628 Bayero University Students Get Scholarships

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August 29, 2023

Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, has offered scholarships to 628 undergraduates of the Bayero University Kano (BUK).

The students, who were selected from Kano North Senatorial District, where the lawmaker represents, were given N50,000 each.

While flagging off the scheme at the School of Containing Education, BUK, the Chief of Staff to the Deputy President of the Senate, Muhammad Ibn Abdullahi said the scheme was conceived by the Deputy President of the Senate to support his constituents to pursue their studies in various tertiary institutions in the country.

The statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, a copy made available to pressmen in Kano said the gesture would be extended to all students from Kano North Senatorial District in all tertiary institutions in the country.

He said this scholarship scheme was conceived to empower undergraduates from Kano North Senatorial District. Each of the students will receive N50,000 courtesy of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin.

He added that the gesture is not only for the students of BUK, but that every student from Kano North that is studying in Nigeria will benefit from this scheme.

Senator Jibrin then urged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the gesture and study hard for them to excel in their academic pursuit.

Speaking on the occasion, one of the beneficiaries, Adama Iliyasu Rabiu, a 400 level student thanked the Deputy President of the Senate for the gesture.

Kano Govt Reduces Tertiary Institution Fees By 50 Per Cent

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Nzubechukwu Anodo

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August 29, 2023

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The Kano state government has taken a significant step by reducing the school fees of state-owned tertiary institutions by 50 per cent, in a bid to alleviate the impact of subsidy removal and rising registration fees in tertiary institutions.

The state’s Commissioner for Higher Education, Yusfu Kofar Mata said in a recent interview that this move aims to provide financial relief to parents during these challenging economic times.

He said the decision to reduce school fees comes in response to the recent economic challenges and increased financial burdens faced by families.

Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration, recognizing the economic difficulties, took the initiative to ease the financial strain on parents and students caused by the recent hike in registration fees.

Among the institutions benefiting from this fee reduction are Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology (ADUST), Yusuf Maitama Sule University (YUMSUK) and Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies (AKSIL).

Additionally, Kano State Polytechnic, Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Audu Bako College of Agriculture and Kano College of Remedial Science (KAS) are also included in this beneficial measure.

Lagos Assembly Not Fighting Sanwo-Olu, Says Speaker Obasa

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Mana Balagbogbo

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August 29, 2023

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The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, says the lawmakers are not “fighting” Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

This comes about a week after the state legislature rejected 17 of the 39 commissioner-nominees sent by the governor for screening.

The Speaker, who presided over the Monday plenary of the House, said no matter the threat by some persons, the Assembly won’t spill its discovery during the screening of the rejected commissioner-nominees.

He said no amount of intimidation would make the Assembly change its constitutional decision on the rejected nominees of the governor.

Obasa said himself and Sanwo-Olu had come a long way as “brothers”.

“We’ve been around together for long. In the last four years, we have been working together and I wonder why anytime we say ‘no’ to the request of the governor, it becomes something else.

“That is when the so-called elite conclude that we are fighting the governor. The House came up with so many resolutions which the executive did not carry out. Nobody has noticed that, nobody has said anything about that.

Obasa said the Assembly exercised its constitutional responsibility by confirming and rejecting some of the commissioner-nominees of the governor.

The Speaker said he is trying to protect his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“So, I am trying to protect my party and I would continue to do that but we are not going to sacrifice service to our people in the name of technocrats, no. “If anybody is interested to know why we have taken such decision, he should approach the House. The House, as a body, restrains itself from exposing what was discovered during the screening exercise and we would not be forced to spill it.”

Foreign Inflow Into Stocks Falls to Pre-Reform Levels

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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August 29, 2023

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Foreign investment in Nigerian stocks fell last month to its lowest level since President Bola Tinubu’s reforms that sparked a massive rally in the equities market, new data from the nation’s bourse show.

The total amount of stocks bought by foreign investors plunged to N9.45 billion from N22.72 billion in June, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Stocks worth N31.09 billion were offloaded by foreigners in July, compared to an outflow of N23.02 billion in the previous month.

