Naira as good as dead, sells at N305 to dollar

By Babajide Komolafe

The naira, Wednesday, depreciated further to N305 per dollar as scarcity of dollars intensified in the parallel market.

From an average of N287 per dollar, Tuesday, the parallel market exchange rate rose to an average of N305 per dollar across the country.

Since Monday when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stopped the weekly dollar sales to Bureaux De Change (BDCs), the naira has been depreciating against the dollar.

BDC sources who confirmed the development to Vanguard however said that the exchange rate situation is uncertain as the rate changes from time to time.

Vanguard investigation revealed that though the exchange rate touched N305 in major cities like Lagos, Abuja and Kano, it dropped slightly to between N295 and N300 per dollar in Lagos and Abuja at the close of business, while it closed at N305 in Kano.

Chief Executive Officer, H.J Trust BDC, Mr. Harrison Owoh, told Vanguard that the market is fluid. “You cannot quote rate for anybody now because the rate is changing every time.”

An Abuja based BDC Operator who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said that the rate closed in Abuja at N298 but was above N300 during the day. He however said that it was difficult to quote any specific rate now as the situation is unpredictable. He opined that the rate would stabilised by next week, when the market would have absorbed the impact of the new CBN policy.

Naira Crash: Devaluation is Now Inevitable - Expert

Following the continued widening of the gap between the value of the naira on the black and official markets, a devaluation is now inevitable, Samir Gadio, head of Africa strategy at Standard Chartered Bank said.

"With pressure on foreign reserves and oil prices at $30 per barrel, devaluation is now unavoidable. The issue will be the quantum and methodology," he said.

Recently, Russian investment bank, Renaissance Capital, recently said a fair price for the naira is 305 to a dollar but stated that a devaluation to 240 or 250 per dollar is appropriate.

Currency and stock markets have been hard hit by the persistent fall in crude, Nigeria's main export, triggering a fall in government revenues and exit of foreign investors from the local bourse.

Nigerian stocks on Wednesday fell 3.6 percent to near a three-and-half-year low after the naira hit a new trough of 300 per dollar on the black market, weighed down by sliding oil prices and the central bank decision to curb dollar supply.

The Central bank had stopped dollar sale to Bureaux de Change, accusing them of negatively speculating about the naira.

Why EFCC is after PDP members---APC National Chairman

THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has offered an explanation as to why only members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appeared to be targeted in the ongoing anti-corruption war, saying that it was because the opposition party occupied power at the centre in the last 16 years.

Emerging from APC's National Working Committee (NWC) meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday night, he told State House correspondents that it was natural that those who were in power would be the ones to answer questions on their stewardship.

He said the war had nothing to do with political divide but would be fought not minding whose ox is gored.

He stated: "The APC is not in any way apologetic. We promised change and there is a lot of rot in the system. This must be cleansed any whoever and whatever ox is being gored, wherever the tree is going to fall, let it be.

"We must get used to the fact that in the process of cleansing this nation, there is going to be a lot of bullets to bite.

"The APC was not in office at national level in the last 10 to 16 years. So, the issue of whether somebody is PDP or not PDP does not arise. We have a nation to cleanse. The president has committed himself to that and we should do it whatever way it comes. We are not being apologetic about that at all.

"It has nothing to do with witch-hunting. It just happened that the dramatist personal of the period all happened to be on one side of the political divide."

On members of the opposition defecting to the ruling party, he denied that it was a ploy to make Nigeria a one-party state as he added that the APC would welcome to its fold anyone who could help it to advance its vision.

Odigie-Oyegun revealed that the national leadership of the APC discussed the state of the nation with the president and the upcoming elections in different states of the federation.

According to him, the meeting "has been a normal interactive meeting. We were here to brief the president on the state of the party, the challenges that we are facing, the numerous elections that we have to face in the next two, three months.

