President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the new Appropriation Bill recently passed by the National Assembly.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Umar I. El-Yakub who made this known in a statement, said the new law repeals the Appropriation Law passed by the lawmakers in December 2021.

In the new Act which increased the size of the federal budget for 2022 to N17.319 trillion, N817.699 billion is for statutory transfer, N3.978 trillion will go to debt service, N7.108 trillion is for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure while N5.415 trillion is for Contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the Year Ending on the 31st day of December, 2022.

The statement read in part, “Today, President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the Appropriation (Repeal And Enactment) Bill, 2022 recently passed by the National Assembly. This Act repeals the Appropriation Act, 2022 and enacts a new Appropriation Act, 2022; to authorise the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the total sum of N17,319,704,091,019 (seventeen trillion, three and nineteen billion, seven and four million, ninety-one thousand and nineteen Naira) only, of which N817,699,410,210 (eight hundred and seventeen billion, six hundred and ninety-nine million, four hundred and ten thousand, two hundred and ten Naira) only, is for Statutory Transfers, N3,978,087,110,437

“(Three trillion, nine hundred and seventy-eight billion, eighty-seven million, one hundred and ten thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven Naira) only, is for Debt Service, N7,108,621,131,849 (seven trillion, one hundred and eight billion, six hundred and twenty-one million, one hundred and thirty-one thousand, eight hundred and forty-nine Naira) only, is for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure while N5,415,296,438,523 (five trillion, four hundred and fifteen billion, two hundred and ninety-six million, four hundred and thirty-eight thousand, five hundred and twenty-three Naira) only, is for Contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the Year Ending on the 31st day of December, 2022.”

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the guidelines for the 2023 elections.

The commission issued the document on Friday.

The 37-page document contains 106 guidelines, along with health measures that must be adhered to during elections.

According to section 18, verification of voters will be done using the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS).

“18. (a) In accordance with Section 47 (2) of the Electoral Act 2022, a person intending to vote shall be verified to be the same person on the Register of Voters by the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) or any other device approved by the Commission, in the manner prescribed in these Regulations and Guidelines,” the document reads.

Voters are restricted from taking their phones or similar recording devices to voting cubicles.

Section 49 also restricts collation and returning officers from making or receiving phone calls during collation.

The commission also affirmed the electronic transmission of results after voting at polling units, according to the Electoral Act 2022.

Section 38 reads: “On completion of all the Polling Unit voting and results procedures, the Presiding Officer shall: (i) Electronically transmit or transfer the result of the Polling Unit, direct to the collation system as prescribed by the Commission. (ii) Use the BVAS to upload a scanned copy of the EC8A to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), as prescribed by the Commission. (iii) Take the BVAS and the original copy of each of the forms in tamper[1]evident envelope to the Registration Area/Ward Collation Officer, in the company of Security Agents. The Polling Agents may accompany the Presiding Officer to the RA/Ward Collation Centre.”

On health guidelines, INEC said the use of face masks at polling units is compulsory as anyone who fails to comply would be turned away.

“Wearing of face mask is mandatory at all election locations. An improvised face mask using a handkerchief, scarf or other such materials is acceptable,” the document reads.

“Any person who does not wear a face mask at a polling unit, collation centre or other venues where electoral activities are conducted shall be politely turned away, provided that no person shall wear a face mask branded with the insignia or unique identification of a political party/candidate or indicating the person’s voting preference.”

Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki has stated that when he opposed the plan to foist a Muslim-Muslim presidency on Nigeria in 2014 he acted in the national interest and believed Nigeria was bigger than anybody’s ambition, including that of Bola Tinubu.

Saraki, in a statement signed by the head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in response to the speech by Tinubu in Abeokuta yesterday claiming that Saraki and others opposed his desire to be running mate to President Mohammadu Buhari in the 2015 elections, noted that he will oppose any plan that causes a religious crisis in a multi-religious country like Nigeria.

“When I and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014 stood against having a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it was not a decision targeted at any individual or group but one taken in the national interest. Tinubu knows this and he is just being mischievous by presenting this decision as something aimed at stopping his ambition.

“Let me make it clear that the decision to oppose the plans by some people to make APC present a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 was in the national interest and I will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day. My stance is based on the fact that such a ticket is not good for the unity of the country and will further accentuate one of our fault lines.

