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Banks Reconfigure ATMs, As New Naira Notes Go Into Circulation Today

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The newly redesigned naira notes will go into circulation on Thursday (today) with Deposit Money Banks releasing the bills to their customers via over-the-counter payments.

This came about three weeks after the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), unveiled the new bills at a weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Aso Rock Villa.

The President unveiled the redesigned notes across the N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations.

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, had in October announced that the apex bank would release re-designed naira notes by December 15, 2022.

He also disclosed that the old notes would cease to be regarded as legal tender by January 31, 2023.

Emefiele pointed out that the redesigning of the naira notes would help to curb counterfeit notes and reduce ransom payments to terrorists and kidnappers.

The CBN boss said it was worrisome that 85 percent of the total currency in circulation was being hoarded by Nigerians.

As such, he said the redesigning of the local currency would help to mop up the currency outside the banking sector, adding that out of about N3.3tn in circulation, close to N2.75tn were outside the banking sector.

Meanwhile, top officials of commercial banks confirmed to our correspondent on Wednesday they had received the new notes from the CBN a couple of days ago, adding that the redesigned currency would be released to their customers effective Thursday (today).

“We got the funds (new notes) about two days ago. Our head office has dispatched the funds to various area offices across the country. My branch will pick up our allocation at a nearby area office. We will start releasing the new notes to our customers by Thursday,” according to a top official of a commercial bank who spoke to one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

Multiple banking sources also said the new notes had arrived and were being kept in their vaults.

They confirmed the new notes would be paid to customers in banking halls beginning from Thursday.

“The new notes have arrived, it will be made available to customers from tomorrow (Thursday)” an official of Polaris Bank who pleaded anonymity told The PUNCH.

Also, a manager at First Bank Plc who was not authorized to speak on the matter said, “We have the funds from the CBN now. It came in some days ago but it will be made available to customers from tomorrow (Thursday).”

However, some bank officials claimed the amount of the new notes available to the various bank from the CBN was small.

According to them, most OTC payments will still have to be made using the old notes because the amount of the available new notes is still small.

“The amount given to us is small compared to what we need. For example, what is available to my branch is less than N1m. This is nothing compared to what we need. But I believe it will increase with time,” an official of FCMB in Lagos who pleaded anonymity told one of our correspondents.

Also, multiple banking sources confirmed they have started to reconfigure their ATMs to identify the new naira notes.

A top bank executive said, “Most of the banks have started reconfiguring their ATMs so that they can identify the new notes of N1000, N500, and N200.,”’

Meanwhile, findings from the CBN show the total amount to be released into circulation may not be much as the sum previously in circulation.

A top official of the CBN, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the CBN was planning to increase electronic payments and not cash transactions.

According to him, the CBN will not be printing a large amount of the new notes.

He said, “The CBN has been disbursing the new naira notes to the banks but does not intend to disburse large quantities because it wants to boost electronic payments.

“Don’t expect that there will be a large circulation of the new notes in the economy. There are different electronic channels that people should be using.”

BIG STORY

Federal Government Terminates Julius Berger’s Contract For Abuja-Kaduna Highway Rehabilitation

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The Federal Ministry of Works has instructed Julius Berger, the contractor responsible for the rehabilitation of Section One of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway, to vacate the project site.

This follows the issuance of a 14-day final termination notice on Monday, making it clear that no further negotiations would be entertained.

The ministry cited non-compliance with the revised cost, scope, and terms of the project, along with a halt in work and the company’s refusal to remobilise to the site as the reasons for the termination.

It was noted that despite ongoing negotiations over several months, there had been no meaningful progress.

A statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mohammed Ahmed, on Monday in Abuja, confirmed the decision, which was made during a management meeting at the ministry’s headquarters.

Recall that the works ministry had in the last 13 months been in constant talks with the company, in order to reach an amiable position on the said alignment but to no avail.

The latest development follows an earlier threat by the minister to revoke the contract that was awarded to the company in 2018 when former President Muhammadu Buhari was in power.

While the Kaduna-Zaria section has been completed and the Zaria-Kano section is almost done, the Abuja-Kaduna section has recorded 27 percent progress in six years.

At an event penultimate week, Umahi accused Julius Berger of playing politics with the highway to make the current administration look bad.

Despite these efforts, an agreement was not reached between both parties, with the construction company not attending the scheduled meeting on Monday.

The statement read in part, “Based on non-compliance with the reviewed cost, scope, and terms, stoppage of work and refusal to remobilise to the site, as directed, the Federal Ministry of Works has issued a 14-day Notice of Termination to Messrs Julius Berger Plc for the Rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway in FCT, Kaduna and Kano States, Contract No.6350, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna), today, November 4, 2024.

