Showing posts with label 2023 Nigerian Elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2023 Nigerian Elections. Show all posts

Monday

Band of thieves and purveyors of ineptitude.....

"BARBARIANS AT THE GATE"
CC™ Viewpoint 
By Boyejo A. Coker - Editor-in-Chief

It actually does not matter what aisle of the 'political' spectrum you belong to, this rudderless leadership has failed Nigerians, more-so even worse, since the inception of the 4th Republic in May, 1999.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held sway for fifteen mostly inglorious years (1999-2015) under the stewardship of the following:

a) Rtd. General Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007)

b) The late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (2007-2010)

c) Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (2010-2015).

For at least 12 of those first 15 years of the 4th Republic, corruption, by and large, became the norm while the climate created by avaricious greed, further engendered a general state of lawlessness.

Kidnappings and killing orgies became commonplace and have continued unabated, till today.

While some may say that there was a certain degree of accountability, with the accompanying restoration of some semblance of sanity during Yar'Adua's brief reign, the truth remains that his vision of a better Nigeria was never going to see the light of day, given the scavengers and marauders he was surrounded by.

For this piece, we will absolve Umaru Yar'Adua of some of the PDP misrule when one considers that he was never in charge, as the cabal (whose stranglehold on the proverbial throat of Nigeria has never been in doubt) led by the one Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo et al essentially pulled his strings. When he (Yar'Adua) then dared to think for himself, he was murdered by the demonic powers behind the Nigerian throne of oppression.

Then came Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo again, as in his quest to maintain his inordinate hold and that of his fellow 'barbarians at the gate' on the destiny of Nigeria, he ensured that the next Nigerian leader would come from his "political family tree' (unfortunately, nothing good has ever come from any Obasanjo tree including his biological family tree). Thus, the dysfunctional reign of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, an absolute and utter misfit for any public office, was visited upon Nigerians.

It remains telling that only Goodluck Ebele Jonathan could have made an ethnic and religious bigot attractive to the same Nigerians that had rejected him (Muhammadu Buhari) a resounding three times (2003, 2007 and 2011) prior to his resounding victory in the 2015 general elections.

In case some have forgotten how we got here, this was the "scorecard" of the PDP misrule, particularly under Jonathan:

a) Coffers-to-personal account accountability (or lack-there-of) where public funds were used for personal gain including the extravagant wedding of GEJ's daughter http://www.myjoyonline.com/…/goodluck-jonathans-daughter-re….

b) An aviation industry (once led by Femi Fani-Kayode and then later by the certificate forging Stella Oduah) that was nothing short of a death trap. I should know as I lost a close relative, Deji Falae (Ondo State Commisioner for Culture and Tourism at the time) to one of those unfortunate but far-too-common air crashes under the PDP misrule.

c) Fabricated economic numbers embellished masterfully by sycophants in the Finance and Economic Ministries to obfuscate the fact that the average Nigerian could not afford the most basic amenities under the Jonathan misrule.

d) Religious over-reach where Jonathan consistently employed openly the advise and services of so-called Christian Pastors and even embarrassed the country by taking his whole cabinet to Israel to "pray". Can you imagine the outcry from the same hypocritical CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) and their egunje leadership if PMB had gone to Saudi Arabia with his whole cabinet to pray?

e) Under Jonathan, the bigotry and balkanization of Nigeria was effectively set in motion as Jonathan was essentially committed to the disintegration of Nigeria; and this was made even more apparent with the systematic decimation of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Jonathan, in an act of subterfuge against the Nigerian state, then employed foreign mercenaries (former South African soldiers under the apartheid racist regime) to fight Boko Haram at the end of his unfortunate misrule. 

f) Do Nigerians also forget that Jonathan attempted to scuttle the democratic process during this period of shame and disgrace to the Nigerian nation by postponing the elections?

g) The use of the DSS to terrorize, intimidate and kill (thousands of people disappeared without trace) Nigerians in the North, the SE and the SW (in particular) with Femi Fani-Kayode, Ayo Fayose and Musiliu Obanikoro leading the assault on political opponents in the SW with the firm support of the DSS, much like the days of Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, that weaponization of a State Security apparatus against the citizenry has continued under the autocratic administration of Muhammadu Buhari.

h) Nigeria became a pariah state under Jonathan and effectively lost its voice both on the African continent and globally. Anyone who underestimates the forces that are against this current administration with its stated desire to sanitize the nation must be truly misinformed. The forces are both spiritual and physical and I will caution Nigerians that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.  