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Foreign inflow into Nigerian stocks had jumped more than seven-fold in May to N27.51 billion, its highest level since December 2021, as the market soared on the last two trading days of that month following the announcement of petrol subsidy removal by Tinubu on May 29. That month, the market posted its first net inflow this year as the outflow stood at N9.65 billion, up from N4.80 billion in the previous month.

The subsidy removal was followed by a foreign exchange reform that led to a large devaluation of the naira in mid-June.

“The uncertainty in the FX market may have led to the exit observed in the month of July,” Ayodeji Ebo, managing director/chief business officer of Optimus by Afrinvest, told BusinessDay. “In addition, profit-taking may also be a major factor for the pull-out.”

Foreign participation in the equities market had increased to 11.51 percent in May from 4.43 percent in the previous month. It fell to 11.25 percent in June and 5.77 percent in July, the NGX data show.

The total transactions executed by Foreign investors fell by 11.37 percent in July to N40.54 billion (about $52.58 million) in the previous month, while domestic deals rose 83.50 percent to N662.44 billion.

BusinessDay had reported in February that for the first time in five years, foreign investors bought more Nigerian stocks than they sold in 2022.

The net foreign inflow came as foreign investors were forced to reinvest their dividends and sales proceeds into securities because they could not get dollars to repatriate their funds.

The latest data from the NGX explains foreign portfolio investors’ (FPIs) sentiments about the Nigerian capital market, hence the urgent need to provide confidence by increasing FX earnings in the medium to long term, Ebo said.

“We expect to see more FPIs in fixed income as yields improve, especially OMO bills,” he added.

On 10 August, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned its first OMO bills since December 29, 2022.

Analysts at Cordros Securities Limited said in an August 15 note that the move represented one of the short-term fixes for the CBN to attract FPIs into the FX market amid concerns that the Treasury bills yields were too low to attract foreign investors.

They expressed cautious optimism that active OMO operations with competitive interest rates would complement recent FX reforms, even as they raised concerns over “a bifurcation of interest rates where rates are high for foreign investors (OMO bills) but low for domestic investors (Treasury bills) following the Debt Management Office’s efforts to keep borrowing costs low”.

“Moreover, bringing back OMO as a tool for attracting foreign investors takes us back to the unorthodox monetary policy era. It will come at a considerable cost to the CBN’s balance sheet,” the analysts added.

Bismarck Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, said the Nigerian stock market lost 1.43 percent in the last week of July following a 25 basis-point hike in the monetary policy rate and the release of underwhelming half-year earnings by some Nigerian companies.

The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate in July for the eighth consecutive month to 18.75 percent from 18.50 percent.

The NGX gained 5.53 percent in July, down from 9.38 percent in the previous month, with investors gradually exiting equities “for attractive fixed income yields”, Rewane said in his presentation at the Lagos Business School Breakfast Meeting this month.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said in its latest country report on Nigeria that the CBN’s unification of the country’s multiple exchange rates in June led to the sharpest devaluation of the naira in history.

The new exchange rate was classed by the central bank as a ‘managed float’, but there are inconsistencies in application to a more liberal currency regime as foreign-exchange access restrictions still apply to an array of imports, according to the EIU.

“This will unnerve foreign investors, and a backlog of foreign-exchange orders the CBN failed to clear before opening up the market and deeply negative real interest rates will keep liquidity tight,” it said.

Airline To Weigh Passengers Before They Board

By

faith Jegede

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August 29, 2023

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A Korean airline is set to start weighing its passengers before they board.

Recently, South Korea’s leading airline, Korean Air, announced its intention to join the ranks of carriers in this unique practice.

According to them, as part of an effort to enhance flight safety, the airline will be measuring the average weight of passengers along with their carry-on items.

Travellers flying from two of South Korea’s busiest airports, both in the capital Seoul, will be asked to step on the scales. Passengers on domestic routes from Gimpo Airport may be weighed from 28 August to 6 September, while the same is true for passengers departing from Incheon International Airport from 8-19 September.

