Here are the top 10 stories making headlines across the country.
1. Nigerian govt to arraign Binance, 2 officials for alleged tax evasion April 4
The Federal Government will arraign Binance Holdings Limited and its two top officials – Tigran Gambaryan and fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla, for alleged tax evasion on April 4.Read more
2. Army declares Prof, seven others wanted over killing of 17 officers, soldiers in Delta
The Nigerian Army on Thursday release a list and pictures of eight people it has declared wanted over the killing of 17 of its personnel in an ambush in Okuama Community in Delta State.Read more
3. Nigeria’s defence spokesman claims troops killed 212 terrorists in one week
The Defence Headquarters claimed on Thursday troops operating in various theatres of operations killed 121 suspected terrorists and arrested 253 other criminals across the country in one week.Read more
4. Labour Party crisis deepens, as Board of Trustees takes over party
The Board of Trustees of the Labour Party says it has taken over the running of the affairs of the party, bringing a new dimension to the crisis rocking the opposition party.Read more
5. Alleged budget padding: Sen Ningi gives Akpabio, Senate 7 days to lift suspension or face legal action
Suspended Senator representing Bauchi Central of Bauchi State, Abdul Ahmed Ningi, has written the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Senate leadership demanding that the suspension placed on him be lifted.Read more
READ ALSO:Top 10 stories from across Nigerian Newspapers, Wednesday , March 27, 2024
6. FCT court throws out EFCC’s alleged fraud case against ex-AGF Adoke
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT), High Court, Abuja, has dismissed the charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy filed against former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Bello Adoke, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).Read more
7. CBN pegs capital base for Nigerian banks at N500bn
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the minimum capital base for commercial banks with international standing to N500 billion.Read more
8. Crypto whiz-kid, Bankman-Fried, jailed 25 years over FTX collapse
The co-founder of a cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the collapse of the platform.Read more
9. Delta monarch wanted over killing of 17 soldiers surrenders to police
The King of Ewu kingdom, Ikolo Clement, one of the suspects declared wanted by the Nigerian military in connection with the death of personnel in Delta State has surrendered himself to the authorities.Read more
10. Three arrested for mob action in Kano
Police operatives in Kano have arrested three persons for allegedly indulging in mob action in the Fagge local government area of the state.Read more
Nigeria is failing to tap into millions of dollars in climate action funding due to challenges in developing robust proposals and a lack of accredited entities to channel the funds, THE WHISTLER has gathered.
The revelation came from Dr Samuel Partey, a Climate Impact Specialist at the Green Climate Fund (GCF), who disclosed during a webinar monitored by THE WHISTLER that several countries, including Nigeria, are missing out on up to $1m annually in readiness funds offered by the GCF.
“There are several countries that are not even applying for funds. For the readiness funds, for instance, it is like $1 million that goes to each country every year and if the country doesn’t submit any proposal, it loses this money that is for them,” stated Partey.
He gave Nigeria as an example, saying “Even Nigeria is not taking their money. I come from Ghana and since 2021, they’ve not submitted anything. They’ve already lost $3 million.”
Dr. Samuel T. Partey
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s largest dedicated fund helping developing countries respond to climate change. Under its ‘Readiness Programme,’ developing countries like Nigeria can access a one-time grant of up to US$3m to support country-driven adaptation activities and $1m annually to strengthen their abilities to tackle climate change.
However, Nigeria is faltering in taking advantage of the opportunity, said Partey who noted that accessing the funds requires submitting proposals through its National Designated Authority (NDA), which in Nigeria’s case is the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC).
Findings by THE WHISTLER revealed that Nigeria has not accessed any readiness funds, leaving an estimated $3.4 million on the table.
Breakdown of Nigeria’s approved funding by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
A senior official from the Ministry of Environment who spoke to THE WHISTLER on the condition of anonymity on Thursday acknowledged the missed opportunities and explained the hurdles preventing the country from accessing the funds.