And the circus has continued under the rudderless and despotic rulership (note I didn’t use the term leadership) of Muhammadu Buhari, who has proven himself to be just as incompetent a leader as he was as a soldier. Sadly, the teeming masses of hardworking and highly industrious Nigerians remain saddled with an unbecoming band of brigands and marauders as so-called leaders.

Nigerians need to realize that they are merely pawns in the game of high stakes chess being played by a corrupt and morally bankrupt political class. The truth is they (the political class) even intermarry and are not bothered by ethnic or religious so-called differences, while at the same time fanning the embers of ethnic and religious warfare among the desperately poor who just would like to have a fair shake in life, for once. 

As the late Sunny Okosun said in his famous song from almost three decades ago, "Which way Nigeria. Which way to go?" The answer lies squarely in the hands of the Nigerian people and the sooner they realize how much power they have to make a change, the sooner that change will come.  

Heaven, as they say, helps those who help themselves. 

Wednesday

Nigerian Govt names controversial cleria Ahmad Sheikh Gumi’s ally, Tukur Mamu, 8 others, 6 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators as terrorism financiers


CC™ VideoSpective

By Seun Opejobi

The Federal Government has released the full list of individuals and organizations financing terrorism in Nigeria.

The list released by the Federal Government include Tukur Mamu, a close ally of Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

The list also include six Bureau De Change, BDC, operators.

Recall that information earlier released by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, said those financing terrorism include nine individuals and six Bureau De Change operators.

In its report titled, ‘Identification of Persons and Organizations as of March 18, 2024’, the NFIU said the Nigeria Sanctions Committee convened on March 18, 2024, during which certain individuals and entities were identified for sanction due to their ties to terrorism financing.

Subsequently, a post released on X on Monday by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Media Aide, Bashir Ahmad, reads: “The Federal Government has released names and BDCs funding terrorists in Nigeria. We hope that those individuals will face the necessary legal consequences for their actions.

Individuals:

1. Tukur Mamu

2. Yusuf Ghazali

3. Muhammad Sani

4. Abubakar Muhammad

5. Sallamudeen Hassan

6. Adamu Ishak

7. Hassana-Oyiza Isah

8. Abdulkareem Musa

9. Umar Abdullahi

The six BDCs and firms are:

10. West and East Africa General Trading Company Limited

11. Settings Bureau De Change Ltd

12. G. Side General Enterprises

13. Desert Exchange Ventures Limited

14. Eagle Square General Trading Company Limited

15. Alfa Exchange BDC


DAILY TRUST

Saturday

Nigeria’s government budgets for SUVs and president’s wife while millions struggle to make ends meet

CC™ Global News

By Chinedu Asadu

Nigeria’s lawmakers on Thursday approved the new government’s first supplemental budget, which includes huge allocations for SUVs and houses for the president, his wife and other public officials, sparking anger and criticism from citizens in one of the world’s poorest countries.

In the budget presented to lawmakers to supplement the country’s expenditures for 2023, the government had allocated about $38 million for the presidential air fleet, vehicles and for renovation of residential quarters for the office of the president, the vice-president and the president’s wife — even though her office is not recognized by the country’s constitution.

Before the budget was approved, and facing increasing criticism, lawmakers eliminated $6.1 million earlier budgeted for a “presidential yacht” and moved it to “student loans.”

A Nigerian presidential spokesman said President Bola Tinubu had not given approval for the yacht, whose allocation was provided under the Nigerian Navy’s budget.

The country’s National Assembly recently confirmed that more than 460 federal lawmakers will each get SUVs — reportedly worth more than $150,000 each — which, they said, would enable them to do their work better. Local media reported that the lawmakers have started receiving the vehicles.

“All of this speaks to the gross insensitivity of the Nigerian political class and the growing level of impunity we have in the country,” said Oluseun Onigbinde, who founded Nigerian fiscal transparency group BudgIT.

The allocations reminded many Nigerians of the economic inequality in a country where politicians earn huge salaries while essential workers like doctors and academics often go on strike to protest meager wages. 

Consultants, who are among the best-paid doctors in Nigeria, earn around $500 a month. After several strikes this year, civil servants got the government to raise their minimum wage to $67 a month, or four cents an hour.

