Category: News

  • BREAKING: Court frees Binance executives Gambaryan, Anjarwalla

    BREAKING: Court frees Binance executives Gambaryan, Anjarwalla

    The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has discharged Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old American, and fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla over alleged tax evasion.

    The duo, both executives of cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance, were dragged to court by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over alleged tax evasion.

    The court made the decision following fresh amended charges filed by the FIRS in view of a notice from Binance about its appointment of a Nigerian representative, Ayodele Omotilewa. 

    Recall that Gambaryan and fleeing Anjarwalla are facing a four-count charge by the Nigerian government brought before the court, a case now before Emeka Nwite, the trial judge.

    Even though Binance had no legal representation in court, Gambaryan took to the dock to have the charges read to him.

    But his counsel, Chukwuka Ikwazuonu, notified the court that his client had not been served with the charge, stating it was rather too hasty to have him take to the dock without knowing what his client is about to be tried for.

    The prosecutor from the FIRS, Moses Ideho, informed the judge that service of the charge hadn’t been possible due to lack of access to the defendant in custody. 

    This prompted the Court to order service of the charge on the defendant in open court. And following this, the judge adjourned till 19 April for arraignment of Gambaryan. 

    In the second case by the anti-graft agency, the EFCC, through its counsel E.E. Iheanacho informed the Court that he had served Gambaryan with the charge.

    But Mark Mordi, counsel for the defendant, this time around, said Binance, the company which he represents hasn’t been served, therefore arraignment couldn’t go ahead. 

    Moreso, as it’s a joint charge, Mordi argued that it’s necessary to serve every person individually with the charges before the case can go ahead. He also informed the Court that his client declined service of the charge on behalf of Binance because he wasn’t authorized to do so. 

    The prosecutor however maintained that the defendant, being a top official of Binance was a fitting representative of the company in this particular instance.

    But stated that in the alternative however, the Court can enter a not guilty plea for Binance to allow the case go ahead.

  • NYSC debunks reports of change of Corps members uniform

    NYSC debunks reports of change of Corps members uniform

    The National Service Corps, NYSC, has reacted to a trending social media video which depicts a change of Corps Members’ uniform to a new one.

    The NYSC said all the items that Corps members receive on arrival during registration at the Orientation Camps remain the same.

    The NYSC Director of Information and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, in a statement said, “Members of the public, especially Prospective Corps members are hereby advised to disregard the misleading and highly embarrassing tiktok video in its entirety, as efforts are ongoing on the distribution of uniforms and other essential variables to all the 37 NYSC Orientation Camps across the country in preparation for the forthcoming 2024 Batch ‘B’ Stream One Orientation Course,”

    “Recently, the Federal Government approved the improvement in the quality of the material used in sewing Corps Members’ uniforms.

    “This is already done and Corps Members are already enjoying the improved quality.

    “Social Media Influencers are strongly warned to desist forthwith, from using NYSC Corporate brand in any online medium that may attract negative publicity to the Scheme, while defaulters would be prosecuted according to legal provisions.’

  • Minimum wage: I’ll approve what Nigeria can afford — Tinubu

    Minimum wage: I’ll approve what Nigeria can afford — Tinubu

    President Bola Tinubu says he will approve a new minimum wage that the Nigerian government can afford. 

    He stated this on Wednesday at a dinner with the Senate President and Deputy Senate President, among other top government officials to mark Nigeria’s 25 years of unbroken Democracy in Abuja.

    The President, while appreciating those who stood by him over the years, promised Nigerians he won’t depart from the tenets of democratic governance.
     
    “I have to celebrate with you my dear brother, Senate President, Deputy Senate President,” he said.

    According to Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and his deputy, Jibrin Barau would soon get an Executive Bill from him on the new minimum wage.

    “The minimum wage is going to be what Nigerians can afford, what you can afford and what I can afford. Cut your coat according to your size, if you have size at all,” he said.

  • Why Political Office Holders Should Be Put On Minimum Wage – Soludo

    Why Political Office Holders Should Be Put On Minimum Wage – Soludo

    The Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, has advocated a drastic reduction in the cost of governance in Nigeria.

