The Presiding Bishop of Winner’s Chapel, David Oyedepo, has dismissed some officials for allegedly stealing from the church’s treasury.
Oyedepo, who spoke on Saturday during an empowerment summit organised for the church’s ordained workers, according to TheCable, however, did not disclose the number of officials affected.
He said, “We had no choice but to dismiss them. You can imagine top church officials engaging in doubling figures and other dubious practices. After we dismissed them, we discovered more fraud.”
“Those who should discover the fraud were the ones involved in it. One of them refused to confess until the last minute. Can you imagine accountants perpetrating fraud in the house of God?
“Don’t employ them, don’t sympathise. Whoever sympathises with the wicked is wicked himself. Don’t sympathise with any perpetrator of fraud, otherwise, you are a partaker of the evil act.”
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board have said it decided to suspend the use of the National Identification Number as requirements for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry registration due to technical issues and stakeholders’ concerns.
The UTME and DE registration are scheduled to begin on January 13 and end on February 17.
Announcing this at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, said technical issues regarding the registration system at the National Identification Management Commission was a major reason for the suspension.
He cited difficulties being faced by prospective candidates in the NIN registration.
Oloyede said the NIN would, however, be necessary for the 2021 UTME and Direct Entry registration.
The registrar said, “We came to a decision yesterday (Friday) and decided that we would suspend the use of the NIN as a prerequisite for the 2020 UTME and Direct Entry registration until 2021.
“By then, all candidates would have been given a one-year notice to register. This does not affect our permanent and ad hoc staff who will participate in the exercise as they will require the NIN for verification.”
Oloyede said JAMB and the NIMC would continue to share intelligence reports and other plans for the smooth conduct of the exercise in the future.
He stated that the NIN was aimed at tackling examination fraud.
He added, “We have gone round and seen the passion and commitment of the candidates; the reality on the ground is that what we expect is not attainable at the moment, so we shall not inflict more pain on candidates.”
The Director-General of the NIMC, Mr Aliyu Azeez, said the move was necessary as they were overwhelmed by the exercise because they were given a short period.
He said they had only 1,000 centres in the country for the exercise and would need up to 4,000 centres.
He, however, said the partnership with JAMB would continue, advising parents and candidates for the 2021 exercise to use the suspension to acquire the number within the stipulated time to avoid a last-minute rush.
Azeez promised that by 2021, the NIMC registration would be available at JAMB Computer-Based Test centres nationwide with operators on the ground to capture candidates.
Our correspondent had reported the difficulties faced by candidates in NIN registration including the alleged extortion of candidates by NIMC officials.
A spokesman for JAMB, Benjamin Fabian, had alleged that some syndicates were behind the hitches at the NIN registration centres.
The Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday said the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), abused his office and allegedly exhibited the worst form of corruption by dispatching the officially restricted Presidential jet to airlift his daughter, Hanan, for her private photography event in Bauchi State.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement described the action as provocative, condemnable, completely improper and an unpardonable slap on the sensibility of millions of Nigerians, particularly, the youths, who look up to Buhari for integrity, uprightness and respect for rules.
He stated that the development was a strong pointer to the alleged recklessness that pervades the Buhari regime and the alleged indefensible annexation of the national assets and resources for illegal private use.
Ologbondiyan said, “It is even most appalling that instead of apologizing to Nigerians, the Buhari Presidency, in its arrogance, is resorting to falsehood and trying to justify the inexcusable.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan
“Our party holds that Mr President should apologise for approving that her daughter uses the Presidential jet just for the purpose of allegedly taking photographs in a Durbar event in Bauchi state.
“Perhaps, the Buhari Presidency forgot that it is public knowledge that the Presidential fleet can only be authorized for use by the President, the First Lady, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, former Presidents, Presidential delegation and no one else.”
He added, “Moreover, the rules do not grant the President any powers to transfer any paraphernalia of office or privileges of his position to any of his children.
“The Presidency’s defence is, therefore, a direct spat on millions of Nigerians who cannot freely ply our highways because Mr President and his party the APC, have failed to fix and rid our roads of kidnappers and bandits, who have practically taken over major routes under their despicable watch.
“The PDP notes that never in the history of our nation has a Presidency exhibited such arrogance, impunity and corruption, adding that the action has further shown that the Buhari Presidency had only been parading and getting away with false integrity.”
According to him, Buhari heavily accused and criticized previous administrations of voting and wasting huge resources to maintain the Presidential fleet and promised to sell off most of the planes to save cost.