Such steep expenditure on cars in a country where surging public debt is eating up much of the government’s dwindling revenues show its “lack of priorities” and raises questions about the lack of scrutiny in the government’s budget process and spending, said Kalu Aja, a Nigerian financial analyst.

Kingsley Ujam, a trader working at the popular Area 1 market in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, said he struggles to feed his family and has lost hope in the government to provide for their needs.

“They (elected officials) are only there for their pockets,” said Ujam.

It is not the first time Nigerian officials are being accused of wasting public funds. 

That tradition must stop, beginning with the president “making sacrifices for the nation, especially as vulnerable people in the country are struggling to make ends meet,” said Hamzat Lawal, who leads the Connected Development group advocating for public accountability in Nigeria.

He added that Nigeria must strengthen anti-corruption measures and improve governance structures for the country to grow and for citizens to live a better life. “We must also make public offices less attractive so people do not believe it is an avenue to get rich,” he said.

While Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer, chronic corruption and government mismanagement have left the country heavily reliant on foreign loans and aid, while at least 60% of its citizens live in poverty.

Austerity measures introduced by the newly elected president have drastically cut incomes and caused more hardship for millions already struggling with record inflation.

AP NEWS

The Elections Are Over, We Must Move Forward – Former President Jonathan Says After Visiting President Tinubu

CC™ Global News

By Osimhen Egharevba 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan says following the Supreme Court’s validation of President Bola Tinubu’s electoral victory, Nigeria must move forward.

The ex-president stated this while briefing journalists at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa after meeting with Tinubu.

“There are certain things we discussed so that the country must move forward. Elections are over, we must move forward,” Jonathan said.

Yes, we have challenges economically now, we still have all it takes to lead. These are some of the issues I will continue to have a conversation with Mr. President, including briefing him on all my foreign programs because they are not personal issues.”

He said the visit which came hours after the Supreme Court verdict, afforded him the opportunity to congratulate the President over Thursday’s judgment.

According to him, there is a need to end the tension and move forward together as Africa’s most populous nation.

Jonathan called on all political leaders, including former President to eschew bitterness and work together in harmony for the country’s overall good.

The former president also said his visit was to inform Tinubu of some of his recent foreign engagements as well as some sundry issues affecting the country.

“Traditionally, if a former president goes outside the country for this continental, regional or international, they come home and tell the President. That is the tradition. Most of the time, when you see me here, it is because of the things we must do to move Nigeria, ECOWAS, and the African continent forward,” he added.

Thursday

“He’s disconnected from reality’ — APC tackles Babachir Lawal for claiming Obi won presidential poll


CC™ Nigeria News

By Dyepkazah Shibayan

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says Babachir Lawal, a former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), needs “counselling” because he is “disconnected from reality”.

The ruling party was reacting to a statement by Lawal where he claimed that Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), won the presidential poll.

He said President Bola Tinubu, who was declared as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), came “a distant third”.

In a statement on Tuesday, Felix Morka, APC spokesperson, said the former SGF is peddling “gibberish” because Obi lost the election.

Clearly, the defeat of his principal, Peter Obi, at the poll has done incalculable damage to Mr. Lawal’s psyche and his capacity for rational thought as evident in his analysis based entirely on the figment of his warped imagination rather than on hard facts and figures,” he said.

“A clear sign of his disconnect from reality was his reference to the election held in May 2023, rather than February.

“We challenge Babachir Lawal to give a detailed breakdown of his so-called ‘aggregated facts sourced from independent sources,’ which he claimed proved that Obi won the election or forever remain mute.

“That he did not provide these facts to help Obi prove his case before the Presidential Elections Petitions Court is a massive disservice if not betrayal of his political principal.

“Babachir Lawal ought to have known that running a jaundiced commentary on a matter before the Supreme Court is the height of irresponsibility.

“But he is still nursing bitterness and vindictiveness over his failed dream of running on a joint ticket with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

Morka described Lawal as a “lightweight” individual who has failed as a politician in Adamawa.

“Despite his legendary failure as a politician, former President Muhammadu Buhari in deference to diversity appointed him to the high office of SGF where he was unceremoniously sacked on account of very poor performance and dishonorable conduct,” he said.

