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Folarin Kehinde

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Nigeria Now In Worse State Compared To 2015 – SANUSI

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Muhammadu Sanusi Lamido II, former Emir of Kano, has expressed great concerns about the current state of the country.

He said Nigeria is now in a worse situation compared to what obtained in 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari took over from former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Sanusi spoke on Thursday in Lagos at the Akinjide Adeosun Foundation (AAF), leadership colloquium and awards.

“This is the only oil-producing country that is grieving at the moment when oil prices have gone up as a result of the Russia/Ukraine war. Our total revenue is not able to service our debt. And if anybody does not understand that we are in a complete mess, we are.

“We were in a deep hole in 2015. And between 2015 and now, we have been digging ourselves into a deeper hole.

“We thought we had a big problem in 2015. 2015 is nothing compared to what will happen in 2023. We have terrorism, we have banditry, we have inflation, we have an unstable exchange rate, and the worst thing is that those in leadership actually think we are going to thank them when they leave office, that we are going to appreciate them. There is no change.

“There is no sense of urgency. If you are running a company and your sales revenue cannot pay interest, you know you’re bankrupt.

“When the total revenue of the Federal Government cannot service debt we are smiling. These are the kinds of questions we need to ask. And the reality is that there are so many Nigerians, who, given the opportunity will do well but they simply cannot contest in that space,” he said.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, hinged the challenge on the lack of vision of some of the country’s leaders.

He added, “What is our vision for Nigeria? Do we have a vision of one country? Do we have a vision of one united country, that lives peacefully with itself — diverse, multicultural, multi-religious but one?

“Leaders after leaders, most of those who have ruled did not have a vision for a united Nigeria. How would you like to be remembered after eight years as a President, after eight years as a governor, eight years as a minister, eight years as Governor of CBN? How will you like history to remember you? They have not thought about it.

“The vast majority of those in office have a vision that is limited to the next election. It is to win. And when you’ve won, you’ve reached a destination, not a journey.”

Source: pointblanknews

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SportsHeadlines

Tobi Amasun Qualifies For 100m Hurdles Final

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

WORLD champion 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan, on Friday qualified for the final of the women’s 100m hurdles at the ongoing Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Amusan raced to a massive 12.40s to dominate Round 1 Heat 3 to qualify for Sunday’s final.

The world champion has the chance to defend her Commonwealth Games title, which she won in 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia.

Still, she will have to fend off competition from Jamaican duo Danielle Williams, Megan Tapper, England’s Cindy Sembre, Michelle Jenneke of Australia, and Devynne Charlton of Bahamas.

Amusan began the 2022 season in fine form, winning the 2022 Diamond League event in Paris, where she set an African record by 0.01s with a time of 12.41s.

Ese Brume and Ruth Usoro also secured their place in the women’s long jump final.

Brume who competed in Group A finished second with a jump of 6.81m behind Ghana’s Deborah Acquah who topped the group with a jump of 8.85m.

Usoro who competed in Group B finished third with a jump of 6.56m to qualify for the final.

The finals of the women’s 100m hurdles and long jump will take place on Sunday, August 7 at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

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Headlines

Planned Sale Of Polaris Bank Speculative – Management

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

The management of Polaris Bank has described reports that the financial institution is set to be sold to a commercial farmer and the Sarkin Sudan of Gombe State, Auwal Lawan Abdullahi, as speculative.

In a statement by the bank spokesperson, it said the report was meant to cause panic, and should be disregarded by stakeholders and the banking sector.

It was alleged that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), allegedly plan to offload Polaris to Abdullahi for N40 billion, seven years after the apex bank took over Skye Bank, during which about N1.1 trillion was reportedly disbursed to rejuvenate the company.

Polaris Bank was previously known as Skye Bank. In 2016, the CBN clampdown on the firm for failing to meet recapitalisation requirements, while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted top executives at the creditors in 2018.

Skye Bank Chairman, Tunde Ayeni; and the Managing Director, Timothy Oguntayo, were prosecuted for money laundering, in a N25.4 billion lawsuit. They later settled out of court in 2022, forfeiting cash and assets valued at N15 billion.

Polaris Bank management admitted that the plan is to sell the lender to private investors, however, before that is done formal notification must be sent to all relevant stakeholders, with regulatory approvals.

The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to an online report on the purported sale of Polaris Bank Limited. This publication is speculative, deliberately intended to create panic and should be disregarded by the banking public.