    The Governor lamented that the nation is broke but government and elected officials continue to live in denial and show off flamboyant lifestyles at the detriment of the masses.

    As a way to curb the developing crisis from escalating further, Soludo said political officeholders should be placed on the national minimum wage.

    The Anambra State Governor made the call on Wednesday while speaking at the special edition of The Platform, an event organised by The Covenant Nation to mark democracy day in Nigeria.

    Soludo expressed that Nigerians are hungry, broke and poor, but the ruling class continue to live extravagantly at the expense of the common people.

    “Let’s come clean and straight with Nigerians. Nigeria is very poor and broke but the lifestyle of government and government officials does not show it, especially with the obscene flamboyance in public display,” Soludo said.

    “The poor are hungry and impatient, let’s not annoy them more with our insensitivity.

    “In this case, I agree with reverend father Mbaka, who said elected governors should also earn minimum wage. I agree that we should be paid that so that we can feel that as well.

    “In Anambra, I have not received a kobo as salary since I assumed office. I have donated my salary to the state.

    “It is symbolic. It is not much. I think generally, the system is in denial. There must be some signalling, it is just the symbolism of this.”

    Soludo called for an end to wasteful spending in governance, stressing that elected officials must always remember they are in office based on public trust.

    “That is why I proposed reinventing the new code of conduct for public officers,” he said.

    “For the federal government, the actual projecting revenue comes to about N6,160 per Nigerian, per month.

    “For the states, except Lagos and a few states, most states have revenues amounting to less than N3,000 per resident, per month.

    “It is from this shares per citizen that we are expected to provide all the infrastructure, debt service, pay salaries and pensions, build schools and provide everything.

    “For each of our wasteful spending, let’s be conscious about the fact how many citizen share we are squandering. Once we lose this consciousness about the public trust we bear, the society dies irredeemably.”

  • Peter Obi Knocks EFCC For Arresting Bobrisky, Cubana Chief Priests Instead Of Politicians 

    Peter Obi Knocks EFCC For Arresting Bobrisky, Cubana Chief Priests Instead Of Politicians 

    Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, has berated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the arrest of a popular Nigerian crossdresser, Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju, also known as Bobrisky and celebrity barman, Pascal Okechukwu, better known as Cubana Chief Priest, over naira mutilation.

    EFCC secured a six-month conviction against Bobrisky for mutilating the country’s currency, naira, during one of his public outings.

    Similarly, Cubana Chief Priest is facing the same offence for which Bobrisky was convicted.

    During an interview on Arise News TV on Wednesday night, Peter Obi said the EFCC should use the same energy to probe massive corruption affecting poor Nigerians.

    According to the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Bobrisky and Cubana Chief Priest’s case are minor issues.

    Peter Obi said that many pressing issues, such as budget padding and inflated contracts, demand urgent intervention from the anti-graft agency rather than using public funds to secure a conviction for abuse of currency.

    He said, “If it is not budget padding today, it would be undisclosed subsidy payment, inflated contracts, and all sorts of things.

    “These are issues I want our agencies like EFCC to start dealing with by not arresting Bobrisky and Obi Cubana. These are minor issues.

    “Our agencies should face budget padding squarely not arresting Bobrisky because he dressed like a woman and spent like N500 notes.

    “If someone comes to Nigeria today and says we are going to feed only women in this hunger time, all men would dress like women and go and collect the food because we are all hungry. People will dress like Bobrisky. Everybody will turn into women.”

  • EFCC Picks New Date For Yahaya Bello’s Arraignment

    EFCC Picks New Date For Yahaya Bello’s Arraignment

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has reportedly picked a new date for the arraignment of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

    The anti-graft agency fixed June 27 for a hearing in the alleged money laundering case instituted by EFCC against Bello at the instance of the anti-graft agency’s lawyers.
    According to Daily Post, the new date was fixed without prior information from the defendant’s lawyers.

    At the resumed hearing on Thursday, counsel to Bello, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, told the court that the EFCC lawyers approached Aliyu AbdulWahab, SAN, who is the counsel for the defendant, that the earlier date, June 13 date, would not be convenient for them to proceed and that Wahab had to agree by way of convenience for another date to be set.

