Naira hits 400/dollar as banks sell forex to BDCs

The naira plunged to 400 against the dollar at the parallel market on Thursday as shortage of foreign exchange continued to have negative effects on economic activities in the country.

The local currency had closed at 390 against the greenback on Wednesday.

The shortage of forex at the interbank and the black market has continued to weigh on the value of the naira.

After closing at around 378 against the dollar for most part of last week, the naira dropped to 380 on Friday before falling to 382 on Monday.

The currency closed at 315.06 to the United States dollar at the interbank market on Thursday.

Economic and financial analysts have linked the wide depreciation in the value of the naira against the dollar at the parallel market to huge demand for forex by holidaymakers seeking to travel abroad.

However, some experts said the huge demand for forex at the parallel market was beyond the normal summer rush.

They linked the development to the activities of speculators and significant demand by manufacturers and importers whose demand was not being met at the interbank market.

Currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ezun, said, “The issue still has to do with inadequate forex supply. As far as you continue to have some 41 items banned from the interbank market, importers and manufacturers of those items will continue to seek for forex at the parallel market.

“This is part of the reason you are having pressure at the parallel market.”

According to Ezun, the global plunge in oil prices has affected the capacity of the Central Bank of Nigeria to defend the naira.

“If the price of oil should go up, more forex will come in and you will see that things will change,” he added.

A Professor of Economics at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Sherrifdeen Tella, said the huge demand for dollars could be due to the activities of genuine manufacturers and importers seeking forex for production and business purposes, or corrupt people who had stolen state funds.

Tella said, “The naira is falling at the parallel market because there is scarcity at the interbank market. This fall could be due to the activities of genuine manufacturers or some people you cannot identify. These are people who have stored naira somewhere and are seeking to convert them to dollars. They use every chance they have to buy dollars. What the CBN may need to do is to neutralise that money by changing the colour of the N500 and N1,000 notes.

“If the naira keeps falling at the parallel market, then we should prepare for further increase in the prices of goods and services. And this will continue to give us more trouble as a nation.”

The National President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the fall in the naira value could be linked to the activities of speculators.

He said the demand was spurious, saying it was not coming from genuine sources.

“The demand is spurious; the challenge is that there is no liquidity in the market. If you ask any of the parallel market operators calling N400 per dollar to bring the dollar that you want to buy it, they don’t have,” Ezun said.

The Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, said that if the naira continued to fall at the parallel market, the country would need to brace for higher rate of inflation and further contraction in economic growth.

It was learnt on Thursday that the Deposit Money Banks had started selling forex to the Bureau De Change operators in line with the CBN directive.

Banking sources confirmed that the sale begun on Thursday.

The ABCON president, Gwadabe, also confirmed the development.

“The banks started selling to us today, we will be debited tomorrow and then receive the forex. We thank the CBN and the banks. This move will help to close the gap between the exchange rates at the parallel market and interbank market,” he stated.

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Mourinho has a fierce will to win, says Rooney

Wayne Rooney has described Jose Mourinho's low-key approach to life as Manchester United manager but insists the new Old Trafford chief has a fierce will to win.

The United and England captain was talking after he marked his testimonial with a goalless draw against Everton, his team's final preparation before Sunday's Community Shield meeting with champions Leicester.

It was also the first Old Trafford game in which Mourinho, United's fourth manager in five turbulent seasons, has taken charge of the club.

Two of his predecessors, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes, were in the stand to show their appreciation for Rooney's 12 years at the club and the striker insisted that Mourinho has yet to adopt the same confrontational style as Fergie.

"He's not someone who is going to come in - at the moment he hasn't anyway - and start throwing things," said Rooney.

"You never know when the season starts. He's competitive and wants to win every game, whether it's a friendly tonight or the Charity Shield on Sunday.

"He obviously gets his message across. He wants to win but he's not a real big shouter.

"He expects a lot from his players and just from him talking he has got that aura about him where you know exactly the message he's getting across to you."

Ferguson, of course, earned a fierce reputation with tall tales of him having often thrown "tea cups" in anger in the United dressing room when things were not to his liking.

Mourinho may not have the same fearsome approach but, according to Rooney, he is every bit as much a winner as Ferguson.

"He wants to win. He wanted to win tonight," said Rooney. "He re-iterated that at half time. Playing for Manchester United, even if it's a friendly game you want to win.

"Unfortunately we didn't but it's something myself and my family will remember."

A drab game had little to entertain the 58,597 crowd, who will help Rooney raise a reported £5 million for charity, and, as has been the case throughout the pre-season games, Mourinho used 22 players during the 90 minutes.

