CBN Yet To Release Old Notes To Banks

 The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is yet to release the old N1000 and N500 notes it mopped out of circulation despite asking commercial banks to commence their recirculation, findings by Daily Trust have revealed.

This is amid the struggle by commercial banks to meet the increasing demands of customers who besiege their branches across the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Traders, artisans, PoS operators, and students, among others, who visited bank branches, said they were disappointed as they could not withdraw the amounts they wanted.

Those who spoke to our correspondents said they were only given between N5,000 and N10,000 while a few others managed to get N20,000.

The CBN said Monday in a statement by its spokesman, Isa AbdulMumin, that deposit money banks operating in the country have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3 which said the old N1,000, N500 and N200 remain legal tender until December 31.

The CBN’s statement came a few hours after a statement from Aso Villa quoting President Muhammadu Buhari as saying he did not direct the CBN and the Attorney-General of the Federation not to comply with the Supreme Court judgement.


Same old problem 

Checks by our reporters yesterday indicated that the CBN was not releasing the old notes it has already mopped out of circulation.

A senior management staff of Guarantee Trust Bank said: “We are not receiving any old cash from the CBN. I have a substantial stock of the old notes and that is what we are recirculating as of today.”

The source explained that most commercial banks had retained the old notes in the days leading up to the February 10 deadline, before the Supreme Court order truncated the initial timeline by the CBN.

“We had that cash with us, and when the CBN became overwhelmed with those rushing to beat the deadline, they also directed them to the commercial banks, so we have that stock too. That is the reserve that we have built up.”

Also, a management staff of Polaris Bank who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity said, “We have not received the old notes largely because we have not finished dispensing our old naira stock.

“The instruction we have is to dispense every note at our disposal. We will get a clear understanding of things when we exhaust what we have.”


Banks comply with directive to disburse old N1000, N500 

In Kaduna, Abuja, and Kano, our correspondents report that some banks, including Sterling, GTB, First Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Access Bank were yesterday dispensing the old N500 notes to their customers following the directive by the CBN.

A customer at Sterling Bank who simply identified herself as Mrs Gabriel, said, “I collected N20,000 old N500 notes from my bank today. I am so happy because I have not seen this kind of money for weeks.”

The automated teller machines of most banks in Lagos were seen dispensing cash.

Although most of the banks were still rationing the available cash in order to meet the needs of their customers, there was a clear improvement from the chaos of previous weeks.

At Polaris Bank, Iju, customers were given N10, 000 each instead of the stipulated N20,000.

Our correspondents, who visited two branches of Unity Bank in Bwari and the Central Business District in Abuja, confirmed that they withdrew N5,000 and N10,000, respectively.

The Head of Corporate Communication at Unity Bank, Matthew Obiazikwor, confirmed that the bank had fully complied with the directive of the CBN.

“We are giving out cash to our customers. We have fully complied with the directive. Our ATMs are also loaded. However, there is still the limitation of daily withdrawal,” he said.


Nigerians decry rejection of old notes by traders, transporters 

Some transporters and traders yesterday rejected the old N500 and N1,000 bank notes despite the directive from the CBN that the old notes remain legal tender till December 31 in accordance with the judgment of the Supreme Court.

In Kaduna, many traders were still sceptical of collecting the old notes. Most of them said they were studying the situation to see if the policy will be reversed.  

“I cannot collect it until Buhari (President) tells us to start collecting it,” a yam seller, Muhammad Isah, said.

However, Daily Trust learned that market leaders in Lagos have started sensitizing their members to collect the old notes in line with the directives of the CBN. Leaders from major markets were at Alausa yesterday.

“I have informed my people, and I will repeat the same tomorrow. We have told them to accept the old notes from customers,” the Iyaloja of Asejere Market, Makoko, Alhaja Kasarat Adebayo, said.


State gov’t urges residents to accept old notes 

The Delta State government yesterday called on residents of the state to comply with the CBN’s directive that the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes remain legal tender until December 31. 

The Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, made the call in a statement in Asaba, urging people in the state to accept the notes as legal tender in view of the Supreme Court ruling of March 3 and the central bank’s direction to continue recognition of the old bills as legal tender. 

Similar calls have been made by Ogun, Kogi, Lagos, Kano and Jigawa, among others.


Inject old notes to ease cash scarcity, Experts tell CBN 

Experts have urged the CBN to make available the old notes, particularly the N500 and N1000, to ease the current cash crunch.

Daily Trust reports that before the enforcement of the cashless policy, the CBN said N3.2 trillion was in circulation, but during the last briefing by Emefiele, he said N2.3 trillion had been mopped up.

Speaking to Daily Trust, a financial analyst, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, said the directive by the Supreme Court will be futile if the old notes are not injected into the system. 

“My concern is that except a substantial quantity of already withdrawn notes is re-injected and the cash withdrawal limit eased, the cash scarcity is most likely to persist,” he said. 

He added that, “It is one thing for the CBN to obey the Supreme Court order by recognizing the old notes as legal order and another for it to make the cash available for transactions.”

Also speaking, a development expert, Joseph Momoh, said: “Although some banks have complied with the directive by the CBN following the Supreme Court judgment, the amount they are dispensing is quite small.

“The CBN should make available the old notes that it earlier mopped up so that the hardship that micro, small and medium enterprises are currently undergoing can gradually ease off.”

On his part, a chartered accountant, Umar Mohammed, who consults for some banks said it will require political will to solve the problem of the cash crunch.

“Nobody is saying the whole N2.3 trillion mopped up must be brought back. What is clear is that Nigeria is not fully ready for the cashless policy.

“We have learnt many lessons that the banks do not have the requisite infrastructure. There are millions of Nigerians that are unbanked. And the citizens also need more sensitization.

“Therefore, I want to appeal that the president and the CBN swallow their pride and appreciate these facts. Of course, some people have already keyed into the cashless policy which is to their credit.

Osinbajo: FG Has Reserved $618m For Youths In Tech, Creative Sectors

 Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday launched a $618 million programme for young Nigerians in the technology and creative sectors.

He urged governments across Africa and the private sector to render more support for the growth of innovation in the continent.

Osinbajo spoke at the presidential launch of the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE) programme held at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja.

i-DICE, which is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the digital technology and creative industries to create jobs, especially for young people, is supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) with the Bank of Industry (BoI) designated as executing agency.

A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity in the Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the programme would support young Nigerians, ranging from ages 15 to 35 who are entrepreneurs and involved in early stages in creative, innovative and technology-enabled ventures.

“I think it is now imperative to begin a coordinated approach towards innovation on the continent, bringing together all stakeholders to coordinate efforts at scaling up investments and building programmes that provide the right enabling environment and produce talent pipelines that support the growth of innovation on the continent,” Osinbajo said in his keynote address at the event.

Under i-DICE, constraints, such as access to capital, and capacity limitation of start-ups would be effectively addressed.

But the Vice President said more still needs to be done to scale up such programmes.

He said: “The government must provide more support for startups and small businesses, and investors must provide more funding. This is why the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises Programme is important.”

i-DICE is supported by funding from the AfDB -$170 million; the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) – N70 million and the Agence Française de Développement – $116 million.

There is also Federal Government of Nigeria’s counterpart contribution of $45 million through the BoI loans for qualifying start-ups.

On behalf of the Nigerian government, Osinbajo thanked the development partners for their collaboration.

Lauding the efforts of the development partners, the Vice President noted that the programme’s design “supports innovation across very critical pillars, including policy, infrastructure, access to finance and talent. These pillars have been identified as very critical to the growth and sustenance of innovation on the continent”.

He explained that “the total fund is $618 million, out of which the AfDB provides $170 million, the Agence Francaise de Development $116 million, and the Islamic Development Bank will provide $70 million in co-financing”.

Another $271 million is expected from the private sector and institutional investors, he said.

