ASSBIFI Vow To Shut Down Operations Over Attacks On Bank Workers

JUST IN: The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) on Thursday 17th February 2023 revealed their grievance over the incessant attacks and destruction of banks facilities by theprotesters across the country and therefore vowed to shut down operations if the destruction persists.
 

Tinubu: Atiku, Obi Can’t Match My Track Records

 The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has said none of his opponents in the 2023 presidential elections can match his track record.

The former governor of Lagos state and national leader of the APC also noted that during his time as governor, he unveiled a “legacy of technocratic governance which was instituted by enlisting talent from the private sector. Insecurity and crime were tackled through better funding of the police force”.

The PUNCH reports that Tinubu has continually boasted of his achievements during his tenure as governor of the economic capital of Nigeria.

In an opinion piece published in The Economist, Tinubu said, “For this vital task, I have a track record my competitors cannot match. During my tenure as governor of Lagos between 1999 and 2007, the state went from being a difficult, often dangerous place to a development success story.

“We quadrupled state tax revenues, putting those funds directly to work through investing in public services and infrastructure. A legacy of technocratic governance was instituted by enlisting talent from the private sector.

“Insecurity and crime were tackled through better funding the police force. Investment and the business sector thrived. Today, Lagos would rank among Africa’s ten largest economies and does not rely on oil revenues to fund its budget”.

Oshiomhole Appealing To Nigerians To Avoid Protest Over New Naira Design Policy

 Without a doubt, Nigeria has been experiencing hard times as a result of the new Naira policy, which has caused the currency to become scarce and prevented the majority of citizens from having direct access to their cash in the banks.

It is regrettable that a few days ago, some Nigerians decided to take matters into their own hands and stage riots and street protests in a number of states. As a result, banks were destroyed, and in some cases, people even lost their lives.

This was the exact moment on February 6th at a campaign rally in Auchi when Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State and the APC's deputy director general of its presidential campaign council, pleaded with Nigerians not to be incited to take to the streets and protest or vandalise public or private property.

The video totally exonerates Adams Oshiomhole of any responsibility for the crises that have resulted from the policy, which Nigerians feel lacks a human face.

El-Rufai Says All Old Notes Will Remain Legal Tender In Kaduna

 My dear people of Kaduna State,

1. With just about 100 days before leaving office, and elections just round the corner, it was my intention to host another media chat to interact with the people of our state in the next few days. While I still hope to do so, I feel the need to address you all today due to the unprecedentedly cruel situation our people and their livelihoods have been thrown into, particularly in the last two to three weeks by the decisions, actions and inactions of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

2. On behalf of the government of Kaduna State, I wish to express my deepest regret at the needless suffering you are enduring as a result of the prolonged fuel shortage and the difficulties occasioned by the so-called “currency redesign” policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria. We understand your pain. I assure you that as your State Governor, I have been working with my other colleagues to do everything in our power to end these pains.

3. While publicly supporting what appeared to be a beneficial policy, we innocently engaged privately with the President and the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria to review the implementation of the policy so as to reduce its negative impact on the lives and livelihoods of our people, and end the pain being inflicted on citizens. In the absence of any progress to modify implementation on the part of the architects, we were forced to go public about two weeks ago, with our concerns and demand that this suffering must stop.

4. We take seriously our duty to protect ordinary people from the consequences of these policy fiascos. The sad fact is that the victims of these mindless policies are the people that elected us. It is their welfare that is being threatened. Many of our people have been left in a situation where the money they put in banks has literally been confiscated, depriving them of the ability to buy food and basic necessities. Our traders cannot sell as much as they used to because their customers have no access to their hard-earned money. 

5. We have been officially informed that the currency redesign policy is to reduce money laundering and render useless stashes of high denomination Naira that many politicians and public officers have accumulated through corruption and other illicit activities. As earlier stated, we are fully in support of such a policy and we made this public from the beginning.

6. We had privately expressed concerns about the timing of the currency design policy and the unrealistic timeline for its implementation. We were assured that all steps have been taken to ensure that we avoid the recent experience of India, where implementation of a similar demonetisation policy targeted at politicians ended up hurting the poorest and small businesses the most. 