    He said he was surprised when he heard that EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo was in court.

    He said, “They (EFCC) agreed that junior counsel would be sent to court today to formally pick a date. And the registry can confirm this. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, the lead counsel, has been calling us to say today is not convenient.”

    However, for the decision of the EFCC to seek an adjournment to a future date for his arraignment, Bello was said to be ready to appear in court on Thursday.

    Adedipe added, “Under 266 ACJA there are instances when defendants don’t need to come and this is one of them.

    “We came here to pick a date. Of what use will the defendant coming here be? It is the prosecuting counsel that approached us, we did not approach them. We have nothing to hide.”

  • Multichoice Cries Out As 18% Of Nigerian Subscribers Boycott DStv

    Multichoice Cries Out As 18% Of Nigerian Subscribers Boycott DStv

    Multichoice Group, the African Pay-TV operator, has lamented the recent drop in the number of DStv subscribers in Nigeria.

    In the company’s financial report for the year ending on March 31, 2024, Multichoice attributed the 18% decrease in active subscribers of DStv in Nigeria to the country’s economy.

    It noted that the latest decline in Nigeria had a significant impact on the overall subscriber database, resulting in a 9% decrease for the entire year.

    The specific number of subscriptions in Nigeria was not provided, as it was combined with other operating units outside South Africa under the category of ‘Rest of Africa’ (RoA).

    Multichoice further revealed that the 18% decline in Nigeria contributed to a 13% decrease in the total active subscribers of RoA, bringing the figure down to 8.1 million from 9.3 million in 2023.

    “The group’s 9% decline in active subscribers was mainly due to a 13% decline in the Rest of Africa business as mass-market customers in countries like Nigeria had to prioritise basic necessities over entertainment, while the South African business showed more resilience with a 5% decline.

    “The Nigerian economy and consumers faced persistent challenges through FY24. The removal of fuel subsidies, sharp currency depreciation with the official naira halving in value, inflation climbing to over 30%, and higher emigration of the middle and upper class drove an 18% YoY decline in active subscribers,” the company said.

    Multichoice mentioned that this led to a decrease in Nigeria’s share of the Rest of Africa revenues from 44% to 35%.

    It was pointed out that Ghana experienced a comparable subscriber trend due to an inflation rate that remains above 20%.

    Additionally, Multichoice explained that, because of the difficult market conditions, the immediate priority for its RoA (Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, Ghana, and Zimbabwe) operations shifted from increasing subscribers to protecting profitability and cash flow.

    It added: “Several cost-saving initiatives were implemented, including scaling back significantly on decoder subsidies (-46% YoY or ZAR1.3 billion), and reducing selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) costs by ZAR500 million. These interventions enabled the Rest of Africa business to increase trading profit by 48% YoY to ZAR1.3 billion.”

  • ‘Tinubu kept campaign promises to Nigerians’ – Peter Obi

    ‘Tinubu kept campaign promises to Nigerians’ – Peter Obi

    Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has insisted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has kept his campaign promises to Nigerians.

    Obi stated this during a Democratic Day chat on Arise TV.

    In those days of electioneering, Tinubu had promised to build a Nigeria, especially for the youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life.

    He said Nigeria would manufacture, create, and invent more of the goods and services it require, adding that the country shall be known as a nation of creators, not just of consumers.

    Tinubu also said that Nigeria would export more and import less, thereby strengthening both the naira and citizen’s way of life.

    But in all, Tinubu had maintained that, “I will continue from where Buhari stopped.”

    And Peter Obi, who contested against Tinubu in the election and came third, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said that among all his promises, the President has kept the part he vowed to walk in the footsteps of his predecessor.

    “I think President Tinubu has performed exceptionally well in his first year in office. I’ll say that President Tinubu has kept his campaign promises,” Obi said.

    “Throughout his campaign, he consistently maintained that he would continue from where Buhari stopped and that he’s done very well. 