The official identified weak project proposals and a lack of accredited entities as the two major hindrances to Nigeria’s access to the funds.
The official said the first challenge lies in developing “bankable projects” which requires cross-organizational collaboration and input from various experts. According to him, previous projects have been deemed “poorly packaged” because they often lacked merit and failed to meet GCF standards.
For accredited entities, they are organisations specifically approved by the GCF to channel approved funds.
“One thing you see in Nigeria is that somebody in an MDA (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) will just sit down and write a proposal, whereas you require expertise. For instance, if your project is Agric-based, you could require people from the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) to provide you with facts and data. You could also require somebody from the Ministry of Water Resources to tell you about the water content and such details.
“So, ideally, a bankable project is not written by one person. But I don’t know whether to call it the Nigerian or African nature, where one organisation wants all the money
“The projects that come are lacking merit. We don’t package our projects well and at times the bankability is very poor, so that’s one of the main problems.,” said the official.
The official told THE WHISTLER that while Nigeria currently lacks its own accredited entities, international organisations like the African Development Bank (AfDB) are accredited and can be used by organisations in the country that can design acceptable projects.
“There are entities that are accredited by the GCF through which you can access funds and Nigeria presently does not have its own accredited entities, although we have submitted some organisations’ names for accreditation. So, without an accredited entity, you cannot access GCF funds.
“Because GCF cannot come and supervise every project that they fund, they have organisations that they work with. In fact, we have some organisations affiliated with Nigeria that are accredited. The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is accredited and all those UN organisations are accredited
“But what happens is that when people come and they don’t have an accredited entity and we send them to these organisations, they come back saying those organisations say the projects do not match with their profiles (mandate) or something.
“But as I said, the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) are currently being (accredited). There are other organisations but these have crossed halfway,” he said.
The official recalled that the situation had forced some applicants to approach the AfDB and UN agencies, but the proposals were deemed incompatible with the mandates of such entities.
The official, however, said with the progress being made by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Nigeria may soon be able to access the funds.
NIRSAL PLC Building
“We hope that before the end of June, DBN’s accreditation should be out so that way when people have projects, they can channel them through DBN.”
Among the progress made are approvals of Nigeria’s National Adaptation Plan and Technology Needs Assessments by the GCF, said the official.
He stressed that collaboration across ministries and agencies and potentially with support from consultants, can help speed up the process.
“Some of the countries that have accessed the funds got foreign consultants to write it for them,” he said, noting however that such consultants “don’t come cheap”.
He added, “But besides readiness funds, we have some multi-country projects involving the GCF that Nigeria has benefited from but concerning readiness, we have the National Adaptation Plan and the Technology Needs Assessments that have been approved and are ongoing.
“If the issues earlier mentioned can be corrected, we will have more projects being approved.
“We really need to come up with a pipeline of bankable projects because the GCF is the largest global fund and it’s like you have to do one and wait for that one to be completed. With the GCF, you can channel as many projects as possible but where are the projects? There are other issues but these are the two major problems we have.”
THE WHISTLER’s checks on the GCF website showed that Nigeria has benefitted from GCF-funded projects worth about $193.9m.
The official stressed that maximizing the GCF’s resources requires strengthening proposal development that meets the Fund’s standards and expanding the country’s accredited entities to unlock potential millions of dollars in funding to tackle climate change.
Unclaimed Cash: Nigeria Loses $1m Climate Grant Yearly is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
A Benue man, Takema Akom Smith has said he won’t give up his children if DNA test shows they are not his biological kids.
“I can not drive any of my children to go because DNA shows he or she is not my biological child, the bond between father and child has been established and I can’t let it lose,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday, March 27.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the minimum capital base for commercial banks with international standing to N500 billion.
The CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, who confirmed the development in a circular made available to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, said the apex bank set a N200 billion threshold for national banks and N50 billion for their regional counterparts.
