The naira, Nigeria’s currency, has maintained stability against the U.S dollar at the parallel market for the past week. Bureau De Change operators (BDCs) across forex markets in Lagos quoted the naira at N740 to a dollar on Wednesday. Checks by TheCable showed that N740 is the same rate the naira traded with the greenback currency last week. Meanwhile, the BDC merchants put the buying price of the dollar at N740 and the selling price at N735, leaving a profit margin of N5. They attributed the naira’s stability to moderation in demand amid increased supply of dollars from Nigerians in diaspora who visited the country during the festive season. “I can say that demand for dollars is just average. People have been bringing a lot of dollars to sell and collect naira,” Muhammad, a currency dealer at Alade Market in Ikeja, Lagos, said. Meanwhile, the naira gained 0.11 percent to close at N461/$ at the investors and exporters (I&E) forex window on Tuesday, according to data published by FMDQ, a platform where FX is officially traded. The data also showed that forex worth $153.45 million were transacted among market dealers. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued to intervene in the official forex market from the external reserve in order to maintain the stability of the naira.

  THE Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, yesterday condemned the attack of the former Governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, alleging that attack was masterminded by the political gladiators in Imo state who are desperate to murder political opponents in the state to further their own careers. Describing the attack as uncalled for IPoB, said that everybody must stand tall and condemn the attack and work to protect Imo people, adding that “not every politician is wicked and Ohakim is one of the peaceful people among the politicians in the Eastern region and should not be attacked in that near gruesome manner.” IPoB also said the Imo State government has a lot of questions to answer over the attack of former Governor Ohakim, alleging that it created political assassination thugs thinking that they can manipulate and blackmail the public against IPoB. A statement by IPoB’s Media and Publicity Secretary Emma Powerful, entitled “We condemn in its entirety the attack on the former Governor of Imo State Chief Ikedi Ohakim” also said that the Imo State government must tell Nigerians what it is trying to achieve with the level of assassination across the state. IPoB’s statement read, “We the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, ably led by our great and indefatigable leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, condemn the recent attacks on the former Governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim. “The attack was masterminded by the political gladiators in Imo state who are desperate to murder political opponents in the state to further their own careers. “Everybody must ask the Hope Uzodinma-led Imo State government about what is happening in Imo state because they created the political assassination thugs thinking that they can manipulate and blackmail the public against IPoB. “The Uzodinma-led Imo State government must tell Nigerians what they are trying to achieve with this level of assassination across the state. Some people we understand are murdered by criminals sponsored by the Imo government’s security agents while some were murdered by their Ebubeagu security militia collaborating with Fulani terrorists wearing Nigeria soldiers’ uniforms. “We cry out for the lives of innocent citizens murdered unjustly by the present Imo State government because of political interest and ambition, by carrying out attacks against their political opponents in Imo State. “We ask them this pertinent question If every citizen of the state dies in this way, would they live alone in the whole state and govern who? “The attack on Chief Ikedi Ohakim is uncalled for, and we must stand tall in protecting our people. Not every politician is wicked. Ohakim is one of the peaceful people among the politicians in the Eastern region. IPOB totally condemns the recent attacks on former Governor Ohakim. We understand that the attack was planned to achieve a political goal by the enemies of Imo indigenes because they wanted to bring their opponents in the state down and push them into submission. But we know that Imo indigenes are not weak and must not succumb to their intimidation. “The people of Imo State must be prepared for what is coming because they people on the seat of power, behave like vampires”

  The United States has approved the sale of mifepristone, an abortion pill, at pharmacies. Mifepristone is taken in combination with a second drug called misoprostol to end an intrauterine pregnancy at ten weeks gestation (70 days or less since the first day of a patient’s last menstrual period). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved the drug in 2000 but patients could only obtain it in person from a health provider. On Tuesday, the FDA updated its website with the new requirements for the drug, saying it “can be dispensed by certified pharmacies or by or under the supervision of a certified prescriber”. A prescription is, however, still required under the new rule. The agency said the decision was reached after conducting a review of the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS). “The FDA determined that the available data and information support modification of the REMS to reduce burden on the health care delivery system and to ensure the benefits of the product outweigh the risks,” the agency said. US pharmacies can now apply for certification to distribute Mifepristone, which will allow them to directly sell to customers who have a prescription from a certified prescriber. The move is said to be an effort by President Joe Biden’s administration to protect abortion rights following the supreme court’s decision to overturn the right to abortion, with several states banning or restricting access to the service. Women in states where abortion has been banned will likely need to travel to other states to obtain medication for abortion.

  The Federal Government has said that it will stop the payment of fuel subsidy by the end of June 2023. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this during the public presentation of the 2023 Federal Government budget. Mrs Zainab disclosed that in the 2023 fiscal period, the government has made provisions of N3. 36trillion naira for fuel subsidy payment to cover the first six months of this year. This, she stated, is in line with the 18-month extension announced in early 2022. Breaking down the budget, the minister noted that the nation’s revenue performance as at November 2022 stood at 6. 5 trillion naira, representing an 87 percent of the set target of 7. 8 trillion naira for the year. An analysis of the key contributors to the revenue collection according to the minister of finance and planning, includes a N586billion collection from the Federal Government, Customs – N15billion, independent revenue collection N1.3trillion as well as a N3.7trillion collection from other sources of revenue. Top sectors that contributed to the growth of the economy in 2022 includes Agriculture at 23 percent, information and communications technology, trade, manufacturing with the oil and gas sector contributing just about 5. 6 percent. The depreciation in the contribution of the oil and gas sector to the economy according to the minister represents the government’s resolve to diversify the economy. As regards tax waivers, the minister of finance announced the withdrawal of the pioneer status tax waiver for companies going forward. She stated that a total of N6trillion had been forgone between 2021 to date under its tax waiver scheme. The plan according to her, will help shore up the federal government’s revenue.

