The Lagos State Government says it plans to inject additional funds into Cooperative Societies across the state to accelerate development.

Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade & Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, made this known at a news conference in Alausa in Ikeja, Lagos.

The event was organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment in collaboration with the Lagos State Cooperative Federation (LASCOFED) to kick-start the 2024 International Day of Cooperatives celebration.

Ambrose-Medebem, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Olugbemiga Aina, said that the government had also registered 615 new cooperatives from 2023 to date and had mechanisms to register several more.

She explained that this would be an addition to the over 3,000 existing associations, to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Ambrose-Medebem stated that between 2023 and the present, 615 cooperatives were registered, comprising 435 Cooperative Multipurpose Societies, 115 Cooperative Thrift and Credit Societies, and 65 Cooperative Agricultural Multipurpose Societies.

She noted the government’s efforts to verify capabilities and expand the scope of cooperatives beyond workplaces to attract more grants for the state’s development.

“We have over three thousand cooperatives, which is quite small for a Mega City of almost 24 million people. We need to increase the numbers.

“We are proactive in thinking that we need to inject more funds into these cooperative societies.

“That is why this amount has been put in the budget, but we must ensure the proper application of grants based on the technical capabilities of those receiving funds,” she said.

Ambrose-Medebem mentioned that several experts had approached the ministry for capacity building to equip cooperatives for higher funding, benefiting Lagos residents.

She explained that the theme for the 2024 International Cooperatives Day was apt for celebrating the contributions of cooperatives to socio-economic development.

The commissioner outlined the schedule for this year’s International Day of Cooperatives, starting with a news conference.

The event will continue with visits to orphanages and old people’s homes on Wednesday, July 3, at 10:00 a.m., a Jumat Service at Alausa Secretariat Central Mosque on Friday.

Also, there will be Grand Finale on Saturday, July 6, featuring lectures, panel discussions, raffle draws, and merit awards.

The celebration will be concluded on Sunday with a Thanksgiving Service at The Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, at 10:00 a.m.

She emphasised that Lagos State uses this annual event to raise awareness and deepen public knowledge about the benefits of cooperatives.

“The theme for the 2024 International Day of Cooperatives is ‘Cooperatives: Building A Better Future For All,” she stated.

Ambrose-Medebem enumerated the benefits and contributions of cooperatives to wealth creation, social integration, prosperity and economic development.

She highlighted areas of partnership and grants that had helped Cooperative Societies in Lagos State expand their operations, creating wealth and reducing poverty.

She noted that the state government provides an enabling environment for businesses to thrive through cooperatives, promoting economic growth and attracting investors.

“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has acknowledged the significant role of over three thousand cooperative societies in the state.

It is would be recalled that associations and enterprises had in times past help citizens improve their lives while contributing to the economic, social and cultural advancement of their communities, the state, and the nation.

The administration recognises the Cooperative Movement as highly democratic, locally autonomous, but internationally integrated,” she concluded.

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Comrade Debo Adeniran CDHR National President made this assertion while addressing the media in the state of the nation briefing on Thursday at the Rights House, Ikeja.

“We as activists are not happy with the President’s performance so far. During his campaign, we believed so much in him going by his antecedents as one of those that spearheaded the PRONACO in those days.

“We thought his reign would bring succour and relief to the people especially as we missed that golden opportunity during the June 12 election, but the reverse is the case right now.

“We would like to call on the President to explore the possibility of reaching out to more professionals even outside his cabinet so that his policies and programmes can have a more beneficial effect on the populace.

Comrade Adeniran who touched on the ranging issues in the nation’s polity, took out time to highlight some misnomer cited while proffering workable solutions as it pertains: corruption, high cost of foodstuffs, illegal proliferation of arms and ammunition, crude shortage and Dangote refinery, SSANU/NASU strike, deplorable state of road networks and the River State impasse amongst others.

On food security Adeniran tasked the government at various levels to stop being lazy and care free about the situation, adding that they should make concerted efforts in addressing food sufficiency given our fertile lands while charging the security agencies especially the Nigerian Armed Forces to also take to agricultural ventures, to scare away marauding herdsmen and bandits pillaging the lands across zones.