Also, President of Africa Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has said it is time to create youth-based wealth that will support a more inclusive Nigerian economy.

Adesina spoke at the presidential inauguration of the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE) programme yesterday in Abuja.

The AfDB president said the initiative was timely, strategic, and transformative and would build the ecosystems to support more competitive entrepreneurs powered by digital technologies.

“Yes, we gather to inaugurate the initiative, but what we are really inaugurating is more than it. We are inaugurating hope for the youth.

“We are inaugurating platforms that will enhance the ability and capacity of Nigeria’s youth to thrive. We are inaugurating the creation of millions of jobs.

“We are retooling Nigeria to compete more in an increasingly digital world. We are creating hope for a new Nigeria, driven by the power of the youth,” he said.

The AfDB president noted that what Nigeria does with its youthful population would determine its future.

“It is time to create youth-based wealth for Nigeria. Youth-based wealth will rapidly expand the creation of jobs, expand the fiscal space with new sources of taxes, and support a more inclusive Nigerian economy, now and well into the future.

“That is why, shortly after I was elected AfDB president, we inaugurated the Jobs for Youth in Africa strategy.

“We expect that the programme will create 25 million new jobs by 2026, focusing on practical and high-impact solutions,” he said.

Adesina said the future is here, and every aspect of life is digitally transformed.

When you think digital, think global, he said.

The AfDB president said based on estimates, the digital global health size of Africa would expand from $217 billion in 2022 to more than $1 trillion by 2031, an incredible growth.

“The size of Africa’s digital economy will rise from $115 billion today to $712 billion by 2050.

“And most of this growth is already driven by four countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt,” he said.

Adesina said several factors, including the rapid growth in the youth population, drove the expansion of the digital economy.

The AfDB president said these digital trends hold great promise to help create massive jobs.

“For example, estimates by Endeavor (2022) show that expanding digital infrastructure by 10 per cent will lead to a 2.5 per cent annual growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa.

“Furthermore, expanding access to the internet in Africa, from the current 33 per cent to 75 per cent, can help create 44 million jobs, including 3 million jobs in online services by 2025,” he said.

The continental bank’s boss said Nigeria was already witnessing the power of digital technologies, tools, and platforms.

According to him, Nigeria currently has five out of the 11 digital companies that have reached the status of unicorn with market valuation of one billion dollars.

He listed the companies to include Jumia, Interswitch, Opay, Flutterwave and Andela, mainly in fintech.

Adesina said Nigeria’s poor and fragmented cargo transport system was gradually transforming, thanks to Kobo 360, a digital logistics platform.

He noted that despite its growth, the country had not fully tapped into and unleashed the power of its creative industry.

“The i-DICE programme will help to fill some of these critical gaps. By supporting enterprise and skills development, access to demand-driven digital and creative skills, entrepreneurship skills, ICT enabled infrastructure and expanding access to finance,” Adesina said.

The AfDB boss said the bank was pleased to partner the Federal Government of Nigeria on the $618 million i-DICE programme.

According to him, AfDB is providing $170 million in financing to the programme.

“I am delighted that we have been able to mobilise additional co-financing of $217 million towards the programme.

“I wish to thank our partners, the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), which is providing $100 million, and the Islamic Development Bank, which is providing $70 million.

“I also thank the Bank of Industry and the Federal Government of Nigeria for providing $45 million in counterpart funding.

“Through the independent fund managers for i-DICE, the programme will raise an additional capital of between 131 million dollars and 262 million dollars,” he said.

Reiterating some of the bank’s initiatives, Adesina said it would soon roll out Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks.

Manchester City 'Make Enquiry Over Victor Osimhen Move'

 Manchester City have reportedly made contact with Napoli to discuss a possible summer move for striker Victor Osimhen.

The Nigeria international is spearheading the Partenopei's charge to the Scudetto with a stellar 19 goals and five assists in 22 games throughout the 2022-23 season so far.

Osimhen's efforts have allowed Napoli to open up an 18-point lead at the top of the Serie A table with 12 games left to play, and he sits comfortably at the top of the Capocannoniere charts.

