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Blessing Joseph has been weaving bags, sandals and jewellery earning enough money to feed her son and send him to school. But since November, she has fallen on hard times as customers have stopped coming and she and her son routinely go to bed hungry.
She is among millions in Africa's largest economy, grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in decades, that has deepened since President Bola Tinubu assumed office last May.
Last year, Joseph could easily make 30,000 naira ($18.83) a week but now she will be lucky to get 5,000 naira, she said.
"People used to place orders. I'll design for them, sometimes even (for) weddings I'll make souvenirs for them, but now those orders are not coming," said the 29-year-old Abuja resident.
"It has been very, very difficult, especially that I have a son and he needs to go to school, he needs to eat."
Tinubu inherited an economy that was already struggling with record debt, high unemployment, low oil output, subsidies that drained government finances and power shortages that have crimped growth.
Reuters Graphics
Nigeria imports food and fuel and was buffeted by high global prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war, just as it had exited a Covid-19 induced recession in 2020.
Tinubu, who campaigned on a "Renewed Hope" slogan, removed a costly petrol subsidy and foreign currency controls, in an effort to improve government finances, restore credibility with investors and kick-start the economy.
But inflation has soared to its highest in three decades and the naira currency is slumping to record lows, pressured by acute dollar shortages. Prices of food, cooking gas, medicines, fuel, and public transport have shot up, squeezing household budgets.
Reuters Graphics
"With about 8 percent of Nigerians deemed food insecure, addressing rising food insecurity is the immediate policy priority," the International Monetary Fund said on March 4. after a staff visit.
Nigeria's problems have also rippled through company boardrooms.
Foreign companies like Procter & Gamble will stop manufacturing in Nigeria, while drug makers GSK Plc and Bayer AG will contract third parties to distribute their products, in part due to tough operating conditions and the naira slump.
Africa's biggest telecoms operator MTN Group (MTNJ.J) posted a big fall in full-year profit citing naira devaluation, which also prompted soap maker PZ Cussons Plc (PZC.L) to issue a profit warning.
FOOD PRICE SURGE
At Agodo market in Lagos, tomato seller Farouk Dalhatu has just served his first customer in eight hours. The market is unusually quiet for the time of day when there is often a cacophonous din of traders and customers haggling over prices.
A basket of tomatoes now costs 55,000 naira - about double the national minimum wage - up from 12,000 naira in December. That has forced many of Dalhatu's friends to quit the business.
Reuters Graphics
"They are just trying to find what they can eat now and not do the tomatoes business," he said, pointing to several empty stalls.
Escalating food prices are the major driver of inflation.
Widespread insecurity in food growing areas - including abduction for ransom by armed gangs, a long-running Islamist insurgency and farmer-herder clashes - is adding to the woes by keeping many farmers away from their fields.
"We have an emergency on our hands in terms of the social consequences of this reform, in terms of this food insecurity," said Muda Yusuf, CEO at business advocacy firm Promotion of Private Enterprise, referring to the currency and fuel subsidy reforms.
Labour unions led some protests last month and have threatened to shut down the country to demand a tenfold rise in the minimum wage.
In response, the government on Thursday started national consultations on a new monthly minimum wage, which has been pegged at 30,000 naira since 2019.
A presidency spokesman declined to comment, but Tinubu's administration has announced handouts of cash, grains, fertiliser and seed to vulnerable groups.
Unions say this is not enough and that focus should be on "substantive issues" that have been under discussion with the government since June 2023.
"These include critical matters such as wage increases, social welfare programs, infrastructure development, and the revitalisation of key sectors such as education and healthcare," the Nigeria Labour Congress said in a statement.
For Joseph in Abuja, a thriving business and providing for her son is all she wants.
"I am just thinking about what he will eat if he comes back (from school)," she said while shuffling through empty pots.
($1 = 1,593.3400 naira)
Reuters
No fewer than seven people were shot dead and many others injured, on Sunday, when gunmen attacked a market in Zurak Campani in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.
According to residents, the attack occurred on a market day when residents gathered to buy and sell at the community’s main market.
Abdullahi Hussaini, a youth leader in the area who confirmed the incident, said the gunmen arrived at the market around 2 p.m. and opened fire at people transacting businesses.
“The gunmen arrived at the market in their numbers riding on motorcycles. They started shooting sporadically, killing seven people instantly while many others were injured. The gunmen did not encounter any resistance because people were not expecting any security threat,” Hussaini said.