"As of today, we have 78 elections to contend with mostly arising from court actions following the national elections. We also took the opportunity to be briefed on the state of the nation and the great work the administration is doing in the face of very, very intense challenges to tackle these issues and these problems.

"So, we are going away fulfilled, happy that government has substantially blocked the leakages in the system. There is still a lot to be done and we are looking forward to the early passage of the budget so that full implementation will begin. "

Ex-Chinese vice minister jailed 15 years for bribery

A court in northern China sentenced a former Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Public Security and a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Li Dongsheng, to 15 years in jail on Tuesday for accepting bribes, state media reported.

Dongsheng is the latest senior figure to fall in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption crackdown that has targeted scores of high-level officials, including figures linked to China’s former state security chief, Zhou Yongkang.

Zhou, the biggest tiger to fall, was once seen as a potent rival of Xi and was at the center of a vast patronage system from his various positions of power.

Dongsheng was sentenced by a court in Tianjin city, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Calls to the court rang unanswered.

Li helped others get benefits from 1996 to 2013 when he held positions including the vice minister in the Ministry of Public Security and the deputy head of state broadcaster China Central Television, Xinhua said.

He also demanded and received bribes worth 22 million yuan ($3.4 million) from 2008 to 2013, Xinhua said.

Despite having no experience in law enforcement, Li was elevated to vice public security minister in 2009, sparking rumors he was assisted by Zhou, who was sentenced to life in prison in June for corruption and other crimes.

47 presidential candidates for Benin Republic's election

The Republic of Benin National Electoral Commission (CENA) said 47 candidates had filed their papers to contest Benin's presidential election scheduled for February 28.

It said in a release on Wednesday in Cotonou, the country's capital, that among the candidates are economic operators, former ministers, Members of Parliament and two army generals.

CENA said Forces for Emerging Benin (FCBE), the coalition of outgoing president, Boni Yayi, is presenting Lionel Zinsou, current prime minister, as its candidate.

It said the opposition Union for the Nation (UN) is fielding Erick Houndete, second vice-president of the Beninese Parliament while the Party for Democratic Change (PRD) of Mr Adrien Houngbédji, who the opposition mobilised to elect as Speaker of Parliament in May 2015, is backing the candidature of the prime minister.

CENA said the list of candidates would be transmitted to the Constitutional Court for validation.

It said further that there are 4,726,923 voters, with 99 per cent of them in the country.

CENA said the 14 days of campaign would be from February 12 to 26.

"The second round of the election would be held on March 13 if no candidate secures more than half of the votes in the first round," it said.

Although the campaign has not been officially launched, several potential candidates or their supporters are going round the country mobilising voters.

Governor says one person died of Lassa fever, commissioner says nobody died

THERE was a disagreement between Benue State governor, Chief Samuel Ortom and the Commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Cecilia Ojabo, over the outbreak of Lassa fever in the state.

The governor, while fielding questions from State House correspondents in Abuja, on Tuesday, confirmed that the disease had hit the state with the death of one person.

As of the time the governor was saying this in Abuja, the commissioner was also briefing newsmen in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, where she said the state was free of Lassa fever and that no one died of the disease.

The commissioner explained that the only person admitted at the State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, though manifested symptoms related to Lassa Fever, the final report from the victim's blood samples done in Edo State showed that it was negative.

While the governor has advised residents to stop eating rodents at the moment, the commissioner allayed the fear of residents of the state over the issue.

Army establishes new division in northern Borno, plans another division in south south

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, on Wednesday, announced the establishment of the Nigerian Army 8 Division located in the northern part of Borno State.

Buratai disclosed this while delivering a lecture entitled: `Nigerian Army: Challenges and Future Perspectives,’ at the National Defence College, Abuja.

He said the establishment of the new division was part of a strategic plan by the army to boost military operations against terrorists, particularly in areas around the Lake Chad Basin.

It would be recalled that the Nigerian Army had in August 2013 established the 7th Infantry Division in Maiduguri to boost the military’s counter-insurgency operation in the North-East.