7. In official briefings to the President, [b]the Central Bank of Nigeria constantly alluded to the fact that the policy also targets politicians who have accumulated a huge war chest for vote buying during the elections. It is now clear that the President has been deceived by the Central Bank of Nigeria and some elements in his government into buying into this overarching narrative, in the name of ensuring free and fair elections in 2023.

8. It is important for the people of Kaduna State, and indeed Nigeria, to know that contrary to the public pronouncements and apparent good intentions, this policy was conceived and sold to the President by officials who completely lost out in the Gubernatorial and Presidential Primaries of the APC in June 2022.

9. Once Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerged as the candidate in June 2022, and subsequently did not pick one of them as his running mate, this currency redesign policy was conceived to ensure that the APC presidential candidate is deprived of what they alleged is a humongous war chest. They also sought to achieve any one or more of following objectives:

a. Create a nationwide shortage of cash so that citizens are incited to vote against APC candidates across the board resulting in massive losses for the Party in all the elections;

b. Ensure that the cash crunch is so serious, along with the contrived and enduring fuel shortage existing since September 2022, that the 2023 Elections do not hold at all, leading to an Interim National Government to be led by a retired Army General;

c. Sustain the climate of shortage of fuel, food and other necessities, leading to mass protests, violence and breakdown of law and order that would provide a fertile foundation for a military take-over;

10. In the pursuit of these objectives, the Central Bank of Nigeria and these other disgruntled Federal officials have so far convinced the President that it is fine for ordinary citizens to be dispossessed of their hard-earned money, and starved if need be, while small and medium-sized businesses are deprived of access to their capital, thereby bringing trade and exchange to a grinding halt. All our efforts to modify implementation of the policy to avoid what we assumed were unintended consequences were unsuccessful. I chose to speak out first as one person that has been particularly close to the President, believing that his actions were motivated by innocence, and mindful of his legacy. I have no regrets for doing my duty in this regard. One day, the President will appreciate what some of us are being insulted for today.

11. Yet, the politicians that the officials have convinced the President to regard as the real targets of the currency redesign policy have not been impeded in any way by it so far. Indeed, two of the presidential candidates, and a running mate of the opposition parties own or have preferred access to some of the licensed banks. For that reason and by various clandestine arrangements, these politicians have access to hundreds of millions of these new notes, while the traders, merchants, students and other citizens are queuing for days to withdraw a few thousand Naira just to buy food and necessaries.

12. Within two to three weeks of implementation, it was clear to everyone that the architects of this policy can see that it is our people that are being terribly affected, and not the politicians. It is quite unfortunate that many politicians who either own banks or have privileged access to money are so insulated from the pains of talakawa that they are recklessly endorsing a policy that is being badly implemented.

13. I am referring here to the comments by the candidate of one of the opposition parties who expressed opposition to the recommendation first of the APC state governors, and subsequently of all the governors under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors Forum that the implementation timeline be extended, to enable the old and new notes to be legal tender side by side until the cash shortage ends.

14. My dear people of Kaduna State. Let me explain how the architects of this policy intentionally designed it to fail. The total currency in circulation in Nigeria was estimated at N3.2 trillion at the end of 2022. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, N2.1 trillion has been withdrawn as at early February. The CBN claimed that N700bn is the amount of cash needed for their functioning vision of a “cash-less” Nigerian economy. The Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr. Doyin Salami disagrees with this estimate, and believes at least N2 trillion of currency needs to be in circulation for our economic sustainability. Other experts variously estimate this to be between N1.2 trillion and above, so the CBN number of N700bn is not realistic.

15. The CBN informed the President at the very beginning that the Mint (NSPMC) has enough capacity to print the needed currency in circulation within the 6-week timeframe for the so-called ‘cash swap’. By its own admission, only N400bn worth of new notes had been printed for CBN as at early February.The current cash shortage was therefore designed from the beginning, the President was lied to about the domestic capacity of the Mint to print, and even if the announced N700bn was printed, it would have been grossly inadequate anyway. Imagine then printing only N400bn, and making most of it unavailable to the banks but passed to favoured entities through special arrangements. How can the CBN collect N2.1 trillion from citizens and print only N400bn? Is this not a clear case of economic sabotage?

