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Ex-Chief of Naval Staff, Gambo reportedly refuses to hand over to successor despite presidential directive
CC™ Global News
By Tolu Adeniran
The former Naval Chief, Awwal Zubairu Gambo, despite a presidential directive, has chosen to remain in his position, rather than hand over to his successor, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.
CC™ has learnt that Gambo’s reported action is coming two days after President Bola Tinubu sacked all service chiefs.
Earlier this week, President Tinubu after sacking the service chiefs appointed by ex-president, Muhammadu Buhari, decided to appoint new service chiefs.
According to sources within the Navy, Gambo intends to leave office on Friday after settling several financial matters, including payment of billions of naira to contractors and naval officers.
While the other service chiefs have obeyed the presidential order, Gambo remains in his position, citing unresolved issues.
He insists that he is responsible for releasing funds to the Nigerian Navy and will not leave the office until he fulfils this obligation.
A source from the Nigerian Navy headquarters in Abuja that spoke with the platform said, “The chief of naval staff is still here.
“We have asked him to comply with the order of the president and vacate office for the new person that was appointed.”
Gambo reportedly said he was responsible for the release of the funds to the Nigerian Navy and will not be leaving office until entitled contractors and naval officers had been paid.
Sources further stated that he has insisted that the payment to contractors may be delayed by his successor, even though he was assured that the Navy would meet all valid contractual obligations.
A senior naval officer that spoke with the platform said, “He wants to pay contractors, himself and other naval officers some billions in capital.
“We have never seen anything like this before in our service.
“He should realise that any action he takes after the president’s public announcement is null and void in the Nigerian Navy.”
Additionally, Gambo is looking to distribute millions of dollars for emergency repairs on the NNS Aradu, a large naval ship.
This decision comes despite recommendations that the ship be decommissioned and transferred to a naval museum.
“He also mentioned that he was finalising payment for the repair of NNS Aradu, despite our conclusion that the ship should be decommissioned and sent to the naval museum,” a source said.
The navy under Gambo had reportedly budgeted $200 million for the repairs, even though he was advised to take the ship, first commissioned in 1980, out of service.
Tuesday
First Disgrace: Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax and gun offences
CC™ Global News
US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, is expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes and admit to illegally possessing a gun while a drug user, after a five-year investigation.
The US Attorney in Delaware has filed papers indicating a plea agreement has been reached.
He is expected to agree to drug treatment and monitoring.
The terms of the agreement are likely to keep him out of jail.
The proposed deal would still need to be approved by a judge. It is unclear when Hunter Biden will appear in court to enter his guilty plea.
Mr Biden, 53, has previously worked as a lawyer, and a lobbyist including abroad in China and Ukraine. He was discharged from the US Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.
The plea deal brings to an end a long-running justice department investigation into whether he properly reported his income and made false statements on paperwork used to purchase a firearm in 2018.
The two misdemeanor tax charges stem from a failure to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018, which have now been fully repaid.
The gun charge stems from a 2018 purchase of a firearm while a drug user.
In a 2021 book, the younger Mr Biden admitted to being a heavy user of crack cocaine at that time.
But he reportedly said "no" on a federal form asking if he was "an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance".
Monday
Sunday
Hong Kong-listed stocks are about to be priced in yuan, giving China's currency another boost
CC™ Business News
By Jason Ma
Two dozen Hong Kong-listed stocks will be priced in the yuan on Monday, giving China's currency another boost in global finance.
Alibaba and Tencent will be among the shares that will be traded in both yuan and the Hong Kong dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar.
Under the so-called Dual Counter Model program, Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) hopes to attract overseas investors with yuan holdings and eventually mainland Chinese investors, according to Reuters.
Investors with yuan holdings in countries like Russia, which has relied heavily on China's currency since being largely shut out of the global financial system by Western sanction, could also be potential participants.
HKEX will also launch a market-maker program that's meant to minimize the price differences between the two currencies.
Investors can choose to trade using Hong Kong dollars or yuan, which has seen significant volatility lately. So investors trading with the yuan could limit conversion and hedging costs.
In fact, the yuan is at the lowest against the US dollar since November amid a disappointing post-COVID economic recovery. And based on the real effective exchange rate against another currency basket from the Bank of International Settlements, the yuan is actually at the lowest since 2014.
The new Hong Kong trading program comes as Beijing tries to internationalize the yuan and challenge the US dollar's dominance on the world stage.
For example, China and Brazil agreed earlier this year to conduct trade in their own currencies and bypass the US dollar, which is the main currency in international trade, especially commodities.
Meanwhile, Argentina also said it will pay for imports from China in the yuan instead of US dollar, and Beijing has been trying to get countries in the Middle East to price oil in yuan instead of dollars.
Saturday
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