“A man like Babachir Lawal is in no position to offer an opinion on the competence of President Tinubu’s appointees.”

The APC spokesperson said Lawal should mind his farm “and stop constituting himself into a needless distraction”.

THE CABLE.NG

Wednesday

Peter Obi won 2023 presidential election – Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal

CC™ Politico 

By Deji Komolafe

The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal on Tuesday claimed that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, won the February 25 presidential election.

According to Lawal, the election was not won by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu who was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He further stated that available factual data as aggregated from several independent sources indicated that Obi got the majority votes while the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar came second in the election.

Lawal noted that President Tinubu came a distant third in the number of votes scored.

The former SGF in a statement released on Tuesday said, “I have resisted the temptation to engage in the contemporary political discourse since the May 2023 election faux pas.

“I did this for two reasons; the first being that as an active player in the drama, I needed time to analyze and digest the data that led to the outcome(s) so I could arrive at an informed decision; the second, being that the rainy season had just set in and it was necessary that I focused my attention on my farms which are the mainstay of my livelihood.

“The current topical issues for political discourse and inquiry are whether or not Bola Tinubu won the presidential election and/or that he was apriori, qualified to participate in the election given his murky biodata as is now being publicly unveiled daily in an avalanche.

“My answer to the first inquiry is that regardless of whatever INEC or Appeal Court said or did, Bola did not win the election.

“Right from the start of the campaigns, Bola knew he was not going to win the election in a free and fair contest so he decided to go by all means.

“Available factual data as aggregated from several independent sources indicate that Obi got the majority votes while Atiku came second. Bola came a distant third in the number of votes scored.

“My answer to the second inquiry is that given the now unfolding deluge of uncomplimentary information about who or what he actually is, ordinarily, sound ethics and morality should have convinced him to voluntarily excuse himself from participation in the election.

“ But this, notwithstanding, I believe he still has time and opportunity to save himself this public humiliation and embarrassment to his person, both locally and internationally by resigning so that he can give more attention to his health.

“After all, no one knows about the truism of these severely embarrassing and humiliating exposures about his person than the man himself.

“Leadership is all about integrity; sound pedigree, trustworthiness and the ability to unite and instil hope and confidence in the people one seeks to lead. In these qualities, most Nigerians are in total agreement that Bola has them in very very short supply indeed.

“But now, six months down the line, the chicken has come home to roost as Nigerians have come to the realization that we have not got what we deserve politically.

“Confusion and despondency are now all over the nation as no one trusts the government to do what it says it will do. No one trusts the leader, and no one trusts appointees who are appointed as rewards for their roles in the election or who had in the past helped him in his life.

“ Bola the President and his group are now in government and are in full control of Nigeria’s vast resources and opportunities. They are enjoying their offices while Nigerians languish in insecurity, poverty and hopelessness.

“During the campaign, Bola mouthed some platitudes about competence; but we are so far yet to see it reflected in his political appointments. It seems more like he is rewarding people who supported him to get the Presidency at all costs.

“This band of appointees that Bola is assembling into his government don’t care about Nigeria at all.

“Fuel prices will continue to gallop upwards until only they can afford it; the Naira will continue to race downhill in a free-fall until only they can afford anything in the market; insecurity will continue its escalation until every community in the nation is consumed by it.

“Just to mention a few of these appointees: take insecurity for example, what do you expect an accountant to do as Minister of Defense?

“ Was he not that one who was governor while Bello Turji et al freely terrorized Zamfara State? What about his CBN Governor with a CV; a one-time Chairman of a little-known bank employing 300 people in less than 12 branches clustered in the South-South and South East regions?

“Is there any doubt left as to his lack of qualification and experience for the job than that his first policy statement was to remove foreign exchange restrictions for the importation of 43 agricultural and related products?

“Certainly, Nigerians are in for a short thrift. The people running the government do not care a hoot about the Nigerian people; their cronies are the petroleum industry players while some are the banking system players so a free fall of the Naira and an unregulated upward movement of oil prices both work for more profits for them.

“By the way, has anyone noticed the intolerance for free speech and dictatorship that is creeping upon us? Has anyone noticed the actions of the National Broadcasting Commission of late?”

