Manuel's Blog

 On Saturday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will fly out of Abuja for Philadelphia, where he will give a Special Lecture at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). According to a statement from Osinbajo's spokesman, Laolu Akande, the vice president would also take part in an interactive session with academics and students organized by Wale Adebanwi, professor of Africana studies at UPenn. The University's Center for Africana Studies is presenting the vice president's speech on April 24 with a focus on Climate Change and a Just Transition. Osinbajo is now leading initiatives to establish the African Carbon Market as one of the pathways of a just and sustainable transition. He is a leading voice and ardent supporter of a Just Energy Transition for Africa and the developing world. One of the eight American private institutions known as the Ivy League, UPenn was first founded as a charitable institution in 1740. Benjamin Franklin, a future founding father of the United States an...

  The supreme Court of Nigeria has been requested by ten state governments in Nigeria to over turn president muhamadu Buhari's decision to outlaw the old N500 and N1000 notes.  In their lawsuit, filed on Friday by their attorney A.J. Owonikoko (SAN), the governors are asking the supreme court to declare the President's orders from his broadcast on Thursday to be unconstitutional. The Attorneys General (AGs) of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Sokoto, and Lagos states are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and the AGs of Bayelsa and Edo states are the respondents. The plaintiffs claimed in a dozen grounds of application that Buhari's directives, including his ban on old N500 and N1,000 notes and his extension of the validity of old N200 notes for 60 days, were a "unconstitutional overreach and usurpation of the judicial power" of the Supreme Court because the case was already ...

 Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has warned that anyone caught attacking banks over the current Naira scarcity will be treated as armed robbers. Remember that this week's Naira shortage has been the cause of multiple reports of attacks on public and commercial establishments, mainly banks. In a Friday night video uploaded on the NPF's Facebook page, the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, issued a warning against such attacks and noted that the police will fend them off. We claim that banks ignore us, yet we go to their locations and torch them and smash ATMs, according to Adejobi. If you've demolished their infrastructure, how can you expect them to serve you any better? "I believe that we should educate ourselves on the relevant legal provisions. You don't go to any bank, ATM, or other financial establishment to commit an attack. It is unlawful and is comparable to armed robbery. If you are observed committing an armed robbery, you will be prosecuted. E...

  Mike Ozekhome, a human rights attorney and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), explains why President Muhammadu Buhari is unable to overturn the Supreme Court's decision over the new currency policy. He asserts that it is improper for the President to defy the Supreme Court's directive regarding the old naira notes. Remember that the Federal Government was prohibited from suspending the acceptance of the old naira notes by the apex court in an interim judgment. Yet, Ozekhome referred to the President's directive as a "dicta, more in the manner of a military Edict" in a statement he released on Friday. "Buhari, in his broadcast on Thursday, February 16, 2023, unilaterally varied the apex court's extant order of maintenance of status quo, by directing the CBN Governor to the effect that "the old N200 banknotes be released back into circulation...to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 bank notes for 60 days," according to t...

Lagos thugs attacks the Labour party (LP) supporters during PETER OBI'S rally                                   As the standard bearer for the Labour Party attends his final campaign rally in the state on Saturday, some of Peter Obi's supporters have reported attacks by hoodlums in Lagos State. As the supporters made their way to Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), the location of the protest, they were reportedly attacked with machetes and other things, according to Channels Television. The injured were receiving care from the medical staff at TBS, who were overburdened. Videos and images posted on social media also featured some people who appeared to be Obi's followers with bruises, as well as vandalized automobiles and buses that were allegedly used to carry supporters to the party's different events. The attacks were attributed to one of the other main parties in the state and its presidential candida...

The supreme Court halts banning of the old naria notes  The Supreme Court today Wednesday temporarily halted the move by the federal government to ban the use of the old naira notes from February 10, 2023. A seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro, halted the move of the federal government in a ruling in an exparte application brought by three northern states of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara. The three states had specifically applied for an order of Interim Injunction restraining “the FG through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the commercial banks from suspending or determining or ending on February 10, 2023, the time frame with which the now older version of the 200, 500 and 1,000 denomination of the naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for interlocutory injunction”. Moving the application on Wednesday, counsel to the applicants, Mr A. I. Mustapha, SAN, had urged the apex court to grant the application in the...

  Adeleke rejects tribunal verdict heads on to appeal court Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke called the governorate court's decision a "void case", vowing to appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeal.    Reacting to the Tribunal's verdict in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Rasheed Olawale, Governor Adeleke criticized the resolution of the overvote issue in favor of Oyetola, calling it "an unfair interpretation against the will of the majority of  voters".    While urging her supporters to remain calm, Governor Adeleke has pledged to appeal the Court of Appeal's decision, insisting he remains the rightful winner of the July 16 election.    “I ask our people to remain calm.  We will appeal the sentence and we are confident that justice will be served.  We assure our people that we will do everything in our power to maintain this widely acclaimed mandate,” Governor Adeleke said.

  US government Proclaim visa Ban on Nigerians for sabotaging democracy.   The United States has imposed visa restrictions on some Nigerians accused of undermining democracy, saying it is part of its efforts to promote democracy and fight corruption in Nigeria. In a statement on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that the sanctioned individuals, whose names he did not release, would not be eligible for US entry visas. The top diplomat also explained that some family members of those who have been denied entry to the United States may face the same restrictions. He said: "We are committed to supporting and promoting democracy in Nigeria and around the world. Today I am announcing visa restrictions for certain individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process in the recent Nigerian elections. Pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)c of the Immigration and Nationality Act, such persons will be deemed ineligible for visas to the United States under a policy...

  CASH SWAP: CBN bars, Lagos POS operators By Sami tunji     the Central Bank of Nigeria has excluded the cash/point of sale agents in Abuja and Lagos from the newly launched cash exchange programme.    The development came out on January 31st to phase out the approach of older Notes N1000, N500 and N200.    In a frequently asked questions document released to select agents and obtained by  reporter on Monday, CBN provided some guidance for the cash exchange program.    According to the document, only five banks have been approved to participate in the programme.  They are: Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Limited and First City Monument Bank.    It read in part: “Not all agents can participate. This is only open to selected agents who have been identified by the super agent/MMO/Bank and submitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria and participating banks (Access, Zenith,...

"It's about time": the new prime minister of Zealand Jacinda Ardern resigns. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, a global figure in progressive politics, shocked the country on Thursday by announcing that she would step down from office within weeks. The 42-year-old, who has led the country through natural disasters, the COVID pandemic, and the worst terrorist attack ever, said she didn't have "enough in the tank." "I am a human being," she told a meeting of Labor Party members. "We give everything we can for as long as we can, and then it's time." "And for me, it's time." Ardern said she would step down no later than February 7, less than three years after she won a landslide election to secure her second term. Since the peak of "Jacindamania" in 2020, Ardern's government has struggled, its popularity hampered by soaring inflation, a looming recession, and a resurgence of the conservative ...