“Even Tinubu knows that I am a man who does not shy away from standing for what is right. He knows that I don’t follow the crowd and I take a stand based on my conviction of what is good for the country and what is not good for her. It is also obvious that I have paid prices for this stand.

“The opposition to a Muslim- Muslim ticket was not targeted at Tinubu or any other person. It was a decision that even all party leaders know helped the victory of the party and also worked for the unity of the country. That decision is not about self but national and collective interests. It is a decision which served the purpose of the people of Nigeria and I have no regret supporting it”, Saraki stated.

While expressing surprise that Tinubu refused to move on and still sulked over what happened in 2014, the former Governor of Kwara State added that the APC presidential aspirant had become so fixated on the Muslim-Muslim ticket issue of 2014 that he worked so hard to stop the emergence of Saraki as Senate President in a move he considered as retaliatory.

Saraki also stated that after he was elected Senate President, Tinubu maintained an adversarial position against the eighth National Assembly, initiated covert and overt measures aimed at undermining the federal legislature, and set the executive against the legislature.

“Despite calling himself a democrat, he continued to support every effort to frustrate the eighth National Assembly and thwart its efforts to provide good representation to Nigeria. He was the architect of several moves that set the Presidency on a collision course with the National Assembly. At a time, he would twist issues and make false claims in his quarterly press statements aimed at making the National Assembly under my leadership look bad. Now, Nigerians know the truth. We can only urge Tinubu to look at the bigger picture on all matters and stop viewing all issues within the prism of his ambition and personal interest”, Saraki stated.

Signed:

Yusuph Olaniyonu

Head, Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office

Abuja

Dayo Dasilva, OGUN  

A member of a dare devil Kidnap Syndicate operating along Ewekoro has boasted that ‘no police officer in Ogun State can attempt to arrest them, with the kind of sophisticated guns and charms in their possession’.

This was disclosed by a victim, Idowu Sanusi while narrating his ordeal, in the hands of the kidnappers, who abducted him and his friend, Yusuff Olatunji, along Itori, Ewekoro axis of Ogun State, on a Sunday evening, while attempting to tow their truck that broke down on the road. 

Idowu, still in shock of the experience told Nigerian Newstrack that, nowhere is safe again, as he never thought he could be abducted in a place he had lived for over 40 years, by strangers.

Narrating his encounter to Nigerian Newstrack, Idowu said “ I was in the company of my friends Yusuff and Mustapha Okanlawon in a bid to tow a broken down truck partially blocking the road, to avoid accident”.

“We have concluded arrangements with the people that will come and tow the vehicle when Five Fulani guys in military camouflage uniforms came out with sophisticated weapons. Infact, I thought they were officers of Op Mesa, until when they started collecting our phones behaving roughly” Idowu said.

In his words “Mustapha escaped immediately he saw them coming, my attempts to escape proved abortive as I was brought down forcefully, while one of them told me that they were kidnappers and he will not hesitate to kill me if I try to escape again, he then corked his gun, shouting ‘you want kill yourself, you no dey hear news, na we kill one fuel station manager in Ewekoro, a pastor died in our hands, walahi I go delete you”.

Showing the bruises on his hands, Idowu explained that he had to cooperate as they took him and Yusuff into the bush around 8:45 pm and they walked for few minutes, when their leader speaking in Yoruba on phone talked to someone that they are around a church. 

Idowu said, a vehicle which looks like Micra came few minutes after the call and they entered the vehicle which drove them for like 20 minutes with clothes tied around their eyes. 

According to him, “when the car stopped us, we trekked further into the bush till about 4:00 am the next day, as they take drugs and rest intermittently along the railway tracks, until we got to a deep bush that looks like a cage."

"They started making calls and their dressing and language confirmed they were Fulani men, but they work with some Yoruba people. We were told to sit down and rest, but I could not sleep”.

Idowu said, “we got talking and at a point their leader got annoyed when my friend told them that they are brothers as he is a Muslim like them. The leader told him point blank that he will shoot him if he repeats that, as they never introduced themselves to him as Muslims saying business and religion do not mix. We had to beg him. While in the bush a motorcycle rider brought food, drinks and drugs to the place that looked like an abandoned farm as the whole place was deserted”.