Hanan Buhari, arriving Bauchi State on the Presidential jet
He stated that since Buhari assumed office, none of the planes had been sold.
He added that instead, the Buhari Presidency had continued to budget more funds for the fleet with N8.5 bn budgeted for 2020 alone, only to approve that his daughter uses a presidential jet for her private photography event.
Ologbondiyan said, “The PDP urges the Buhari Presidency to respect the sensibilities of Nigerians by immediately withdrawing his provocative justification and show leadership by apologizing to the nation for this abuse of office.”
At least 100 bandits have been killed by the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) in Zamfara and parts of Katsina State between December 2019 and January 2020, the Acting Force Information Officer, Captain Ayobami Oni-Orisan, has said.
Oni-Orisan said in a statement to journalists in Gusau on Saturday that troops comprising personnel of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police, Department of State Services and others conducted several clearance operations to neutralise bandits who refused to repent.
“So far, OPHD troops have flushed out bandits hibernating around Tashar Kuturu, Dankalgo, Gobirawa junction, Bagega, Kawaye, Duhuwa, Sabon-Birni, Dankurmi, Dangulbi, Hayin Bawa, Zango, Unguwar Shanu, Tundu Mali, Magazu, Mayanchi and Gando forest, in Anka, Talata Mafara, Tsafe, Maru and Bukkuyum Local Government areas of Zamfara.
“Additionally, OPHD ground troops backed by the fighter jets of the Air Component also cleared Shinfida in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State, neutralising several bandits in the process,” he said.
The information officer said the renewed use of force against the bandits followed their refusal to embrace the peace process introduced by Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara about six months ago as well as the recent upsurge of the bandits in the affected areas.
He said during the operations, 10 kidnap victims were rescued, while 500 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition 23 Motorbikes, 15 AK 47 rifles, four General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), one PKM Machine Gun, one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bomb, one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tube, 11 fully loaded magazines, 600 rustled cows and 300 rustled sheep were recovered.
He further said that during the clearance operations, the troops in collaboration with the Defence Forces of Niger Republic apprehended a high profile gunrunner, popularly known as “Kunene” who was responsible for the inflow of arms, ammunition and other dangerous weapons into the region.
In addition, Oni-Orisan said, the troops also apprehended three suspected bandits; Abubakar Kiri Koloma, Abubakar Ibrahim and Haruna Alhaji Yaro, as well as two notorious drug dealers; Kabiru Abubakar Isah and Hamisu Dan-kwanba at various locations in Zamfara during the period.
He said all the suspects had been profiled and handed over to the relevant security agencies for further investigation and prosecution.
The wife of a reverend in the Oko-Oba area of Lagos State, Mrs Olusola Adeleke, has been arrested by the police for allegedly burning the skin of her home help with a hot iron.
The woman was arrested along with the reverend, Adebanjo, as the couple were alleged to have subjected the nine-year-old girl to series of physical abuse since she started living with them two years ago.
Sunday PUNCH learnt that the girl’s travails came to the limelight recently when one of the Adeleke’s two dogs bit her in the chest while she was feeding them.
It was said that the couple did not take her to hospital for treatment which prompted a mandated reporter to inform a child rights advocate, Mrs Toyin Taiwo-Ojo, about the case.
Taiwo-Ojo, a lawyer, told our correspondent that apart from the dog bites and mark of iron, there were scars of lashes all over the girl’s body.
She explained that she approached the reverend, who claimed his wife was playing with the victim when the hot iron burned her skin.
She said, “I asked him if the iron is a toy but he was speechless. The woman didn’t tell us what the girl did that warranted such inhumane treatment but the girl said she was punished for bedwetting.
“She said she is from Ajara (in Badagry). According to the girl, the couple lured her to their house two years ago through her mother’s friend. They told the mother that an elderly couple without a child needed somebody to keep their company and they promised to send her to school. That was why her mother released her to the couple
“We have been trying to reunite her with her family. She doesn’t know her surname; she only knows that her father was an Alhaji before he passed on. The suspects are pastors. They used horsewhips to beat the little girl who is about nine years old. There were scars all over her body from several previous beatings.”
Our correspondent learnt that the state’s Ministry of Youth and Social Development were involved in the matter and the suspects were arrested on Thursday and transferred to the gender unit of the state police command headquarters in Ikeja.
