India formally handed over the G20 presidency to Brazil at the closing ceremony of the annual summit of the grouping, that was held in New Delhi this weekend.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed the transition by handing over the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
India has had the presidency of the G20 since Dec. 1, when it took over from Indonesia, and will continue to hold the position until Nov. 30.
During the two-day summit, the bloc adopted a consensus declaration that made commitments on several issues, including food and energy security, climate change, and global debt vulnerabilities.
Modi, on Sunday, also proposed a “virtual summit” of the grouping at the end of November to assess the status of the suggestions and proposals put forth by members and determine “how their progress can be accelerated”.
“In that session, we can review the topics decided during this summit,” Modi said, adding that details would be shared with members.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has kept mum on the reported arrest of the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in charge of Financial System Stability, Aisha Ahmad.
The media has been awash on Sunday with reports that the secret police apprehended Ahmad over her alleged involvement in the acquisition of shares in Polaris Bank, Titan Bank/Union Bank.
It was gathered that the banker is being quizzed on how $300 million meant to complete the acquisition of Union Bank was raised by Titan Bank.
Although the details of the arrest are still sketchy, the secret police and the apex bank have not reacted to the reports.
According to reports on Channels Television on Sunday, when contacted, DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, said that he cannot confirm or deny that Ahmad is in their custody or has been invited for questioning.
He stated that in the course of any investigation, people can be invited for questioning and those invitations are carried out within the ambit of the law.
This is coming about two months after the secret service arrested Ahmad’s former boss at the CBN, Godwin Emefiele.
He has been in the DSS custody since then.
Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was first charged with possession of a firearm but was later charged with N6.9 billion fraud.
The Kaduna State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has reported a significant operation resulting in the seizure of 685.179 kg of illicit drugs and the dismantling of 13 illicit drug joints within Kaduna.
Mr. Ibrahim Braji, the NDLEA State Commander, revealed on Sunday that these operations took place during the month of August.
During this period, law enforcement authorities apprehended a total of 86 suspects, consisting of 83 males and three females.
The confiscated drugs included 650.690 kg of Indian Hemp, 0.004 kg of Cocaine, 0.003 kg of Heroin, 0.197 kg of Methamphetamine, 9.336 kg of Tramadol, and 24.949 kg of Psychotropic substances.
Braji specified that the 13 illicit drug outlets were located in various areas, including Tirkaniya, Kantin Kwari garage, Badarawa, Filin Minister, Mangarori, Kafanchan, Unguwar Gimbiya, Kauru, Birnin Yero, Narayi, Unguwar Gwari, Hayin Na’iya, and Hayin Dan Mani.
In addition to the drug seizures, the NDLEA operatives also recovered 100 rounds of live ammunition, live bullets, one pistol marked 73.1×19, one locally made pistol, and 448 rounds of live ammunition of 7.69mm.
Commander Braji emphasized that the fight against illicit drugs and drug consumption is a collective responsibility and urged the public to support their efforts in addressing this pressing issue.
He encouraged individuals to provide timely information to enable proactive measures against drug-related offenses.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu (left) with the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the ongoing G-20 Summit in India
The Indian community in Nigeria has expressed its appreciation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending an invitation to President Bola Tinubu to participate in the ongoing G-20 Summit in New Delhi, India.
Mr. Sanjay Srivastava, President of the Afro Asian Community Development (AACD), conveyed this sentiment in a statement. He also commended the efforts of Mr. Pravin Kumar, General Secretary of AACD, for attending the crucial meeting.
Srivastava, who also holds the position of President of the People of Indian Origin Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Nigeria, praised Modi for including the African Union as a permanent member of the G-20.
He considered this a significant step in the right direction, as it would empower Africans to offer lasting solutions to global economic challenges.
In his view, this move would promote inclusivity and establish a fair and impartial global order, a concept highlighted by President Tinubu.
Srivastava stated, “Considering that South Africa is currently the only African member of the group of the world’s 20 most industrialized nations, Nigeria’s inclusion will be highly beneficial. For us, Indians living in Nigeria, this is a welcome development as it will allow Nigerians and all other G-20 nations to share a promising future. This will enable Nigerians to play a vital role in contributing to shaping a more equitable world.”
The invitation to President Tinubu for the G-20 Summit is seen as a positive step towards fostering international cooperation and inclusive global governance.
As the G20 summit in India enters its final day today (Sunday), there are no major expectations for groundbreaking resolutions.