Friday

U.S. Court takes decision in Atiku’s case after Chicago State University confirmed female Bola Tinubu transcript


CC™ Politico

By Chukwuani Victoria

The judge of United States District Court for the Northern District, Jeffrey Gilbert presiding over a subpoena application for Nigerian’s president, Bola Tinubu’s records has reserved judgement after learning that the politician’s college transcript, which he used to gain admission into Chicago State University (CSU) in 1977, indicated it belonged to a female.

The judge, according to the People Gazette had earlier scheduled September 12, to rule on the matter, but said he needed additional time to digest his decision after learning that there was a transcript bearing Bola A. Tinubu released by CSU under a separate court subpoena that carried the owner’s gender as female.

Trying to demonstrate the frivolity of the case, Tinubu’s lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, raised the female issue, dismissing it as a fishing expedition based entirely on a conspiracy theory being peddled in Nigeria by Tinubu’s political detractors.

‘It is like Donald Trump coming up in 2010 to claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States,” Carmichael said.

But lawyer to plaintiff Atiku Abubakar, Alexandre de Gramont quickly informed the court that the possibility of Bola Tinubu, who attended CSU in the same 1970s, being a woman was first revealed in records produced by the school itself.

The school had, in mid-2022, submitted Tinubu’s records in its possession while complying with a state court subpoena.

The records, handed over to Nigerian civil rights lawyer Mike Enahoro-Ebah, showed that Bola A. Tinubu was admitted into CSU in 1977 based on a transcript from Southwest College Chicago that was marked as belonging to a female.

Judge Gilbert became confused after CSU lawyer Michael Hayes confirmed that the school had indeed turned in records to Enahoro-Ebah in 2022, but insisted that the Nigerian president, Tinubu was the one who attended and graduated from the school.

Hayes, however, said he could not explain the contradictions, and the school’s administrators would not be able to state under oath that the certificate Tinubu has been parading was genuine or otherwise.

“Is the diploma authentic or is it a forgery? My client can’t answer yes to either of those questions,” Hayes said of Tinubu’s certificate that he submitted to be Nigeria’s president.

Consequently, a confused Judge Gilbert said he would need additional time to process the confusion, especially given Hayes’ confirmation of the records released last year by CSU.

“I will have to take this matter under advisement,” the judge said, adding that his court would communicate a new judgement or hearing date with counsel to all parties.

The judge said additional documents or clarification about already submitted documents may be required from the parties.

NAIJA NEWS

Friday

FLASHBACK: Ethno-Religious dog whistle: Pint-sized El-Rufai says Northern Christians are 'insignificant' and can't help Peter Obi win


CC™ Political News

Pint-sized human tinderbox and ever fiery Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said the Northern Christians can’t swing the pendulum of victory in the forthcoming presidential election in the direction of Labor Party candidate, Peter Obi.

Speaking during an interview on TVC on Thursday, El-Rufai said the Northern Christians don’t have the numbers to make Obi win, hence they’re inconsequential.

He also said the Labor Party presidential campaign rallies are hinged on ‘ethnic and religious bigotry’.

“The fact that you’re doing 70 percent in Anambra state does not mean somebody doing 10 percent in Kano is not better than you. Kano is four million votes that actually happen. The number of votes in Anambra is the size of one local government area in Kaduna state. So, all states are not equal.

“If you poll states and you make them equal, yes, Peter Obi will sweep the south-eastern states; he will do well in south-south; where else?

He’s not polling well in the south-west other than a drop in the ocean in Lagos. He’s polling in the Christian enclaves in the north — he’s polling well — but how many are they?

“Peter Obi cannot win the election. He doesn’t have the number of states; he doesn’t have 25 percent — the last time we checked — in more than 16 states. He can’t go anywhere

“This election is between the APC and PDP because they have the footprint; they have the spread. Ethnicity and religious bigotry will not take you anywhere and that’s what the Labor Party campaign is about.” he said.

Monday

Bola Ahmed Tinubu Sworn In As Nigeria’s 7th Democratically Elected President


CC™ Breaking News

By Deji Komolafe - Deputy Editor

The next president of Africa's largest democracy, Nigeria, has been sworn in at a ceremony in the capital, Abuja. Bola Tinubu, 71, won February's election with a promise to renew hope - but he faces tough economic and security challenges.

The ceremony took place amid extremely tight security and in front of world leaders and dignitaries, such as President Kagame of Rwanda and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa at the 5,000 capacity Eagle Square venue in the capital Abuja.