    “I’ll give him excellent passes. Dollar was N450, it’s now N1500. Fuel was about N238, it’s now about N700; diesel was N844, it’s now N1415; a bag of rice was N30000-N35000, it’s now about N80,000; a bag of beans was similar, N30,000-35000, it’s now about N90,000; a tuber of yam was about N2000-N3000, but now it’s about N10,000; tomatoe basket was about N40,000 and now it’s about N150,000; electricity was N66 per kilowatt but now it’s about N200, you can go on and on.

    “Even bread, which is a basic thing other countries are subsidizing, small-medium bread was about N450 but is now N900. The big one is about N1500.”

    Other promises made by Tinubu include, but not limited to, “assisting our ever-toiling farmers, through enlightened agricultural policy that promotes productivity and assures decent incomes, so that farmers can support their families and feed the nation; modernising and expanding public infrastructure; emboldening and supporting our young people and women by harnessing emerging sectors such as the digital economy, entertainment and culture, tourism, train and give economic opportunity to the poorest and most vulnerable among us; generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity; make basic healthcare, education, and housing accessible and affordable for all; and most importantly, establish a bold and assertive policy that will create a strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation.”

  • Sexual harassment: FG suspends perm sec, orders probe

    Sexual harassment: FG suspends perm sec, orders probe

    The Office of the Head of Service has suspended Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, due to an allegation of sexual harassment. 

    Head of Service, Folashade Yemi-Esan stated that Lamuwa will remain suspended pending the results of an investigation into the matter.

    “The permanent secretary has been suspended pending the outcome of the probe by the committee set up, “ a senior director in the OHCSF told our correspondent in Abuja.

    Following a petition submitted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar against Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, the Head of Service established a committee to investigate the matter. 

    The petition, filed by Simisola Ajayi through her lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, accused Lamuwa of repeated sexual harassment and detailed the alleged incidents.

     In a letter dated May 27, 2024, Tuggar conveyed his concern about the gravity of the allegations involving the permanent secretary to the Head of Service.

    “I am compelled to write to inform you of a formal complaint against the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Adamu Lamuwa, on allegations of sexual harassment.

    “Bearing in mind the gravity of the matter, I feel it necessary to draw your attention to it and ask that you handle it accordingly,” the minister stated in the letter.

  • UK varsity offers flight assistance to expelled Nigerian students 

    UK varsity offers flight assistance to expelled Nigerian students 

    Teesside University in the United Kingdom has announced a new initiative to support Nigerian students facing severe financial difficulties by funding their flights home, as reported by BBC on Tuesday.

    This move came after several students were removed from their courses and ordered to leave the UK due to their inability to pay tuition fees.

    The financial crisis in Nigeria, exacerbated by a shift from a seven-installment to a three-installment payment plan by the university, left many students struggling to cover their expenses.

    A local food charity reported that 75 per cent of its clients are now Nigerian students, highlighting the extent of their financial hardship.

    On May 22, 2024, a group of Nigerian students at Teesside University were expelled from their courses and ordered to leave the United Kingdom due to difficulties in paying their tuition fees on time.

    The students cited the devaluation of the naira as a significant barrier to meeting their financial obligations, which has led to a breach of their visa sponsorship requirements.

    Several students found themselves locked out of their university accounts, reported to the Home Office, and mandated to leave the UK.

    The university maintained that strict external regulations necessitate these actions.

    The affected students, numbering 60, expressed deep distress and disappointment, accusing the university of being unsupportive and “heartless.”

    They banded together to urge the university for assistance after witnessing their peers face severe consequences for late payments.

    On May 29, 2024, the Federal Government stepped in to address the deportation orders issued against some Nigerian students at Teesside University.

    A delegation led by a representative of the Nigerian Embassy in the UK, Ambassador Christian Okeke, along with leaders of the Nigerian Students Union in the UK, met with the University’s management to seek a resolution.

    However, following protests and the intervention of the Nigerian government, the university has re-enrolled some affected students and opened a relief fund.

    “We are working with a small group who need to return to their home country and are opening an international relief fund to offer additional financial support for these unexpected travel costs,” a university spokesperson told the BBC.

    The university is also offering some students the option to complete their studies remotely from Nigeria or to return to the UK at a later date.

    The BBC understands some students have lodged legal appeals.