16. It is bad economics to so curtail economic activity and the velocity of circulation of money. It is also insensitive to deliberately cause cash shortage and then seek to instigate the public against the mostly innocent commercial banks. Even the most honest and prudent action by banks cannot magically make N400bn to look like N2.1 trillion, or have the same spread and availability like the CBN should have ensured. As a regulator, the CBN should not be seen to be setting up the banking sector as the public enemy to cover up the glaring failure in its design and implementation of the cash swap policy.  

17. We have repeatedly appealed to the Federal Government to allow whatever remains of the old notes to circulate concurrently with the new notes. We recommended that the Federal Government should also hasten to ensure that more of the new notes are printed and brought into circulation. We thought that if the Nigerian Mint is incapable of printing the volume of cash needed as it appears, then necessary steps must urgently be taken to get a reliable supply source.

18. There is no reason why the old notes and the new notes should not coexist until the old notes are gradually withdrawn over the years as is done in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and other countries. It is unfortunate that in implementing this policy, Nigeria is departing from global best practise, without any compelling justification. The Kaduna State Government did all these, not in opposition to any person or authority, but because we stand with our people and their interests.

19. When it was clear that our recommendations will not be seriously considered, the Kaduna State Government decided, along with the governments of Kogi and Zamfara States to declare a dispute with the Federal Government. In line with the provisions of the Constitution, we approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria to invoke its original jurisdiction to hear us and the cries of our people. The Court did on February 8th, and ordered that the deadline of February 10th for all the ‘old’ notes ceasing to be legal tender be rescinded until the determination of the suit. This ruling applies to the Federal Government and its agencies like the CBN, and all commercial banks! We are grateful to the Court for this ruling, and we had hoped that compliance by the CBN and the banks would bring relief to our people. It is now clear that the architects of this policy are determined to continue to inflict maximum pain on the citizens to achieve their objectives outlined earlier.

20. It was our hope that the Federal Government of Nigeria would welcome this injunction as an opportunity to mitigate the needless human suffering being experienced and correct its course on this matter. There is no emergency situation that justifies the rushed and seemingly deliberate incompetent execution of this policy. We suggested that compliance with the ruling would include adopting a whole-of-government approach, that involves the agencies of the federal and state governments in modifying the design, execution the implementation of the currency redesign policy. It is clear that the architects of this policy always had objectives that are totally in conflict with public interest, peace and the unity of Nigeria. They neither considered our suggestions in line with the Court order, nor respected the unanimous resolution of the Council of State.

22. It is also quite revealing that the Federal Government and its agencies not only disobeyed the February 8th ruling by continuing to say the February 10th deadline stands. It is shocking to see the blatant violation of the subsisting and continuing order of the Supreme Court that ALL the old and new notes should continue to be legal tender until it gives judgment in the case filed by the Kaduna State Government along with several others. 

23. The address by the President earlier this morning limiting the legal tender status of old notes to only N200 amounts to total disregard and disobedience of the ruling of February 8th which was extended further yesterday by the Supreme Court. The misguided action of the Attorney-General to mislead the President into engaging in this public violation of the order of the highest court of the land shows how desperate the policy architects are to cause national chaos, by showing open contempt for the judiciary.

24. The decision to recognise only N200 as legal tender till April that the President announced this morning was offered to the state governments as part of proposals for an out-of-court settlement three days ago. The Federal Government asserted that this was offered because all the ‘old’ N1,000 and N500 notes had been destroyed. We rejected the offer and proved to the officials that not a single higher denomination note had been destroyed. We also believe that circulating N200 only to be inadequate in alleviating the suffering that we see every day. We insisted that all the components of the Supreme Court order should be complied with.

25. But back home, what do we do in Kaduna State? My dear of people of Kaduna State, with the foregoing revelations, it is clear that our peaceful coexistence as a state, and a nation, is being placed under deliberate danger using the intentional combination of fuel and cash supply disruptions. These evil people using the instrumentality of the Federal Government and the President as convenient covers are willing to truncate our democracy because they have personally lost out. They are massively deploying resources and tools to defeat the political party that gave us the platform to serve the country just because they could not impose the candidates of their choice. Let us not help them.