Tinubu becomes just the 7th democratically elected president of Nigeria, and the 16th overall.

He inherits a country beset by serious economic and security challenges after eight years of rudderless leadership by the outgoing administration of Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu also inherits a nation deeply divided along ethno-religious lines, a consequence of the acerbically divisive rule of former President Buhari, who will go down as probably the most polarizing leader in the history of Nigeria. 

Tinubu’s inauguration is the culmination of a life-long ambition to rule Nigeria and he is probably the most prepared to do so, in the history of the country.

Sunday

Buhari apologises for inflicting pain, suffering on Nigerians


CC™ Politico News

Outgoing Nigeria President, Muhammadu Buhari has apologized to Nigerians who found themselves on the receiving end of some of the policies his government implemented in the last eight years.

The President tendered the apology in his farewell broadcast to Nigerians as the Commander-in-Chief, aired on the morning of Sunday, May 28, 2023.

Buhari is gearing up to hand over power to the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in less than 24 hours and took out time to reflect on his eight years in office.

While thanking Nigerians for supporting his government, the President claimed he's leaving the country better than he met it when he came into office in 2015.

He claimed that most of the economic policies pursued by his government have yielded the desired results even though he admitted that such policies caused Nigerians a great deal of pain and suffering and apologised accordingly.

Buhari said, "In the course of revamping the economy, we made some difficult choices most of which yielded the desired results. Some of the measures led to temporary pain and suffering for which I sincerely apologise to my fellow countrymen but the measures were taken for the overall good of the country."

The President also claimed that his government provided millions of job opportunities for Nigerians, while the nation achieved self-sustainability in food production among others all thanks to his policy interventions.

He said he's leaving the office as a fulfilled person due to some of the strides his government made to reposition Nigeria for future development and urged the people to rally behind the incoming administration so that the country can capitalise on the foundation his government has put in place.


PULSE.NG

Saturday

Tinubu inherits negative growth, non-performing sectors


CC™ Africa News

As President Muhammadu Buhari hands over the reins of the economy to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the scorecard seems overwhelmingly negative.

Key macroeconomic indicators are all in the red, with most of them far weaker than what was handed over to the outgoing regime in 2015.

From inflation figures to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and exchange rates; from the money market performance through the entire financial markets and the real sector, the story is gory.

Headline inflation rose to 22.2 per cent in April 2023, the highest in 18 years. Buhari inherited a single digit inflation rate at 9.0 percent in June 2015, and he is set to hand over to Tinubu a second tier double digit inflation which is still trending up as at the time of this report.

This reflects the steady rise in prices of goods and services under Buhari occasioned by a number of wrong-headed or badly implemented policies including foreign exchange restriction on 43 items, border closure, farmers/herders clash, post-COVID supply chain bottlenecks as well as the most recent Naira redesign debacle, among others.

Consequently, the average headline inflation in the eight years of Buhari tenure rose to 14.77 per cent, up by 447 basis points from 10.3 per cent in the previous eight years, 2007 to 2014.

Of course this escalated the misery index across larger section of the citizens.

The GDP numbers through the previous eight years before Buhari took over in the second quarter of 2015 had averaged 4.8 percent.

As of the time the Buhari administration took off in the second quarter of 2015, Q2’15, the economy growth rate had slowed down to around 3.57 percent due to the oil price crises that had started a year earlier.

However, the high expectations that the economy is going to be revived quickly vanished when the new administration slumbered in setting up the cabinet and the subsequent economic management team that was expected to steer the ship away from the troubled waters.

Consequently, this lethargy littered the entire spectrum of the subsequent years, bringing the GDP numbers to one of the worst in history recording two recessions and an average of 1.2 percent growth.

Tinubu is inheriting a sluggish economy.

Mirroring the steady rise in inflation under Buhari, the benchmark interest rate, the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, rose by 500 basis points, bpts, to 18 per cent in March 2023, as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, moved to curb inflation.

Consequently, the maximum interest rate rose by 137 bpts to 28.08 per cent at the end of March 2023, from 26.71 per cent at the end of 2015. The Prime Lending rate, however, dropped by 295 bpts to 13.9 per cent from 16.85 per cent.

Tinubu is inheriting a high cost economic environment.

In the eight years of Buhari, the naira depreciated by 245 per cent and 135 per cent in the parallel market and in the official market respectively.