“They asked us to eat, we said no but requested for water and they gave us. We were asked to call 3 lines each and requested for N50 million each totaling N100 million within 24 hours or our lives will be terminated. They later accepted to collect N10 million after series of begging and appeals. They gave their rules saying if we like we can inform the police or vigilante. They asked us if we have seen their kinds of guns before, boasting that no police can face them if they don’t want to die. They even claimed that if they do charms and it doesn’t work they will kill the doer or herbalist immediately.”

Idowu in an emotion laden voice said, "Nigeria has failed me", noting that the case was duly reported at the Itori Police station, where the officers were very supportive and happy that they came out alive. 

Idowu and Yusuff were abducted on Sunday evening and released on Monday evening, but the traumatic experience would not be forgotten so easily as Idowu said he was faced with death in the hands of the Kidnappers, whom he suspected could have information about them before the incident.

All attempts to speak with the State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO SP Abimbola Oyeyemi on the spate of Kidnapping in Ogun State proved abortive. 

Bola Tinubu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and presidential hopeful, says without him, President Muhammadu Buhari wouldn’t have won the presidential election in 2015.

Tinubu spoke on Thursday at a meeting with APC delegates in Ogun state.

Describing the election as a “battle”, Tinubu also spoke on how he “surrendered” the vice-presidential ticket to Yemi Osinbajo, when concerns were raised over a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the APC.

“Buhari asked me to be his running mate, but Saraki campaigned against a Muslim-Muslim ticket. He felt it would affect his ambition to be senate president. The senate president could not be a Muslim as well. They rose against it. I said ‘I have someone that’s a Christian and I will nominate him. This party must not scatter’. And I nominated him (Osinbajo). That’s the truth,” Tinubu said in Yoruba.

“They asked me to bring three names. Yemi Cardoso was number one. Wale Edun was number two, Yemi Osinbajo was number three. I decided to drop just one name since I was surrendering my right. Buhari agreed to this and I dropped Yemi Osinbajo’s name.

“You have not heard this from me before. This is the first place I am saying this. It’s my time now.

“If not for me that led the battlefront, Buhari wouldn’t have won. He contested first, second and third time, but lost. He even said on television that he won’t contest again.

“But I went to his home in Katsina. I told him ‘you would contest and win, but you won’t joke with the matter of the Yoruba’. Since he has been elected, I have not been appointed minister. I didn’t get a contract.

“This time, it’s Yoruba turn and in Yorubaland, it’s my turn.”

Speaking further, Tinubu took a swipe at Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun state.

Tinubu said APC did not want to give the governorship ticket to Abiodun in the build-up to the 2019 polls.

There was crisis in the APC prior to the 2019 elections over the refusal of Ibikunle Amosun, who was completing his second term as governor of Ogun at the time, to support Abiodun as his successor.

Amosun, who had supported another aspirant, was later suspended by the party.

Speaking on the circumstances surrounding the issue at the time, Tinubu said he did much to ensure the success of Abiodun at the polls.

“That one (referring to Abiodun) that is sitting down here, could he have become governor without me? We were all in the stadium where they tore all the posters. Even the candidacy of the party, they didn’t want to give it to him,” the APC chieftain said in Yoruba.

“It’s been over 25 years that I have been serving them. This one sitting at my back, Dapo, could he have become a governor if not for me?

“If he wants to hear, his life will be long. If he wants to meet God in his position, he would admit that he wouldn’t have become governor if not for God and I.”

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, met with Abdullahi Adamu, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Also on Thursday, five APC governors met with Osinbajo at his residence in the presidential villa, Abuja.

Osinbajo’s meeting with the APC chairman and the governors, comes ahead of the party’s convention to select its presidential candidate for the 2023 elections.

Identities of the governors were unknown as at the time of filing this report.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had shifted the date for submission of list of candidates by political parties, with the ruling party postponing its presidential primary election earlier scheduled for May 29-30 to June 6-8.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, before travelling to Madrid, Spain on official visit, met with the 22 governors of the APC, where he sought their support to choose his successor.

Some APC stakeholders have been pushing for a consensus candidate that will face Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the presidential election, but a section of the party and some aspirants have opposed the move.

Osinbajo’s meeting with Adamu and the governors also comes after the conclusion of the party’s screening exercise for presidential hopefuls by the John Oyegun-led committee.

Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks and Payment Service Providers to accept indemnity from customers for highly secured online funds transfers.

