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Debt Servicing To Gulp 123% Of 2023 Revenue — World Bank

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The World Bank has projected that debt servicing will gulp 123.4 percent of the Federal Government’s revenue in 2023.

This was according to a presentation made by the new World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, in November 2022, which was obtained by our correspondent.

The document was entitled, ‘Nigeria Public Finance Review: Fiscal Adjustment for Better and Sustainable Development Results.’

The document projected that debt servicing would gulp 100.2 percent of Federal Government revenue by the end of 2022.

This was a decline from the earlier projection in its October Africa’s Pulse report, which is a biannual analysis of the near-term macroeconomic outlook for the region, published during the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings in April and October.

In Africa’s Pulse report, the Washington-based bank said that Nigeria’s debt service to revenue ratio could stand at 102.3 percent by the end of 2022.

It described the public debt in Nigeria as concerning due to the rising debt service-to-revenue ratio.

However, the situation would be dire in 2023 as debt surviving would exceed 118 percent of revenue reported in the first four months of 2022.

In his presentation document, the World Bank lead economist for Nigeria noted that borrowing more money was not the solution for Nigeria.

The document read, “Borrowing more is not the solution: debt costs are rising rapidly, squeezing non-interest spending.

“Debt servicing has surged over the past decade and is expected to continue increasing over the medium-term, crowding out productive spending.”

The PUNCH recently reported that Nigeria’s public debt rose to N44.06tn in the third quarter of 2022, with the country struggling with a repayment burden.

According to a press statement published on the website of the Debt Management Office, the total public debt stock rose from N42.84tn recorded in the second quarter to N44.06tn in the third quarter of 2022.

This showed that there was a 2.85 percent increase quarter-on-quarter, with Nigeria acquiring N1.22tn debt within three months.

The DMO said that the increase in public debt was due to new borrowings by the Federal Government to part-finance the deficit in the 2022 Appropriation Act, alongside new borrowings by sub-nationals.

It also noted that the total public debt stock consisted of domestic debt of N26.92tn and external debt of N17.15tn.

The World Bank recently said that Nigeria’s debt, which might be considered sustainable for now, was vulnerable and costly.

According to the Washington-based global financial institution, the country’s debt was also at risk of becoming unsustainable in the event of macro-fiscal shocks.

The bank had said, “Nigeria’s debt remains sustainable, albeit vulnerable and costly, especially due to large and growing financing from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“While currently the debt stock of 27 percent of the Gross Domestic Product is considered sustainable, any macro-fiscal shock can push debt to unsustainable levels.

“However, the debt to the GDP in Nigeria is rising quickly, and the total stock of debt in absolute value has almost doubled between 2016 and 2020, and without a policy change is expected to reach 40 percent of the GDP by 2025.”

The bank further expressed concerns over the nation’s cost of debt servicing, which according to it, disrupted public investments and critical service delivery spending.

Speaking at the launch of the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update titled, ‘The Urgency for Business Unusual,’ the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, admitted that Nigeria was struggling to service its debt.

She said, “Already, we are struggling with being able to service debt because even though revenue is increasing, the expenditure has been increasing at a much higher rate, so it is a very difficult situation.”

A Professor of Development Macroeconomics at the University of Lagos, Prof Olufemi Saibu, criticized the government for over-borrowing.

He said, “I think we are over-borrowing. We continue to rely on international benchmarks which make us lazy in terms of revenue generation.”

BIG STORY

Doyin Okupe Reacts To Peter Obi’s Viral Video, Says I Cannot Support Him Again

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Doyin Okupe, the former director-general of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign in 2023, says he “cannot support” Peter Obi again.

Okupe spoke on Monday during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He was reacting to a viral clip of Obi commenting on how the country’s economic situation offers little relief to people in the south-west, despite President Bola Tinubu being from the zone.

“Let us talk about what is happening today. Rice is about N100,000. We are not even sure where we are going to be. ‘It’s our turn’, ‘he is a Yoruba man’ — ask the people in Ogun, here is there any place you people buy bread cheaper?” Obi said in the viral clip.

The video generated mixed reactions on social media, with some supporting Obi’s comments while others criticised him.

Adding his voice to the criticism, Okupe described the former LP presidential candidate’s remark as an “insult” to people in the south-west.

He said Obi’s statement publicly demeaned the south-west, even though “eminent Yoruba people” had supported him during his presidential campaign in 2023.

“When Obi made that statement, it insulted us. I am a Yoruba man; I left everything and followed Obi.

“For the first time, Obasanjo left his circle of influence and deviated to support Obi,” Okupe said.

“I do not regret supporting Peter Obi. But now I cannot do it again. The reason why I did it was because we agreed that a southern president must emerge.

“I was approached that if a southern president must emerge, which zone must it come to? I said the south-east.

“If all these eminent Yoruba people supported you, why now bring us down publicly? It is wrong.”

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Lagos Muslim Cleric Bags Life Jail For Raping 14-Yr-Old Girl Inside Mosque

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Alani Rafiu, a Muslim cleric, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court for raping a 14-year-old girl inside a mosque.

