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*President Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria) President Muhammadu Buhari has absolved himself of any blame in complying with the March 3, 2023, judgment of the Supreme Court, which invalidated the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, policy,  phasing out old N1000 and N500 notes. Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr. Garba Shehu in a statement on Monday, said: “ The Presidency wishes to react to some public concerns that President Muhammadu Buhari did not react to the Supreme Court judgement on the issue of the N500 and N1,000 old currency notes, and states here plainly and clearly that at no time did he instruct the Attorney General and the CBN Governor to disobey any court orders involving the government and other parties. “ Since the President was sworn into office in 2015, he has never directed anybody to defy court orders, in the strong belief that we can't practise democracy without the rule of law and the commitment of his administration to this principle has not chang

* Chief Executive Officer ,  CEO ,  of Seplat Energy PLC, Mr. Roger Brown (Nigeria) A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has restrained the Chief Executive Officer , CEO , of Seplat Energy PLC, Mr. Roger Brown from parading himself as the CEO of the company ,  pending the determination of a suit instituted against him and others by aggrieved stakeholders of the company over allegations of racism, favouring of expatriate workers, discrimination against Nigerians, and breach of good governance. The court also restrained the Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Basil Omiyi, and all the Non-Executive Directors under him from “continuing to run the affairs of Seplat in an illegal, unfair, prejudicial, and oppressive manner pending the hearing and determination of the Petitioner’s Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction”. Trial judge, Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke made order while ruling on a m otion e x - parte by some aggrieved stakeholders of Seplat, Moses Igbrude, Sarat Kudaisi,

*Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi (Nigeria) Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has commiserated with traders, who lost goods and valuable worth millions of naira to a  fire outbreak in the early hours of Wednesday,  at Akere Spare Parts Market in Olodi-Apapa, Ajegunle, Lagos . Obi in a series of tweets, said: “ This morning, I received the sad news of the fire outbreak at Akere Spare Parts Market in Olodi-Apapa, Ajegunle, Lagos. Hopefully no life was lost, but the means of livelihood and properties, worth millions of naira, lost to the inferno are of great concern to me . “ I commiserate deeply with all those affected by this fire disaster. I call on the government and relevant authorities to investigate the cause of the fire outbreak thoroughly, and forestall future occurrence, while finding ways to help the affected victims. “ The need for equal protection under the law; and government's meeting of her responsibility to protect live

*NDDC Board Chairman, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie (Nigeria) Chairman of   Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie, has appealed to the c ommission’s contractors to be patient as the c ommission wa s addressing the challenges delaying their outstanding payments.   Speaking during a courtesy call by a delegation from the NDDC Contractors’ Association at the Commission's headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Onochie told the contractors that their support and cooperation were necessary in resolving the challenges. She expressed regret that contractors who had completed their jobs were yet to be paid, but affirmed that the c ommission had set up a c ommittee to streamline the payment of all verifiable outstanding debts. She stated: "One of the first things we did as a Board when we assumed office was to look for means to address the issue of unpaid bills. Please, be patient with us. Give us a little more time to do our house c

*President Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria) Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “disclose details of the measures your government is taking to immediately and effectively obey the Supreme Court decision extending the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, and directing the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to continue to receive the notes from Nigerians.” SERAP urged him “to publicly instruct the CBN to immediately and effectively implement the Supreme Court decision ordering an end to the cash withdrawal limits imposed by banks because such restrictions violate citizens’ right to freely use their property.” SERAP also urged him “to disclose the measures that your government is taking to direct the CBN to immediately re-circulate the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, as ordered by the Supreme Court.” In the letter dated 4 March, 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said, “There

*UBA corporate headquarters, Lagos (Nigeria) The National Industrial Court o f Nigeria sitting in Asaba , Delta State, ha s declared the purported termination of employment of Richard Okagbare by United Bank for Africa , UBA , Plc, as unconstitutional, malicious and unlawful. Consequently, Justice J. Targema, trial judge in the matter, has ordered UBA Plc, to pay a total sum of ₦27,011,356.56 million, to the unjustly sacked worker, Richard Okagbare, as general damages for his unlawful dismissal as well as damages. Justice Targema, ordered UBA Plc, to pay the money within 30 days of the judgment. The judgment was delivered on January 18, 2023. The claimant, Richard Okagbare, through his lawyer, N. W. Ogbogu, had dragged the UBA Plc before the court in a suit marked NICN/ASB/47/2020, wherein he asked for the following reliefs: "a declaration that the termination of his employment with the by Bank, via a letter dated April 20, 2016, is a breach of bank's Group Staff Han

