News

After PEPT ruling, Abuja natives demand for governor, senators in FCT

Published

1 year ago

September 12, 2023

After PEPT ruling, Abuja natives demand for governor, senators in FCT

The cloud formed by the ruling of the presidential election petition tribunal (PEPT) last Wednesday is still hovering precariously over our political terrain and we may not be hearing the last of the ruling and the plethora of legal conundrums it will engender anytime soon.

Recall that the tribunal had upheld the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential poll, dismissing the petitions of candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, and his Peoples Democratic Party counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

One of the grounds for challenging Tinubu’s victory was his inability to secure 25% of the votes cast in the FCT which hitherto was a requirement as enshrined in the constitution and which had been met by every president since the return to civilian rule in 1999.

However, in its ruling, the tribunal scoffed at the prayer of the petitioners regarding the FCT and averred that Abuja was not special in anyway let alone different from other states by way of political and electoral requirements.

Consequently, on heel of the Tribunal ruling, the natives of Abuja are demanding that the FCT should be showered with the same political and economic benefits that accrue to other states of the federation as, according to the tribunal, they are just like them.

To formalise their demands and grievances, the natives will be filing a motion seeking to stop former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike from parading as the minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

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Daniel Bwala, a legal practitioner and spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign during the 2023 presidential election, made the disclosure on Monday.

Bwala said that the natives decided to embark on the suit following the ruling from the Presidential Election Petition Court’s judgment stating that Abuja is like any other state.

The natives will, according to Bwala, approach the court for an order mandating the Federal Government to allow them to produce their governor and three senators.

Writing via his X account, Bwala opined that such a move would enrich the country’s jurisprudence.

According to him, “Following the Presidential Election Petition Court’s judgment which states to the effect that Abuja is just like any other state; I am hearing that the natives of Abuja are approaching the court for an order mandating FGN to let them produce their Governor and 3 Senators amongst other peculiarities of a state.

“I am also hearing that Abuja natives are going to file a motion on notice seeking the order of court restraining Wike from parading himself as a minister of FCT pending the hearing and determination of the suit. That they would also seek for a temporary order directing the chairman of Abuja municipal to administer the FCT as an administrator pending the hearing and determination of the case. Wow this will enrich our jurisprudence ohh. After all when Lagos was Nigeria’s capital, Lagos was also a state.FCT natives have been begging for a mayoral status; who knows God may have answered their prayers by giving them a state status.The constitution would now be required to be amended to be consistent with the judgment of the court.”

After PEPT ruling, Abuja natives demand for governor, senators in FCT

News

Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

Published

20 hours ago

January 3, 2025

Trends Admin

Peter Obi and Felix Morka

Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

One-time Anambra State Governor Peter Obi came under a scathing criticism yesterday from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over his assessment of the security and economic situation of the country.

At a news conference, Obi disagreed with the claims of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his New Year Day address which chronicled the feats attained by the APC-led administration.

Obi alleged that the political, economic and security situations in the country have worsened under the incumbent administration.

But the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka carpeted Obi, describing his assessment as jaundiced, misleading and an attempt to score cheap political points.

In a statement, Morka put a lie to Obi’s claims.

He noted that Obi’s assessment was at variance with all indicators that showed that the nation’s economy is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors.

Dismissing Obi’s claims, Morka said: “While Nigerians celebrated the New Year with hope for a more glorious 2025, Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, was seemingly stuck in replay of his jangling, gloom-ridden wish-list for our country.

“Obi’s new year message, in which he claimed that the political, economic and security situation of our dear country is worsening daily, is misleading and appears intended to score cheap political points.

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“This claim, at a time when all indicators show that our country is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors, casts Obi, squarely, as Nigeria’s leading doomsayer.”

Morka, who reeled out the achievements of the APC-led administration, said: “In reality, 18 months later, the economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, has showed steady record of progress.”

He listed the landmarks as:

The ruling party further argued: “Despite these and other initial beneficial outcomes of ongoing unprecedented reforms, the administration is doubling its effort to ensuring that the reforms deliver their fullest benefits for the sustainable growth and transformation of our country.”

The ruling party said that the Presidential New Year message acknowledged that the “cost of food and essential drugs remained a significant concern for many Nigerian households. And to reverse this trend, Mr. President assured that his administration was committed to lowering food prices by boosting food production and promoting local production of drugs.”

The party also highlighted Tinubu’s resolve to crash the current inflation rate from 34 per cent to 15 per cent in the course of this fiscal year as a move to addressing the threat inflation poses to the country’s economy.

The statement further reads: “With the vigour in the administration’s war on corruption, evidenced by ongoing investigations and trial of well-heeled Nigerians, Obi’s pontification on the urgent need to tame corruption is a clear case of carrying coal to Newcastle.”