26. Let us stay calm and peaceful, and support the lawful means being utilised to solve our problems. On behalf of the Kaduna State Government, I wish to assure you that none of you would lose the money you have in old notes. Let no artificial and illegal deadline frighten you. Whether you live in towns, villages or in our isolated rural communities, do not feel stampeded to deposit your old notes in the banks. Hold on to them. Continue to use them as legal tender as ordered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. No deadline can render them worthless, ever. The law is on your side. The Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and the Bills of Exchange Act, both oblige the CBN to recognise your old notes and give you value in new notes whenever you bring them to the CBN, even in the next 100 years.

27. Therefore, as your governor, I wish to assure you that the Kaduna State Government, in collaboration with elected legislators, traditional institution, elected local government councils, markets, and traders associations will help you collect, record, document, collate and deliver all your old notes to the Kaduna branch of the Central Bank on your behalf into the new ones immediately after the elections. We will also ensure the delivery of your new notes to your various locations without any hardship or expense on your part. We shall save you any panic and the stress of a long journey from your community to the CBN office in our state capital, from March until December 2023 if need be. 

28. For the avoidance of doubt, all the old and new notes shall remain in use as legal tender in Kaduna State until the Supreme Court of Nigeria decides otherwise. I therefore appeal to all residents of Kaduna State to continue to use the old and new notes side by side without any fear. The Kaduna State Government and its agencies shall seal any facility that refuses to accept the old notes as legal tender and prosecute the owners. If need be, we shall take further consequential actions according to the law.

29. While urging you all not to fall for these antics of the enemies of Nigeria, please be patient and continue to exercise resilience in the face of open provocation and deliberate disinformation. We encourage you to be ready with your PVC to vote in the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections. We are doing all we can to ensure that it is peaceful, orderly and hitch-free. I appeal to you to understand the shenanigans of these unpatriotic elements in Abuja and ensure you vote massively for the intended victims of these last-minute policies of needless hardship and incitement of the citizens - our party, the APC and its candidates in all the elections.  

30. The Kaduna State Government is making this appeal, and taking all these measures to shield our people from the terrible consequences of the currency redesign policy. We seek to protect our people’s hard-earned money, their ability to engage in trade and exchange and buy what they need. We also seek to protect their civic rights, liberties and freedoms under a democratic dispensation. I call on the people of Kaduna State to remain peaceful and vigilant in the face of brazen attempts to engineer crisis in order to get a pretext for unconstitutional or undemocratic actions.

31. In conclusion, our Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked me to convey his greetings, empathy and words of encouragement to the good people of Kaduna State. He urges us to remain patient, pray for our country and remain vigilant in our pursuit of Renewed Hope.

Thank you all for listening. God Bless Kaduna State. God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, CON
Kaduna, 16th February 2023

We Will Vote For Equity, Fairness - Seyi Makinde To Tinubu

 In direct message to Tinubu, Makinde says Oyo people will vote 'equity, justice, unity of Nigeria'

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has declared that the people of the state will vote for a presidential candidate whose election will promote equity, justice and unity of Nigeria.

The governor spoke on Thursday when he received All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, who paid a courtesy call on him on the sidelines of the party's campaign rally in Ibadan, the state capital.

He urged Asíwájú Tinubu to feel free to campaign in the state, saying everything has been done to ensure the event is peaceful and hitch free.

He said his administration believes in putting people first, stating that "political players will come and go, but the country will remain."

Speaking on the position of the G5, the group of governors within the People's Democratic Party at odds with the party's candidate, Makinde said it is that "if they have to choose between their individual aspiration and the unity of the country, they will choose Nigeria's unity."

He said the group monitored the APC presidential primaries that produced Asíwájú Tinubu as candidate, and commended the principled position taken by the Northern Governors.

Noting that the Northern Governors reckoned that because power must return to the South in 2023, they would support a Southern candidate.

"There has to be inclusiveness by all sections of the country in power-sharing if the country must progress.

"If the country does not survive, how can anyone aspire to be anything in that country," he said.