It stated this in a circular signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh, with the reference number: PSM/DIR/PUB/CIR/01/006, titled ‘Circular on the review of operations of NIBSS Instant Payments System and other electronic payment options with similar features’, which was released on Thursday.

The circular stated that “Further to the circular on the above reference BSP/DIR/GEN/CIR/01/011 and dated August 13, 2014, banks are hereby required to comply with the following:

“Accept indemnity from customers for highly secured online funds transfer above N1m for individual and N10m for corporate, subject to a maximum of N25m (individual) and N250m (corporate).

“Provide customers with the option of electronic or paper indemnity based on the customer’s preference.

“Implement electronic indemnity with stricter controls requiring biometric verification of identify.

“Adhere to multiple factor authentication for highly secured online funds transfer.

“Inform and educate customers on the use of indemnity to increase transaction limits where possible.”

CBN also released another guideline titled ‘Guidelines for the registration & operation of Bank Neutral Cash Hubs in Nigeria’.

It stated in the guidelines that BNCHs were cash collection centers to be established by registered (licensed) processing companies or Deposit Money Banks based on business needs.

CBN said the hubs would be located in areas with high volumes of commercial activities and cash transactions.

It further stated that the hubs would provide a platform for customers to make cash deposits and receive value irrespective of the bank with which their account is domiciled.

“This guideline aims to provide minimum standards and requirements for BNCH registration and operations for effective supervision,” CBN stated.

According to the CBN, the key objective of setting up the BNCH was to reduce the risks and cost borne by banks, merchants and huge cash handlers in the course of cash management activities; deepen financial inclusion, and leverage on shared services to enhance cash management efficiency.

CBN said the BNCH’s duties included receipt of naira denominated deposits on behalf of financial institutions from individuals and businesses with high volumes of cash; disbursement of naira- denominated withdrawals on behalf of financial institutions to individuals and businesses with high volumes of cash, and any other activities that might be permitted by the apex bank.

A Nigerian judge sentenced a Chinese man to two years in prison for ripping up Naira notes, the Bloomberg has reported.

A federal court in Lagos convicted Li Lei Lei of “mutilating the Nigerian currency” during an altercation with airport officials while he was trying to leave the country in mid-May, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.

Li “angrily tore to pieces” N3,200 ($7.70) in bank notes when immigration officials at the West African nation’s international airport in Lagos searched his luggage for drugs, the EFCC said.

Li pleaded guilty to four charges of breaking central bank legislation, according to the anti-graft agency. The judge handed down a sentence of six months in prison for each charge, or the option of a N200,000 fine, it said.

A shortage of oil refineries across sub-Saharan Africa coupled with soaring crude prices because of the war in Ukraine has left countries dangerously short of fuel supplies, disrupting airlines and causing queues at filling stations.

The surge in prices comes in tandem with a spike in the cost of food after Russia sent troops into Ukraine, hitting tens of millions of people already living in precarious conditions, as well as government and aid agency budgets.

Refineries across sub-Saharan Africa combined can process 1.36 million barrels of oil a day (bpd), in theory, but with many out of action, only 30% of that capacity was used last year, according to independent consultancy CITAC.

Refineries in Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal are shut, as are four in South Africa. Africa's biggest oil producer, Nigeria, pumps over 1.3 million barrels a day, but the two privately owned plants still running there can only process 1% of that.

The African Export-Import Bank and the African Petroleum Producers' Organization signed a deal in May to create a multi-billion-dollar "energy bank" to boost private investment in the sector but analysts say there a few quick fixes on the horizon.

Fuel shortages are also hitting Western nations, but the impact in Africa is expected to be longer lasting as governments and companies are generally less able to afford the sky-high cost of imported fuel, or come up with the millions of dollars needed to get refineries running again at full tilt.

"It is likely that the situation may get much worse in the short term," Anibor Kragha, head of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA), told Reuters.

Big Western oil companies have been withdrawing from refinery projects in Africa in recent years and local investors and governments have largely failed to plug the gap, leading to a chronic lack of investment in modernising facilities.

The upshot is that despite the continent's estimated 125 billion barrels of oil reserves and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, African countries rely almost exclusively on imported petroleum products to power their economies.

Even major crude oil exporters, Nigeria and Angola, depend on imports for almost 80% of their domestic fuel needs, government officials say.

