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UK govt. awaiting ministers’ appointment to strengthen collaboration with Nigeria – Envoy
UK govt. awaiting ministers’ appointment to strengthen collaboration with Nigeria – Envoy
British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery says the UK is awaiting the appointment of new ministers so it can take the necessary steps toward strengthening collaboration with Nigeria.
Montgomery said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, his first media outing since he assumed duty in Nigeria in May.
The new high commissioner took over leadership of the UK mission in Nigeria from Catriona Laing, who is now serving as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia.
The new British envoy said with new administrations in both countries a more systematic dialogue “is key to strengthening relations and exploring new areas to build upon for mutual benefits”.
Montgomery identified six areas in which both countries could strengthen cooperation.
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“We have very long-standing ties being wired by history and we do have a very strong foundation on which to build and I am very optimistic about Nigeria’s direction in the coming years.
“We wish to build on our economic relations in particular and the first decisions by the new administration show that it is going to take big decisions on the economy which I think will give us the opportunity to grow our trade, investment, and economic relations.
“And I think there are a number of areas where the UK government can step up our diplomacy, our bilateral relations with Nigeria.
“But of course, we await the appointment of new ministers so that we can have the diplomatic dialogue necessary to lay the grounds for some of those.
“I will say that there are six areas we would like to explore. The first is, long-standing development cooperation.
“And I think what the UK always needs to do when a new administration comes into place is, we need to understand the priorities of that administration and how we can adapt and work in mutual partnership and with our development programmes.
“The second is economic area. We already have a good economic dialogue but we would like to take the next step and develop a form of a more enhanced trade and partnership – something I am quite keen to discuss with the new minister of trade and industry.
“The third area is security and defence, which we would like to evolve and take forward.
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“We already have a good relationship on home affairs, with your interior ministry and other agencies, and that is an area where we would like to continue our collaborations.
“Finally, we would like to have a more systematic dialogue on foreign policy.
“Nigeria has played a very valuable role in regional and continental issues and the UK would like to have a more systematic foreign policy dialogue with the government of Nigeria once the ministers and advisers are in place,” Montgomery said.
The high commissioner said good diplomacy “is about understanding the perspectives, interests, and views of the host country and so, everything would be caveated to the dialogue with the administration.”
He expressed optimism about greater collaborations between both countries “having had successful separate meetings with President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume.”
The British envoy expressed the desire for ensuring a productive relationship between both countries.
“So, we would also work with agencies like the British Council, with higher education bodies in the UK, with diaspora business groups, and with our chambers of commerce.
“We want to make sure we keep those relationships productive,” Montgemory said.
UK govt. awaiting ministers’ appointment to strengthen collaboration with Nigeria – Envoy
(NAN)
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NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced a significant increase in the maximum deposit insurance coverage levels for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions, effective immediately.
During a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan disclosed, “For Deposit Money Banks, the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98% of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20%. In terms of the value of deposit covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37% compared with the current cover of 6.31% of the total value of deposits.”
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Hassan further explained, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for primary mortgage banks from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.99% of the total number of depositors and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 43.10% of the total value deposits from the current cover of 40.60%.”
Additionally, Hassan noted, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for subscribers of Mobile Money Operators from N500,000 to N5,000,000 per subscriber.”
NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
News
Drama as Delta workers boo Gov Oborevwori over minimum wage
Drama as Delta workers boo Gov Oborevwori over minimum wage
Delta State workers expressed their disappointment with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on Wednesday as he failed to address the issue of minimum wage during the 2024 May Day celebration in Asaba, themed “People First.”
Anticipating news on the minimum wage, the workers were disheartened when the Governor concluded his speech without mentioning it, prompting them to chant, “no, no, no, we no gree, pay us our minimum wage.”
Despite the interruption, Oborevwori stood firm, stating, “Listen to me, listen to me, calm down, calm down, you cannot cajole me.”
The celebration, which included a march past by various affiliate unions, turned sour due to the workers’ dissatisfaction with the governor’s silence on the wage issue.
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According to a union leader, previous attempts to address the matter with the Governor proved futile.
In response, Governor Oborevwori announced plans to establish a committee to address the workers’ demand for salary increases amidst prevailing economic challenges. He praised the workers for their support and assured them of his administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare.
“I have listened attentively to your requests, and I have taken note of them; they are, no doubt, legitimate demands and as a responsible government, I will deliberate with my team on how best to address them within the limits of the resources available to us,” he affirmed.
In a statement delivered by Comrade Goodluck Ofobruku, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, he emphasized the importance of politicians keeping their promises, stating, “We want promise keeper politicians because, as workers, we keep records of promises.”
Drama as Delta workers boo Gov Oborevwori over minimum wage
News
Two million bank accounts closed over BVN, NIN, others
Two million bank accounts closed over BVN, NIN, others
Commercial banks in Nigeria closed 2.021 million bank accounts in the first quarter of 2024, Q1’24, to clean their books of questionable accounts and comply with regulatory orders on the linkage of bank accounts to the National Identity Number, NIN.
This is contained in a report by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, NIBSS, which also indicated that the number of inactive bank accounts grew month-on-month, MoM, by four million or 2.0 per cent to 19.7 million in March 2024 from 19.3 million in the previous month, February.
A bank account is classified inactive when it records zero transactions including deposits, withdrawals, transfers or point-of-sale transactions for six months.
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However, details of the “Industry Bank Account Database”, a monthly data reported by banks, and compiled by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, NIBSS, also indicated that the number of active bank accounts grew by 6.62 million or 3.0 per cent to 219.64 million from 213.02 million in February.
Recall that in December 2023, the CBN issued a directive to all commercial banks in the country to restrict tier-1 accounts without proper Biometric Verification Number, BVN, and National Identity Number, NIN, that are not linked by Thursday, March 1st, 2024.
According to NIBSS data on BVN enrollment count, 61.6 million Nigerians have BVN as of April 2024.
Two million bank accounts closed over BVN, NIN, others
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