Our attention has been drawn to the news reports online with the conflicting claims that FirstBank branch or/head office has been sealed.
Please be informed that the referenced story is a misrepresentation of the facts and misleading. Neither our branch nor head office was sealed. On the 4th of August, 2022, there was an unlawful enforcement at the Bank’s Coomassie House Branch of a garnishee order issued by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja which order the Bank is still challenging in court.
While the Bank has taken appropriate legal steps to deal with the situation, we wish to reassure our customers of unhindered banking services and unique customer experience in all our branches and through our numerous alternative channels.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has grilled the Head of Asset Recovery and Management Unit, Ministry of Justice, Ladidi Mohammed, over allegations of fraud.
Naija News understands that the EFCC had detained and questioned Mohammed, who is a close ally of the Attorney-general and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for days over allegations of fraudulent sale of recovered assets running into billions.
Mohammed, who was granted administrative bail on Thursday, was back at the anti-graft commission on Friday for further questioning.
Sources told The Cable that Mohammed had told operatives of the EFCC that she acted under ministerial instructions in disposing of some assets which were forfeited to the federal government by persons undergoing corruption trials, but she could not tender any documented evidence to back her claims.
It was gathered that the Commission is investigating dubious transactions involving Nigerian assets that Mohammed is accused of selling off under suspicious circumstances.
Malami had reportedly secretly granted a company and its attorneys a multibillion-naira assets recovery contract.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have agreed to set up a joint consultation committee to iron out issues.
Naija News reports that this was the outcome of their first face-to-face meeting held on Thursday at the private residence of Professor Jerry Gana, a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).
A source disclosed that Atiku and Wike agreed to set up a joint consultation committee of equal persons to address the issues.
According to the source, this should be done between now and next week, after which they are expected to brief the various organs of the party.
“This is the first step towards the setting up of our Presidential Campaign Council.
“Very, very soon, all these challenges will be behind us, and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, will know their time in office is up for good,” the source told Vanguard.
However, a source in Wike’s camp disclosed that loyalists of the Rivers State Governor have all agreed to remain in the PDP, stating that their interests will be best served in the main opposition party.
“Our principal is yet to brief me. But I know whatever decision he takes, he will reach out to us, and we will collectively decide the way forward.
“We all agreed at our meeting that our collective political interests will be better served in the PDP.
“The party belongs to all of us what transpired before and after our primary is behind us now,” the source said.
Naija News reports that Atiku and Wike had fallen out after the PDP presidential candidate selected Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate.
Following Atiku’s decision, Wike and his loyalists have reportedly demanded the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, accusing him of bias during the party’s presidential primary.
A former Inspector-General General of Police (IGP), Tafa Balogun, was on Thursday confirmed dead at a hospital in Lagos.
Family sources confirmed the death of Balogun at a hospital located in Lekki, Lagos, on Thursday night.
Tafa Balogun is infamous for his corruption trial and his conviction.
Here are important things you should know about the late Balogun:
1) He was born on August 8, 1947 at Ila-Orangun in Osun State.
2) He was at a time, the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to former Inspector-General of Police, Muhammadu Gambo.
3) He was a member of cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Course 3
4) He was also a Deputy Commission of Police Edo State, the pioneer Commissioner of Police in Delta State. He was also CP in Rivers and Abia states.
5) He was a fellow of the premier highest military institution in Nigeria, the National War College
6) He was named the 21st Inspector-General of Police on March 6, 2002
7) On April 4, 2005, Balogun was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja for stealing and laundering of over $100 million in his three years as Inspector General of Police from the Police treasury.
8) He collapsed on his seat on June 29, 2005, at the Abuja High Court.
9) After pleading guilty to eight of the 56 count-charges directly affecting him, he was convicted and sentenced to six months in each of the charges, which ran concurrently.
10) He was released on February 9, 2006 after serving his sentence.
Genesis Global Ikeja Unusual August Praise Set for Sunday 7th
Come Sunday 7th of August 2022 has been set aside for Genesis Global to present ‘Unusual Praise’ which will hold at Ikeja Center.
According to the world famous prophet of God, Israel Oladele Ogundipe known as ‘Genesis’ when speaking with his media aide Oluwaseun Fabiyi, says the Unsual Praise would no longer be as usual because it would surely take another dimension as every inherited curses shall be broken with this intention of showing gratitude and appreciation to God Almighty ‘This Sunday’s special praise will take another realms of praising God extremely and it will be viewed live on every social media as top Nigerian celebrities and great anointed men of God will be in attendance as God’s name shall be manifested.