Faulting Obi, the party said: “It is a thing of irony that Peter Obi, who now arrogates to himself to be omniscient and philosopher’s stone, when it comes to our nation’s challenges, left no record of significant achievement, let alone transformation of any kind, in his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra State.

“Like his co-travellers in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obi’s obsessive pessimism and endless but futile effort to incite public outrage against the administration is borne out of their realisation that President Tinubu is unwittingly cementing their ultimate political irrelevance by his visionary and full-throttle reform and transformation of the fundamental pillars of our national life.”

Appealing for citizens’ support and patience, the APC spokesman assured Nigerians that “under the banner of the Renewed Hope Agenda (RHA), President Tinubu is dutifully turning our nation’s fortunes around.

Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

News

Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

Published

4 days ago

December 31, 2024

Trends Admin

Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

Currency in circulation has reached an all-time high of N4.8 trillion as of November 2024, recording over seven per cent increase from the previous month.

Also, currency outside banks grew significantly in the same month hitting an all-time high of N4.6 trillion from the N4.2 trillion in the month of October.

These figures were contained in the money and credit supply data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The currency in circulation is the amount of cash–in the form of paper notes or coins–within a country that is physically used to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses.

It represents the money that has been issued by the country’s monetary authority, minus cash that has been removed from the system.

Similarly, currency outside a bank refers to cash held by individuals, businesses and other entities that is not stored in banks.

The currency outside the bank represents about 96 per cent of the currency in circulation.

Nigerians have in recent times been facing acute cash shortage with banks limiting daily withdrawal at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to N20,000 irrespective of the number of accounts held by an account owner.

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According to the latest data, the currency in circulation grew by seven per cent to reach 4,878,125.22 from 4,549,217.51 in October.

Currency in circulation has grown steadily in the outgoing year 2024 with over one trillion naira added to cash in circulation after starting the year with N3.65 trillion in January.

In February, the currency in circulation slightly increased to N3.69 trillion representing an increase of N43 billion or 1.18 per cent from the January figure.

March also saw an appreciable increase to N3.87 trillion while it further increased to N3.92 trillion in the following month of April.

The growth trajectory continued in May with the currency in circulation increasing slightly to N3.97 trillion, an increase of N42 billion or 1.07 per cent while it reached an all-time high of 4.04 trillion, an increase of 2.11 per cent from May.

The July figure also rose marginally with the currency in circulation settling for N4.05 trillion before growing to N4.14 trillion in August and N4.43 trillion in September and N4.5 trillion in October.

In the same vein, currency outside banks grew from N4.2 trillion in October to N4.6 trillion in November, showing increasing preference for other means of storing outside bank deposits.

Economist, Dr. Paul Alaje attributed the development to the expanding money supply, adding, “Money supply is expanding but this may not necessarily be in cash. As it is expanding, it will necessarily induce inflation. But you can’t blame the people. People must look for money. How much was bottled water last year, how much is it today? All of this will induce inflation. If you now ask, what is the cause of inflation? Is it money supply itself or a devaluation policy? It is a devaluation policy. Money supply is an offshoot. So the Central Bank is raising interest rates to actually reduce money supply but the more they try the more money supply expands.”

He stated that the floatation policy of the CBN has created inflation, adding, “It is like chasing one’s tail and I don’t know if you are going to catch it.”

Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

News

Tinubu not telling Nigerians the truth, says Sule Lamido

Published

6 days ago

December 29, 2024

Trends Admin

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Tinubu not telling Nigerians the truth, says Sule Lamido

President Bola Tinubu has been accused of not being forthright about the true state of Nigeria under his administration.

Former Jigawa State Governor and senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, Sule Lamido, made the accusation while speaking on the BBC Hausa programme Gane Mini Hanya.

Lamido criticized both Tinubu and former President Muhammadu Buhari for what he described as a lack of transparency in governance.

“Buhari’s and Tinubu’s governments are not being transparent with Nigerians unlike during the time when PDP was in power where everything was transparent and open to all Nigerians,” Lamido said.

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He accused the two administrations of relying on propaganda rather than providing citizens with accurate information.

Lamido also expressed concerns over President Tinubu’s recent loan requests, questioning the logic behind them. “If Nigerians are being told the truth then there is nothing wrong with that, but how would you budget N30tn, generate N50tn and then request loan when you have a surplus of N20tn,” he said, referencing last year’s budget.

He described the situation as “reckless” and “selfish,” adding, “This recklessness and clear-cut selfishness is not done anywhere in the world, but yet you find (some) Nigerians supporting it. Visit social media and see how APC is being criticised, being referred to as calamity, yet you find some protecting it.”