Health

Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) says the infrastructure for the first phase of the blue line rail project is complete and ready for operation.

The first phase of the Lagos blue line rail system is designed to run from Mile 2 (on the mainland) to Marina (on the island).

Kolawole Ojelabi, consultant, corporate communication of LAMATA, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

Arewa group backs CBN’s cash withdrawal policy

Abubakar Yunus abuja

Anorthern group known as the Arewa Youth Assembly has thrown its weight behind the cash withdrawal policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Recently, the apex bank, under the new policy, fixed weekly cash withdrawals for individuals at N100,000 and corporate bodies at N500,000.

Maximum cash withdrawal at POS terminals has also been reduced to N20,000 daily. The policy is expected to take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Ali Muhammad, publicity secretary of the group, said many politicians have plans to stockpile cash for “nefarious purposes”.

“To forestall the future harbouring of naira notes by individuals, the central bank came up with another policy pegging N100,000 and N500,000 as the maximum cash individuals and corporate organisations respectively can withdraw weekly,” Muhammad said.

“This policy will also help to checkmate the incidences of vote buying, which is the greatest threat to fair and credible elections in 2023.”

The publicity secretary said the country’s economy is faring better than that of neighbouring countries owing to the policies of the CBN.

“Those with looted funds in their houses should find a way of depositing such monies in any commercial bank rather than trying to use a back door approach to knock off the CBN governor and get the policies reversed through their lackeys,” he said.

“The judiciary should remain steadfast in defending the spirit and letter of our constitution, as they are the last hope of the common man.”

Mile 2-Marina rail line ready to convey 200,000 passengers daily, says Lagos

Ojelabi said the completion of the infrastructure was in fulfilment of the promise made by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state governor.

He said Sanwo-Olu had promised that the project would be completed in the last quarter of 2022 ahead of the commencement of passenger operations in the first quarter of 2023.

Ojelabi said the blue line project was one of the six rail lines and monorails prescribed for Lagos in the state’s strategic transport master plan (STMP), adding that the construction had been divided into phases for ease of implementation and is expected to move more than 500,000 passengers when the entire line is completed.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu had, while campaigning for the office of governor, promised to complete the infrastructure for the first phase of the Lagos rail mass transit (LMRT) blue line and bring it to passenger operation,” he said.

“The first phase is a 13-kilometer stretch from Marina to Mile 2 and has five stations at Mile 2, Suru-Alaba, Orile Iganmu, National Theatre and Marina. It is expected to move about 200,000 passengers daily.”

Ojelabi said the rail system would be powered by electricity from an independent power plant to be purposely built for its operation.

The statement also quoted Abimbola Akinajo, managing director of LAMATA, as saying that the completion of the infrastructure for the first phase of the project was a testimonial of the importance of public transportation to Sanwo-Olu’s development agenda.

L-R: Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Gen Buba Marwa (Rtd) Director Technical services NDLEA Deputy Commander General Narcotic, Epeso Ezekiel Ngale and the Agency Secretary, Barr Shadrach Haruna during the decoration exercise of newly promoted Narcotic officers at the NDLEA national headquarters, yesterday in Abuja . Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Reps re-invites Emefiele over CBN’s cash withdrawal policy

By Abubakar Yunus, Abuja

The house of representatives has again rescheduled the appearance of Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over the new cash withdrawal policy.

The CBN governor was initially due to appear before the lawmakers on December 15, but it was rescheduled after he sent a letter to the parliament stating that he was out of the country.

At the plenary session on Tuesday, Emefiele, again, through a letter signed by Edward Adamu, CBN deputy governor, corporate services, said he was not yet back in the country.

Femi Gbajamiamila, speaker of the house, said the invitation should be rescheduled to Thursday while wondering why the CBN governor was out of the country for over two weeks “at this critical time”.

“At this point, we will be requesting to find out what that official assignment is that keeps the CBN governor away for almost two weeks,” he said.

“I would love to know what that official assignment is at this critical time in Nigeria that will keep him away for two weeks.”

Abdulganiyu Olododo, a lawmaker from Kwara, raised a point of order saying the CBN governor may not be available on Thursday.

“You said the CBN governor was out of the country and you’re picking another day on Thursday. How are we sure that he’s going to be available this very Thursday?

Ndudi Elumelu, the minority leader, said the house had already taken a position on the cash withdrawal policy, and that Emefiele is expected to implement the lawmakers’ decision.

“The house in the interim had taken a position. The issue of him coming was just to fulfil all righteousness,” he said.

Elumelu said whether Emefiele honours “the invitation or does not come, we have passed a resolution asking him to suspend the policy”.

In his ruling, Gbajabiamila said if the CBN governor is “unavoidably” unavailable on Thursday, a high-ranking deputy should represent him.

“What is important is that this house gets a full proper briefing and I think it behoves on the CBN governor in accordance with the law to brief this house,” he said.

“If for any reason it is verified that he is unavoidably out of the country on Thursday, [he should] ask his deputy governor or anyone who is well equipped to fully brief this house so that we do not carry this to next year.”

On December 8, the green chamber asked the apex bank to suspend the policy on weekly cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities.

The lawmakers also summoned Emefiele to appear before them to be grilled over the policy scheduled to take effect on January 9, 2023.

In a memo issued and signed by Haruna Mustafa, director of banking supervision, the apex bank had directed all banks and other financial institutions to ensure that over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100,000 and N500, 000, respectively, per week.

The CBN also directed that only N200 and lower denominations should be loaded into banks’ ATMs.

The row over Emefiele’s snub of the green chamber comes hours after a federal high court in Abuja declined an application by the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest and detain him.

The court had said there was no concrete evidence to substantiate the claim that the CBN governor was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.