Some of the Top popular Nigeria Gospel artistes who will be there to showcase their talents giving quality worship and praises to God includes Testimony Jaga and Sir Judah from USA as the Unsual Praise memorable evening service which is targeted to come up between 4pm till 8pm at plot 6 Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi opposite Chicken Republic Ikeja, Lagos.
Prophet Israel therefore stand on behalf of the Church, Genesis Global worldwide as he beseech everyone to put on the garment of praise and their dancing shoes because there will be showers of blessing upon everybody who will be attending this special Unsual Praise
It’s going to be a convergence of top gospel singers and popular celebrities as one of their own, Segun 02, Church Choir, Sir Judah, Testimony Jaga will be staging a live show come 7th August. This is to offer worship and praises to the Lord which is tagged ‘Unsual Praise’ says the man of God.
Barely few days to the much anticipated and much talked about Unsual Praise, all Genesis Global worshipers are already given Unsual testimonies especially those in the evangelism department, and this to show and proved to as many who would be attending will definitely meet the powerful hand of God in a miraculous way.
The Unsual Praise thanksgiving will begin with the anointed man of God, prophet Israel Genesis who will be serenading his congregants with music performance to show appreciation to God for keeping him alive following his overcoming all odds/afflictions that would have jeopardised/cut short God’s glory and his ministry.
“It’s the only way of thanking God for His guidance and protection over me, family and the entire Genesis Global family He said.
Oluwaseun Fabiyi media aide
FIRSTMONIE AGENTS TRANSACT OVER 1 BILLION TRANSACTIONS, REINFORCES FIRSTBANK’S LEADING ROLE IN PROMOTING FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN NIGERIA
The Bank’s Firstmonie Agents play a critical role in promoting financial inclusion in the country
The Bank currently has over 180,000 Firstmonie Agents spread across 772 Local Government Areas in Nigeria
Since 2020, FirstBank has economically empowered thousands of its Firstmonie Agents with over 100 billion naira credit facility
FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial services provider has announced that its agent banking network – Firstmonie Agents – spread across the nook and cranny of the country has collectively processed transaction volume in excess of 1 billion, amounting to over 22 trillion naira. The Bank currently has over 180,000 Firstmonie Agents, spread across 772 of the country’s 774 Local Government Areas.
Firstmonie Agents have been integral to bringing financial services closer to the underbanked and unbanked segment of the society, providing convenient banking services that are easily accessible, thereby saving time and travel costs for individuals in the suburbs and remote environments with no access to financial services.
Popularly referred to as the ‘Human ATM’, Firstmonie Agents are empowered to reduce the reliance on over-the-counter transactions while providing convenient personalized services. Amongst the services carried out by the Agents include; Account Opening, Cash Deposit, Airtime Purchase, Bills Payment, Withdrawals and Money Transfer.
Through various empowerment and reward schemes implemented to put its Firstmonie Agents at an advantage to economically impact their immediate communities whilst importantly having their business sustained, the Bank’s Agent Banking scheme has remained a toast to Nigerians, irrespective of where they are in the country. Amongst these schemes is the Agent Credit – launched in 2020 – which has had the Bank provide credit facilities to the tune of 238 billion naira to its teeming Firstmonie Agents.
Expressing his appreciation to the Firstmonie Agents, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “since the relaunch of our Agent Banking scheme in 2018, our Firstmonie Agents have played a vital role in bridging the financial inclusion gap in the country, as many more people have been able to undertake various financial and business transactions in cost-effective ways, thereby saving a lot of time and money in travelling over long distances for basic banking services.”
“We are delighted by the giant strides of our Firstmonie Agents in promoting financial inclusion and commend them for their efforts in taking banking to the doorsteps of Nigerians – irrespective of where they are – in a very effective way”, he concluded.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has named the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, as the Director General of its Presidential Campaign Council.
Lalong is the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum.
The APC Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, made the revelation to State House Correspondents after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja for a closed-door meeting on Thursday.
“We are here to see Mr. President to brief him and to get his approvals of plans that we are having regarding our campaign outfit,” Adamu said when asked by journalists.
He added: “And once we have his approval, we intend to make major disclosure. We’re on the same page with the Presidential (candidates) and the individuals who will play various roles in the campaign.
“The DG of the campaign is seated by my right here. Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State.
“We have a spokesperson in the person of Festus Kenyamo. The deputy spokesperson is Hannatu Musawa. This is what we came to discuss with the President.”
He revealed that the choice of Lalong was based on his ability to do the work required to ensure victory for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in next year’s presidential elections.
“He has the ability to do it. The party leadership has seen that he is capable of running the affairs of the campaign outfit,” he noted.
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has appointed Senator Dino Melaye and former Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Dr. Daniel Bwala as spokespersons.