The pairing between Rooney and new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic lasted less than an hour although there were glimpses of its potential.

"It was a good performance but also minutes on the pitch," said Rooney. "That's only a second game for a few of the players in pre-season so it was important we got a few minutes.

"In the first half I thought we played some good stuff and created some chances. Second half was a bit stop-start with all the changes but there are positives we can take out the game tonight and certainly things we can work on."

Everton manager Ronald Koeman, who completed the £7.1 million signing of Aston Villa midfielder Idrissa Gueye on the day before the testimonial, was not impressed with his own team's efforts at Old Trafford.

"First of all, Idrissa is a player we need, a midfield player who is a little bit different to other midfielders," he said.

"Tonight, we had good organisation in the team but I expect quality on the ball. Tonight our ball possession wasn't the level I expect. You need to be more confident if you're playing against Manchester United."

GLO Launches New Data Plan "TGIF Weekend Data Plan" - Get 3GB For ₦500

Telecommunications giant, Globacom says its subscribers nationwide can start to enjoy 3GB of data for just N500 during weekends.

This is coming as the firm unveils a new data tariff called TGIF.

According to a statement released from its headquarters in Lagos and made available to the media, "This unbeatable offer will be available to Glo customers from 12:01 am every Saturday morning to Sunday evening at 11:59pm.

The company explained that subscribers should dial *777*1# and select 'Buy Data' on the menu and then pick 'Night and Weekend Plan' which is number 7 on the next menu page.

Globacom stated that when the menu opens to the 'Night and Weekend plans', subscribers should pick option 2 on the last menu which reads "N500 = 3GB for Sat and Sun.

"This is simply designed to meet the expectations of subscribers who download and upload a lot of content during weekends.

We have observed that subscribers have the time to do heavy browsing on weekends, hence the TGIF bundle is designed to meet that demand", Globacom added.

Rapist marries 14-year-old victim to avoid jail

A Malaysian man who raped a 14-year-old girl avoided being thrown in jail after he married the young victim, sparking calls from angry activists for legal reforms on Thursday.

A court in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo island ruled last week there was "no necessity to proceed further with this case" following evidence that the two were married, the Borneo Post news website reported.

The victim, now 15, was allegedly raped twice by Ahmad Syukri Yusuf, in his twenties, last year. Rape in Malaysia carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison and whipping.

Activists say such cases are not uncommon in the conservative Muslim-majority country, where sometimes victims' families would rather a girl marry her rapist instead of her name being tarnished in court.

But this loophole in the system can give the wrong signal to others that there are no serious consequences for rape, they say.

"Over the years we have handled many such cases where the man marries the victim and then divorces her and pays some money to her family," Aegile Fernandez of Tenaganita, an NGO in Malaysia, told AFP.

"A rape is a rape. There needs to be better education on this," she added, calling the case an "injustice".

In 2013, a man who raped a 12-year-old girl avoided prison after he married her, provoking an outcry among rights groups. However, the following year a high court sentenced the father-of-four to 12 years in jail.

Opposition politician Teo Nie Ching also criticised the latest court ruling.

"This is not the first time that a rapist [has been] allowed to marry his underage victim, and this is surely not going to be the last," she was quoted as saying by the Malaysiakini news website.

Child marriages are not uncommon in the Southeast Asian country.

Girls below the age of 16 must obtain the permission of Islamic courts - who regulate civil matters for Muslims - but activists say such permission is too readily granted.

Over the years there have been renewed calls for the government to outlaw child marriages.

Two retirees slump during pension arrears protest in Benue

Two pensioners of the Benue State Civil Service slumped on Wednesday during a protest staged by retirees under the umbrella of Concerned Benue Pensioners in Makurdi, the state capital.

The retirees staged the protest against the Benue State government over alleged unpaid entitlements and gratuity which spanned 11 months.

The protesting pensioners took to the streets of Makurdi carrying placards with various inscriptions demanding for the immediate payment of their pension arrears.

It was during the protest that two of them allegedly slumped and became unconscious. All efforts to revive the affected retirees proved unsuccessful. They were taken to an undisclosed hospital for medical attention.

Some of the inscriptions on the protesters' placards read: ''Gov Ortom fulfill your campaign promises'', ''Do not starve us to death,'' ''Pay us our pension'', ''We are more than 30,000 pensioners and we are dying like chickens everyday'', "We are unable to buy our drugs'', "Our children have stopped going to schools" and so on.