The lawyer said the victim while narrating her experience stated that the couple gave her tough chores to do, including tendering to Adeleke’s aged mother.
She said, “The malnourished child said she had been staying with the couple for the past two years without going to school. Her daily chores include changing the diaper and cleaning of a 90-year-old grandmother, who also resides in the place. She also feeds the two Alsatian dogs in the house and takes care of their kennel. A scar by her breast was a dog bite she sustained four days earlier but the reverend and his wife did not deem it fit to take her to a hospital for anti-rabies and anti-tetanus injections.”
The child rights activist stated further that the girl was taken to a hospital for treatment where a preliminary report revealed that she had been sexually abused.
“A medical test has been carried out on her and the result will be out on Monday. The girl has not revealed who did the dastardly act to her because of the trauma she had gone through. We are still waiting for the outcome of the police investigation to know the perpetrator,” she added.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the arrest of the couple.
He said, “Investigation on the case is ongoing and the suspects will be charged to court after the conclusion of the investigation.”
Between January and November last year, the Federal Government made about N5.04tn from the sale of oil, figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria have revealed.
The oil revenue, according to the CBN economic report for November, was lower than the N8.77tn revenue target provided for in the 2019 budget for the 11-month period.
A breakdown of the N5.04tn oil revenue showed that the sum of N363.9bn was generated from crude oil and gas exports, while the sum of N2.94tn was generated from Petroleum Profit Tax and Royalties.
A monthly breakdown of the oil revenue showed that N417.3bn was earned in January, while February, March, April, May and June had N479.5bn, N516.9bn, N472.4bn, N410.2bn and N336.6bn respectively.
For the months of June, the country through the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation made the sum of N336.6bn; July had N387.7bn; August, N484.8bn while September, October and November had N467.6bn, N577.3bn and N489.1bn respectively.
The decrease in oil revenue, relative to the monthly budget estimate, was attributed to shut-ins and shut-downs at some NNPC terminals.
The shutdown, according to findings, was due to pipeline leakages and maintenance activities.
The report read in part, “Oil receipt, at N489.08bn or 56.9 per cent of total revenue, was below both the monthly budget of N798.83bn and the preceding month’s receipt of N577.30bn by 38.8 per cent and 15.3 per cent respectively.”
Experts have said there is a need for the government to broaden its revenue sources in order to raise adequate revenue to finance its expenditure.
The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, said that a good part of the revenue projections of government was not done in line with current economic realities.
He said, “Generally, our revenue projections have severally missed the mark over the years. The projections and forecasts suffer from a lack of realism. In 2016, revenue projections fell short by 23 per cent; in 2017, it fell short by 47.73 per cent and in 2018 by 45 per cent.
“This indicates that overall, a good part of our revenue projections has not been based on empirical evidence. Further, if projected revenue in 2018 was N7.1tn and we missed the mark by 45 per cent and have also missed the mark by 30 per cent in the half-year of 2019, the further increase in projected revenue to N8.15tn in 2020 seems to be hanging in the air.”
The Chief Economist/Head, Investment Research of PanAfrican Capital Holdings, Mr Moses Ojo, attributed the increase in the SLF to the low liquidity of some of the commercial banks.
He noted that most tier-three commercial banks had borrowed heavily from the apex bank to square up their daily business activities.
He said, “The factors that accounted for this is mainly the low level of liquidity of some of the commercial banks in the country.
“While some of the operators have a strong liquidity base, while others are struggling. “The operators in this category are mostly in the third-tier class in the banking sector.”
He explained further that, “The weaknesses in the liquidity base of these operators led to them to be seeking cover from the regulator during the period.”
The Managing Director, Highcap Securities Limited, Mr David Adnori, attributed the development to the banks lending to the real sector and customers, which eventually impacted on credit to the private sector that closed November at N26.41tn from N25.8tn reported in October.
According to him, since the rate of borrowing from the CBN around 15.50 per cent and lending to customers at 30 per cent, the margin to commercial bank seems lucrative and profitable.
He said, “Commercial banks are the major ones accessing the SLF window. They borrow from the CBN and on-lend it to their customers and the real sector.
“Take, for instance, the commercial banks borrow funds through the SLF window at 15.50 per cent and lend it to their customers at the range of 25-30 per cent. These commercial banks have made a profit margin of eight per cent which is a profitable business.”
Also commenting, a research analyst at Investment One Financial Services Limited, Mr Abayomi Ajayi, said the 73 per cent increase in the SLF last year was due to the liquidity challenges in the sector.