“For some time now, Nigerians have been under torment by the astronomical rise in the prices of basic foods in the marketplace. This surge is reflected mainly in the prices of garri, millet, yam, fermented cassava meal (akpu), palm oil, vegetable oil, beef, rice, beans, among others.

“The high cost of these foodstuffs is alarming primarily because these food items are staples in most homes across the land. The absence of these items would contribute seriously to hunger and malnutrition in the country. This gives room for a huge concern as the steep prices have battered the purchasing power of citizens, leading to uncertainty, an increase in poverty, and an unpalatable cost of living. The disruption caused by rising food inflation has further decimated the low wages of the people.

“A 2022 survey by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said 133 million Nigerians are living in multidimensional poverty. How on earth will the people that fall into this group be able to afford these staples which has skyrocketed beyond the reach of an ordinary Nigerians?

Incessant killings, kidnappings, and destruction of farmland have led to farmers abandoning their farmland for fear of bandits and herdsmen, thereby contributing to food shortages across the country.

“The situation is rampant in Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Katsina, and Borno, where violence plagues the states often regarded as Nigeria’s food belt. In Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, and other states, bandits and terrorists hold sway, collecting levies or tributes from farmers before they can plant or harvest their crops.

“So insecurity has contributed greatly to the high cost of food in the country. The government should make it a priority to secure lives and properties of the entire citizens of the country and not only the farmers as this would contribute immensely to the greater output and more investment opportunities in the economy of the country.

 As a temporary measure, the government at every level should undertake tangible programmes to defeat hunger in the land and introduction of various social safety measures at a time like this would be a welcome development.

He stressed that the existing bottlenecks in the administration of the country was due to the refusal of the powers that be to be accountable to the people with whom the sovereign powers of the land ought to reside originally.

Regarding the academic sector Adeniran critiqued the situation citing several untoward developments from the government’s end to the workers demands.

“Recently, two non-teaching staff unions mull an indefinite strike at the expiration of a two-week strike notice, over withheld 4 months salaries, and the unpaid 13 months salaries to Abia State University workers.

“The unions are the Senior Staff Union of Universities (SSANU), and the Non-teaching Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions (NASU). SSANU President at a briefing in Abuja said beyond the withheld and unpaid salaries, most institutions still owe between three and six months of the N35,000 wage award as it accused the Federal government of being slow and dodgy with regards to announcing a new national minimum wage.

“Other issues the unions concerned about are the limited number of educated individuals in the reconstituted Boards of Federal tertiary institutions and the proliferation of State Universities, amidst poor funding of existing ones.

“We would like to call on the government to do everything within the ambit of the law to avert the strike considering the negative effects of the strike on the academic activities on our campuses. Their concerns should be looked into in order to avoid another industrial unrest.”

Commenting on the Dangote refinery and the seemingly no impact felt in the sector up till now by virtue of it coming up stream, the issue he said is shrouded in secrecy and that they need come out clean.

“We felt this will help reduce the hardship but unfortunately, Dangote imports crude which in clear terms is substandard to our own Brent crude.  We should resist selling of substandard products. We are calling for the reintroduction of fuel subsidy given the suffering experienced by Nigerians.

“We should not pay for their inefficiency. Did the purchase go through sighting of appropriate authorities in the first place. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should block the loopholes being an accountant and someone who had knowledge of how the oil industry runs prior to now.

“As concerns mount over the lack of domestic crude oil to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, we would like the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to inform Nigerians on what is really happening.

“If the refinery is finding it difficult to access domestic crude oil and have to rely on importation from foreign countries then what exactly is happening in our oil and gas sector.

“We would also like to align with other groups like the Independent Petroleum Producers Group who has called on President Bola Tinubu to consider declaring a state of emergency on crude oil production in Nigeria following the lingering crisis associated with this.”

On the River State impasse Adeniran maintained that the erstwhile governor of the state Nyesom Wike ought to concentrate maximally on his newly assigned task as the FCT minister and allow the democratically elected Governor of Rivers State Siminalayi Fubara to function without hinderance in any form.