  At least nine people were killed and several others wounded in simultaneous car bomb attacks in a town in central Somalia on Wednesday, security officials and witnesses said. “The terrorists attacked Mahas town this morning using vehicles loaded with explosives,” local security official Abdullahi Adan told AFP by phone. “They have targeted a civilian area and we have confirmed that nine people, all of them civilians, died in the two explosions.”   The attack, blamed on Al-Shabaab jihadist fighters, took place in the Hiran region of central Somalia, where a major offensive was launched last year against the Al-Qaeda-linked group. “The terrorists, after having (been) defeated, resorted to desperately targeting civilians, but this will not stop the will of the people to continue defeating them,” said Osman Nur, a police commander in Mahas.   “They have killed innocent civilians in the explosions,” he added. Witnesses said the blasts occurred near a restaurant not far from a district administration building in Mahas. “I saw the dead bodies of nine civilians including women and children, this was a horrible attack,” said one witness, Adan Hassan. ‘All-out war’ Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declared “all-out war” against Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a bloody insurgency against the fragile internationally-backed federal government for 15 years. In July, local clan militias known as “Macawisley” launched a revolt against Al-Shabaab in parts of central Somalia, and Mohamud sent in troops in September to support the fight-back. In recent months, the army and the militias have retaken swathes of territory in the central states of Galmudug and Hirshabelle (where Hiran is located) in an operation backed by US air strikes and an African Union (AU) force known as ATMIS. But the insurgents have frequently retaliated with bloody attacks, underlining their ability to strike at the heart of Somali towns and military installations despite the offensive. Although forced out of the country’s main urban centres around 10 years ago, Al-Shabaab remains entrenched in vast swathes of rural central and southern Somalia. On October 29, 121 people in the capital Mogadishu were killed in two car bomb explosions at the education ministry, in the deadliest attack in the troubled Horn of Africa nation in five years. Eight civilians died on November 27 in a 21-hour siege at a hotel in Mogadishu popular with politicians and government officials. A triple bombing in October in the city of Beledweyne, the capital of Hiran, left 30 people dead including local officials. And at least 21 people were killed in a siege of a Mogadishu hotel in August that lasted 30 hours before security forces were able to overpower the militants inside.

  The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loot Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective Efficient Management and Utilisation has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to prevent looters from recovering their loot in the ongoing auction of seized and forfeited assets. The committee’s Chairman, Adejoro Adeogun, while noting that his panel had earlier recommended speedy disposal of recovered loot, especially fixed assets, expressed the possibility of looters recovering the forfeited assets by proxy. Adeogun, however, stated that the committee would continue with its investigation despite the sales. The EFCC on December 6, 2022, commenced inspection and auction of 649 forfeited vehicles located across nine states and the Federal Capital Territory through appointed auctioneers. Other assets listed for auction were 15 vessels and barges in Rivers, Delta and Lagos states, about 39 mobile phones, 11 laptops and other devices. The PUNCH had reported exclusively on December 27, 2022, that the EFCC had listed for auction 144 luxury houses and lands seized from convicted politicians, public servants, business moguls and internet fraudsters as proceeds of their corrupt practices ranging from money laundering and fraud to misappropriation of funds and fraudulent diversion, among others. Adeogun, in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, however, decried that the House does not have the powers to determine how the assets should be disposed of, or to whom they should be sold. He said, “We are aware. Part of what we wrote in our interim report is the delay in the auctioning. Some of these assets were seized seven to eight years ago. They have depreciated. It was our concern then that they were depreciating, so we advised that it should be done fast especially now that the Federal Government needs money to fund the budget. It is to make sure that they recover as much value as can be recovered. “Look at most of the tankers and the ships that were seized. Some of them have lost up to 80 to 90 per cent of their value due to poor storage. “Then, the enabling law allows the (anti-graft) agencies to auction directly. The EFCC is supposed to auction what it seized, subject to due process.” Speaking on the possibility of looters buying back their loot through the auction, Adeogun said, “That is possible but we in the National Assembly have no control over that. We can’t control what they do but what we have to do is to ensure that they did the right thing.” The lawmaker stated that the assets should not remain abandoned till another government takes power in a few months. Adeogun stated that his committee had done “most of what we need to do,” including presenting an interim report to the House, while the comprehensive one would be laid after the general elections. Members of the committee had initially opposed the auction of the assets at the centre of the probe.

  The Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria Catholic Chaplaincy, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has returned from monastery after eight months suspension. The PUNCH had reported that the Church was closed down earlier in the year and on June 3, 2022 the Catholic Diocese of Enugu banned Mbaka from commenting on political issues after activities in the ministry were suspended. Upon reopening, the Church turned the ministry into Chaplaincy to monitor the excesses in the ministry. In October 2022, the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga, had transferred Mbaka from chaplaincy to the monastery. Consequently, Rev. Fr. Anthony Amadi was named to replace him (Mbaka) as the new chaplain of the Adoration Ministry Chaplaincy. Details soon…