Also, non-interest banks with national and regional authorizations are expected to shore up their capital base to N20 billion and N10 billion respectively within 24 months beginning from April 1.
The CBN urged banks to consider injecting fresh equity capital through private placements, rights issues, and/or offers for subscriptions to meet the new minimum capital requirement.
They are also encouraged to pursue mergers and acquisitions or to consider upgrading or downgrading their license authorisation.
“Additional Tier 1 (AT1) Capital will not be eligible for meeting the new requirement. Despite the increase in capital, banks must ensure strict compliance with the minimum Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirement applicable to their license authorisation,” the circular read.
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC on Monday, March 25, 2024 arraigned Sufiyanu Yahaya and Mudassir Rabiu Idris before Justice ibrahim Musa Karaye of the Kano State High Court on one- count separate charges bordering on misappropriation of funds to the tune of N20,500,000( Twenty Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) only.
While Yahaya allegedly misappropriated a sum of N11,500,000 (Eleven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) belonging to a petitioner meant for the supply of rice, Idris allegedly misappropriated the sum of N9,000,000( Nine Million Naira only) belonging to a petitioner meant for the purchase of 360 pieces of solar panels.
The charge against Yahaya reads: ‘’That you Safiyanu Yahaya sometime in September 2022 in Kano State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court misappropriated the sum of N11,500,000.00 for the supply of Rice sent to your corporate account no. 0503548882 with account name: SYU Rahama General Enterprises domiciled with Sterling Bank by Imran Ismail to which you are the sole signatory of the account and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 309 of the same Law”.
The charge against Idris reads: ‘’That You, MUDASSIR RABIU IDRIS ‘m’ sometime in 2022 at Kano, Kano State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly misappropriated to your own use, to wit: the sum of N9,000,000 (Nine million naira) only belonging to Auwalu Abubakar which was meant for the purchase of 360 pieces of solar panels and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 308 of the Penal Code Act and punishable under Section 309 of the same Act.’’
Both defendants pleaded not guilty when their charges were read to them.
In view of their pleas, counsel to the prosecution, A.H El-Badawi and Sadiq Kurawa prayed the court for a trial date.
Counsel to Yahaya, Y.A Dauda filed an affidavit for bail on behalf of the defendant praying the court to admit his client to bail.
Justice Karaye granted bail to Yahaya in the sum of N12,000,000 (Twelve Million Naira) only with two sureties who must be verified by the EFCC.
Idris was not yet admitted to bail.
The Judge adjourned both cases till May 27, 2024 for commencement of trial and remanded the two defendants at the Correctional Centre
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has announced the commencement of reconstruction of two major roads in Aba: Obohia Road and Ohanku Road.
Governor Otti made this known during the 2024 Chrism Mass at Christ The King Catholic Church (CKC) in Aba.
He also made a surprise revelation that pensioners owed arrears stretching back to 2014 would finally receive their due today, March 28th.
“Some of you [pensioners] have been owed since 2014,” Governor Otti acknowledged.
“At the end of today (Thursday, March 28, 2024), all of you will smile. Check your accounts at the end of business today,” he announced.
Governor Otti highlighted his commitment to fulfilling campaign promises and delivering positive change to the people.
He stated, “Yesterday, work started at Obohia Road. After Easter, work will start at Ohanku Road, and we are doing something a little different in Ohanku Road because we are using Cement Pavement Technology so that it will last longer.”
Otti expressed his appreciation for the Catholic Church’s support and pledged to continue practicing good governance.
“I want to thank the CKC particularly for the support you have given me. Thanks for your support. Thank you for being who you have been and supporting the good governance that we have today,” he stated.
The Catholic Bishop of Aba Diocese, the Most Rev. Augustine Echema, commended Governor Otti’s performance and leadership. He described the ongoing reconstruction of Port Harcourt Road as a benchmark and praised the governor’s achievements.