The group of 20 leading developed and emerging economies has been engaged in diplomatic talks throughout the summit, but no significant joint decisions are anticipated.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to pay a visit to the memorial site of Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent Indian freedom fighter, in New Delhi in the morning.
The concluding day of the two-day summit will feature the third working session of the roundtable, themed “One Future.” The focus of this session will be on discussing practical approaches to address issues such as reforms of development banks and international financial organizations.
Following challenging negotiations, G20 leaders reached a compromise on Saturday, culminating in an agreement on a joint summit declaration.
The initial difficulty stemmed from a struggle to find sufficient consensus to issue a traditional summit declaration outlining policy concerns and the forum’s direction.
Ultimately, the declaration included softer wording regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine, which allowed the document to be finalized.
Unlike the previous G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where a “complete and unconditional withdrawal” from Ukraine was demanded of Russia, this year’s declaration did not explicitly condemn Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
Instead, the document emphasized the importance of all states refraining from attacks on the territorial integrity or political independence of other nations. It also indirectly criticized Russia’s nuclear weapons threats.
While some diplomats view this wording as a compromise on the lowest common denominator, it prevented the summit from collapsing. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the final wording related to Ukraine in the joint declaration as a success.
The Minister of Works, Chief David Umahi, has decried the poor state of federal roads in the South-East geo-political zone, especially in Anambra and Ebonyi states.
Umahi made his feelings known during a courtesy call on the Anambra Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, on Saturday night in Awka.
The Minister said Anambra and Ebonyi were competing for the worst in terms of poor federal road projects in the country.
He said that he had recently visited Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states before coming to Anambra, saying that the situation is the same on the state of federal roads.
Umahi, who before meeting Soludo had inspected the Enugu-bound lane of the Onitsha/Enugu Expressway, passed a vote of no confidence on the consultants supervising the reconstruction of the road.
He regretted that the handlers of the very busy road were exposing road users to untold hardship.
“I am a bit disappointed with the state of Enugu/Onitsha expressway; I have called both the contractors and consultants to a meeting this evening with the Governor.
“I have equally passed a vote of no confidence on the consultants,” he said.
He directed the firm to immediately rehabilitate the bad spots, which have caused vehicles to fall and other sundry hiccups on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway.
The Minister said he was personally concerned due to a series of calls and complaints coming from the same road.
“While MTN Nigeria says they have 100 per cent funding, the chairman of RCC construction firm, will say the opposite, complaining of funding problem.
“We will all meet and sort out these problems because we cannot have one or two contractors doing 200 kilometers of road for seven years,” he said.
Umahi, who noted that states in the South-East geo-political zone were not fairly treated on MTN Nigeria Tax Credit decision, said he was confident that Mr President would look into the matter in due course.
“Yes, Enugu and Abia states benefitted, but that cannot be compared with other zones which got on the MTN Nigeria Tax Credit sharing formula.
“I know as a man of justice and equity, President Bola Tinubu will look into the matter because development thrives on fairness and equity,” he said.
Responding, Governor Soludo said he was overwhelmed when President Tinubu appointed Umahi his minister of works.
“Umahi’s appointment is a prayer answered for me because it is like a perfect round peg in a round hole,” he said.
He regretted that the entire federal roads in Anambra were all bad, adding that urgent actions were needed to reduce the sufferings facing road users on the roads.
Soludo who appealed to the minister to replicate what he did on road construction in Ebonyi across the country, advocated for what he tagged mega-budget for road projects.
According to him, the initiative would encourage the National Assembly to make adequate budgetary provisions for road projects which have lasted more than four years.
He said when this is done, government would no longer required to talk about budgetary allocation on existing roads yearly, but would be spending on already approved fund to end problem of poor funding,” he said.
Before the courtesy visit, Umahi visited Enugu/Onitsha Expressway, Oye-Oranto Ukpo Road in Dunukofia, and Otuocha-Iheaka-Ibaji Roads.
In a bid to reinforce the ban on commercial motorcycles, commonly known as “Okada,” within the city centre of Abuja, the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) recently conducted an operation to impound and crush 400 illegally operating motorcycles.
This move, according to Mrs. Deborah Osho, the Head of Operations at DRTS, was in strict compliance with the provisions of the law.
According to her, the ban on Okada operations within the city centre of Abuja has been in effect since 2006, as directed by the Federal Capital Territory Road Transport Regulation of 2005.