“The power play that is being displayed can be likened to the Godfatherism principle commonly practiced in Nigeria’s political arena. We would not like to delve into the details of what has happened in the state in recent time but considering the prevailing circumstances, we feel strongly that all lovers of democracy should be concerned about the situation in Rivers State.

“If not properly handled, it will definitely have catastrophic consequences for our democracy as it may snowballed into other states.”

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The Managing Editor/CEO, Premium Eagle Media Limited, publishers of The Eagle Online newspaper, Dotun Oladipo, gave the advice at the 2022 Annual General Meeting of a non-governmental organisation, Ikhwan Mutual Forum, in Ojokoro, Lagos State.

At the AGM on Sunday, Oladipo, a former President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, discussed the theme: “Surviving the challenges of Family Upkeep, Harsh Economy and Rising Cost of Living.”

In this period of economy downturn, cultivating saving culture, Oladipo stressed no matter how small, would impact positively on a family in the long run.

Speaking further on the theme, the immediate past President of GOCOP noted that for every family to survive and thrive under the harsh economy, serious attention must always be paid to daily cost, at homes and in the offices, with a view to whittling down expenses and maximise the benefits of every spending.

The media entrepreneur also stressed that the country’s present economic situation did not permit only husband to belong to the working class, but it is more advisable that both couple are productively engaged and empowered.

He however reasoned that the family must be calculative in going about this, noting that aspiration for one of the couple to be self-employed was very key so as to really reap the benefits of the self-reliance.

For the couple to be calculative, The Eagle Online Publisher restated: “One of the two, (husband or wife) should be free, be self-employed to make more money.”

While noting the effects of factors such as climate change and health challenges on socio-economic life, Oladipo declared that the global financial system was not getting better, warning that this necessitated why the heads of families must be self-disciplined in thought and prudent in spending.

He noted that one key aspect many families underrate is bulk purchase.

This measure, he proffered, must be given due attention, noting that any household item purchased in bulk, when the resources are available, would better serve the family in the nearest future as well as save cost. 

The media practitioner asserted that individuals must be realistic and disciplined in their finances as he alluded that nobody can be bigger than his source of income.

Oladipo reasoned that to forge ahead in this hard time, Nigerians should be creative, work out better alternatives; avoid imitating others blindly as well as not being wasteful.

Also discussing the theme, an Assistant Director in the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alhaji Abdul Razzak Misbahudeen, said the state of the economy in the country called for families to be prudent in spending, focus on needs instead of wants, as well as prepare the family’s budget.

Speaking specifically, Alhaji MIsbahudeen advised members of the Ikhwan Mutual Forum to device collective efforts in order to ensure that individuals can conveniently cater for their needs.

Working on alternative sources of income that can take care of heavy expenses, he advised, was also a positive approach under the troubled economy.

The public servant urged parents to encourage their wards to acquire vocational skills, side by side with the formal education, adding that the young ones should be trained to aspire to be job creators.

The AGM is an annual event of the group and it heralds the new business year.

The membership cuts across different professions.

In attendance at the event, which featured the group’s first business session for the new year, were the Group Business Deputy Editor of The Nation newspaper and Coordinator of the group, Alhaji Taofik Salako; Tajudeen Balogun, Deputy Editor, The Eagle Online and the group’s Secretary; a Public Relations expert and part time-Lecturer at the Lagos State Polytechnic, Abdul Ganiyu Olowu; Alhaji Abdul Wasiu Yusuff, a school administrator; Abdul Wasiu Oyeniyi; Abdul Akeem Adeleke; Dhikrullahi Alimi; and private entrepreneurs among other members and participants.

Also in attendance was the wife of the Publisher of The Eagle Online, who is also the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Premium Eagle Media Limited and CEO of Aya’ba Stores, Taiwo Oladipo.

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“What is happening to the Naira is that all of us are having to pay for sins of the past; sins of  corruption, inefficiency and low productivity. The fact is that Nigerians are not patriotic”, Fasua, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Analytics Consulting Limited, said.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, in Abuja, he said that it was worrisome that in spite of measures taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen the Naira the currency  keeps depreciating.

On the recent depreciation of the Naira, Fasua said: “This particular one is a speculative attack ignited by the policy of the CBN to stop sale of forex to about 10,000-odd BDCs. Here, everyone has a BDC license, some have multiple licenses.