“Stakeholders may recall the regulatory intervention in the erstwhile Skye Bank by the CBN and the subsequent injection of capital via the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) through a bridge bank process, which birthed Polaris Bank in 2018. The bank has since stabilised its operations following the intervention; improving its balance sheet, customer base and profitability.

“Whilst the intention has always been to return the bank to private ownership, such a sale would occur following regulatory approvals with formal notification to all relevant stakeholders. The Bank is committed to ensuring timely communication to the public in such an event.

“The Board and Management hereby reassure its customers, staff and the general public that Polaris Bank remains a stable, strong and credible financial institution, positioned to deliver sustainable value to all its stakeholders.” The management’s statement reads.

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SportsHeadlines

Lewandowski Unveiled As Barcelona Number 9

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Robert Lewandowski, former Bayern Munich Striker has been unveiled to the Barcelona fans with the number 9 shirt at the Camp Nou on Friday.

Lewandowski was presented as Barcelona’s new No.9 following his €50 million (£42m/$51m) transfer from Bayern Munich.

The European highest goal scorer has inherited the iconic jersey from Memphis Depay, who has been linked with a Camp Nou exit following Lewandowski’s transfer.

Lewandowski turns 34 later this month but dismissed any suggestion that his best years are behind him at his first press conference at Barca’s stadium on Thursday, even though he didn’t hit the net for the club in pre-season.

I think my age is not important right now, it’s just a number. I feel better than when I was 29,” he said.

He added, “I know that Barcelona was not going through an easy time, but when I spoke with Joan and heard about the project and the way they wanted to follow, I thought that the best thing was to make the jump to Barcelona.”

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Headlines

Former Inspector General Of Police Dead

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Former Inspector General of Police, Mustafa Adebayo Balogun, popularly known as Tafa Balogun, is dead.

He is reported to have died at Reddington Hospital in Lagos

The late Mustafa Adebayo Balogun was born 25 August 1947 in Ila Orangun, Osun State.

He was the Inspector General of Police, IGP, between 2002 and 2005, before he was forced into submitting his letter of resignation to former President Olusegun Obasanjo because of widespread allegations of corruption against him

Prior to that time, Balogun was Police Commissioner in Delta, Rivers and Abia States, respectively. He was also an Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, in charge of Zone 1 Kano.

On April 4, 2005, Balogun was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja by the economic and financial crime commission, EFCC under Nuhu Ribadu on charges involving about N13bn obtained through money laundering, theft and other sources.

As the case progressed in and out of court, he asked for plea bargain in exchange to return some money and property; nevertheless, he got six months sentence, the greatest part of which was spent on a sick bed at the National Hospital in Abuja.

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OpinionHeadlines

Exposing Waste and Corruption in Lagos State Blue Line Railway Project

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

In 2009, during the tenure of Governor Babatunde Fashola, the Lagos state government commenced the Blue Line railway project. On paper, the railway line is supposed to run from Okokomiko to inner Marina (CMS), a distance of 27 Kilometre, with 13 stations and an end-end journey time of 35 minutes. The project is costing the Lagos government 1.5 billion dollars

The reality however, is that the railway line runs from Miles 2 to CMS, a distance of 14.2 Kilometre. Also, it is light weight, having the ability to carry only passengers not cargo. Even with this lowered distance and quality, the railway line is yet to be completed till this very day.

The reason this rail line is yet to be complete for over 13 years is mainly due to corruption and waste by the Lagos government through successive governors from 2009 till date.

To put it in context, in 2011 the government of Ethiopia began the construction of a heavy railway line capable of carrying cargo and passengers from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, the capital of the republic of Djibouti.

That railway line is 759 Kilometres in distance and its main of objective was to connect Ethiopia to the sea ports of Djibouti. The cost for executing the project was 4.5 billion dollars.

That 759 Kilometres railway line was largely completed in 2016 when testing began. It was commissioned for operations by the President of Ethiopia in 2018.

When you divide the 4.5 billion dollars which the railway line cost Ethiopia by 759 Kilometre, it amounts to 5.2 million dollars per kilometre.

The government of Lagos on the other hand is spending over 54 million dollars per kilometre in constructing their railway line, yet till now it is still to be completed.

This goes to show how far inefficiency, corruption and waste can go in stalling a project whose completion otherwise would have been beneficial to the citizens of Lagos state.

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Headlines

Jamb To Conduct Mop-Up Exams Tomorrow

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is conducting a mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for candidates who could not participate in the examinations for verified reasons.