Bwala dumped the APC last month over APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s choice of a fellow Muslim, former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima as running mate.
Atiku in a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Thursday appointed the duo as his spokesperson for the upcoming presidential campaign.
According to the statement, the appointments take immediate effect.
The statement partly read “Malaye is a politician and a member of the 8th Senate, who represented Kogi West Senatorial district. He hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State
“Bwala, on the other hand, is a legal practitioner, politician, and public affairs analyst. He hails from Adamawa State”.
President Muhammadu Buhari , on Wednesday, came under heavy criticism over the approval of N1, 145,000,000 for the purchase and supply of 10 Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles to Niger Republic.
The revelation was made by an investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, who tweeted that he obtained a document from the Budget Office in Nigeria which showed that the President made the approval for the purchase of the vehicles to the neighbouring country.
Hundeyin also attached a picture of the document to validate the claim that the President approved the release of the money to a company, Kaura Motors Nigeria Limited, on February 28, 2022.
The document read in part, “Being release of funds in the sum of N1,145,000,000 to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation IFO Kaura Motors Nig. Limited for supply of 10 numbers Toyota Land Cruiser V8 Vehicles to Republic of Nigeria vide Mr. President approval on page 83 dated 28/02/2022.”
Defending the purchase of the vehicles, the Federal Government said that the move was to enable the country to safeguard its territory in the best interest of Nigeria’s security.
Fielding questions from journalists after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said it was not the first time Nigeria was supporting her neighbours.
She explained the President had a responsibility to take such decisions in the best interest of the country.
“This is not the first time that Nigeria has supported Niger, Cameroon or Chad, and the President makes an assessment as to what is required, based on the request of their President and such requests are approved and the interventions provided is to enhance their capacity to protect their own territory as it relates to security also to Nigeria,” Ahmed said.
CSOs knock FG
However, Nigerians had been criticising the Federal Government for disbursing funds to purchase the vehicles for another country amid other pressing needs, including the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the harsh economic realities in the country.
The Country Director, Transparency International, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the gesture showed that the current political leaders were not sensitive to the plights of Nigerians.
“It shows a lack of priority for development in Nigeria. Otherwise, our universities have been closed down for months, how much is ASUU asking for to stop the strike, how much is needed to modernise our health sector and also improve the lives of Nigerians? But the current leaders just want to accumulate tax payers’ money for personal use,” he said.
Also reacting, the chairman, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, Olanrewaju Suraju, said the amount the vehicles were purchased was outrageous.
He said, “With the level of insecurity and the lack of resources in the country, the next thing we could think of is to purchase vehicles for the Niger Republic. There is nothing bad assisting sister countries in their time of need but this is wrongly conceived.
“Also, it is nearly impossible that those vehicles would cost that amount,that deserves to be investigated. The anti-corruption agencies should investigate this.”
The Nigeria Police Force has directed its strategic officers across the country to commence intense visibility policing operation with a focus on crime mapping across the country.
The Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba gave this directive on Wednesday during a meeting with the Force’s Strategic Police Managers.
The managers including the Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and the Force Management Team met with the IGP in Abuja to deliberate on strategies to curb the growing incidences of insecurity.
The chief boss expressed concern over the proliferation of arms in sub-Saharan Africa which has consequently led to an increase in security threats within the nation, notably the attack on the Kuje Correctional Facility in Abuja.
“The IGP equally directed all strategic police managers to commence an immediate special visibility policing operation across all Commands taking into cognizance crime mapping, and massive deployment of operational and intelligence assets and manpower,” a statement by the Force said.
The statement signed by the Force Spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi acknowledged the compliance level of strategic managers in identifying vulnerabilities at custodial facilities in their respective areas and complementing the Correctional Service in upscaling security in and around such facilities to forestall further security breaches.
Similarly, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, on Wednesday said the Armed Forces was working round the clock to implement several new strategies to halt the various security challenges in Nigeria.
Irabor said this while delivering a lecture at the National Defence College on the topic “National Security and Development: Strategic Options for Nigeria’’ on Wednesday in Abuja.
He disclosed that the Armed Forces were working on upgrading the intelligence management procedures of the defence and security sector to strengthen the overall security architecture in the country.
In addition, Irabor urged the media not to become a tool of criminals by promoting terrorists’ agenda, but to uphold the interest of the public while carrying out its duties.
He said, “The media should report on such incidents in an independent and authentic way, but not allow itself to be made the tool of criminals
“The German Press Code for example says in reporting actual and threatened acts of violence, the press should carefully weigh the public interest in information against the interest of victims and other people involved.”