” That itself is a world record number when compared to places like United Kingdom where they have 145 BDCs, United Arab Emirate, 130 and New York,  40.

“We should support CBN to stop the idea of people carrying dollars around as if it is a mark of prosperity,” he said.

The economist said that the CBN had the right to regulate the sale of forex,  adding that the apex bank should be commended for playing that role effectively.

He called for adequate supply of foreign exchange for official and legal transactions so as to make the forex black market irrelevant.

“If CBN is able to supply forex for official and legal transactions we should not bother ourselves with what happens at the black market.

“We need to be careful how much premium we place on what happens at the black market.  We should also encourage CBN to expand the transactions it can grant eligibility.

“The more of the import transactions and the visible trade transactions the CBN can meet the better for the Naira,” he said.

Also, a financial expert, Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, said that the continuous depreciation of the Naira implied that steps so far taken by the CBN to strengthen the currency had not worked.

Unegbu, a past President of the Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), suggested that importers from China should be allowed to exchange Naira for Yuan, the Chinese currency.

He said that the Naira had been abused and under valued over time,  adding that the CBN needed to initiate strong policies to strengthen it.

“One of the things that would have helped is having the Naira exchange for the Chinese Yuan for imports from China. We do not need to pay for goods from  China in dollars.

“With N500 one can get a square meal in Nigeria, but with one dollar you cannot get anything in America.  This is an indication that the Naira has been abused and under valued.

“The CBN will need to come up with innovative policies to strengthen the Naira,” he said.

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A statement signed by the Agency’s resident media consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola, and issued to newsmen on Sunday, in Abuja, quoted Adeyeye as reiterating the important role MSMEs played in the nation ‘s economy, pledging that the agency would continue to render its support to enable them continue to act as catalysts to economic rejuvenation.

The Director General (DG) said that globally MSMEs had contributed up to 45 per cent of total employment and 33 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in emerging economies.

“In a recent review of a 2017 survey on MSMEs, it is revealed that in Nigeria, there were 41.4 million MSMEs and about 99 per cent belong to the micro sub-sector, which is the bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialization.

“This is the most important component of industrialisation as set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the federal government, the significance of MSMEs in the nation’s economy is critical.

Adeyeye urged entrepreneurs to be patient in obtaining NAFDAC’s certification before exporting goods, especially in the light of the revamped relationship between them and the agency in recent times.

“NAFDAC’s timeline for the processing of products for registration is 90 days and there is consistent efforts to ensure timelines are met, amongst which are the deployment of a robust e-registration platform.

“The e-registration platform is called NAFDAC Product Administration and Monitoring System (NAPAMS), which has the capacity for monitoring and assessment of timelines,” Adeyeye said.

She explained that If anybody went online to start the e-registration process  and encountered any challenge, “there is an online assistant that is always ready help in case of any challenge during the registration”.

Some people who have products that they think they can export, take shortcuts and they don’t also go to NAFDAC to test their products before they are exported.

“Thereafter, the government of the receiving country stops the product, and they reject it and destroy it, we all need to learn not to take shortcuts.

“This agency will not compromise global best practices and standard under the guise of placating its clients, who have refused to follow due process to get the required identification certification”, the NAFDAC DG said.

Adeyeye encouraged entrepreneurs to always wait for a duration of four and a half months to get their products registered.

She added that some of the compliance issues that were frequently observed ranged from labelling lapses, inadequate documentation, increased product analysis failure rate and product rejects, especially with highly sensitive products.

However, the NAFDAC DG observed that the ongoing trainings and re-trainings of prospective NAFDAC applicants/MSMEs entrepreneurs on principles of good agricultural practices and others were yielding the desired reduction of such failures.

On the granting of approval for MSME production sites, the NAFDAC boss said that if a site designated for manufacturing and packaging was found to be filthy for the prospective product, NAFDAC would not approve such site.

She, therefore, admonished MSMEs owners to always ensure that they complied with all relevant government policies and regulations; collaborate more amongst themselves, to jointly engage government constructively.