“The gunmen later fled to the bush but the police have been deployed to the community to restore law and other. We are calling for more security deployment in the area because we don’t know what may happen anytime again,” the youth leader added.
Spokesperson of the police in Plateau State, Alabo Alfred, did not respond to calls made to his phone about the incident.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Plateau witnesses different forms of violence including ethno-religious crises usually fuelled by the competition for land between resident farming communities and herders. Last Christmas day, gunmen attacked many communities in coordinated attacks that left scores of people dead but with none of the perpetrators yet to be apprehended.
RTD Thompson Ltd., an Abuja-based construction firm, has taken the Oyo State Chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to task over misgivings the body expressed on the durability and quality of work on a ceremonial hall it is building for the state government at the state high court complex in Ibadan, the state capital.
The body of lawyers had expressed doubts about the quality of job done on the structure in a memo to Governor Seyi Makinde complaining about hindrances to appointment of judges to redress the shortfall in the state's judiciary.
In the letter dated January 30, 2024 which has since gone viral, the NBA, under a subtitle: “STATE OF THE BUILDING PROJECTS AT THE HIGH COURT, RING ROAD”, alleged that the "construction of the ceremonial hall is not up to standard as the building is not well supported by viable pillars. The pillars upon which the building stands are very tiny, weak and not that strong in our observation."
The association, in the letter signed by its Chairman, Folashade Aladeniyi and Olakunle Akintola, therefore, implored Governor Makinde to order relevant regulatory authorities to conduct structural inspection of the building to forestall possible mishap.
But the construction firm, in a rebuttal signed by its lawyer, Seun Oluwagbenga Ajayi, described the body’s remarks as baseless, misleading, reckless, unfair and disparaging to its integrity as a credible player in the construction industry renowned for its expertise and for keeping to standards and international best practices.
The company said it was shocked by the impression the NBA letter conveyed, blaming it on ignorance that would have made the reference unnecessary had the association taken step to consult it and find out the facts.
Contrary to the picture created in the complaint, the lawyer to the engineering firm asserted that "the contract for the construction of the Ceremonial Hall under reference was awarded to our client after a thorough and transparent bidding process by the Oyo State Government taking into consideration the huge profile of our client as a major player in the construction industry in Nigeria. Prior to the commencement of the project, the architectural design was undertaken by Messrs Builtform Nig. Ltd., a firm of Architect led by Olubunmi A. Ayeni, while Messrs Daraplus Ltd. led by its Principal Partner, J.O. Banire a COREN Registered Structural Engineer acted as the structural Engineering Consultant in the production of the architectural and structural design.
"Our client on its part deployed some of its best hands led by a COREN Certified Engineer in person of Rufus A. Iyiola, to oversee the construction of the building.
"In carrying out the construction of the building which consists of three floors and contains among others, the main hall, offices, passenger lift, gallery, stair cases, toilets, our client ensured that the foundation (which is the main load bearing structure) comprised of not less than ninety one (91) heavily built columns with reinforced concrete pad ranging from 1300mm x 1300mm to 4200mm x 4200mm.
The pad reinforcement ranges from 16mm to 25mm high tensile bars.
The columns which transmit the load to the foundation level are of various sizes depending on the location within the structure but their sizes ranges from 230mm x 230mm to 500mm x 400mm. In addition, the concrete being used is8 grade 25 with maximum size of chipping of 20mm while the slab thickness is 175mm with 12mm reinforcement both top and bottom."
He added: "We make bold to state that, apart from the fact that the project is being continually supervised by professionals from the Oyo State Ministry of Works and Transport towards ensuring that the project is carried out according to specification and acceptable standard, relevant regulatory bodies at every stage of the construction exercise have had course to certify same as measuring up to standard."
In view of the glaring facts, Ajayi said: "one cannot but be taken aback by your association's conclusion which no doubt was reached without consulting our client the handlers of the project or better still, an independent professional in the construction industry.
"It is our position that, your observation no matter how well intended, is nevertheless one without basis and most unfair to our client whose professional integrity has been violently dealt a grievous blow. As a professional body that thrives on the promotion of the rule of law, our client finds it ludicrous that you failed totally to challenge them on your observations before coming up with such a damaging conclusion relating to their expertise."
Ajayi then demanded of the NBA, as a responsible organization a redress of the injury done his client.