While the official exchange rate rose to N465.13 per dollar on May 17, 2023, from N198 per dollar on May 31, 2015, the parallel market exchange rate rose to N748 per dollar on May 17, 2023 from N217 per dollar on May 31, 2015.

Consequently, the premium between the two exchange rates widened to N279.87 on May 16, 2023, from N19 on May 31, 2015, the widest in the history of the country’s foreign exchange market.

Notwithstanding the decline in net foreign exchange, the nation’s external reserves rose to $35.19 billion at the end of May 16, 2023 from $28.28 billion at the end of 2015, translating to an increase of 24 per cent during the eight years period.

However, discounted for the $30.97 billion increase in external debt during this period, the external reserves will decline to $4.22 billion, hence a decline of 85 per cent in the eight years of Buhari.

How Buhari’s deficit budgeting hands fiscal albatross to Tinubu

The deficit budgeting strategy of the administration of the out-going President has created a fiscal albatross for the incoming administration.

The Federal Government deficit in 2016 was slightly above N2 trillion, but this has risen to over N12 trillion in the current fiscal year.

This follows a consistent pattern of weak revenue generation at the backdrop of propensity to spend more than earnings.

With poor revenue records and expansionary budget outlays, Buhari has consistently borrowed to fund the government budgets since assumption of office.

The National Assembly has also encouraged the borrowing to fund budget deficit from both domestic and external sources.

By 2015, out of the $65.428 billion public debt of the nation, the Federal Government debt was $44.857 billion or N8. 836 trillion

It consisted of $10.718 billion external debt while domestic debt was N8.836 trillion.

But as of December 2022, the total public debt stock of the nation had risen to $103.110 billion or N46.250 trillion.

Analysis of the detailed debt stock as of last year end shows that the external debt stood at $41.694 billion or N16.703 trillion while states and the Federal Capital Territory external debt stood at $4.456 billion.

At $61.415 billion or N 27.548 trillion, domestic debt accounted for 59.56 percent of the total debt stock. Out of that figure the Federal Government owed $ 49.515 billion or N22.210 trillion while states and the FCT owed $11.900 billion or N5.337 trillion.

Tinubu inherits tottering capital market

Resilience

Elsewhere across the entire financial sector, the story is almost the same, except for some resilience in the capital market.

In the negative principally is the exit of foreign investors in the capital market responding to the adverse macroeconomic and policy environment.

Foreign investors’ participation which hitherto accounted for more than 60 per cent of transactions in the Nigerian stock market went south between May 2015 and 2023.

But the secondary market for equities defied these realities and surged by 52.8 per cent.

The NGX under Buhari administration, is, therefore, marked by significant periods of highs and lows.

When the President took over office in 2015, the market capitalization of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), formerly the Nigerian Stock Exchange, was N16.88 trillion (equities 69.1% or N11.66trn, bonds and others 30.9%).

By May 16, 2023, the market capitalization had risen to N60.05 trillion comprising equities (N28.523trn), bonds (N22.390trn) and Exchange Traded Fund, ETF (N9.137bn).

Notwithstanding this increase, the ratio of equities market capitalization to GDP remains paltry at about 15 percent, an indication that the capital market is not really integrated with the economy.

Also, the main performance indicator of the NGX, the All Share Index (ASI), advanced to 52,419.33 points from 34,310.37 points, representing a 52.8 percent increase.

However, the positive scores in the capital market in the past eight years include few new listings in the exchange.

2019, particularly, saw the listing of blue chip companies. As one of the settlement terms with the Federal Government for infraction, MTN was compelled to list on NGX. The listing encouraged Airtel Africa, another telecoms giant, to also list, thereby shooting up the market capitalization of equities to over N19 trillion. Prior to the listing of the two telecom giants, Notore Chemicals had listed in 2018. Since then, other major companies, including Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO), BUA Cement, BUA Foods and Geregu Power, the first energy company to access the stock market, were listed.

Under the Buhari administration, several elite products were introduced in an effort to deepen the market.

More so, the Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) segment of the capital market was revived and the products are now traded on the stock exchange. More Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and recently launched Exchange Traded Derivatives have emerged in the Nigerian capital market. With the rollout of Exchange Traded Derivatives, a critical financial market infrastructure, called Central Counterparty (CCP) for clearing, settlement and delivery, was set up by NGX and the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

In 2015, three new indices were launched, including the Premium Board Index, Pension Index and the Main Board Index.