Adeyeye noted that if there was a sector that had got the most needed support from NAFDAC, “it is the MSMEs, with the reduction in the registration fee by 80 per cent within six months in the year 2020.”

The first 200 applicants received zero registration fee, she said, adding that the agency also waived late renewal fees for those whose NAFDAC registration licenses expired during the same period.

According to her, the palliative given to the MSME sector in 2020 was not given to any other sector, because of its importance to the nation’s economy.

“The COVID pandemic might have slowed down some people who might have wanted to register. But, six months out of the nine months of the pandemic in 2020 was devoted to rendering help to the MSMEs”, Adeyeye said.

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Nigeria’s Cultural icon and Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe took time out to rollout the Nigerian Cultural map, with detailed and focal attention on state by state Cultural festivals and time of celebrations at the induction ceremony of Ambassador Designates, Consuls-Generals and CDA en-titre held at the villa.

Speaking on the rich Nigerian Culture and its potentials to diversify the economy, and attract foreign investment, Runsewe enjoined all the envoys to be in the forefront of promoting and engaging the many foreign nations and their people about the robust and rich Nigerian Cultural economy, waiting for collaborations and partnerships.

He noted that the federating 36 states have very rich, unique and diverse cultural attributes and Contents which cannot be easily found anywhere in black Africa nay the world.

According to the DG of NCAC who also doubles as President Africa Region World Craft Council (WCC), the Nigerian Arts and Crafts sector is a gold mine waiting to the fully discovered and tapped for export, empowerment of the rural persons and artisans.

Runsewe therefore expressed the determination and readiness of NCAC to partner with all the new envoys to Promote and market Nigerian Cultural festivals and destinations abroad as soon as they settle down.

“We have shown over the years that Nigerian Culture has the capacity to enthrone peace and Promote harmony to a world troubled by many irritations and uncertainty. It is within your call to put these attributes to the use of Nigeria and your hosts for the good of mankind.

“Our culinary skills and fashion is another strategic attraction to which most nations and peoples you are posted would want to know more and appreciate,” Runsewe explained further, adding, that Nigerian indigenous languages totalling over 450, spoken across the length and breadth of the country, stands as veritable evidence of Nigerian uniqueness in the map of black Africa and the world in general.

“These are basic diplomatic ingredients and Cultural values that can be used effectively to tell a refreshing story about Nigeria and help change the negative narratives of Nigerians and Nigeria abroad,” Runsewe highlighted.

After the presentation applauded by the” new class” of envoys, Runsewe presented Nigerian branded mufflers, note pads, Promotional materials, Laptop bags, facemasks made from local fabrics and file  jackets.

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…Says Govs shouldn’t be caged by crave for second term

Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday, said that his administration will not shy away from taking hard decisions in order to set the State on a trajectory of sustainable development.

The Governor who also advised his brother Governors not to be caged by crave for second term, stated that service delivery to the people should be of greater importance to office holders.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that the Governor made the assertions while performing two separate functions in his office on Wednesday.

 Governor Makinde, while receiving reports of seven committees set up by his administration to look into various issues, said: “I have seen people come to me and said I should not do some certain things or take certain decisions because of second term. Those that are interested in second term should wait, at least till 2022. For now, we should do the job the people have committed to our hands and do things that will place Oyo State on the path of greatness.”

Also, while receiving the Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, Mr. Musa Wada, Governor Makinde advised office-seekers and governors not to allow themselves to be caged by the crave for second term of office.

“The people are the sole determinants of the fate of the politicians. Fresh term, second term are all linked to what we have for the people. During the first term, you make promises to the people and once you start ticking those boxes, the people can always decide that they want you to come in first and later say they want you to continue,” the Governor said.

In his speech at the Exco Chamber of the Governor’s Office, while receiving the reports of the committees, Governor Makinde called for ideas from the citizenry of the State to move the State to greatness, saying: “I want to say this publicly; some of us on this side of the table are not the brightest. No. We have just been blessed that God provided the opportunity for us and that’s why we value what you have to say. We value your contributions.

“Whatever we need to do on infrastructure, we need to target our economy. So, I want to implore anyone who has an advice for us should inform us because we don’t have any other place we can call home.”