He said, “The increase may have been the impact of the prevailing liquidity conditions in the banking system witnessed in 2019.”
Ajayi added, “As we know, the CBN retained its tight stance on monetary policy in its bid to maintain price stability and check inflation.
“Most of the lending from the CBN would have gone to tier II banks as they felt the brunt more during the period.”
Commercial banks borrowed a total of N19.64tn from the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2019, an increase of 73 per cent from the N11.36tn borrowed in 2018.
This has raised concerns among analysts following the rising liquidity problems in the financial services sector.
This happened barely one month after the World Bank warned the CBN against supporting undercapitalised banks indefinitely.
According to the apex bank’s financial data analysed by Sunday PUNCH, commercial banks through the CBN Standing Lending Facility window borrowed N7.43tn between July and December 2019 as against N4.5tn borrowed in 2018, an increase of 65 per cent.
The analysed data revealed that banks borrowed N8.66tn from the regulator in the first quarter of 2019; N3.55tn in the second quarter; N6.11tn in the third quarter; and N1.3tn in the fourth quarter.
Top bank executives told one of our correspondents that commercial banks and merchant banks continued to access the CBN SLF window to square-up their financial position in 2019.
The trend at the CBN’s SLF window showed more patronage while the Standing Deposit Facility declined as commercial banks strive to meet the regulator’s 65 per cent Loan to Deposit Ratio policy.
The SLF is the regulator window through which commercial banks access funds from the CBN to carry out their business activities and meet obligations that are falling due while the SDF means commercial banks deposit with the apex bank.
According to financial services executives, banks with more liquidity problems appear to frequent the CBN SLF window than those with fewer challenges.
Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee on March 26, 2019, voted to reduce Monetary Policy Rate to 13.5 per cent from 14.00 per cent, applicable to the SLF interest rate of 15.50 per cent as against 16 per cent in 2018.
The report further showed that during the fourth quarter of last year, the commercial banks borrowed N2.8tn from the CBN, representing a 29 per cent decline from N3.96tn borrowed in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Sunday PUNCH’s findings showed that the commercial banks during the fourth quarter of 2019 reduced borrowing from the apex bank and focused more on the LDR deadline which mandates them to give soft credit to key sectors in the economy.
According to financial experts, although the data revealed that banks borrowed more funds from the regulator in 2019, compared to 2018, most of those borrowings appear to have come from small and mid-size banks experiencing liquidity problems.
A Nigerian, identified as Dauda Onoruoiza, was reportedly among the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 crash in Iran on Wednesday.
Reports said Onoruoiza was working with Boeing on three months training in Ukraine and was attached to the Boeing 737-800 to fly with and study the mechanical noise and report back to the company.
The ill-fated plane was said to have been scheduled for maintenance on Monday, January 13, 2020, in Ukraine.
The nationality of passengers and crew aboard the plane were given as 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 people from Sweden, four from Afghanistan and three from the United Kingdom and Germany respectively.
It was however not clear what passport Onoruoiza had before the accident.
Boeing had yet to officially acknowledge that it had an employee on the crashed plane.
The US aircraft manufacturer, however, posted a condolence message on its website to commiserate with the victims’ families, after the news of the incident broke on January 8.
The statement read in part, “This is a tragic event and our heartfelt thoughts are with the crew, passengers and their families.
“We are in contact with our airline customers and stand by them in this difficult time. We are ready to assist in any way needed.”
The Iranian government had admitted that it shot down the commercial aircraft unintentionally.
The Presiding Bishop of Winner’s Chapel, David Oyedepo, has dismissed some officials for allegedly stealing from the church’s treasury.
Oyedepo, who spoke on Saturday during an empowerment summit organised for the church’s ordained workers, according to TheCable, however, did not disclose the number of officials affected.
He said, “We had no choice but to dismiss them. You can imagine top church officials engaging in doubling figures and other dubious practices. After we dismissed them, we discovered more fraud.”
“Those who should discover the fraud were the ones involved in it. One of them refused to confess until the last minute. Can you imagine accountants perpetrating fraud in the house of God?
“Don’t employ them, don’t sympathise. Whoever sympathises with the wicked is wicked himself. Don’t sympathise with any perpetrator of fraud, otherwise, you are a partaker of the evil act.”
President Bola Tinubu will on Sunday receive Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for a state visit at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“Both leaders will...