“You are doing well. So far, so good, and I bet you, if you continue like this, you don’t need any other campaign for a second tenure. Your works will speak for you. The things you do will campaign for you. I have nothing else to say than to assure you of our efficacious prayers.
“We Abians for once are proud of our Governor. You have done greatly well and the people are happy. When the righteous people are in authority, the people rejoice. Thank you and God bless you,” Bishop Echema stated.
‘Check Your Accounts’- Gov Otti Makes Surprise Revelation About Pension Payments In Church is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
50 Cent is reportedly seeking sole custody of his son Sire, after his child’s mother Daphne Joy was accused of being a sex worker in a recent Diddy lawsuit.
US Weekly reported that 50 Cent is in the process of trying to obtain full custody of Sire, whom he and Daphne Joy currently share custody of.
Sources close to the situation told the outlet 50’s sudden interest in gaining full custody is because Daphne Joy was named in a lawsuit filed by Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones against Diddy.
Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who worked with Combs on his latest album, sued the music mogul for allegedly sexually assaulting him.
Lil Rod accused Daphne of being a sex worker for the Bad Boy Ent. founder, claiming he’d pay her a monthly stipend in exchange for sex and services.
“Given the latest developments and news of Daphne Joy’s involvement in the Diddy lawsuit, 50 is going for sole custody of his son,” the source told US Weekly.
The development comes after 50 Cent had seemingly responded to the discovery on his Instagram.
“I didn’t know you was a sex worker,” 50 wrote alongside a photo of him smoking a cigar on Thursday. “You little sex worker. LOL. Yo this s**t is a movie.”
Born Curtis Jackson III, the “In Da Club” hitmaker and OnlyFans model dated from 2011 to 2012.
They split shortly after now-12-year-old Sire’s birth. 50 Cent also shares son Marquise, 27, with ex Shaniqua Tompkins.
On Monday, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones amended the lawsuit he filed against Diddy in February.
According to documents, Lil Rod claimed Diddy would brag to the producer about how he’d pay Daphne, the City Girls rapper, and another woman named Jade Ramey a “monthly stipend” in exchange for services.
The King of Ewu kingdom, Ikolo Clement, one of the suspects declared wanted by the Nigerian military in connection with the death of personnel in Delta State has surrendered himself to the authorities.
He was among the eight persons declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters over the March 14 killing of four officers and 13 soldiers at Okuama Community in Delta State.
Other persons declared wanted by the military are the President-General of Ewu Kingdom, Prof. Ekpekpo Arthur, Andaowei Dennis Bakriri, Akevwru Daniel Omotegbo (Aka Amagben), Akata Malawa David, Sinclear Oliki; a traditional ruler, Clement Ikolo Oghenerukeywe; Reuben Baru, and Igoli Ebi.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major- Gen. Edward Buba, who addressed journalists on Thursday in Abuja, urged Nigerians to assist the military with credible information that would lead to the arrest of the wanted persons.
The monarch in a statement before submitting himself to the police, expressed shock at his inclusion in the list of wanted persons.
He said: “I am very surprised that my name as the monarch of the kingdom will appear in the list of wanted persons.
“I have no hand in the killings, I have no hand in encouraging anybody to kill anybody, it is against my philosophy as a human being and my faith as a Catholic.
“It is a serious crime against humanity and they need to look at the appropriate places and do a thorough investigation to know all those who have committed this and bring them to books to let justice prevail.
“I am not a party to this and as I have said earlier, the state government is aware of the turbulence I have been going through and as I speak, an arrangement was made by the government to invite the opponents recently just before this happenings.
“To invite those who are fighting me in the kingdom to reconcile the differences and allow me to go into the kingdom and start to rule as the monarch of the place.
“I have not been able to set up anything, I have not been able to set up my traditional council, I have done nothing in the kingdom.
“So I barely know anything right now, I have no information, I know nothing I am only just in the process of setting up a structure to enable me to rule in the kingdom.”
