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Pregnant woman dies in Kaduna over naira scarcity

Published

2 years ago

February 13, 2023

A pregnant woman

A heavily pregnant woman in Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, lost her life due to the unavailability of the new naira notes in banks.

James Auta, the deceased’s husband, said his wife was rejected by the hospital when he could not make the payment due to failure to access cash in his bank and Point of Sale (POS) channels.

The incident happened early this month after Auta’s wife went into labour but was rejected, simply because her husband couldn’t make a payment due to naira scarcity.

It was gathered that the woman died at home after giving birth but continued to bleed. The incident caused concerns across the state as patients and their family members found it difficult to make payments to access treatments due to the naira shortage.

Daily Trust reports that the extended deadline to phase out the old notes was Friday, 10 February. However, the Supreme Court gave an order restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from enforcing the deadline for the phasing out of the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, pending the hearing of a lawsuit brought by three northern states challenging the new currency redesign. It adjourned that hearing until 15 February.

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The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, is challenging that interim ruling by the Supreme Court and the central bank has not spoken on how it intends to comply with the ruling, thus leaving Nigerians confused.

President Muhammadu Buhari held an emergency meeting of the National Council of State on Friday to discuss crucial issues affecting the country including the currency crisis. However, Mr Buhari has not taken a decision on the cash crunch.

Parts of Nigeria have descended into chaos as frustrated Nigerians besieged ATM units in a bid to access their own money.

Violent protests have been recorded in parts of the country, including in Ogun, Oyo and Akwa Ibom in the country’s south, and social media is awash with lamentations of suffering Nigerians, who are not able to access their funds for transactions.

Meanwhile, the CBN has said that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPMC), has the capacity and enough materials to produce the required indent of the naira notes.

The apex bank also said that it was working to increase the circulation of the new notes across the country

The apex bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwasinobi, in a statement dated Friday but released on Saturday, said such reports about the Mint’s capacity to print the required banknotes that were credited to the governor of the bank, Godwin Emefiele, were not true as he was misquoted.

A medium had quoted Emefiele as admitting that the Mint did not have enough materials to print the new notes and that accounted for the current scarcity.

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“The Mint has run out of papers to print N500 and 1,000 notes. They have placed orders with a German firm and De La Rue of the UK (for papers) but they have been placed on a long waiting list, so their orders cannot be met now.

“The Mint had received CBN’s request to print 70million copies of the new notes, totalling N126billion to be pumped into circulation by today (yesterday), The Mint doesn’t have the capacity,” the CBN governor was quoted as saying.

But, Nwasinobi said at no time did the CBN governor make such a statement during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday.

He said, “For the records, what Mr Emefiele told the meeting was that the NSPMC was working on printing all denominations of the naira to meet the transaction needs of Nigerians.

“While the CBN appreciates the concerns shown by all stakeholders about the distribution of the naira, we are alarmed at the extent to which vested interests are attempting to manipulate facts and pit the public against the bank.”

Nwasinobi also said the CBN remained committed to performing its monetary policy functions as stipulated in the CBN Act, 2007 (as amended).

He added, “We also wish to restate that the NSPMC has the capacity and enough materials to produce the required indent of the naira.

“The bank, therefore, wishes to appeal to the public to disregard the said reports and exercise more restraint, even as we work assiduously to increase the circulation of the new notes in the country.”

On a particular voice note trending on social media alleging that the CBN planned to shut down some banks, particularly in a geopolitical region of the country, the CBN director said there was no such plan and that the claims were illogical and did not comply with the workings of the banking system.

Related Topics:Naira Scarcity pregnant woman

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INEC notifies Natasha, Senate of recall petition

Published

6 hours ago

March 27, 2025

Trends Admin

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

INEC notifies Natasha, Senate of recall petition

Suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan yesterday got a memo from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It is a notification to her of the receipt of petition from voters in her Constituency demanding her recall.

The same notification was sent by the electoral agency to the leadership of the Senate.

The Commission also unfolded plans to scrutinise the signatures of the petitioners to ascertain their authenticity.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, confirmed in a statement that the addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of representatives of the petitioners, which were initially not attached, had been submitted to the commission.

On Tuesday, the Commission had picked holes in the petition, pointing out that it failed to meet the standard because the addresses and phone numbers of the petitioners’ representatives were not provided as required by law.

Exuding confidence after INEC’s confirmation that that aspect of recall requirements had been met, the petitioners said the recall request was meant to correct what they described as the error of wrong choice.

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Olumekun said: “Further to the statement issued yesterday, Tuesday 25th March 2025, the Commission hereby confirms that the contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses have now been provided in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission, dated today Wednesday 26th March 2025.

“As provided in Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the Senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address.

“The same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the Commission’s website.

“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the Constituency.

“This will be done in the coming days. The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission. We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent.”

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, is serving a six-month suspension for misconduct and abuse of the Senate rules after her seat was changed.

She went ahead to make allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

On Wednesday, Zubairu Yakubu, who wrote the petition, accompanied by former Education Minister Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions sitting to defend the allegations.

However, the Committee threw out her petition, saying that the matter was already a subject of litigation.

During the meeting, Dr Ezekwesili and Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi (Ebonyi North) clashed, exchanging hot words.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has been junketing between the United States and Europe, granting interview against Senate president.

INEC notifies Natasha, Senate of recall petition

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FG declares public holidays for Eid-el-Fitr

Published

6 hours ago

March 27, 2025

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Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo

FG declares public holidays for Eid-el-Fitr

The Federal Government has declared Monday, March 31, and Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as public holidays in celebration of Eid-el-Fitr.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on behalf of the government.

He urged Muslims across the country to use the period for prayers, reflection, and acts of kindness, emphasizing the importance of peace, unity, and national development.

In a statement on Wednesday by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Magdalene Ajani, the minister congratulated Muslims on the successful completion of the Ramadan fast, highlighting the significance of the holy month in fostering self-discipline, compassion, and spiritual renewal.

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Tunji-Ojo called on all Muslims to continue embodying the virtues of love, generosity, and peace, emphasising the need for national unity and religious harmony.

He also urged Nigerians to use the festive period to pray for the country’s peace, stability, and prosperity.

“As we celebrate Eid-el-Fitr, let us reflect on the lessons of Ramadan, embrace one another with love and forgiveness, and work together to build a more united and prosperous Nigeria,” the minister stated.

He further encouraged citizens to celebrate safely and responsibly, while extending acts of kindness to the less privileged, in line with the values of Ramadan and Eid.

On behalf of the Federal Government, Tunji-Ojo wished all Muslim faithful a joyous Eid Mubarak and prayed that the blessings of the season bring happiness and fulfilment to everyone.