Though details of the new establishment were not disclosed, Buratai said the division would soon become fully operational with logistics and manpower deployments.

The chief of army staff also said that plans were underway to establish another division to be known as the Nigerian Army 6 Division with headquarters in the South-South region of the country.

He said the establishment of the new divisions was part of a strategic plan to improve on the Nigerian Army’s operational capabilities in the face of emerging threats to national security.

He said the establishment of the additional formations would bring the number of divisions in the Nigerian Army to eight.

"Emerging threats to the security of our nation which have been aggravated by the proliferation of armed groups have added to the task of the military in protecting the lives of Nigerians and the integrity of its territory.

"The focus of the Nigerian Army today is to find lasting solutions to these contemporary threats posed by the activities of the armed groups and their allies.

"The Nigerian Army, therefore, remains poised to the extermination of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Today, they can no longer hold any territory as it used to be in the past, that is why they have resorted to the use of IEDs to hit soft targets.

"We have established the 8 division located in the northern part of Borno specifically to clear the area of the remaining terrorists elements while another division, 6 Division, will be established in the South-South," he said.

He said the Army planned to increase its personnel strength from its present 100,000 strength-force to slightly above 200,000 in the next eight years.

According to him, 12,000 personnel would be recruited in 2016 alone to fill the vacancies created as a result of the new establishments in the army.

Unbelievable! Dismissed, serving soldiers, policemen fight for escort jobs

• I get N1000 per trip – fake soldier

By Evelyn Usman and Faith Ake

CLAD in a complete Military regalia, 24-year-old Ugochukwu Iheanacho would not have passed for a fake soldier to any discerning person . From his stern looks to his  less warm approach towards ‘bloody civilians’,residents of  Muyibi street in Olodi Apapa area of Lagos,where he residents , concluded he was a personnel of the Nigerian Army  and accorded him the honour due to a Military personnel.

Fake soldier

But alas!  The father of one was discovered to have  merely been parading himself as a Soldier. His true identity was revealed last week following his arrest over  an alleged theft at a friend’s apartment.  A mild drama was said to have played out when policemen came to effect his arrest. Eye witnesses told Crime Alert that Iheanacho who boasted that he could not be arrested by the policemen, put up resistance, during which he allegedly fought with the policemen.

Escort of vehicles

But he was over powered and whisked to the station , where it was discovered during interrogation that he was not a soldier as claimed  afterall. In this interview with Crime Alert, Iheanacho said he used the uniform to escort vehicles to different parts of Lagos and beyond. He stated that he was not alone in this, revealing that both dismissed Military personnel and Policemen  converged somewhere around Orile area of the state ,where drivers come to pick them as escorts. He further disclosed that fight sometimes broke out between the ‘hustlers’ during argument on who should accompany  a particular vehicle.

According to the Imo state born , “ I used the uniform as escort. I do not rob with it. I am not alone in this. If you go to Orile as early as 4am, you will see both dismissed soldiers and policemen including those still in service and Merchant Navy  officials waiting for their turns. Drivers pay us N1000 for each trip. Some even escort vehicles outside Lagos State. The amount for that is much. But I do not go beyond Okokomaiko  because I am familiar with policemen along the route”.

Asked where he got the inform, he replied “A friend named Orji, gave it to me. He is serving in the Nigerian Army  He thought I was a naval personnel. Initially I was riding motorcycle. But my motorbike was seized by policemen.

Commercial bus drivers

I tried to use my Secondary School Certificate to get a job in order to take care of my wife and six months old baby  but that turned out to be a herculean task. I could also not raise money for any trade, as there was nobody to loan me some money “I was left with no other option than to join others at Orile to ‘hustle’. Nothing in life comes easy. At Orile, where we  converge  to be hired by commercial bus drivers , if one did not come early, he won’t get any bus to join as an escort.

At times, fight broke out between  dismissed and serving soldiers over who to join which vehicle. For instance,  if one did not come early,  another person would take over  the absentee’s regular bus. But trouble usually erupted when the new person  would refuse to leave the space for the original escort when he comes back.