DANGOTE REFINERY

Governments are now scrambling to get refineries up and running in the face of growing discontent over price spikes.

Ghana's 45,000 bpd Tema refinery, for example, has been out of action since an explosion in January 2017. Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo said "intense efforts" were now being made to rehabilitate the refinery to help address soaring fuel prices.

However, getting the refinery online would require $40 million in new investment, industry sources said, which the country can ill afford as it contends with a growing mountain of debt and a double-digit fiscal deficit.

It's a similar story in Cameroon.

The 42,000 bpd Limbe refinery has been shut since a fire in 2019, but a directive from the president's office seen by Reuters asked the finance minister on April 22 to put plans in place quickly to revamp the heavily indebted plant.

Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, a businessman who made his fortune in cement, is building a vast refinery in Nigeria that will have a capacity of 650,000 barrels a day, putting it just outside the top five refineries in the world.

But its much-anticipated launch has been pushed back to next year and the overhaul of Nigeria's Port Harcourt refinery which will take years has only just started after two decades of discussion.

Angola, which is Africa's second-biggest oil producer pumping about 1.1 million bpd, has plans to build more refineries in addition to its sole 65,000 bpd plant in Luanda.

Diesel and jet fuel in particular have been in short supply as refiners drastically scaled back output during the pandemic when travel restrictions grounded planes while Russian diesel volumes have fallen since the Ukraine war began.

Nigeria's airlines threatened to suspend domestic flights due to soaring jet fuel costs before backtracking. The country subsidises gasoline at a high cost, but not diesel or jet fuel.

Scheduled maintenance is also curtailing supplies.

Senegal's 27,000 bpd SAR refinery in Dakar has been offline since November for repairs and the country's gasoil supplies were down to just three days at the end of April, triggering long waits for motorists at pumps.

In South Africa, where four refineries are down including one of the region's biggest, the 180,000 bpd Sapref plant in Durban, some airlines were forced to re-route away from one of Africa's busiest airports due to jet fuel shortages.

While some countries in North Africa are particularly exposed to the slump in grain exports from Ukraine, refineries in the region are in better shape than south of the Sahara, running at 80% capacity last year, CITAC data showed.

A study published by CBD and wellness brand VAAY has analysed and ranked 100 major global cities globally according to how stressful they are.

The study reported in business insider titled: The Least and Most Stressful Cities Index 2021 was conducted based on 15 stress-indicating categories such as pollution levels, traffic congestion, unemployment rates, and access to healthcare to determine the most and least stressful destinations.

The result of the study found that Mumbai in India is the world’s most stressful city. Lagos, which ranked 99th on the list, is the most stressful city in Africa and the only African city in the bottom 10. Some other African cities on the list include Johannesburg, Algiers, Nairobi, Dakar, and Cairo.

Here are the most stressful cities in Africa to live in, according to VAAY.com

Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos is Nigeria's financial hub and accounts for over 80% of the country's foreign trade flows, generating over 50% of Nigeria's port revenues. Overpopulation, and a high level of traffic, among other factors, place the city first on the list of the most stressful cities in Africa.

Cairo, Egypt

Cairo is by far Egypt’s biggest city and the primary centre for economic production and financial control. Due to overpopulation and high traffic, among other factors, the city ranks second on the list of the most stressful cities in Africa to live in.

Dakar, Senegal

As a hub for intercontinental air traffic, Dakar has the second largest port in West Africa and offers very good conditions for committing to the region. The city enjoys political stability, geographic proximity to Europe, and quality reception infrastructures, positioning it as the regional hub for business tourism. Dakar is the third most stressful city in Africa to live in.

Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi is the undisputed transportation hub of Eastern and Central Africa and the largest city between Cairo and Johannesburg. The city ranks as one of Africa’s top business places, serving as the regional headquarters for both multinational corporations and international organisations. The city is good for business but very stressful to live comfortably.

Casablanca, Morocco

Casablanca is Morocco's biggest city, principal port, and economic capital. Home to north Africa’s largest stock market, the Casablanca Stock Exchange, the city covers the wealthiest and most sophisticated aspects of Morocco's life, style, and architecture.

Due to its growing population, Urban traffic congestion, air pollution and density, the city ranks fifth on the list of the most stressful cities in Africa.