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NSA Monguno says naira swap will affect national security

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The National Security Adviser, NSA, Mohammed Monguno, has said that the change of currency and cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, if not well thought out, may affect the operations of troops in the field.

Mr Monguno made the observation when he appeared before an Ad hoc Committee of the House of Representatives on change of currency and cashless policy on Thursday in Abuja.

Represented by the Head of Defence Unit, Rear Admiral Abubakar Mustapha, the NSA said that even in advanced countries, such policies could affect the operations of troops if not well implemented.

“Because of the sensitivity of some of this information that will come and bordering on security, there are things we cannot say in the media.

“Globally, military operations, even in first world countries, such policies, if not well properly thought out, will affect some certain operations.

“Some of our soldiers are deployed in places where they cannot actually access digital means of paying for their daily subsistence; that is the main issue that NSA has been talking about.

“It is important that this committee sits down and articulates better ways of actually addressing these issues,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Rep. Ado Doguwa (APC-Kano) said that the committee was interested in the implications of the policy on national security.

He said that the committee would interface with major stakeholders to determine the effect of the policy on the economy.

Mr Doguwa said that from what the committee had so far gathered, the policy posed a challenge to agriculture, economy and security.

According to him, it is unpopular among the people, it has caused hardship and it may affect the forthcoming election.

Mr Doguwa adjourned the meeting to February 10 for the committee to meet with the Minister of Finance and the leadership of Printing and Minting as well as the INEC boss.

Buhari approves new TV stations

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President Muhammadu Buhari has approved operational licenses for 67 new broadcast outfits, the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, said on Thursday in Abuja.

NBC Director-General Balarabe Ilelah disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the scorecard of the commission.

“President Buhari has approved hundreds of broadcast licenses; it is a demonstration of his intrinsic democratic values,” Mr Ilelah stated.

According to him, a total of 473 broadcast licenses were granted under Buhari’s administration.

“The breakdown of the licenses approved by Buhari showed that 210 were granted in 2018, 159 in 2021, 37 in 2022, while 67 have so far been granted in 2023.

“This gesture has shown that Buhari is actually a democrat and media-friendly; he is a leader who upholds media freedom and pluralism.

“It is important to note that we currently have 740 functional broadcast stations in Nigeria. The number is expected to grow with the anticipatory approval of additional licenses by the President soon.”

The NBC boss said that Mr Buhari had continued to grant total independence from any political interference for the NBC in the exercise of its regulatory functions, particularly with respect to the issuance and withdrawal of broadcasting licenses.

This, according to him, has helped to reduce violations by broadcasters as was the case in the past.

Mr Ilelah called on broadcasters to continue to cooperate with the commission by abiding with the provisions guiding broadcast operations in Nigeria.

He also disclosed that the commission was acquiring some state-of-the-art broadcast monitoring equipment.

“The acquisition of the equipment is in progress; when they all arrive, the commission will get to have Ultra-Modern Artificial Intelligence-driven Central Monitoring Infrastructure,” he said.

On the forthcoming general elections, Mr Ilelah revealed that the commission had deployed all the technical and operational facilities for nationwide monitoring.

According to him, in order to ensure quality broadcast, no locality in Nigeria where a broadcast station exists will be left unmonitored.

He said that a Central Monitoring Committee had been constituted to provide rapid response to unethical broadcasting and violations on election days.

The NBC boss appealed to licensees yet to pay their outstanding debts to settle the dues immediately.

BOI announces collaboration with AFD to fight climate change

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The Bank of Industry (BOI) and the French Development Agency (AFD) have signed a grant agreement of 2.5 million Euros, delegated by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which will further their partnership to fight climate change in Nigeria.

Aïssatou Kumagangue, AFD project manager, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

According to the statement, AFD country director in Nigeria Xavier Muron, and BOI MD Olukayode Pitan, met under the patronage of Emmanuelle Blatmann, the ambassador of France to Nigeria and ECOWAS, to fight climate change in Nigeria.

Because France committed more than €1.5 billion to the Green Climate Fund since 2019, it was only natural that the meeting was held at the French Embassy.

It stated that on August 23, 2022, BOI and AFD signed a €100 million credit line to expand green finance in Nigeria.

This was approved under AFD’s Transforming Financial Systems for Climate (TFSC) Programme with the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a $650 million programme developed in 17 countries for 100 per cent climate investment projects.

The TFSC programme focuses on financing investments that contribute to climate change mitigation, specifically projects focused on renewable energy, low carbon and efficient energy generation, climate-smart agriculture technologies, clean urban transportation and others.

According to the statement, BOI and AFD understand the importance of mainstreaming Climate Finance within BOI’s strategy and operations.

Mr Pitan said it would contribute significantly to reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint, specifically regarding gender equality, signalling support for BOI in developing and implementing professional gender equality and gender lens investing policies.

ICPC arrests Sterling Bank staffers over sabotage

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Two Sterling Bank managers in Abuja have been apprehended by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

A statement from the ICPC disclosed that its operatives arrested the Regional and Service Managers of the financial institution last Friday for hoarding N258 million in the bank’s vault.

The new Naira notes were given to Sterling Bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disbursement to customers to ease the tension caused by Naira scarcity.

“As part of ongoing efforts at ensuring that commercial banks comply with the CBN’s directive on the distribution of the redesigned Naira notes, operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) last Friday discovered the sum of N258 million stashed in the vault of Sterling Bank in Abuja.

“This discovery followed one of the commission’s operations at ensuring that commercial banks and other interest groups do not flout the apex bank’s directive.

“When the ICPC monitoring team visited the bank and discovered the stashed new Naira notes in the bank’s vault, it was informed that the cash was the remnant of what the CBN had given the bank for onward distribution to its branches.

“The team, however, found out that only the sum of N5 million each was distributed to their various branches.

“Both the Regional and Service Managers were arrested and later granted administrative bail while the investigation continues,” the statement issued by the spokesperson of the ICPC, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, stated.

Kachikwu says Buhari and Emefiele naira swap will tear up Nigeria

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Dumebi Kachikwu, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, says the scarcity of the new naira banknotes poses great threats to Nigeria’s peace. He also lamented that difficulty in withdrawing old notes is frustrating lives and livelihood.

Mr Kachikwu worries that large parts of the North don’t have bank branches and e-banking support.

“If this is not bad enough, the most political Central Bank governor in our nation’s history seeks to plunge our nation into further chaos. How else can one explain this ill-conceived naira redesign policy that ought to strengthen the value of our currency but now threatens our very existence as a nation,” Mr Kachikwu.

The ADC presidential standard-bearer added, “My heart broke as I watched the videos of those who stripped naked in banking halls all in a bid to collect their money. How do you speak of cashless banking in a country plagued by epileptic telecom networks and power blackouts? Who is deceiving who when many parts of northern Nigeria don’t have bank branches and lack the infrastructure to support e-banking? Was this not factored into the CBN givernor’s plan?”

The presidential hopeful stressed that Nigerians did not deserve further hardships, especially at a time when fuel was also not available in many parts of the country.

He noted that people queued for hours for fuel only to be told they could not buy because they did not have cash and the point of sale (POS) terminals were out of service due to unavailability of both the old and the new naira notes.

Mr Kachikwu said the February 25 presidential election should be an opportunity for Nigerians to restore, rebuild, revive and reclaim their country by voting wisely. He urged Nigerians to demand that all presidential candidates have public debates.

“They say they will transform the country from consumption to production and you all clap. The question is produce what, where and when. It is your right to ask questions. How do we enter an election like this without debating or discussing the issues, what is wrong with us, we create problems and then bring in a spiritual dimension,” Mr Kachikwu stated.