“Nigerians may wish to know that the Contract for the Rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway, which was divided into three Sections was awarded to the company on December 20, 2017, and flagged off by the former Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola at an initial sum of N155.75bn on June 18, 2018. Sections II (Kaduna – Zaria) and III (Zaria – Kano) were partially completed and handed over during the twilight of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Since then it has been one variation and augmentation or the other and finally, the present Minister of Works directed the redesigning and re-scoping of the Section I of the contract. The alignment was divided into two with one phase redesigned to be on continuously reinforced concrete pavement, while the remaining with asphaltic pavement.

“Approval for Section I, Phase 1 for a length of 38km on the concrete pavement was given to Messrs Dangote Industries (Nig.) Ltd, while the remaining 127km remained with the substantive contractor. Phase 1 was flagged off on October 17, 2024, with a 14-month completion period.”

Mohammed further explained that a request to rescope the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council but the contract’s terms were not agreed upon by the contractor.

He added, “Due to the stalemate of the contract and, most importantly, the desire of President Bola Tinubu, as encapsulated in the Renewed Hope Agenda infrastructure initiative, to see to the completion of this laudable project, also to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians plying the road, the ministry re-scoped it and got the approval of the Federal Executive Council.

“The award for the Re-scoping and Downward Review of Contract for the Rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway in FCT, Kaduna and Kano States, Contract No.6350, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna) in favour of Messrs Julius Berger Plc from the sum of N797.26bn to N740.79bn was granted by FEC on September 23, 2024, and conveyed to the company on October 3, 2024.”

With the latest development, this means the Works Minister, David Umahi has revoked 11 contracts in 16 months.

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BIG STORY

Peter Obi Makes U-Turn, Says Position On Church Vigils Distorted

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Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, on Sunday, said his recent suggestion to convert ‘church vigils into night shifts’ has been misrepresented.

The former Anambra State governor, faced intense backlash after his interview on the Honest Bunch podcast aired on Saturday.

He stressed that Nigeria’s poverty and unproductivity stem from two major factors: politics and religion.

Specifically, Obi argued that Nigerians spend too much time attending church services from Monday to Friday, which sparked mixed reactions.

While some saw his statement as an attack on religious practices, others viewed it as a call to balance faith with productivity.

Reacting via a statement issued by his media aide, Ibrahim Umar, in the wake of the outrage, the former governor said his account was twisted and blown out of proportion.

The statement partly read, “Our attention has been drawn to a huge twist in his recent media interview, saying erroneously that he called for the dismantling of churches in Nigeria.

“By the headline given to the interview, the import of Obi’s message has been greatly overturned and grossly distorted to serve a mischievous end.

“The Labour Party leader is well known as a man of strong faith who has enormous respect and love for every religion and tried in the referenced interview to bring to Nigerians how religion can be more effective in their lives.

“Obi, in the interview, was merely underscoring what Apostle James said in ‘Faith without Works is unhelpful.’ When Obi said that he would turn night vigil into production night, he was only stressing the importance of worshipping God through work.

“Even Jesus Christ never picked any of his 12 disciples where they were praying but where they were working as fishermen and tax collectors, among others.

“What we are doing in Nigeria, which Obi’s interview is highlighting as wrong and should be discontinued, is exchanging work for prayer when the two should go together.

“There is no evidence in the scripture that Jesus blessed an idle person. The problem In some of Nigeria’s worship communities is that they are not following St James advisory that we should be doers of the words.”

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BIG STORY

EFCC Arrests Former Delta Governor Okowa Over Alleged N1.3trillion Fraud

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, on Monday in connection with the alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion.

The N1.3 trillion is said to represent the 13% derivation fund from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

Sources within the EFCC confirmed that Okowa was taken to the agency’s office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he was subsequently detained.

One of the sources stated, “Okowa was at our Port Harcourt office following an invitation from investigators probing the allegations against him. He was then arrested. The commission is investigating him regarding the N1.3 trillion 13% derivation fund from the federation account between 2015 and 2023

“He is also accused of failing to account for the funds, as well as another N40 billion he allegedly claimed was used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas. He reportedly bought shares worth N40 billion in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake, to support the offshore LNG project. The funds are alleged to have been misappropriated for other purposes.

“Investigators are also examining the alleged diversion of funds by the former governor to acquire estates in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State. He is currently being held at the EFCC facility in Port Harcourt.”

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the arrest but declined further comment on the matter.

“He is with us,” Oyewale simply said.

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