The airline has confirmed that if passengers would prefer not to share their weight they can opt-out by letting airport staff know

An airline spokesperson said “Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MOLIT) has advised all Korean flag carriers to weigh passengers with their carry-on baggage to update its ‘Aircraft Weight and Balance Management Standards’,” told The Independent.

“This is crucial for safety of flight operations, and Korean Air complies with this mandate and remains committed to safety, its number one priority.”

The process is used to help determine the weight distribution on aircraft, and calculations need to take place every five years.

Throughout June, more than 10,000 passengers flying with Air New Zealand were expected to be weighed before they boarded their flight.

It was part of an “essential” initiative to ensure “the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft”, according to Air New Zealand, and was also a requirement from the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.

AI Strategy: Nigeria in Global Hunt for Best Minds

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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August 29, 2023

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Minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani said it is curating a list of top researchers of Nigerian and non-Nigerian descent from all over the world to join in co-creating a National Artificial intelligence Strategy.

This is in line with the National Artificial Intelligence Policy (NAIP) on the existing work done by the National Information Technology Department Agency (NITDA) one year ago.

In the statement shared by the minister, the national AI strategy for Nigeria is responsible for steering the AI revolution towards achieving the national goal of job creation, social inclusion, and sustainable development.

“With collaborative leadership, Nigeria seeks to pioneer ethical and inclusive AI innovation that improves welfare and opportunities for all citizens,” it said.

According to PwC report, Al will contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with $3 trillion from increased productivity and $9.1 trillion from new products and services.

Many governments have developed AI frameworks and policies to help prompt economic and technological growth. The frameworks range from the United States’ Executive Order on AI leadership, India’s National Strategy for AI #AIforAll, and China’s Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan to ‘AI Made in Germany’ and the ‘Pan-Canadian AI Strategy’, among others.

These strategies majorly focus on talent and education, research and development, government investment, and collaborations with other countries and regulatory frameworks for the best development and deployment of AI.

In 2019, US President Donald Trump emphasised the significance of ensuring American leadership in the development of emerging technologies, including AI, that make up the industries of the future.

Trump signed an Executive Order to launch the American AI Initiative that focused on the resources of the federal government to develop AI to enhance the country’s prosperity, increase its national and economic security, and improve the quality of life of the American people.

The American AI initiative takes a multipronged approach to stimulate the US’ national leadership in AI and includes five key areas of emphasis: investing in AI R&D; unleashing AI resources; setting AI governance standards; building the AI workforce; and international engagement and protecting America’s AI advantage.

For China, the next-generation artificial intelligence development plan involves initiatives and goals for research and development, industralisation, talent development, education and skills acquisition, standard-setting and regulations, ethical norms, and security.

The country also has a national AI strategy and has announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in AI research and development. Cities like Beijing announced a $2.1 billion AI-centric technology park and Tianjin, which plans to set up a $16 billion AI fund, is also stepping out to the country’s AI development initiatives. By 2030, the Chinese government intends to nurture an AI industry worth 1 trillion RMB, with related industries worth 10 trillion RMB.

Canada is the first country in the world that introduced a CAD25 million national AI strategy, the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, in 2017. For this strategy, the Government of Canada appointed the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research, which works in close collaboration with Canada’s three national AI institutes – Amii in Alberta, Mila in Montréal, and Vector Institute in Toronto, as well as universities, hospitals, and organisations across the country.

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The strategy has four goals and objectives: increase the number of AI researchers and graduates, establish three clusters of scientific excellence, develop thought leadership on the economic, ethical, policy, and legal implications of AI, and support the national research community on AI. Canada’s AI strategy is distinct from other strategies because it is primarily a research and talent strategy.

Other countries that have gone ahead with their national AI strategy include Singapore, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Japan.

In Africa, Mauritius was the first to develop an AI strategy, followed by Egypt. However, South Africa currently leads the continent with the highest number of AI-focused companies, followed by Nigeria.