The protesters barricaded the popular CBN- Government House Roundabout causing gridlock for several hours while all efforts by security operatives to calm them down and allow free passage of vehicles failed until they finally decided to move themselves to the main Government House.

The protesters were received at the Government House by the Acting Secretary to the Benue State Government, Dr. Bem Meladu, commissioners of finance, education and the Head of Service.

Presenting their protest letter to the SSG for onward delivery to the governor who was said to be out of the state, the Chairman of the Concerned Benue Pensioners, Mr. Peter Ikyado, said the protest would not end if the state government failed to attend to their plight.

He added that his members were tired of "continued failed promises" by the state government on the payment of their pension arrears.

Ikyado said, "We had variously addressed letters on the issue of our unpaid benefits to President (Muhammadu) Buhari, Governor Samuel Ortom, the state Head of Service and other relevant stakeholders including the media. This is because we pensioners feel that we have suffered enough and have been short-changed. Irregular pension payments have become the order of the day. The payments do not even reflect what the pensioners should be earning due to lack of harmonisation of pension rate increases over the years."

The chairman, who could not hold back his tears while delivering the speech, had to discontinue with it and directed his secretary to complete the message.

Meanwhile, the Acting SSG, Bem Meladu, appealed to the protesting pensioners to be patient with the state government as all measures were already in place to commence the payment of pensioners in the state.

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Landlord hangs self in Ibadan, leaves suicide note

A landlord, Popoola Adepoju, has hanged himself in Idi-Ose community, along Akan Road, in the Ona Ara council area of Ibadan.

The 48-year-old was reportedly found dangling from a rope tied to a ceiling fan in his room, with a three-page suicide note on the table.

The widow of the father of three, who worked with the defunct National Electric Power Authority, reportedly found the corpse after she returned home on Tuesday.

She reportedly told the police that her husband left NEPA in Abeokuta two years ago but his entitlement had yet to be paid, adding that he had started a cement business on small scale before the incident.

PUNCH Metro gathered that family members of the deceased refused to hand over the suicide note to the policemen who came to investigate the case.

However, after the intervention of the Chairman of the Idi-Ose community, Taiwo Alimi, the note was taken to the Akanran Police Division.

The Divisional Police Officer at the station, Aliko Dankoli, was said to have later given permission to the family to proceed with his burial.

He was said to have been interred in his house.

Residents said Adepoju first sent his children on errands before taking his own life.

A member of the Four Square Gospel Church, where the deceased worshipped with his family, said Adepoju attended Monday morning service in the church and never gave a sign of depression.

He said, "Adepoju was a devout Christian, pious and talented. He was always offering useful suggestions whenever the welfare committee of the zone met. What could have informed this action is unclear. We were together at the early morning service at our church on Monday. We usually have such a service on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of every month. When I saw him last Monday after the evening service, he never gave any hint that he was contemplating suicide."

A landlord in the area, who did not give his name, however, said the deceased was going through a difficult period.

He explained that Adepoju had wanted to sell his Honda car for N250,000, but only got a buyer who was ready to pay N150,000.

He said the victim had planned to buy a smaller car to be used as taxi to supplement what he made from his small cement business.

"He said he wanted to sell the car so he could buy a small vehicle which he would be using as a cab to serve as a sustaining means of livelihood for his family. He, however, said the amount being offered was too small.

"He sometimes complained that things were no longer as they were before he was disengaged from work. It was a surprise when we discovered that this unfortunate incident happened," said the neighbour.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, confirmed the death, adding that investigation was ongoing.

He said, "Under the law, it is no offence except if it is attempted suicide. The DPO said the deceased family did not cooperate with the police."

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Episode 2 (Eliza My Daughter) centres on Elizabeth (Queen Nwokoye), daughter of #ProfessorJohnBull, #ProfessorJohnBull strongly suspects his daughter is pregnant when she suddenly starts to vomit uncontrollably.

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New Episode: Professor JohnBull Season 1 Episode 1

In the episode, Glo ambassador and wave-making superstar, D'banj's sudden emergence at a local restaurant where they sell the best amala in Enugu, sparks off a frenzy. D'banj fans rush to catch a glimpse of the super star.

Olaniyi, the restauranteur, initially thinks he is daydreaming on seeing D'Banj at his restaurant.
Professor Johnbull encounters the Dbanj at Olaniyi's restaurant and an altercation soon ensued between the erudite scholar and the music icon. The conversation ends amicably and an impressed Professor Johnbull invites Dbanj and his friends to his home for the traditional Igbo hospitality.

What happens when Churchill, the Professor's son, who was a former classmate of Dbanj shows up?

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