During the eight years of Buhari, foreign investors’ confidence in the market took a nosedive. When he took office in 2015, foreign investors’ participation at NGX was 54%. But by the end of 2022, their participation, fuelled by foreign exchange (forex) scarcity and capital controls by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had fallen to 17 percent. This has kept many foreign investments trapped in Nigeria.

While there have been a number of new listings, the spate of delisting outweighed the former. While there were a total of seven new companies got listed, not less than 40 companies exited the market either through regulatory or voluntary delisting.

Since the 2008/2009 capital market crash, the primary market for equities has been dormant. Eight years of the Buhari administration failed to revive the primary market for equities. Other than the PO by MTN, there was practically no other equities public offering throughout the eight years of the President’s tenure.

Weak insurance sector

At the inception of the Buhari administration in 2015, the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, the regulatory body for insurance practice in the country, in collaboration with insurance operators, had set out to achieve some targets in the course of the administration.

The set targets include the insurance sector hitting a trillion naira mark in Gross Premium Written, GPW; enforcement of compulsory insurance; eradication of fake insurance; recapitalisation of underwriting firms; passage of the Consolidated Insurance Bill; regular payment of group life premium for civil servants; increase of third party motor insurance premium, etc.

However, the combined effects of adverse macroeconomic environment and rising poverty diminished the results of the efforts by both the sector regulators and operators.

In 2015, total industry Gross Premium Written, GPW, was N289 billion and, according to NAICOM, the GPW is highly inadequate to underwrite huge ticket risks such as oil & gas and aviation. The Commission, therefore, set out modalities to achieve one trillion GPW in the course of the administration.

However, by December 2022, industry GPW stood at N532.7 billion, a far cry from the N1 trillion projection.

NAICOM, in collaboration with industry operators, had put the machinery in place to enforce the compulsory insurances.

Insurance operators worry that insurance penetration will continue to be low if they remain within comfort zones without expanding the business to the nooks and crannies of the country.

Unfortunately, as this administration winds down, enforcement of the compulsory insurance policies is still a far cry from expectation.

According to experts, the insurance sector loses over N60 billion to fake insurance racketeers annually.

Although NAICOM has taken some steps to curb the spread of fake insurance policies, the menace persists albeit on a declining scale.

Before the administration came, the Consolidated Insurance Bill had been awaiting passage in the National Assembly.

In the course of the administration, the Bill continued to gather dust even as the sector made series of efforts to fast-track its passage.

The Bill is aimed to make insurance practice conform to the ideals of contemporary insurance practice as well as align the insurance sector with the powers of other financial regulators in the country.

Unfortunately, the Buhari administration did not do justice to the Bill.

On the positive note, the administration inherited non-payment of premium for compulsory group life for Federal Government workers from the previous administration.

The implication was that many government workers died in active service with no compensation from the group life insurance scheme, except where government decides to pay compensation from its treasury.

The development elicited outcry from insurance stakeholders as they called on government to give more attention to group life insurance scheme, stressing that the scheme remains one of the ways the government can cater for workers’ risk liabilities.

However, the administration resumed payment of group life premium for civil servants.

Accordingly, the administration on annual basis pays premium of N5.4 billion for the group life cover.


VANGUARD

Thursday

Nigeria’s Stone Age President to spend additional week in London at the behest of a European Dentist

CC™ Nigeria News

By Seyi Ariwoola

President Muhammadu Buhari has added an additional week to his stay in London over an appointment with his dentist.Apparently, over the course of his rudderless 8 years in office, things have deteriorated so much that he can’t find a single dentist in Nigeria to care for his oral hygiene needs. 

Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, announced this in a statement on Tuesday evening.

The president was supposed to return to the country this week after travelling to the United Kingdom last week to attend the coronation of King Charles III.

Giving an update on Buhari’s UK trip in a news release, Adesina said Buhari was currently undergoing dental care.

President Muhammadu Buhari will be in London, United Kingdom, for an additional week, at the behest of his Dentist, who has started attending to him,” he said.

“The specialist requires to see the President in another five days for a procedure already commenced.”

Adesina added: “President Buhari had joined other world leaders to attend the coronation of King Charles III on May 6, 2023.”