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Ebonyi Demands 11-Year-Financial Statements From Banks

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The Ebonyi Government has directed banks that have financial dealings with it to immediately submit its accounts statements from 2007 to September, 2018.
The state Accountant-General, Mrs Queen Agwu, made the call in Abakaliki last Monday, during a joint state Executive Council (EXCO) briefing.
The accountant general noted that it should cover functional, dormant and closed accounts of the government.
Agwu further remarked that the statements should cover accounts of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) and Local Government Areas.
“The fact that we did not start from 1999 does not mean that we are indicting the past administration but we are searching for our trapped funds to be used for developmental purposes.
“We are starting from 2007 because it was the year the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed banks to stop charging Commission on Turnover (COT) on corporate organisations of which the government is among.
“Several banks complied with the directive but some did not and in our case, some banks claimed that they had agreement with my predecessor to continue making the charges.
“We are aware that the Federal Government’s law overrides all laws in the country and for such to emanate through the apex financial regulator, the CBN, it is unacceptable for the banks to continue charging us at two per cent rate which culminates into huge amounts,” she said.
The accountant general noted that the government, therefore, directs the banks to make the statements cover its correspondences, agreements and transactions for the given period.
“We are optimistic that the affected banks would comply with this directive and further make necessary repayments because the governor has said that Ebonyi should no longer be treated as it used to in the past.
“It is sad that while some of the banks have started refunding, others smartly transferred their managers whom we reconciled the accounts with, to other places.
“The new managers offer defensive tactics of consulting their headquarters before taking any action and this is not palatable to the government,” she said.
She expressed optimism that the banks would comply, noting that failure to do so means they were no longer interested in having transactions with the state government.
“I recently received statement of accounts from different banks though on a different matter as no bank would deny its customers, their rights of accessing their statement of accounts,” she said.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Obinna Nwachukwu, said that the governor would convene a critical meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on ways of utilising the last tranche of the Paris Club refund, accessed by the state.
“The meeting will also include affiliate unions such as the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and management of tertiary institutions in the state.
“Contrary to insinuations that the meeting was convened due to the 2019 elections panic as it concerns workers, I state categorically that we do not owe workers.
“The meeting is not to negotiate salaries with workers but evolve ways of judiciously utilising the funds to uplift workers’ welfare and ascertain their areas of need.
“The governor would in the meeting, announce the amount received by the state in the latest tranche, the amount received so far in all the tranches and other relevant information the public would like to know,” he said.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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