He expressed the company's readiness to answer any question and respond credibly to any observation in relation to its handling of the project.
UK authorities have banned health workers from bringing dependants to the country.
The UK Home Office made this known in a statement released on Monday.
The statement said the new rules to cut net migration and tackle visa abuse “in force as part of the government’s plan to bring down unsustainable levels of legal migration”.
In a tweet, the Home Office wrote, “From today, care workers entering the UK on Health and Care Worker visas can no longer bring dependants. This is part of our plan to deliver the biggest ever cut in migration.”
While laying out implication of the policy in a separate statement, it said last year alone, a total of 120,000 dependants accompanied 100,000 workers to the UK.
“Reforms to restrict care workers from bringing family members are now in force, while care providers are required to register if they are sponsoring migrants. New rules to radically cut net migration and tackle visa abuse are now in force as part of the government’s plan to bring down unsustainable levels of legal migration.”
“Care providers in England acting as sponsors for migrants will also be required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – the industry regulator for Health and Social Care – in order to crack down on worker exploitation and abuse within the sector.
“It forms part of a wider package of measures, which is being implemented as soon as possible, which means a total of 300,000 people who were eligible to come to the UK last year would now not be able to do so.”
Home Secretary, James Cleverly MP, was quoted to have said: “Care workers make an incredible contribution to our society, taking care of our loved ones in times of need. But we cannot justify inaction in the face of clear abuse, manipulation of our immigration system and unsustainable migration numbers.
“It is neither right nor fair to allow this unacceptable situation to continue. We promised the British people action, and we will not rest until we have delivered on our commitment to bring numbers down substantially.
Our plan is robust but fair – protecting British workers while ensuring the very best international talent can work and study here, to add value to our society and grow the economy.
“There is clear evidence that care workers have been offered visas under false pretences, travelling thousands of miles for jobs that simply don’t exist or to be paid far below the minimum wage required for their work, exploiting them while undercutting British workers.
“These changes come into force as the government is set to lay rules in Parliament later this week (14 March) to prevent the continued undercutting of British workers, which includes raising the salary threshold that a skilled worker must meet in order to get a visa and removing the 20% ‘going-rate’ discount for migrant workers in shortage occupations.”
Minister for Social Care, Helen Whately MP, said: “International care workers make an invaluable contribution caring for our loved ones, but international recruitment and more immigration are not long-term solutions to our social care needs. These rules provide a more ethical and sustainable approach.
“We are boosting our homegrown workforce by reforming social care careers. These include the first ever national career path for care workers and a new care qualification.
“Our reforms will grow the domestic workforce and build on our success over the last year that saw more people working in social care, fewer vacancies and lower staff turnover.”
The Home Secretary also said the commission will review the graduate route for international students to prevent abuse, protect the integrity and quality of UK higher education, and ensure it works in the best interests of the UK.
Nigeria, a country long used to hardship, is facing a crushing cost-of-living crisis.
Prices for some vital food staples have doubled in a matter of months. Trucks hauling items like rice and pasta are being hijacked along rural highways. Protests have bubbled up in major cities and soldiers now stand guard to prevent grain warehouses from being ransacked by desperate citizens.
At the heart of the upheaval in Africa’s most populous country are aggressive reforms by President Bola Tinubu, who scrapped a popular but costly fuel subsidy and eased foreign-exchange controls shortly after taking office in May.
The moves were welcomed by the outside world as long overdue, but the short-term results have been painful for Nigerians. Inflation touched a 28-year high in January and the naira has crashed by 70%, pushing tens of millions of poor people into extremities.
“This is the first solid meal that my family will be having in 18 days,” said Rahma Isma’il, a widow with six children in northern Kano state, who bought the food with 500 naira ($0.30) a passer-by gave her son. Her family had been surviving on kunu dawa — a corn-based drink that is neither tasty nor nutritious, but quells hunger pangs.
Food has always been costly in Nigeria, where an average household spends more than 50% of its budget to eat, but the recent price rises are making matters even worse. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates more than 26 million people face food insecurity this year, around 14% of the population.
A lack of security, highlighted by the abduction on Thursday by at least 287 school children in northern Nigeria, is also contributing to to food price rises.
The authorities are trying to respond. The central bank raised interest rates by 400 basis points to a record 22.75% on Feb. 27 to stem price pressures and bolster the currency.