The former Lille man's 19 strikes puts him five clear of closest challenger Lautaro Martinez, while he also has two Champions League goals to his name as Napoli boast a 2-0 lead from the first leg of their last-16 tie with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Osimhen's contract with Napoli is due to run until the 2024-25 season, but the Serie A champions-elect are seemingly facing an uphill battle to retain his services beyond the end of the campaign.

Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has affirmed that Napoli have no need to sell the 24-year-old, but that is unlikely to deter potential suitors from making an offer.

Despite the presence of Erling Braut Haaland and Julian Alvarez at the Etihad, Sky Deutschland - via football.london - claims that Man City are among the clubs aiming to bring Osimhen to the Premier League this summer.

The report adds that the Premier League champions have made first contact with Napoli to discuss a potential transfer, but the Partenopei would be after €100m (£88.2m) to sanction a sale.

Both Haaland and Alvarez have made their mark during their debut campaigns with Man City this year, and the latter is now said to be on the verge of signing a lucrative new contract.

However, Pep Guardiola seemingly wants to add more firepower to his ranks after losing Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal, who are five points clear of the Premier League champions at the top of the table.


Chelsea will seemingly be Man City's main rivals in the race for Osimhen, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang expected to depart Stamford Bridge as the Blues seek to solve their number nine conundrum.

Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be interested in the Napoli man, but the Red Devils are supposedly not willing to meet the Serie A leaders' nine-figure asking price.

Meanwhile, PSG will likely have to offload one of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi before moving for Osimhen, but the latter could depart as a free agent this summer as talks over a new deal fail to yield a positive solution.

Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille in the summer of 2020 for €75m (£66.1m), and the Nigerian has since posted 49 goals and 14 assists in 89 appearances for the Partenopei in all tournaments.

INEC denies appointing Femi Odubiyi as ICT head

 The Independent National Electoral Commission has denied appointing a former Commissioner in Lagos State, Femi Odubiyi, as its head of the Information and Communications Technology department.

This is coming following the claim of a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, [/b]that the former commissioner was made INEC’s ICT head.

In a statement on Sunday, [b]the former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP said the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, must remove Odubiyi as the Commission’s ICT head because of his closeness to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress and President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

He said the first thing Yakubu must do was to explain to Nigerians how the former Commissioner for Science and Technology in Lagos State allegedly found his way into INEC as head of ICT, “a critical department before, during and after elections.”

Dismissing the claim in a statement late Tuesday, INEC through its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the widely publicised report (not The PUNCH) attributed to Bode George was a false claim. “Nothing can be farther from the truth,” Okoye said.

“To set the record straight, the name “Femi Odubiyi“ does not even exist within our ICT Department at the INEC headquarters in Abuja or any state office of the Commission.”

INEC said its ICT staff were career officers of the Commission, adding “none has held any political appointment in any state of the Federation.”

“The public is urged to disregard the story. The promoter should have been circumspect so as not to be seen as a purveyor of fake news.”

Reno Omokri: Obidients Are Not Capable Of Seeing Reason Except It Favours Them

 Mark Essien, who previously was the Obidient champion, became an el-Rufai agent overnight in your eyes. You say areas where Atiku and Tinubu got 50-60% were rigged, but where Obi got 97% was not. You Obidients are not capable of seeing reason except it favours you!

#TableShaker

Maid Caught With Urine She Wanted To Put In Her Madam's Kids Water Bottle

 Madam catches her maid with urine & menstruation blood she wanted to put in her children's water bottle 

A woman confronted her maid on camera after allegedly catching her with a bucket containing her urine and menstrual blood. 

In the video, the madam is heard narrating how she brought the girl into her house in December, shopped new underwear for her, and bought her sanitary towels. 

She added that after the girl's period, she helps the girl burn her sanitary pads and she is the one who does most of the chores in the house so as not to overwork the girl. 

She said the girl was dirty while living with her and regularly failed to bathe and brush her teeth. 