Justice Rahman Oshodi delivered the verdict on Monday, after finding Rafiu guilty of child defilement. The cleric was arraigned on October 28, 2021, for having sexual intercourse with the teenager, but pleaded not guilty, leading to a trial.

During the trial, the prosecution, led by B. Boye, presented three witnesses, including the victim, who testified against Rafiu. The prosecution provided compelling evidence, including the victim’s testimony and medical reports, which revealed a calculated pattern of predatory behavior by the cleric.

Justice Oshodi emphasized that Rafiu’s actions were particularly egregious due to his position of trust as a religious instructor and family friend.

The judge stated that the gravity of the offence could not be overstated, as Rafiu exploited the victim’s vulnerability and betrayed the trust placed in him.

“The gravity of your offence cannot be overstated. You betrayed the trust placed in you as a religious instructor and family friend.

“Instead of nurturing and protecting a vulnerable 14-year-old child entrusted to your spiritual care, you repeatedly sexually abused her in a place of worship.

“This conduct is criminal and represents a profound violation of secular and religious principles,” he said.

Oshodi further held that the evidence revealed a calculated pattern of predatory behaviour, as the convict deliberately isolated the child, exploited her vulnerability, and bought her silence with money.

“The evidence revealed a calculated pattern of predatory behaviour. You deliberately isolated the child, exploited her vulnerability, and bought her silence with money.

“The physical and psychological trauma inflicted on this young girl is immeasurable. At an age when she should have been focused on her education and development, she was subjected to experiences that no child should endure,” the judge held.

Oshodi also stated that having carefully considered all the evidence before the court, there was compelling and consistent proof establishing that the prosecutrix was indeed a child below the age of 18 years at the time of the alleged offence in May 2021.

He said the evidence manifested through multiple sources.

Oshodi said, “When the prosecutrix testified before this court, she stated that she was 15 years old and 14 when the alleged incident occurred.

“Notably, she was still attending primary school then, explicitly saying she was in Primary 3.

“The prosecutrix’s educational level, being in Primary 3, at the time of her testimony, while not determinative of age, provides supporting circumstantial evidence consistent with her being a young teenager rather than an adult.

“The consistency of these multiple sources of evidence – the police and guardian testimony, the prosecutrix’s evidence, and circumstantial evidence – all converge to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the prosecutrix was 14 years old at the time of the alleged offence in May 2021.

“The defence led no evidence to contradict these age-related facts, nor was the prosecutrix’s age challenged during cross-examination of any of the prosecution witnesses”.

The judge said the prosecutrix provided a detailed, firsthand account of sexual intercourse with the convict.

“Her testimony was specific. She offered a detailed sequential account of the sexual assault. She testified that at the mosque (where the convict, whom she referred to as Alfa), isolated her. He would then lock the door, remove her underwear, and instruct her to lie on the floor.

“She explicitly stated that Rafiu would then insert his penis into her vagina. When asked about frequency, she confirmed this occurred three times.

“She further testified that these acts would result in bleeding, which the convict would have her clean with a handkerchief. Afterwards, he would instruct her to put her underwear back on before taking her outside,” he said.

According to Oshodi, this testimony provides a direct account of penile-vaginal penetration, with specific details about the sequence of events, location, frequency, and aftermath of the sexual acts.

“The prosecutrix maintained during cross-examination that this occurred three times, explicitly stating, “He had sex with me three times.”

The judge noted that the prosecutrix testimony remained consistent even when challenged about the timeframe, clarifying that these incidents occurred.

He said the medical evidence further strengthened the evidence of sexual intercourse. It reports that the transection found in the prosecutrix’s vagina was “consistent with forceful penetrative injury to the [prosecutrix’s] anus and vagina”.

Before passing down the verdict, Oshodi said, “What makes your conduct particularly egregious is your abuse of religious authority and the sacred space of a mosque to perpetrate these violations.

“Places of worship should be sanctuaries of safety and spiritual growth, not venues for the exploitation of children.

“The medical evidence and the prosecutrix’s testimony paint a disturbing picture of the physical harm you caused.

The bleeding she experienced and your callous provision of a handkerchief to clean up the evidence of your abuse demonstrate a shocking disregard for her well-being.

“This court must protect children from sexual predators and send a clear message that such conduct will be met with the full force of the law.

“The sentence must reflect society’s abhorrence of child sexual abuse and serve as a deterrent to others who might contemplate similar crimes.

“Therefore, I now sentence you to life imprisonment by section 137 of the Criminal Law. Furthermore, under sections 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law, 2021, I order that you be registered as a sex offender in the Sex Offenders Register maintained by the Lagos State Government,” he held.

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BIG STORY

UPDATE: Minors Freed As Court Strikes Out Suit Against 119 #EndBadGovernance Protesters

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A federal high court in Abuja has struck out the suit against 119 protesters charged over the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest.

Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, dismissed the case following an application by M.D. Abubakar, counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

Abubakar had requested permission to take over and discontinue the suit.

During the session on Tuesday, Abubakar asked the court to allow the AGF to take over the charge.

This development comes just hours after President Bola Tinubu directed the attorney-general and law enforcement to release all minors detained over the protest.

As of the time of reporting, all the minors have been freed.

 

More to come…

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