South Africa, the most industrialised country on the continent, currently has 726 startups compared with 456 in Nigeria, according to data from Finextra and Kora. Other countries in the top five with AI companies include Egypt (246), Kenya (204), and Morocco (126).

However, the International Finance Corporation projects that the strategic adoption of Al could add up to $234 billion to Africa’s GDP by 2030. Nigeria is considered to have a fast-growing technology start-up ecosystem (having attracted 25 percent of the $1.3 billion funding to African tech start-ups in 2021).

As an innovation leader on the African continent, Nigeria needs to develop a national strategy to harness the power of Al for sustainable development, the minister’s statement added.

Along with the opportunities, Al governance also poses some complex socio-technical challenges. As algorithms are deployed in high-stakes domains like healthcare, finance, and security, concerns are emerging around ethics, bias, transparency, job automation, and privacy.

In addition, both policymakers and researchers are of a consensus that a human-centred approach is essential to ensure Al systems are fair and accountable to all, across gender, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

Currency Swap Agreement: CBN Repays 5.10bn Yuan

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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August 29, 2023

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has repaid 5.10 billion Chinese yuan (CNY) out of the 6 billion utilized from the Nigeria-China currency swap agreement, expected to be renewed next year.

The apex bank disclosed this in a response note to Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, who, in June 2023, sent a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the CBN to disclose the details of the currency swap agreement.

According to the CBN, the currency swap agreement commenced in July 2018. It expired and was renewed in April 2021. CNY 15.00 billion was the overdraft amount usable within the year.

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Africa’s largest economy’s Central Bank said the swap deal is renewable every three years.

“Since its renewal, CNY9.00 billion had been drawn, CNY6.00 billion utilized and CNY3.00 billion outstanding, and out of the CNY6.00 billion utilized, the sum of CNY5.10 billion had been repaid, while the sum of CNY2.10 billion had not been utilized, leaving the sum of CNY900.00 million yet to be repaid. Furthermore, the next renewal is expected to take place in 2024,” the CBN said in response to Falana, as reported by the Cable.

Falana was concerned that despite the currency swap agreement, the federal and state governments and business community have been “prevented from transacting business in naira and yuan”.

Suspended governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele led CBN officials while Yi Gang, PBoC governor, led the Chinese team at the official signing ceremony in Beijing, China, on April 27, 2018, a culmination of over two years of painstaking negotiations by both central banks.

The deal aimed to provide adequate local currency liquidity to Nigerian and Chinese industrialists and other businesses, thereby reducing the difficulties encountered in the search for third currencies.

Nigeria became the third African country to have such an agreement with the PBoC.

The agreement provides naira liquidity to Chinese businesses and renminbi liquidity to Nigerian companies, improving the speed, convenience and volume of transactions between the two countries. It also assists both countries in their foreign exchange reserves management, enhances financial stability and promotes broader economic cooperation between the two countries.

With the operationalization of this agreement, it is easier for most Nigerian manufacturers, tiny and medium enterprises and cottage industries in manufacturing and export businesses to import raw materials, spare parts and simple machinery to undertake their businesses by taking advantage of available renminbi liquidity from Nigerian banks without being exposed to the difficulties of seeking other scarce foreign currencies.

IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu: “Begging FG for my freedom is an insult.”

By

Mana Balagbogbo

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August 29, 2023

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The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, on Tuesday, said begging the federal government to release him would be an insult to the memory of the late Pa Mbazulike Amaechi, whose dying request to FG, to have him (Kanu) freed was ignored.

The lead counsel to IPOB, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, disclosed this to newsmen in Owerri after they visited the detained leader at the detention facility of the State Security Services, SSS, in Abuja.

In addition, he said the court of appeal had made a pronouncement freeing him given that, “it remains sacrosanct.”

According to IPOB’s lawyer, “We visited our indefatigable Client – Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, on the 28th day of August 2023, to brief him on the various intervening actions taken by the legal team ably led by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, to address pertinent concerns affecting his welfare and failure of the SSS to avail him of his medical records.

