Former CBN Governor Rearrested & more –27th July 2023

Kedu from BA! This is the Rorshok Nigeria Update from the 27th of July twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Nigeria.

Let’s do a follow-up of a story we mentioned in previous shows.

Recall that the Department of State Services (or DSS) arrested Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (best known as CBN). Last week, the court granted him bail . It was set at twenty million naira (about twenty-five thousand dollars). However, on Tuesday the 25th, the DSS rearrested the ex-CBN governor after a prosecutor said that she was unaware of the bail and that she had not seen the document for the bail application. Emefiele is facing charges of alleged illegal possession of firearms. The federal government accused him of possessing 123 rounds of live ammunition without a license. However, the former CBN governor pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Speaking of the CBN, on Tuesday the 25th, the financial institution asked other banks to lift the restriction placed on the accounts of 440 individuals and companies but didn’t say why they removed them. These accounts couldn’t transfer money to other accounts. Some popular companies that were affected include Bamboo Systems Technology Limited, abokiFX Limited, Nairabet International, Northwood Energy Services, among others. Recall that in twenty twenty-one, the CBN instructed banks to freeze accounts of some companies, ranging from construction firms, investment companies, laundering services, and property companies.

Also on Tuesday the 25th, the CBN also said that it plans to gradually phase out the old 200, 500, and a thousand naira notes, as new notes are still being issued. The CBN said that when commercial banks asked citizens to exchange the old notes for the new ones the process seemed slow, but in the end the new notes would gradually be the only ones in circulation. Recall that former President Buhari had made several extensions of the validity of the old naira notes after Nigerians had difficulty making transactions. Recently, similar complaints arose, with many citizens saying the new notes are a scam because there are not many in circulation.

In one final but interesting update from the CBN, the bank’s monetary policy committee has raised the interest rates, from 18.5 percent to 18.75 percent. This is the first monetary policy decision the committee has made since Tinubu became president. The bank said that the moderate rate hike is to sustain efforts in managing inflation expectations, narrow the negative real interest rate gap, and improve investor confidence.

On Friday the 21st, the federal government increased the fees for newly admitted students of government-owned secondary schools from 45,000 naira (about fifty-eight dollars) to 100,000 naira (about 130 dollars). The announcement led to an uproar on social media platforms, especially with the rising cost of living caused by some of the federal government’s recent economic policies like the removal of the petrol subsidy. Shortly after, some federal universities also hiked their fees by over a 100 percent. However, on Wednesday the 27th, the presidency said that federal universities in the country will remain tuition-free. Tinubu said that the hike was “for hostel accommodation, registration, laboratory, and other charges.” But that they were not tuition fees.

Moving on, recall that some cattle in the country died, and the government closed some farms over the Anthrax disease. Well, on Monday the 24th, the agricultural and rural development secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (or FCTA) began a mass vaccination of cattle to curb the spread of anthrax in the city. Ishaq Sadeeq, acting secretary of the FCTA, said that the mass vaccination exercise would last for four weeks and is targeting at least one million cattle across the six area councils in Abuja. He said that the move became necessary following the confirmation of the disease in Niger, one of the states bordering Abuja.

Meanwhile, on Monday the 24th, the Kwara state government introduced a cash support of ten thousand naira (about thirteen dollars) for every public servant in the state as of the end of July. The governor said that the extra allowance is to help workers ease the burden of high transportation prices caused by the removal of the petrol subsidy, and added that the cash support would last till a new minimum wage is introduced. Recall that in June, Kwara state introduced a three-day workweek for the civil servants so as to help them accommodate with the high transport fares. However, the directive was later suspended due to an advisory from the national economic council.

Jigawa has also made the list of states handing over palliatives to workers because of the petrol subsidy removal effect.

On Wednesday the 26th, the state government said that it has approved fifty million naira (about 63,000 dollars) to empower one thousand women traders to lessen the effect of the petrol subsidy removal on their businesses. The state government said that this is just the beginning and that more programs and projects will follow.

In Enugu state, the government has sealed two banks and 107 shops for allegedly observing the illegal “sit-at-home order” in markets across the state. All states in the southeast, which Enugu is part of, observe a “sit-at-home” order from the Indigenous People of Biafra, which Nigeria considers a terrorist group.

On the days the order is given, people who are found operating their businesses or taking part in any commercial or extra-curricular activity are either harassed, kidnapped, or sometimes killed. Many businesses have suffered losses as a result of the order and there have been many meetings at the state and federal level on how to revoke the order.

On Monday the 24th, officials of the state government and Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority said the governor ordered the closure of facilities that observed the sit-at-home order, saying that the governor intends to fight those that think they can intimidate the state. Before the closure of the banks, the governor had already ordered residents of the state to no longer observe the illegal order but some of them still went against the rule, for fear of the terrorists.

In a quick update from the business world, on Tuesday the 25th, Agusto & Co, a Pan-African credit rating agency, projected that Nigeria’s total pension assets will rise to nineteen trillion naira (about twenty-four billion dollars) by the end of twenty twenty-four. Agusto said Nigeria has the second-largest pension industry in Africa with assets under management worth sixteen trillion naira (about thirty-four billion dollars) as of the 31st of May twenty twenty-three, which was an increase from last year. The agency said that the growth was caused by large investment returns and other patterns observed in some well-established pension markets. Agusto also said that the pension industry has seen a notable increase in the number of new contributors, with over 300,000 individuals.

Let’s head over to the digital world!

On Thursday the 27th, Google announced that Nigerians can now use their Verve naira cards to make payments on the Play Store. Google said that its partnership with Verve, which is the largest domestic card scheme in Africa, is to enable Nigerians to make purchases with ease and strengthen the digital ecosystem.

The National Emergency Management Agency (best known as NEMA) has started to carry out efforts that will reduce flooding in the country and has also begun distributing relief materials to disaster victims. On Sunday the 23rd, Mustapha Ahmed, NEMA director general, said that the organization focuses on improving the way high-risk communities respond to disasters.NEMA said it will dispose of the refuse that is on the waterways to prevent flooding, as well as carry out campaign programs to enlighten vulnerable communities.

In a move to protect citizens, on Tuesday the 25th, the National human rights commission (or NHRC) said that it has submitted the draft of a national policy to the federal government that will protect civilians during conflicts. Tony Ojukwu, executive secretary of the NHRC, said that the rise in violence prompted the development of the policy. Ojukwu said that the new policy would act as an accountability instrument for the government so that civilians would not be left to the mercy of military groups during conflicts.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

We are a few people trying to share information with no ads. Support us financially with the link in our show notes so we can keep doing what we love. If you can’t, tell your friends about us, and hit the subscribe button.

ka o di