The committees that presented their reports included the Investigative Panels on Ibarapa Polytechnic and Oke-Ogun Polytechnics; Committee on Dismissal/Retirement of Civil Servants between 2011 and 2019; Committee on Review of Contracts, Projects between 2017 and 2019; Task Force on Review of Operations at the Bola Ige International Market, Gbagi, Ibadan, among others.

The Governor, after receiving the reports, said that the Government will take immediate action on the recommendations, adding that the people should expect full implementation of the report within four weeks.

Governor Makinde made specific reference to the report of the committee on the wrongful dismissal of civil servants, noting that the Government will look into the recommendations of the committee and if they included bringing back some of the affected they would be returned to work immediately.

He said: “I want to say that we are not going to set up any further committee to review these reports but instead, we will go straight ahead to implement the recommendations, especially the committee that worked on the dismissed workers. This is because I believe that it is better for us to allow 100 guilty persons to go scot-free than to punish one innocent individual. I know you have done very well, looking at each individual and the issues that led to their getting dismissed. We will look at the report immediately and implement the recommendations.

“If you ask us to bring some of them back, we will bring them back almost immediately. So, I will set a time frame of four weeks for implementation of most of these reports.”

The Governor added that though the committee that was set up to look into the affairs of Local Government by the last administration was dragged to court, he said that his administration would soon clear the legal huddles and get to the roots of how the councils were administered.

He said: “When we came in, we actually set up these seven committees and an additional one that is meant to look into the affairs of the local government and LCDAs.

“They went to court, got an injunction through the back door saying we should not be doing the review. I have not seen it anywhere in the world where you say to people that you want to investigate an issue and they say you cannot poke your nose into what is your own business. Well, I have bad news for them. Though we will obey court orders, it’s only a matter of time. We will eventually look into the issues surrounding the local government administration.

“The time frame for us to implement these recommendations will not be more than four weeks because nations are not built on wishful thinking. We have taken hard look at some of the challenges we are faced with. Bola Ige Market, for instance, I was there during the electioneering. This is a market that was built to be an international market. The market is dirty. The car park has been turned into something else and we also have different kinds of illegal structures there. By the way, my mother also has a store there. If any store is acquired illegally, it will be brought down because nobody is above the law, not even me.

“So, we will look at what you have written and what is very clear is, we have hard decisions ahead of us. And I give you the assurance that I will take those hard decisions.”

The post Economic transformation: We’ll take hard decisions in Oyo—Makinde appeared first on Sunrise News.

A customer of the bank, High Chief Goddy Ulasi, who has banked with UBA for over 15 years, commended the bank for helping him and his business grow over the years and called on the bank to make rates more competitive to ensure that customers and businesses also benefit even more from the bank.
In response, the Group Head, Transaction and Electronic Banking, Mr. Sampson Aneke, said the customers remain the key focus of the bank, adding that the bank is in discussions with the key agents to ensure ease of transactions.
Earlier, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, who wrote a statement on the significance of continuous excellent service delivery to customers, appreciated the staff who have worked tirelessly to satisfy customers, and urged them not to rest on their oars.
“Let’s strive to put the magical touch in everything we do to create a symbolic service experience for our ‘Employer’ – the Customer!”, Uzoka said.
The theme for this year’s celebrations, “Magic Happens Here”, embodies all that the bank represents as encompassed in its Core Values – the 3EEEs: Excellence, Enterprise and Execution.
The United Bank for Africa, Africa’s global bank, was founded 70 years ago in Nigeria and today, operates in 20 African countries and in the United Kingdom, the USA and with presence in France. UBA serves over 17 million customers across the globe with more than 1000 branches and touch points. In 2018, the bank received the award of Africa’s Best Digital Bank by the Banker’s magazine

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The tuo spoke at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, as members of a panel of discussants at the Third yearly conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).

Ejiofor who pointedly urged Buhari to look inwards and resolve the crisis in his aides, adding that never had there being a time when cabals had been so bold and so visible in the running of government than in the present administration, adding that this is heating up the polity.

According to him, there can never be any meaningful economic development in a country bedeviled by insecurity.