The mop-up will hold tomorrow being Saturday 6th of August 2022.

JAMB is holding the examination to give equal opportunity to all candidates who are desirous of tertiary education admissions.

No fewer than 1,969 candidates missed the 2022 UTME and Direct Entry (DE) examinations due to fingerprint peculiarities, Bank Verification Number (BVN) challenges and other technical issues, according to data obtained from JAMB.

The data also showed that some candidates had their examination cancelled due to malpractices in 10 examination centres across five states.

JAMB urged the concerned candidates to urgently visit its website on: www.jamb.gov.ng to check their eligibility status and print their mop-up notification slips.

The board warned that there will be no room for excuse for any candidate who misses the opportunity.

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Headlines

Nigerian Airforce Appoints New Branch Chiefs

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Chief of the Air Staff , Air Marshal Oladayo Amao has approved the immediate appointment and redeployment of new Branch Chiefs, Air Officers Commanding and other senior officers.

The shake up is coming 48 hours after his directive to Air Force Operational and Air Component Commanders to maximize the deployment of firepower against terrorists and other criminal elements.

The newly appointed and redeployed senior officers are expected to assume their new offices on or before Friday, 5 August 2022.

In a statement on Thursday, the Director of Public Relations Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said among the newly appointed Branch Chiefs are Air Vice Marshal Jackson Yusuf, formerly Chief of Training and Operations, now the Chief of Policy and Plans Headquarters NAF, Abuja; and AVM Oluwafemi Ogunmola, former Director of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance now Chief of Communications Information Systems.

AVM Aliyu Bello, former Chief of Standards and Evaluation is now redeployed as the CTOP, HQ NAF, Abuja while AVM Nkem Aguiyi takes over as the Chief of Air Intelligence, and AVM Hassan Abubakar, former AOC Logistics Command is now the Chief of Standards and Evaluation.

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Headlines

United States Senate Approve Finland and Sweden For NATO

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

The United States senate has voted unanimously to allow Finland and Sweden gain membership status in the defensive alliance of the North Atlantic Treaty Orgainztion (NATO). The two countries in Northern Europe which have always maintained a non-alignment policy had in May, decided to join the military organization due to threats posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In June, after the NATO Summit in Madrid Spain, Finland and Sweden’s quest was formalized by member states, a process that  must go to the Senate of member state for approvals. The US Senate voted 95 to 1 to ratify the request of both countries.

The US Senate majority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, who invited the Ambassadors of the two countries to observe the process said, “Finland’s and Sweden’s membership will strengthen NATO even further, and is all the more urgent, given Russian aggression, given Putin’s immoral and unjustified war in Ukraine.”

The United State president, Joe Biden, who was glad at the landslide approval, said: “This historic vote sends an important signal of the sustained, bipartisan U.S. commitment to NATO, and to ensuring our Alliance is prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

“I look forward to signing the accession protocols and welcoming Sweden and Finland, two strong democracies with highly capable militaries, into the greatest defensive alliance in history,” the president added.

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BusinessHeadlines

More Troubles For Flutterwave As Ghanaian, Kenyan Government Probes Operations

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Nigerian payment company, Flutterwave, is being probed by Ghanaian government, days after Kenyan authority filed a lawsuit against the tech unicorn over card fraud and other financial infractions.

In a letter dated July 13, 2022, the Bank of Ghana mandated financial institutions to submit every Flutterwave records in their possession, stating that it wants to review the Nigerian firm.

The financial institution of the West African country said the probe is part of a continuous surveillance of the financial system, directing financial institutions to submit operational accounts of Flutterwave and details of all financial exposures of the company.

It was gathered that the financial institutions were given until July 20, 2022, to make available the information requested, including the services Flutterwave had stated to be offering.

The statement reads; “The Bank of Ghana is conducting a review on Flutterwave Technology Solutions Limited as part of its continuous surveillance of the financial system.

“To this end, we request you to furnish us with the following information on the above company: Details of services provided by the company to your institution.

“All operational accounts of the company with your institution. Details of all financial exposures to the company. You may also include any other information you have on the company.

“Kindly submit your response to fintech@bog.gov.gh by 20th July, 2022.” The statement, signed by Ismail Adam, Head of Banking Supervision Department, Bank of Ghana, disclosed

FLUTTERWAVE TROUBLES

In the last three months, Flutterwave and its founder, Gbenga Agboola, have been accused of various financial infractions, including insider trading, manipulation of stock price, and creating fake identity to deceive co-founders.

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