Presidency: Aisha Buhari confident of Tinubu’s ability to deliver
The wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, has expressed confidence in the ability of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s President-Elect, to deliver a country where unity, peace, and progress are sustained.
Buhari made this known in her congratulatory message, which she personally signed on Wednesday in Abuja. The wife of the President expressed optimism that Tinubu would work very hard to deliver the Nigeria of our dream.
”It is my conviction that the Tinubu/Shettima Presidency will lead this country into the future that our founding fathers envisioned,” she declared.
Read also: INEC presents certificates of return to Tinubu, Shettima
Elections: Police ban rallies, celebrations in Kebbi
SP Nafi’u Abubakar, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), in a statement issued on Wednesday said that the Kebbi State Police Command has put a stop to all forms of celebrations and rallies by political party supporters following the victory or otherwise of their parties in the state.
Abubakar said, “The Kebbi State Police Command wishes to inform members of the public that all forms of celebrations and rallies by political party supporters for or against the winners or losers in respect of the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections have been banned with immediate effect in Kebbi State.
“In the light of the above, any deliberate attempt to violate the ban or cause breakdown of law and order by any group under whatever guise will not be tolerated.”
The police spokesperson warn that it would deal with any troublemaker in the state especially those who have decided to violate this directive. He said security agents had been deployed and directed to ensure full enforcement across the state.
Banking industry assets rise to N73tn – CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed in a statement made by Aishah Ahmad, Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability Directorate, at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that the total assets of the banking industry grew by N14.36 trillion from N59.24 trillion at the end of December 2021 to N73.59 trillion in the similar period of 2022.
“Key industry aggregates also continued their year-on-year upward trajectory, with total assets rising to N73.59tn in December 2022 from N59.24tn in December 2021, while total deposits rose to N45.50tn from N38.42tn over the same period,” she said.
“Total credit also increased by N5.14 trillion between end December 2021 and end-December 2022, with significant growth in credit to the manufacturing, general commerce, and oil & gas sectors. This impressive increase was achieved amid a continued decline in the non-performing loans ratio, from 4.90 percent in December 2021 to 4.20 percent in December 2022.”
Customs Zone “B” seizes N306m Tramadol, others
Isa Sulaiman, the Public Relations Officer on Wednesday in Kaduna, said that the Nigeria Customs Service Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘B’ made 130 seizures of smuggled items in two months.
Sulaiman said that the items were seized from January 1, to February 28.
According to him, the total Duty Paid Value of the seized items is N305.71 million.
The items included 119 packs of Tramadol and Tramaking 225mg, 569 packs of unregistered pharmaceutical products,17 sacks of second-hand shoes, seven cartons of foreign cigarettes, 147 pieces of Jack knives, and six cartons of Machetes.
Others items on the list include 635 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit, each containing 25 litres, nine vehicles, 50 cartons of foreign soap, 724 bags of foreign rice, 163 Jerrycans of vegetable oil, and 646 cartons of spaghetti and macaroni pasta, as well as 90 bales second-hand clothes.
The Public Relations Officer said that the items were smuggled into the country in clear violation of the Federal Government policies regarding imports and exports.
French President Macron begins Africa tour in Gabon
Emmanuel Macron landed in Gabon on Wednesday, the first stop of an Africa tour that will also take the French President to Angola, the Congo Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Macron’s trip, his first to all four countries as President, follows the launch of a new Africa policy and is focused away from France’s troubled former colonies in West Africa’s Sahel region where anti-French sentiment is rising.
Spiralling insecurity there has spurred military takeovers in Mali and Burkina Faso, two hotbeds of jihadist activity, whose ruling juntas have butted heads with France as well as with other regional and Western allies. (Reuters)