Tinubu thanked Governor Makinde for the warm reception,saying he came to accord him the respect that he deserves as the chief executive of the state.

"I cannot come to Oyo State to campaign for votes without visiting you to pay my respect to you as a governor, leader and an Omoluabi."

On Asiwaju's entourage during the visit were Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, former APC Interim Chairman Bisi Akande, former Ekiti governor Kayode Fayemi, APC National Woman Leader Betta Edu, Minister of Sports Sunday Dare, Senator Dayo Adeyeye and Senator Soji Akanbi among others. 

After the visit, Asíwájú and the campaign train met with some traditional rulers from the South-west zone before proceeding to Mapo Hall where a mammoth crowd had waited for them to address the rally.

Tinubu Media Office,
Tunde Rahman
February 16, 2023.

2023 Election: I Will Respect Rule Of Law If Elected – Peter Obi

 The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, has promised that his administration will respect the rule of law if he is voted into power.

Obi gave the assurance during a town hall meeting, organised by the Imo chapter of the party on Thursday in Owerri.

He further reaffirmed his commitment to a new Nigeria that would work for and accommodate everyone, irrespective of tribe, religion or other inclinations.

He assured Nigerians that electing him as president would help to unite the country and bring an end to poverty, suffering and insecurity.

His emergence, he said, would open the way for the country’s economic emancipation.

“My government will work closely with state governments to build uncommon synergy, with the aim of all-inclusive governance for the overall good of all the citizens. Nigeria is blessed, we have all it takes to be a great country,” Obi stated.

He said further: “All we need is the right leadership that will harness our potential as a country, such as the oil and gas in Imo, for our collective benefit. I will ensure respect for rule of law, secure and unite Nigeria and move the country from consumption to production. Vote for Labour Party, vote for human beings: papa, mama, pikin.”

Tinubu: I Will Be President Of A United Nigeria

 The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has said his vision is to become the President of a United Nigeria.

Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde said he and his colleague’s Governors under the aegis of G5 Integrity Group, will vote equity, justice, fairness and unity on February 25.
Tinubu and Makinde spoke when the former paid a courtesy call on the latter at the Oyo State Government Secretariat, Agodi-Ibadan on Thursday.

The visit, according to Tinubu, was to honour Makinde, intimate him of his visions and plans for the country, canvass for votes and solicit the support of Makinde and the State as a whole to realise his presidential ambition.

He was accompanied on the visit by chieftains of the APC, including former Interim National Chairman of the party Chief Bisi Akande; Minister of Youths and Sports Development Chief Sunday Dare; Governor Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Ex-Governor Gboyega Oyetola (Osun).

Others in his entourage were former Minister of State for Defence Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; Former Speaker Dimeji Bankole; Senator Babajide Omoworare, Chief Zachheus Adelabu, Senator Soji Akanbi, Mutiu Aare, Dotun Babayemi among others.
He said: “I am aspiring to be the President of a united Nigeria, one country. For that sake, political divides and things that separate us must be clearly taken off our way.

“That is why my first point of call is to visit the Chief Executive and Chief Security Officer of the State. And that is why I came to give you an insight into why we are in Oyo state.

“Thank you for your good reception. It is not easy to take the opposition entourage into your shade. You have demonstrated the characteristics of a good leader, a persevering individual, hardworking

regardless of political divides and respectful in every aspect of your behaviour that we have seen.

“So, I am grateful that as a Yoruba man from the Southwest, no need to play ethnic politics but you and I are into the same dialects and I should respect your wish and your person.

“I am here to pay simple respect and let you know that I want to be the President of Nigeria.

“It is about time to look at politics from a different prism and remove all antagonistic tendencies from our politics.

“I am grateful for your mode of acceptance which is why I am here on a courtesy call. I wish you well. I am here and I believe that if you look around, you can see the difference between all of us that are in the race.

“I believe I am a more better-qualified candidate to rule and the best of them all. I am here to also solicit your worthy support and endorsement.”

Reacting, the host Governor commended Tinubu for all he has done for the country.
He said he and the other G5 Governors are determined to choose the unity of the country in the place of their individual political aspirations.

He assured Tinubu that come February 25, the people of the state will vote for equity, justice, fairness and unity of this country.