The International Monetary Fund, a strong advocate for ending fuel subsidies and foreign-exchange controls, called on Monday for immediate steps to tackle food insecurity while welcoming the approval of an “effective and well-targeted” social protection system.
Tinubu, who declared a state of emergency in July to counter the rising cost of living, plans to start distributing grains in the next couple of weeks. The government will also begin temporary payments of 25,000 naira a month to about 12 million Nigerian households, resuming a program begun by the previous administration that was suspended amid claims of corruption.
Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, said the government was also taking a range of measures to boost food production.
“Within the next 6-9 months when we will be in harvest season there will be surplus food in Nigeria and commodities will become very cheap and affordable,” he said.
“The operation against merchants who are hoarding commodities for price gorging is also helping to bring down prices.”
Seven people were trampled to death in a Lagos neighborhood on Feb. 23 when a mob stormed an auction to cheaply sell off rice seized from smugglers. The price of rice — a beloved staple on Nigerian dinner tables — has soared 98.5% in the last year.
“I have removed rice from my food now. It’s only garri and groundnuts that we eat,” said Abel Wurot, a private security guard in the capital, Abuja, who earns 35,000 naira a month. “I went to the market to buy food and the prices sent me back. Can you imagine that the price of one mudu (1.13 kg) of rice is over 2,300 naira? Something we used to buy for 1,500 naira last month,” he said.
Desperation has led to the looting of emergency government stockpiles of staples and attacks on trucks transporting food.
A televised incident on March 1 in Kaduna state in the northwest showed dozens of people swarming over a vehicle, tearing off its tarpaulin with their bare hands and carting away packets of spaghetti that used to cost 90 naira a couple of years ago, but now go for more than 1,000.
The images recall the violence of 2020 during the pandemic, when crowds looted warehouses in protest against politicians they accused of hoarding amid a wider backlash against police brutality.
Trucking companies worry about losing business as customers hold back on transporting goods.
“It is more or less like riot and insurance does not cover riot,” said Yusuf Lawal Othman, the president of the powerful association of road transport owners, whose members have been attacked. “It is becoming so rampant, even the owners of the goods that we carry are now afraid to move those goods.”
Worried about the potential for tensions to escalate further, the government is deploying soldiers nationwide to guard food warehouses and efforts to distribute staples door to door.
Government officials have privately shared concerns about an uptick in protests in cities including Port Harcourt and Lagos that could turn violent, threatening to overshadow the one-year anniversary of Tinubu’s narrow election victory last May.
The cost-of-living crisis is not just hitting the poor. Even in the upmarket shops used by affluent Nigerians, it’s becoming difficult to keep up with surging prices.
PZ Cussons Plc, which sells a number of household goods in Nigeria, toldinvestors that it has raised prices 12 times in recent months.
Monica James, who works in a store in the middle-class residential area of Lokogoma in Abuja, has given up putting new price labels on the many items in the shop.
“The prices seem to change every day, I have never seen anything like this,” the 54-year old said from behind the counter. “Now, we don’t even bother to change the prices anymore: We let the customer find out at check-out.”
Pricey products are prompting shoppers to forego items like imported apples and apricots, adding to a sense of sacrifice that is not helped by the skepticism of ordinary Nigerians that the government is making cutbacks of its own.
This year’s budget was lined with costly SUVs for officials, Tinubu has the largest cabinet since 1999 and his entourage on foreign visits hasn’t been trimmed to spare the public purse.
Meanwhile, the worst may be yet to come. Analysts see inflation peaking in the mid-30s in the second half of the year, up from 29.9% in January, with another round of price hikes expected when the effects of the naira’s most recent tumble against the dollar last month kick in.
“Simply put, this is the worst since I have been living,” said Fehintola Akintunde, 53, who supplements her income as a research analyst in Ibadan, a city north of Lagos, with a side hustle selling food. “I have been aware of cost of things for over 40 years, but it has never been truly this bad.”
Residents of Abuja are currently witnessing another bout of darkness as the Shiroro-Katampe 330kV transmission line has been vandalized.
The development comes less than two weeks after the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced that vandals had hit a transmission line.
In a statement on Sunday, TCN said the new vandalism will affect electricity customers under the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company on 33kV feeders from Central Transmission Station (TS) (FDRS1-8), Katampe1 (LifeCamp Gwarimpa, Jabi, Wuse 2 and 9mobile feeders. Katampe2(Maitama,Jahi and Mpape feeders).