Again, if one did not come early, another person automatically  joins the absentee’s regular bus driver. However when the absentee arrives, he would expect the new  person to vacate the front seat  for him. This situation usually resulted in a heated argument and possible fight. The fight is mainly because of the amount one gets.

“ For instance , we get N1000 per trip. At times, one could cover  five or even ten trips per day , depending on how lucrative business was.  Hiring our services is an added advantage for drivers because it prevents them from paying policemen on the way . It also prevents them from paying dues to agberos( motor park touts )

“I have written the Nigerian Army examination twice but did not pass. Things was going on well for me , as i could put food on my family’s table with the money i made as an escort, until my friend set me up. He accused me of being among those who burgled his apartment,thereby leading to my arrest “. The suspect according to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni , would be charged to court.

Breaking: FIFA fires secretary general Valcke

FIFA has fired secretary general Jerome Valcke, who is under investigation for misconduct, world football’s governing body said Wednesday.

“The FIFA emergency committee decided, on 9 January 2016, to dismiss Jerome Valcke from the position of FIFA secretary general with immediate effect,” said a statement.

The Frenchman, effectively the number two behind president Sepp Blatter, who has been banned for eight years, was suspended on September 17 over allegations that he helped sell 2014 World Cup tickets on the black market

Breaking: C’ttees’ report on Missing budget ready tomorrow- Saraki

By Ikenna Asomba

Senate President Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday, assured that a feedback from the committees assigned to look into reports of the missing 2016 budget, sent to the joint session of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, on December 22, 2015, will be ready tomorrow (Thursday, January 14, 2015).

File: Buhari during the 2016 budget presentation to the National Assembly.

Saraki gave this assurance during proceedings on the floor of the Senate, following a Point of Order raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator, representing Abia South Senatorial District, Sen. Eyinnaya Abaribe, for the Senate to address the issue of the missing budget, which dominated the traditional and social media space since yesterday.

Abaribe, quoting order 42 of the Senate Standing Rule, said the matter was discussed yesterday, during a closed door session of the Senate without feedback.

But responding, the Senate President said: “It was agreed in the closed session yesterday, that the Senate will wait for a feedback from the committees assigned to look into the matter,” adding that “the feedback from the committees should be ready by tomorrow (Thursday).”

Suicide bomber kills 12 in Cameroon Mosque attack

A suicide bomber killed 12 worshippers at a mosque in northern Cameroon on Wednesday, security officials said, in an area regularly targeted by Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamists.
The blast struck the mosque in the village of Kouyape, in Kolofata district north near the Nigerian border, at around 5:30 am (0430 GMT) during morning prayers, a security source said.
Since July last year Cameroon’s far north has been hit by a series of attacks blamed on Boko Haram, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
“Eleven worshippers were killed at the scene. A twelfth died of their wounds in hospital,” the security source said, adding that the attacker was praying alongside other worshippers when he blew himself up.
Another source close to the security services confirmed the blast killed 12 people and the bomber.
The bombing came after two people were killed overnight in the same area in another attack blamed on Boko Haram, the security source said.
Cameroon has beefed up its military presence along the Nigerian border as part of a regional coalition, after years of doing little to stop Boko Haram fighters using its territory as a rear base to arm and equip themselves.
Since late November the Cameroon army has carried out operations in several border areas aimed at weakening Nigerian jihadists who have been very active in the region.
Sources say these operations have significantly weakened Boko Haram’s capability, forcing the insurgents to turn away from direct confrontations with the military in favour of suicide attacks.
Over the past year, Boko Haram has stepped up cross-border attacks in Niger, Chad and Cameroon while also continuing to mount shooting and suicide assaults on markets, mosques and other mostly civilian targets within Nigeria itself.
The group’s six-year campaign for a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has killed at least 17,000 people and made more than 2.6 million others homeless.