“To this end, an application has been made to the Honourable Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory by our erudite Lead Counsel – Prof. Mike Ozekhome SAN, to appoint a Magistrate that will visit and inspect the SSS facility/cell where Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been held in solitary confinement since June 2021 till date, in pursuance to the relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

“Following the SSS’ refusal to avail Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu with his medical records, as directed by Hon. Justice Binta Nyako, in the judgment delivered on the 20th day of July 2023, our erudite Lead Counsel – Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, was compelled by this brazen disregard to an order of Court by the SSS, to initiate a contempt proceeding against the State Security Service (SSS) and her Director General, for this gross violation of positive Orders of Court.

“Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu used the opportunity offered by the visit to extend his heartfelt gratitude to all people of good conscience and groups calling for his release. He however, observed that many people may not have understood the peculiarity of his case, but proceeded to urge us to clarify that he has been effectively and validly discharged by the judgment of the Court of Appeal, delivered on the 13th day of October 2022, which said judgment also prohibited his further trial and detention. Therefore, there is no charge pending against Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu before any Court as of today.

“Furthermore, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unequivocally stated that begging the Federal Government to release him at this point is an insult to the memory of late Pa Mbazulike Amaechi, who despite his age and ill health, repeatedly traveled from the South-East to Abuja, begging the Federal Government of Nigeria, to honor his dying wish, which request was treated with greatest disdain by the Federal Government, and was also not honored.”

Chevron Workers’ Strike, Threatens Global LNG Supply

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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August 29, 2023

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Workers at two large liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in Australia, operated by U.S energy giant Chevron, are set to go on strike from September 7, a move that could impact around 5 percent of global LNG volumes, thereby driving up global prices.

This follows weeks of negotiations between Offshore Alliance (OA) members at Chevron’s Western Australian gas facilities and other parties in the company over pay and working conditions.

OA members of the US supermajor’s Gorgon project, Wheatstone downstream, and Wheatstone platform facilities voted virtually unanimously in favour of more than 20 types of industrial action, including several work prohibitions and total shutdowns.

The industrial action will escalate each week until Chevron agrees to our bargaining claims, the union said via its Facebook account.

“The OA Chevron crew won’t be intimidated by an outfit which thinks they can exploit our resources, rip off Australian taxpayers and underpay highly skilled oil and gas workers engaged on remote major hazard facilities,” the Facebook Post read.

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Chevron’s Gorgon LNG project, which consists of three trains, has a nameplate capacity of 15.6 million tonnes per annum, while its Wheatstone liquefaction complex has two trains with a combined capacity of 8.9 million tpa.

According to the BBC, Chevron said it would continue to take steps to maintain safe and reliable operations in the event of disruption at our facilities.

“While we don’t believe that industrial action is necessary for agreement to be reached, we recognise employees have the right to take protected industrial action,” Chevron said in a statement on Tuesday.

It added that it would “continue to work through the bargaining process as we seek outcomes that are in the interests of both employees and the company.”

The Offshore Alliance, a collaboration of two unions representing oil workers, including those at Chevron, said it has been working with the corporation on “several key” concerns such as salary, job security, rosters, and training standards.

It added that workers had been “consistently disappointed with the company’s approach to negotiations with the union and Chevron not accepting that an industry standard agreement should apply to the work they perform for the company.”

Australia is one of the biggest LNG exporters in the world and its supplies have helped to cool global energy prices, especially when Russia slashed supplies of natural gas to Europe after the start of the Ukraine war in early 2022.

Fuel Subsidy: Wike Affirms N2bn Palliatives for FCT

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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August 29, 2023

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The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike has announced that President Bola Tinubu has sanctioned a two-billion-naira relief package for the FCT.

Wike shared this news during a meeting with contractors following the inaugural Federal Executive Council (FEC) session of the current administration.

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The funds are earmarked primarily for addressing transportation challenges. Wike emphasized that while the Federal Government is considering increased project funding, the FCT Administration will also explore internal revenue sources.

He cautioned contractors against offering excuses. The Federal Government has previously approved billions of naira for the 36 states, including the FCT, to help soften the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.