Also to be affected are Kubwa TS (Kubwa, Deidei, NIPP, Bwari Dawaki and Dam feeders). GIS(D1 and D2 feeders to Gwarimpa).
Suleja TS (Jiwa, Suleja, Industrial, Jere Field Base and others) and fdrs on TR3 feeding at Apo TS feeding from 2X150MVA, 330KV katampe TS (H1,H2,H3,H21 and H23 affecting the entire Garki, Garki 2, Aso Drive, International Airport, Lugbe.
The statement added that the incident was the fifth within February and March.
“At approximately 9am this morning, the Shiroro-Katampe transmission line experienced a trip. Following initial investigations, TCN engineers attempted to restore operation but were unsuccessful. Subsequently, efforts were made to identify the fault location. Hence, linesmen were dispatched to physically patrol the suspected area.”
The statement signed by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, sadi during the fault tracing process, vigilante team leaders in the vicinity notified TCN linesmen of vandalism along the Shiroro-Katampe transmission line.”
“TCN personnel confirmed the vandalisation of the 330kV Shiroro-Katampe transmission line 1, from Towers 244 to 245, and the conductors stolen.
“TCN is currently mobilizing for conductor replacement, pending completion of security operations at the site. Nevertheless, the second line remains fully operational, transmitting at full capacity to Abuja, in conjunction with the Gwagwalada 330kV line serving the Kukwaba-Apo axis.”
It added that the wheeling capacity of TCN towards Abuja and environs would be enhanced by the Lokoja – Gwagwalada 330kV transmission line.
“This incident adds to a series of vandalism incidents recorded by TCN in February 2024, including the destruction of Tower 70 along the Gwagwalade-Katampe transmission line on February 26, 2024. Other incidents include the vandalism of towers 377 and 378 along the Gombe-Damaturu 330kV transmission line on February 23, 2024, and the attack on towers 145 to 149 and 201 to 218 along the Owerri-Ahoda 132kV transmission line on February 15, 2024. Additionally, on February 1, 2024, Tower number 388 along the Jos-Bauchi 132kV single circuit transmission line collapsed due to vandalism.”
“These acts of sabotage are unacceptable, and TCN urges relevant security agencies and host communities to collaborate in apprehending the perpetrators. Protection of the nation’s transmission infrastructure is paramount, and collective efforts are required to curb these incidents.
“TCN calls upon all Nigerians to assist in reporting such acts of vandalism. Electricity infrastructure is a national asset, and safeguarding it is a collective responsibility.”
Muhammad Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, has announced the sighting of the crescent moon for the commencement of Ramadan fasting.
In a broadcast on Sunday, the Sultan, who is also the president of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), said Monday marks the beginning of Ramadan fasting for Muslims in the country.
“Today, Sunday, the 29th day of Sha’aban 1445 after the hijra which is equivalent to 10th March 2024, marks the end of Sha’aban 1445 after hijrah, with the reports of moon sightings that we have received from Muslim leaders and organisations across the country which we duly accepted,” he said.
“Consequently, tomorrow, Monday, 11th of March, 2024, becomes the first day of Ramadan 1445 after hijra.
“We, therefore, call on Muslims in the country to commence fasting accordingly. We call on all Muslims to use the glorious month of Ramadan to pray for the country.”
On Friday, the Sultan asked Muslims to look out for the new moon in preparation for the beginning of Ramadan.
The federal government has suspended the expatriate employment levy (EEL) — a week after President Bola Tinubu launched it.
EEL, launched on February 28, was introduced by the federal government to close wage gaps between expatriates and the Nigerian labour force.
The expatriate employment levy, which provides guidelines on the employment of Nigerians in foreign-owned companies, requires firms to pay levies for hiring expatriates.
Since the introduction of the policy, stakeholders have raised concerns, saying it is harmful to the country’s drive for foreign direct investments (FDIs).
According to ThisDay, on Saturday, the decision to suspend the implementation of the EEL was made after a meeting on March 8, attended by stakeholders, Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of industry, trade and investment, as well as Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the interior minister.
However, the interior ministry was silent on the outcome in a statement issued after the meeting.
The ministry said the concerns on expatriate employment levy were addressed at the meeting.
“The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, met with a delegation led by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite, to address concerns and seek clarification on the recently launched Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL) guidelines,” the ministry said.