The Guest Speaker, Dr Mathew Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diaocese had delivered a speech on the theme ‘Economy, Security And National Development: The Way Forward’.

Addressing the paper, Ejiofor pointedly said that “security is not negotiable for any nation that wants its economy to thrive.”

According to him, if there is no security, there can’t be solid foundation for economic growth and development, stressing that nobody will invest in an environment that is not secured.

He lamented that cabals have always been in charge of and usually hijacked successive governments in Nigeria. 

In his words, “The truth remains that people hijack leadership in every government because every government has its own cabal but it’s more pronounced in this government.”

Ejiofor noted that kidnapping, banditry and Boko Haram insurgents have aggravated insecurity across Nigeria, contributing to relocation of big businesses out of Nigeria hence, massive loss of jobs.

Proffering the way forward, the former DSS chief advocated good leadership, stressing that leaders must live by example.

He also enjoined the leadership to come up with deliberate polices to eradicate poverty, unemployment, injustice to aid improvement in security situation, adding “It is our collective responsibility to make Nigeria work.”

Ejiofor while congratulating GOCOP for its commitment to sanitising the online space, said the “Greatest challenge in the country is fake news” that must be fought by credible online media practitioners.

Also discussing Bishop Kukah’s presentation, Prof Akpan Ekpo, posited that there can’t be meaningful growth and economic development if there is no security.

He noted that unemployment and underemployment are major causes of insecurity.

While submitting that security issue is a function of leadership and followership, Prof Expo, who was represented by Prof Omotor, charged the government of the day to put things in proper perspective to get the security issue right.

The post Ejiofor, Ekpo to Buhari: Fix insecurity appeared first on Sunrise News.

According to the UATBIN, the various interventions the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, released to the real sector between 2014 and 2019 has failed to yield the desired results despite billions of naira spent.

The UATBIN, a not-for-profit economic rights and institution building advocacy organisation, also said it would be in the interest of the country and the economy “to appoint a new CBN Governor when the tenure of the present governor expires on June 3, 2019.”

The convener of the group, Mr. Lai Omotola expressed the views in a statement he issued on Friday, noting that “businesses have suffered the most unprecedented shutdown between 2014 and 2019.”

The statement, also, said banks “have been turned into cash centres instead of investment and commercial banks. If a vote were to be taken at the Bankers Committee, the vote will turn to be vote of no confidence on the team managing the economy of Nigeria. But such will not happen because they are scared.”

On its programmes, the statement said the CBN “has usurped the role of the banks in lending such that no bank can lend therefore access to credit is at the lowest since independence. Anchor borrower has taken the role of Bank of Agriculture and you need to know top persons at CBN before you can enjoy such credit.

“The various interventions in real sectors have not yielded the desired results. To even get access to the intervention funds you need to sit one on one with the CBN leadership. I am yet to see the sector that benefitted from the intervention funds that made significant impact in the life of an ordinary Nigerian.

“The core business of CBN like reduction of interest rate is yet to be seen. Instead, we have seen rate going high, too high for any reasonable business to survive. The inflation rate has gone up to double digits and there has not been any significant leap to the positive.

“The exchange rate has remained stable and the CBN leadership believes we should give him kudos for saving the naira at N360 to a dollar, this kind of narrative can only be in Nigeria,” the statement said.

In 2014, the statement said the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele inherited inflation rate of 8 percent; interest rate of 16.5 percent reserve of $40 billion as well as exchange rate of N164 by 2019.

The group said it “is with inflation rate 13.5 percent Interest rate of 14 percent and exchange rate of N360 and reserve of $43 billion. Emefiele should be thankful to have been retained by APC government when we know that it was the PDP government that appointed him.”

On these grounds, the statement said the time “has come for a change that will take us to the next level. This is hinged on the need to bring someone with new ideas that will take the country to the next level.

“The issue of economy was rigorously debated at the just concluded presidential election and if the truth must be said a lot of people voted for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar because they were not impressed with the state of economy. “The CBN is a central part of the economy and as such the time is ripe to bring in someone who will transform the economy within the next four years. For us to maintain the status quo at CBN is to ascribe to the adage that says it is an act of insanity to expect different result from doing the same thing.”

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