(Nigeria) As Nigerians  groan under the biting effects of scarcity of naira notes in the economy, a socio-political organisation,  Social  Rehabilitation  Gruppe , SRG, has warned the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor, Godwin Emefiele , not to heat up the system ahead of the February 25 , presidential  election. Convener/National Coordinator of the group, Dr. Marindoti Oludare,   in a statement on Sunday,  said setting a hurried expiry date for the old naira notes at a time Nigeria wa s preparing for a major election smacked of mischief and evil plot, to derail a smooth transition from one government to another. He said:  "While it is within the right of the CBN to change the naira notes, it is also liable to addressing hiccups that could   occur in the process, but in this case, the apex bank is apparently   unmoved by the spectre of Nigerian masses being tortured through its monetary policy. "To worsen things, the decision to change the old naira notes, setting a

* Governor   Ifeanyi Okowa  of  Delta State (Nigeria) Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, has reiterated the commitment of his administration to empower Deltans to be productive and self-reliant. Okowa said this, Tuesday, at the convocation of 173 graduands of the third batch of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission , DESOPADEC , Skills Academy at PTI Conference Centre, Warri, Delta State. At the event during which DESOPADEC issued business starter packs to the 173 graduands with additional N200,000 for each person to further support them in setting up, Okowa urged the graduands to go into the business world with focus and gritty determination to succeed. The Governor’s Chief of Staff,   Ovie Agas, who represented him , said: "Senator Okowa was elected on the mantra of prosperity for all and one of his cardinal programmes is h uman c apital d evelopment. The public service cannot absorb all our graduates and, as good parents, we will not allow our

* Federal High Court,  Lagos. (Nigeria) The Chief Executive Officer , CEO , of ABD Energy Solution Ltd, Kenneth Amadi, was Monday, convicted, and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, over f his involvement in fraud to the tune of N2.9b illio n. Trial judge, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa sentenced Amadi to 18 months imprisonment, to run concurrently, after finding him guilty of the charge brought against him by the Federal Government ,   through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation , AGF. Specifically, he was convicted for nominating the account of his company to customers, A-Z Petroleum Ltd and Ammasco Ltd, for them to act upon as genuine to the prejudice of EUNISELL Ltd, his employers, where he held sway as the CEO, and failure to make a full and true entry in the books and accounts of the company. Justice Allagoa also held the sentencing is without an option of a fine, and equally ordered that IDID Nigeria Limited, th

*OML30 (Nigeria) A Lagos based a ctivist, O.S. Umukoro, has charged the management of N igerian National Petroleum Corporation, N NPC Exploration and Production Limited NEPL, Shoreline Natural Resources Limited, Heritage Energy Operational Sevices Limited and Community Development Board , CDB led by Chief Idu Amadhe to uphold the fact that contracts and pipeline surveillance job in OML30 wa s not an inheritance for any individual. The a ctivist called on Federal Government and security agencies to monitor and apprehend any persons attempting to ferment trouble in OML30 over the pipeline surveillance job, adding that no individual has the right to lay claim to any job in OML30. Umukoro, an indigene of Kokori c ommunity, Cluster 4, in OML30, Delta State,   yester day, said, indigenes from oil producing community in OML30, have equal rights to   be awarded contracts , including the pipeline surveillance job. "We are aware that the pipeline surveillance job had expired and be

* Central Bank of Nigeria ,  CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele (Nigeria) Conference o f Nigeria Political Parties , CNPP , has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving a 10-day extension of the deadline for the swapping of old currency to the newly redesigned Naira notes. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria , CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had during his visit to the President at his Daura country home disclosed that President Buhari had approved the extension of the deadline after their closed door meeting to enable Nigerians, who were yet to exchange their old Naira notes with new ones, have opportunity to do so. The CNPP, in a statement by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, on Sunday, urged the apex bank to ensure that commercial banks do not hoard the new notes again, calling on all security agencies to immediately swing into action, “as a matter of patriotic duties to ensure that the new notes do not find their way into bullion vans belonging to some politicians and

*Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and Senate President, Ahmad Lawan (Nigeria) Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project , SERAP , has urged the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, to “promptly cut the outrageous National Assembly budget of N228.1bn, including the N30.17bn severance payments and inauguration costs for members (the highest ever).” SERAP urged them to “propose a refresh budget for the National Assembly that would reflect the current economic realities in the country, address the debt crisis, and prevent retrogressive economic measures.” The National Assembly had increased its 2023 budget from N169bn proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari to N228.1bn. The approved budget shows an increase of about N59.1bn. The country’s budget of N21.83tn is based on a N10.49tn revenue, and N11.34tn deficit. In the letter dated 14 January, 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare,