“The aim of the meeting which held on Friday 8th March, 2024 in a Abuja was to foster constructive dialogue and explore ways to enhance the implementation of the policy while ensuring the welfare of Nigerians and promoting investment.
“During the discussion, Tunji-Ojo noted the importance of striking a balance between attracting foreign investment and prioritising human capital development to benefit Nigerians.
“In her remarks, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Uzoka-Anite, called for more collaboration between the government and private sector to ensure sustainable growth and create a conducive business environment.”
The interior ministry said the EEL guidelines aim to foster economic growth, nationalisation efforts, knowledge transfer, and employment opportunities for Nigerians while closing wage gaps between expatriates and local workers.
Cadre Harmonisé (CH) report says about 31.5 million Nigerians may experience food and nutrition crisis between June and August 2024,as reported in cable news.
Cadre Hatmonisé is a food and nutrition insecurity study conducted by the ministry of agriculture and food security in collaboration with other partners including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The report also indicated that about 24.7 million people, including 14,000 IDPs in 26 states and the federal capital territory (FCT), are to experience food crisis between March and May 2024.
“About 1.1 million people in Adamawa were expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August 2024, and about 2.1 million people in Borno were expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August,” the report said.
“Also, 1.5 million people in Yobe are expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August this year.
“During the current period, food consumption was under stress in most of the states and Crisis in some LGAs in Adamawa, Borno, Katsina, and Yobe, Zamfara States.
“Deteriorated food consumption situation was also observed among populations in the inaccessible areas and the IDPs in Adamawa, Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
“During the projected period (June to August 2024) more households are expected to face crisis level of food consumption in the states.”
According to the report, the imminent crisis is largely triggered by the surge in prices of food items which was linked to the removal of petroleum subsidy.
Some of the contributing factors to the food crisis highlighted in the report include insecurity, fuel scarcity, the naira devaluation currency crisis, and rising inflation and consumer price index (CPI) rates.
“The consequences of insecurity have led to the loss of livelihoods in Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Yobe states,” the report added.
“Poor macroeconomic conditions are restricting access to agricultural inputs in the country; the high cost of transport, inflation rate, and the volatile dollar-naira exchange rate have negatively affected households’ income.
“In the projected period (June to August 2024), poor microeconomic conditions and conflicts are expected to drive limited access to livelihood opportunities.
“The nutrition situation in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe and northwest states of Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara revealed the prevalence of malnutrition for under-5 children to be in crisis in the current situation.”
Senator representing Bauchi central senatorial district, Abdul Ningi, has said there was another budget different from what was passed on the floor of the National Assembly.
Ningi disclosed that some experts have been reviewing the budget and a report will be presented to President Bola Tinubu, to ascertain if he was in the know or not.
Speaking as a guest during an interview with BBC on Saturday, the Senator disclosed that the Northern elite is not happy with this government as the North has been neglected.
He said, “This is true (about the review of the government) for the past three months, we have engaged consultants to review the budget for us.
“We have some experts that are working on it line by line. We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the north but the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed.
“We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable, we will not accept them and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things. Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground which we didn’t know.
“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We haven’t seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly.”
Shedding more light on the discoveries on the budget, Ningi said there was a difference of N3 trillion between the budget passed.
The senator said, “For example, it was said that there was a budget of N25 trillion but what was passed was N28 trillion. So there is N3 trillion on top.
“Where are they, where is it going? So, we need to know this. There are a lot of things. We are coming up with a report and we will show the president himself and ask him if he is aware or not.”
Speaking further, he decried the neglect of some giants projects in the North.
“This is what we intended to do. We are to meet the president. We will talk to him about the Mambila power project, Ajaokuta and the River Niger dredging. We will talk to him about the Niger Republic. Recently, they said they will construct a dam, this is not good for us,” he added.
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MTN Nigeria says multiple fibre cuts are responsible for the service outage experienced by its subscribers on Wednesday.
Several users had complained about suffering network disruption.
According to a post on its X page on Wednesday, MTN said the outage is affecting voice and data services.
The telecommunications company also expressed regret at the downtime experienced by its customers.
“You have been experiencing challenges connecting to the network due to a major service outage caused by multiple fibre cuts, affecting voice and data services,” MTN said.
“Our engineers are working hard to resolve with services gradually being restored in some areas.”
The telecommunications firm apologised to its clients for the inconvenience and asked “for your patience and understanding as the team works to restore full service as soon as possible”.