This regulation designates specific areas where Okada riders are permitted to operate, excluding the city center districts, including Wuse, Central Business District, Maitama, Asokoro, and others.
“The enforcement of this ban became necessary due to several concerns. Okada operators had been associated with security threats, quick getaways from crime scenes, kidnappings, snatching valuables, mobile phone theft, and a rising number of accidents within the city.
“Therefore, the decision to crush impounded Okada motorcycles aligns with the law, which provides for such action against motorcycles seized for constituting security threats or those impounded with a court forfeiture order.
“Despite prior sensitization and awareness campaigns conducted even before the ban in 2006, Okada operators within the city centre continued to defy the regulations. Authorities have also held meetings with Okada leadership to emphasize the ban and its consequences for non-compliance,” Osho explained in an interview.
She said that to strengthen the enforcement of the ban and address issues of alleged corruption in the seizure process, the FCTA amended the ban to include the forfeiture of impounded commercial motorcycles to the government.
“This approach aims to prevent officials from collecting bribes and releasing the motorcycles back onto the streets. Instead, the impounded motorcycles would be crushed and sold to recycling companies, with the proceeds deposited into a government account.
“The decision to crush impounded Okada motorcycles reflects the government’s commitment to upholding the law, ensuring public safety, and minimizing security threats within the city centre. It also serves as a deterrent to both operators and potential buyers of these impounded motorcycles,” she explained further.
She concluded by saying that the recent operation to impound and crush illegal commercial motorcycles in Abuja’s city centre is a clear demonstration of the FCTA’s determination to enforce the ban on Okada operations in designated areas.
*Orders formation of loan recovery taskforce nationwide
Experts have argued that the ABP initiative failed to achieve the desired result due to improper management by the Federal Government and the CBN.
In the wake of the Federal Government’s recent threat to recover loans issued to Nigerians during the previous administration, the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has taken swift action by issuing a directive to its members nationwide to reclaim loans disbursed to farmers during the 2018-2021 cropping seasons under the Anchor Borrowers’ Program (ABP).
At inception in late 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had said the programme thrust of the ABP is the provision of farm inputs in kind and cash (for farm labour) to smallholder farmers to boost production of these commodities, stabilise inputs supply to agro-processors and address the country’s negative balance of payments on food.
By 2022, at least 4.8 million people had benefitted from the Anchor Borrowers Programme, authorities said at the unveiling of stacked paddy rice pyramids produced by rice farmers under the ABP initiative.
While some beneficiaries have cited insecurity, flooding, climate change and crop failure as reasons for their inability to repay the loans, government officials have said that while the farmers’ reasons are somewhat valid, many of the farmers saw the loans as ‘their share of the national cake’ which do not need to be repaid.
But the programme has been marred by loan default, even as food prices rose significantly within the years it took effect.
There are also reports that several farmers collected the loan to travel to Hajj or married additional wives from the proceeds of the Anchor Borrowers Programme. This, among other reasons, is why authorities resolved to take legal action.
“We find it very difficult to recover this loan,” Sahabi Augie, the immediate past Chairman of the Kebbi State chapter of the Rice Farmer Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), had said.
In a recent report on Nigeria, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that only 24% of loans under the ABP had been repaid.
The CBN, however, disagreed with the IMF, saying N503 billion of loans under the ABP had been repaid. This figure represents 52.39% of the total loans collected by farmers under the programme, according to the bank.
But a recent statement from CBN’s corporate communications department restated that only 48 per cent of the loan has not been repaid. The CBN said it released N1.079 trillion under the programme, out of which over N500 billion is due for repayment.
Interestingly, the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN) seemed to tilt towards the IMF when, in December 2022, it said the CBN was having difficulties recovering the loans because most beneficiaries of the ABP were not Nigerian farmers.
Experts believe the failure of farmers who benefitted from the ABP to repay more than N500 billion extended to them by the CBN underscores a weakness in the initiative.
However, the critical decision to set up a taskforce and recover the loans by all means is following a high-level executive meeting between RIFAN and the Department of State Security (DSS) on August 29, 2023.
During the meeting, the recovery of loans issued to rice farmers between 2018 and 2021 was discussed extensively, leading to the issuance of a directive by RIFAN’s top leadership.