(Nigeria) A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday ordered the branch head of Providus Bank Plc, Mariam Isoje, to appear before the court to take her plea on alleged N144 million fraud. Justice Yellim Bogoro made the order sequel to an application of a prosecutor, Mr. Henry Obiaze, to the   court that the Providus Bank Plc's manager, Mariam, has been flagrantly refusing to appear before the court to take her plea, since that charge was file against her. Mariam Isoje is being charged before the court alongside a Bureau De Change (BDC) Operator, Ibrahim Butali Abdulmumin, on a four count-charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, concealing proceeds of an unlawful activities and fraud of N144 million.   Both Mariam and Ibrahim were charged before the court by Police Special Fraud Unit , PSFU, Ikoyi, Lagos. Police in the charge marked FHC/L/221c/2022, both Mariam and Ibrahim were alleged to have conspired together and fraudulent l y obtaining the sum of N144 mil

* CBN g overnor, Godwin Emefiele (Nigeria) An International Transparency group, Council of Economic Experts and Transparency Initiatives , CEETI , has thrown its weight behind the Federal Government decision through t he Central Bank of Nigeria , CBN , to redesign of N1, 000, N500, and N200 notes, describing calls by sponsored groups for the sack of the CBN g overnor, Godwin Emefiele as ridiculous and shameful. According to CEETI, “ Alliance Network Against Corruption , ANAC , and other protesting groups against the naira notes redesign policy have the right to express doubts over the new CBN policy, however, they should be ashamed that in the last few weeks since the policy unveiled, trillions of naira have been exposed to have been unearthed where they were stored by wicked politicians , who pay these protesters to protest and are calling for the sack of the CBN g overnor. ” Coordinator of CEETI, Dr. Joseph Akponede, said : “ W e are working to see a Nigeria where citizens w

(Nigeria) Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project , SERAP , has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “direct the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, and the acting Accountant General of the Federation, Sylva Okolieaboh to immediately reverse the apparently illegal deductions from the salaries of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities , ASUU , for October 2022.” SERAP is also urging him to “direct Mr Ngige and Mr . Okolieaboh to pay ASUU members full salaries for the duration of their strike action.” The Federal Government recently allegedly paid half-salaries to members of ASUU for the month of October, 2022. Some professors reportedly received salaries ranging from N71,000 to N121,000 for October. In the open letter dated November 5 , 2022 , by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “Paying half salaries to ASUU members solely for exercising their human rights is patently unlawful and incompatible with the Nigerian

*Sunny Onuesoke (Nigeria) A Peoples Democratic Party , PDP , chieftain and former gubernatorial aspirant in Delta State , Chief Sunny Onuesoke , has explained that the redesigning of Naira notes wa s not the problem of Nigerians , considering the current challenges facing the nation’s economy. Onuesoke pointed out that at a time when the government wa s grappling with high fiscal deficit, debt crisis, severe revenue crisis and under-funding of many government projects and programmes, it wa s most inappropriate to embark on such a profligate exercise. He advised that the main concern of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN , should be to improve productivity and increase the value of Naira , instead of wasting huge funds in redesigning and reprinting valueless currency. Recall that the CBN had recently , announced plans to redesign N100, N200, N500, and N1 , 000 to take control of the currency in circulation, manage inflation, as well as tackle counterfeiting. It also said the

(Nigeria) No fewer than 28 host communities in OML34, Delta State, Thursday, issued a 5 - day ultimatum to ND-Western E&P Company and NNPC E&P Limited , to shutdown the re operations of over the companies continued failure and refusal to fulfill the mandatory obligations to the aggrieved host communities. The notice for peaceful protest and shut down of operations was contained in a letter to the Managing Director of NNPC E&P Limited and Chief Operating Officer of ND-Western dated November 1 , 2022. The letter was by the chairmen and president generals of the 28 host communities, which include Michael Oghenegueke, Pastor Moses Bekaren, Rufus Onokurefe, Francis Uzoh, Nuwawa Alledy,   Okorodudu Solomon and 22 others. They said: "We are demanding for payment of outstanding penalty fines due the 28 host communities from the expired GMoU of January 1, 2016 , to December 31 , 2019. Also, the payment of penalty fine of N6,250,000 representing five percent of the Pr