Meanwhile, in November 2023, a technical glitch in MTN Nigeria’s system resulted in the temporary removal of debt from the accounts of subscribers who had borrowed airtime from the company.
The firm had said customers’ balance was affected by a system glitch impacting balance enquiries.
MTN restored customers’ balances after the company’s engineers resolved the glitch.
Two senior executives at Binance have been detained in Nigeria as the country cracks down on cryptocurrency exchanges, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The executives flew to Nigeria following the country's decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites last week but they were detained by the office of the country's national security adviser and their passports seized, the report said.
Binance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The crackdown follows a period after several cryptocurrency websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the Nigerian currency, which has suffered chronic dollar shortages.
The naira's official exchange rate has been trading at levels close to the parallel market level after the currency was devalued last month, its second adjustment in less than a year.
Africa's largest economy has been experiencing crippling dollar shortages that have pushed its currency to record lows after foreign investors fled following a previous oil price collapse and introduction of capital controls in 2015.
Nigeria’s central bank took a vital step toward restoring confidence in the battered naira by aggressively raising interest rates and pledging to dig the country out of its present “mess.”
Announcing a much-bigger-than-expected 400 basis point rate increase to 22.75%, Governor Olayemi Cardoso said that the central bank was not responsible for the nation’s woes, but was working hard to put things right.
“We are part of the solution,” he told a media briefing in Abuja, the capital, on Tuesday after the monetary policy committee held its first gathering since July. “We are determined to ensure that we work hard to get out of the mess that Nigeria is in.”
Inflation has surged to almost a three-decade high and the currency is in free-fall, fanning a cost-of-living crisis as Nigeria tries to lure international capital while easing foreign exchange controls.
The governor “had to project certainty and resolve in returning the bank to its core mandate of price stability,” said Joachim MacEbong, senior governance analyst at Stears Insights. “He did that today, and the actual measures indicate that he will do all he can from his end to bring prices under control.”
Presiding over his first MPC meeting since taking the job in September, Cardoso said he was on a mission to address the “crisis of confidence” sapping trust in the nation after years of economic stagnation and policy mistakes.
“All we can do is do the difficult things to make a bad situation better,” he said. “I do believe that the efforts we are making are beginning to bring back confidence.”
The rate increase follows the naira’s second devaluation in six months and efforts by the central bank to clear a backlog of local dollar demand that’s been sapping the Nigerian currency.
Economists see that as a necessary condition to attracting foreign capital back to the West African nation’s economy, which President Bola Tinubu has pledged to reinvigorate since taking office in May.
With price growth at 29.9%, the move brings Nigeria’s inflation-adjusted, real rate of interest closer to positive territory, especially with the prospect for more tightening at hand. The central bank’s next policy meeting will be held March 25-26.
“Investors will see it as very positive. There has been a call for effective monetary tightening,” said Ayodeji Dawodu, director of fixed income for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Banctrust Investment Bank Ltd. in London. “It is a start in interest rate hikes, with the next question being how high it can go from here.”
Following the decision, investors increased bets the naira would strengthen going forward, according to pricing in futures markets.
Tinubu installed the governor as part of a complete makeover of the leadership of the central bank after ousting the previous chief, Godwin Emefiele, who has since been charged with fraud. He denies the allegations and his trial in ongoing.
The central bank is a key tool in Tinubu’s efforts to reform the economy.
Shortly after taking office in May, the president announced the abolition of widely-criticized fuel subsides and the easing of currency controls to boost growth and attract dollar inflows.
His decisions were welcomed by international investors but have caused pain at home with the spiraling cost of living sparking protests.
The Nigerian Labour Congress, the main union for workers in the country, staged demonstrations against increasing hardship and insecurity in Lagos and several other cities on Tuesday.
Civil society groups, under the aegis of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, said 17,469 Nigerians were abducted under the Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu administrations from 2019 to date, in a Punch Newspaper report.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the Civil Society Joint Action Group, revealed that 2,423 persons had been killed, while 1,872 others had been abducted since the inauguration of President Tinubu.
Speaking on behalf of the group, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said insecurity had persisted over the last three administrations, with 24,816 Nigerians killed and 15,597 persons abducted in the last administration of President Buhari, between 2019 and 2023.
Out of the total number of 17,469 kidnapped from 2019 and to date, 90 per cent of the cases were recorded under Buhari, while 10 per cent have been recorded under Tinubu.