She added that she had to remove the girl from her children's room because the room was always smelling of menstruation blood and she stains the kids' bed and duvet with blood. 

The madam said that in spite of everything she did for the girl, she rewarded her by trying to poison her kids. 

She said she woke up by 1a.m. on Tuesday, March 14, and found the girl mixing her urine and period blood in a bucket and when she questioned her, the girl confessed that she planned to put it in the children's water bottle.

Lagos Ranks 133rd Among World’s Most Polluted Cities – IQAir

 Lagos State has been ranked 133 in the world’s most polluted cities, in a latest survey by IQAir.

Working on what it called historical data from 2017 to 2022, IQAir said the annual average PM2.5 concentration (μg/m³) of the State is “unhealthy”.

“Lagos is experiencing some rather poor-quality air with a US AQI figure of 160, which classified it as ‘unhealthy’ based on the World Health Organisation’s recommended figures from 2021,” it said

According to the report, Lagos, with an estimated population of 21 million as of 2018, has the concentration of its PM2.5 pollutant as 73.2 µg/m³.

The report explained that with such a level, “it is recommended that a good quality mask is worn when going outside. Doors and windows should be kept closed so as to prevent the ingress of polluted air in the home. All types of outdoor exercise should be abandoned until air quality improves.”

While ranking Nigeria as the 10th most polluted country in Africa, with an air pollution rate of 44.8 per cent, IQAir said an estimated 11,200 premature deaths were recorded in 2018 as a direct result of poor air quality with 60 percent of the fatality children under the age of five.

The report further noted that “Any type of air pollution is detrimental to health, but the worst type of pollutant is the microscopic PM2.5 particles, which can easily penetrate the lungs, due to their small size. This study found the levels in Lagos were over 7 times the target figure suggested by the World Health Organisation.”

The report gave a negative prognosis of the situation pointing out that “Casualties, as a result of the air pollution crisis in Nigeria, has increased by nearly 40 per cent over the last few decades,” without receding.

It said, “Nigeria has some of the highest levels of unhealthy air quality across the African continent. Overall, Nigerian cities contain the most unhealthy air quality with 10 urban areas being classified on a list of 30 cities in Africa with the most unhealthy air quality.”

The report put the causative factors as those from ambient air pollution, which it said “is caused by pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres or PM2.5.

“These are dangerous because they can easily bypass the body’s natural defence system and enter the bloodstream, contributing to mortality and morbidity.

“While the WHO guideline for the annual mean PM 2.5 concentration level is 10 µg/m³, Lagos has recorded levels of 68 µg/m³ in the same range as other polluted megacities such as Beijing, Cairo and Mumbai.”

To arrest the alarming development, the report said, “The introduction of efficient electric energy will decrease the need for generators, which produce unhealthy air in households and work environments.

“Nigeria has access to sustainable energy resources that are capable of providing power to its citizens. These methods are safer for the environment and the usage of them decreases the use of gasoline-powered generators, thus decreasing pollution.

“In rural areas, Nigerians can reduce air pollution in the household by substituting fuelwood, coal and charcoal for biogas, which is a form of biofuel that is made from the decay of natural waste.

“Biogas will provide sustainable options for preparing food and heating the household at the same time eliminating air pollution both inside the household and the outside environment.

“Lagos is making some progress in introducing laws but they still need to be executed. In 2017, standards for sulphur content in fuel were lowered to reduce emissions: from 3,000 parts per million (ppm) to 50 ppm for diesel; and from 1,000 ppm to 150 ppm for gasoline.

“Emissions from industries could be lowered with the use of newer, better technologies such as solar power. The garbage situation needs to be addressed due to the huge amount of rubbish that is buried, burned or just dumped.

“Teams need to monitor this situation and act accordingly when the perpetrators are caught.

“Much of the plastic could be recycled instead of being burnt as it is now.

“Furthermore, daily waste removal from households would also help to properly dispose of garbage, which reduces the fragmentation of waste and prevents odours forming that contribute to air pollution.”