signed the bill a day after he returned from a three-month medical leave.

The state House of Assembly passed the bill for the creation of the 33 LCDAs on August 15 2023 after it passed the third reading.

Akeredolu described the creation of the LCDAs as a step towards fulfilling his campaign promises and addressing the aspirations of the people for enhanced grassroots development.

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The local councils in the state became 51 when the established LCDAs and the 18 LGAs existed.

The ICIR reported that Akeredolu died in the early hours of Wednesday, December 27, aged 67 years.

His death came barely a year after he buried his mother, Lady Evangelist Grace Akeredolu.

The ICIR reports that Akeredolu battled leukaemia and had been incapacitated for several months, disrupting governance in the state.

Nigeria seeks 18-month extension for World Bank’s $800m palliative loan

Ehime ALEX
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Nigeria seeks 18-month extension for World Bank’s $800m palliative loan

THE Nigerian government has requested an 18-month extension for the $800 million World Bank palliative loan scheme as the country battles against rising inflation and other economic challenges.

A restructuring paper document on the project reportedly from the World Bank, revealed that the Nigerian government asked to extend the closing date of the project from June 30 this year to December 31 next year.

The aim is to realign the project timelines and enhance the efficacy of the National Social Safety Net Program-Scale Up (NASSP-SU).

“This paper seeks approval from the Country Director for a Level II restructuring of the National Social Safety Net Program Scale-Up project (NASSP-SU, P176935, Credit No. 7019-NG), an US$800 million Investment Project Financing (IPF).

“The restructuring will extend the project closing date by 18 months from June 30, 2024, to December 31, 2025. The benefit size and duration of the cash transfers under component 1 will also be changed,” the document stated.

It contained further that the Nigerian government also sought to change the chairmanship of the project’s national steering committee from the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to the Minister of Finance.

The NASSP-SU project, initiated to provide shock-responsive safety net support to the country’s poor and vulnerable, was approved on December 16, 2021, and became effective on January 30, 2023.

The Federal Government planned to use the scheme to run a monthly cash transfer program for poor and vulnerable Nigerians, badly impacted by fuel subsidy removal and other President Bola Tinubu-led administration reforms.

The cash transfer programme has suffered mistrust,  following a probe of alleged misconduct by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in management of the scheme.

Part of the mistrust had led to the suspension of the former Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.

So far, about 39 per cent of the entire loan has been released to Nigeria, leaving about  $485 million balance.

The scheme gives N75,000 to each beneficiary household, spread across three months to help mitigate the adverse effects of rising inflation and the government’s economic reforms.

“Since its start, about 30 million beneficiaries have been covered by social safety net programs, and about three million poor and vulnerable households have received shock-responsive cash transfers as of May 2024. Of these beneficiaries, 700 thousand households were from rural areas and about 2.5 million households were from urban areas. 1,652 urban wards have been covered through the targeting system developed under the project,” the document stated.

It added that a planned digital payment delivery mechanism had been implemented, using straight-through processing to deliver transfers directly to beneficiaries’ accounts or wallets while the National Social Register is being integrated with the National Identification Number to further strengthen the targeting system.

The ICIR reported that Tinubu had in July 2023 sought Senate approval for the $800 million palliative loan from the World Bank, which he described as “shock-responsive safety net supports for all and vulnerable Nigerians and the cost of meeting basic needs.”

However there have been worries about the disbursement of the palliative fund to vulnerable Nigerians amid concern about an authentic national social register as the National Economic Council (NEC) discredited the old register and called for a new one.

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