Author: Olukayode Oke

The Supreme Court was brimming with legal heavyweights, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria, as well as the governors of Kaduna and Kogi states, Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello. The court was at full capacity as it heard the case on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. The proceedings of the court commenced with Justice John Okoro presiding over a seven-man panel, emphasising the need to keep the case’s intention and its impact on the plight of Nigerians in mind. In the previous hearing, the Court issued a temporary injunction against the enforcement of the February 10 deadline set by the CBN for the withdrawal of the old…

Two senior legal practitioners have said the Central Bank of Nigeria’s defiance of the Supreme Court’s order has rubbished the country’s constitution. The legal luminaries were reacting to CBN’s refusal to obey the Supreme Court order last week restraining it from implementing the February 10 deadline on cash swap. Mr Harris Gbole, Senior Advocate of Nigeria; and Kehinde Eleje, a lawyer; made this disclosure while speaking on the development during a Channels Television interview on Wednesday, On his part, Gbole stated that CBN’s conduct is contempt of the Court and against the rule of law. He said it is the…

The new Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Idowu Owohunwa, has emphasised operational efficiency and strong inter-agency synergy with the military detachments and other state and federal law enforcement and public safety agencies. The CP noted this in a press statement during the handing over ceremony yesterday  at the Command Headquarters in Lagos. He said: “As I assume the leadership mandate at the Centre of Excellence on this day, I shall optimally leverage on these strengths in my vision to positively change the policing narratives in the State. Towards this goal, I assure you that I will draw on my professional…

Nigeria has unveiled the diplomatic duty free village in Abuja. The establishment of the village is in compliance with the United Nations Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which domesticated by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1961, through the diplomatic immunities and privileges act of December 1962. This statutes provide for the exemption of diplomats from all duties and taxes, whether national, regional or municipal. “Specifically, the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges act of 1962 empowers the Ministry of Finance to exempt diplomats from all taxes. The Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed,  yesterday said  during the unveiling of the village,  diplomats  were…

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Prof. Darlington Obaseki, says the hospital conducted its first open heart surgery in January 2023. Obaseki said this on Tuesday in Benin at the 50 per cent subsidised specialised surgeries’ inauguration as part of activities for the 50th anniversary of the hospital holding in May. The CMD said the medical bill of one of the three patients for the open heart surgery was subsided by the Deputy Governor of Edo, Mr Phillip Shaibu. He commended the deputy governor for being a pillar of support to UBTH and for…

As the 2023 general election comes closer, the Osun State Command of Amotekun Corps has stated that its personnel will be deployed for patrol to complement the efforts of the Nigeria Police. The security outfit revealed that it has put in place measures that will ensure a peaceful election. The Corps Commander of Osun Amotekun Corps, Brigadier-General Bashir Adewinmbi stated this in a press statement on Tuesday in Osogbo. General Adewinmbi said operatives of the corps would liaise with its sources for actionable intelligence in order to checkmate potential threats in every part of the State. In his words, “We…

Nigeria’s oil production has risen month-on-month, MoM, by 1.9 per cent to 1.258 million barrels per day, mb/d, in January 2023, from 1.235 mb/d recorded in December 2022. The figures excludes Condensate. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, in its February 2023 Monthly Oil Market Report, MOMR however, indicated that on a year-on-year, YoY, basis the January output was a massive 10 percent drop from the 1.399 mb/d in January 2022. The report also shows that Nigeria, beat Angola that produced 1.050 mb/d to become Africa’s leading producer   while Equatorial Guinea comes last with 55,000 barrels per day during…

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Tuesday, attributed the current hardship occasioned by the naira and fuel scarcity to the activities of saboteurs. Gbajabiamila stated this during the launching of the second phase of a transport initiative called “Gbaja Ride”, designed to assist his Surulere constituents in Lagos. He said the lingering scarcity of naira notes and the fuel crisis were carefully contrived by some elements to destroy the successes of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration. According to him, the House of Representatives was working hard to rescue Nigerians from the present hardships. Gbajabiamila said, “As your representative…

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has informed citizens that there will be no cash swap for old notes in any financial institution. The CBN already declared the old N200, N500 and N1000 are no longer recognized as legal tender, despite a Supreme Court ruling. The apex bank on Tuesday released the guidelines for deposit of old notes at any of its branches across the country from February 15 and 17. CBN explained that in exchange for the old notes, the bank account provided by the depositor will be credited after scrutiny. You will not be issued new notes; instead…

Paris Saint-Germain forward, Kylian Mbappe has admitted that he was “not supposed to play” in their Champions League round of 16 first leg tie against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Mbappe came on in the second half, but could do nothing to prevent a 1-0 defeat at the Parc des Princes. The France international suffered a hamstring injury on February 1 and the Ligue 1 club initially said he would be out for three weeks. But Mbappe came on later in the course of the game around the 57th minute and changed the tempo of the game, scoring two goals that…

The Federal Government said it had started the process of declaring 111 historical sites in the country as National Monuments. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the 26th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023). He said the process of declaring the sites as national monuments had reached an advanced stage and awaiting the Presidential Assent. According to the minister, when the 111 national monuments come on board, they will be added to the existing 65. Mohammed also disclosed that the Buhari’ administration had published the…

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria  (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele,  has met with the Diplomatic Corps over the Naira redesign policy. Meeting with the corps in Abuja, Tuesday afternoon, the governor explained the rationale for the policy and said that extending the deadline for the circulation of the old notes of the affected denominations of N200, N500, and N1,000 notes was unnecessary. He noted that some unscrupulous bankers were trying to sabotage the policy and that such people would be sanctioned, along with Point of Sales (POS) operators who over-charged customers for transactions.