In the confidential memo addressed to RIFAN members, which was leaked to the NIGERIAN ANCHOR, Aminu Mohammed Goronyo, the National President of RIFAN, and Chief Livinus Ngwangwa, the National Secretary, provided detailed instructions on how the loan recovery process should proceed:
“Immediate Loan Recovery: All loans disbursed to beneficiary farmers from 2018 to the present date must be swiftly and effectively recovered. Farmers are given the flexibility to repay in either cash or paddy.
“Loan Repayment Account: Beneficiary farmers are required to channel their loan repayments to the designated loan recovery account: Account Name: RIFAN 2020/2021 Wet Season; Account Number: 0054122612; Bank: Unity Bank PLC.
“Documentation: Farmers are mandated to ensure that copies of their loan repayment records are sent promptly to RIFAN Headquarters. This documentation process is essential for maintaining accurate records.
“Recovery Task Force: RIFAN state chapters have been instructed to establish a dedicated recovery task force without delay. These task forces will work in close collaboration with law enforcement agencies, including the police, Department of State Security (DSS), Nigerian Civil Defense, and local traditional rulers, to oversee and facilitate the loan recovery process,” the memo instructed.
Beneficiary farmers were encouraged to fully cooperate with their respective RIFAN state chapters to facilitate the successful recovery of loans in adherence to the provided directives.
For additional information and updates, beneficiaries are advised to contact their local RIFAN chapter or visit the RIFAN website.
The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) is a prominent agricultural organization dedicated to supporting and advancing rice farming in Nigeria.
RIFAN plays a pivotal role in facilitating the Anchor Borrowers’ Program (ABP) to empower rice farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria.
The United Nations has said that the world is not on target to curb global warming, insisting that more action is needed from all stakeholders.
According to the Global Stocktake report, “The Paris Agreement has driven near-universal climate action by setting goals and sending signals to the world regarding the urgency of responding to the climate crisis,” it said. “While action is proceeding, much more is needed now on all fronts.”
The report, culminating a two-year evaluation of the 2015 Paris climate agreement goals, distils thousands of submissions from experts, governments and campaigners and will lay the groundwork for the global stock-take discussion at COP28.
Nearly 200 countries agreed in 2015 in Paris to limit warming to no more than 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to strive to keep the increase to 1.5 C.
While each country is responsible for deciding its own climate actions, they also agreed to submit to a progress report by 2023 to see what more should be done.
Some of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries expect the report to spur action from global leaders.
The U.N. said existing national pledges to cut emissions were insufficient to keep temperatures within the 1.5 C threshold. More than 20 gigatonnes of further CO2 reductions were needed this decade – and global net zero by 2050 – in order to meet the goals, the U.N. assessment said.
“With leaders gathering this month for the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit ahead of COP28, the findings and recommendations of this Report need to be a wake-up call and a trigger for cogent commitments,” chair of Association of Small Island States, Pa’olelei Luteru said.
The report urged countries to cut the use of “unabated” coal power by 67-92% by 2030 versus 2019 levels and to virtually eliminate it as a source of electricity by 2050.
Low and zero-carbon electricity should account for as much as 99% of the global total by mid-century, while technological challenges holding back carbon capture must be resolved.
The report also called for funding to be unlocked to support low-carbon development, noting that billions of dollars were still being invested in fossil fuels.
“It serves up a bold to-do list for governments to limit warming to 1.5C and protect people everywhere from climate devastation,” said Tom Evans, policy advisor on climate diplomacy at British climate think tank E3G.
Commitment is needed to phase out fossil fuels, set 2030 targets for renewable energy expansion, ensure the financial system funds climate action, and raise funds for adaptation and damage, he said.
“Anything less will fall short on the necessary steps laid out in this report.”
In a bid to enhance the state of road infrastructure in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the FCT, is gearing up to kickstart an extensive road rehabilitation and bridge repair project. The official launch is scheduled for Monday.
Anthony Ogunleye, the Ministry’s Director of Press, made the announcement in a statement released on Saturday, emphasizing the significance of this initiative in improving the FCT’s road network.
The comprehensive resurfacing project will target 135 roads across prominent districts such as Garki, Wuse, Gwarimpa, and Maitama. This endeavor is poised to breathe new life into these roads, ensuring their durability and improved functionality.
The official flag-off ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. along Ladoke Akintola Boulevard in Garki II, Abuja. This marks a pivotal moment as it signifies Minister Wike’s commitment to driving rapid infrastructure development within the nation’s capital.
With this initiative, Nyesom Wike aims to set a promising precedent for significant infrastructure improvements and a brighter future for the FCT’s transportation network.
