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Court Orders Interim Forfeiture of $899,900, 15 Properties Recovered from Ex-AGF Idris

Abubakar Yunus,Abuja

AFederal Capital Territory High Court has ordered the interim forfeiture of $899,900 and N304, 490,160.95 recovered from a former Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court also forfeited 15 properties recovered from Idris in Kano and Abuja.

The properties linked to Idris which were listed in the Schedule for forfeiture include Kano City Mall/Al Ikhlas Shopping Mall at Mandwawarti, Kano; one storey Shopping Complex at Ladanai, Kano; Corner Shops at Ladanai, Kano; a duplex at Karsana, Abuja; Royal Duplex at Deneji Quarters, Kano and a Duplex at Plot 271, New Jersey Street, Efab Blue Fountain Estate, Abuja.

Idris and others are being prosecuted by the EFCC on 14 counts of stealing and money laundering to the tune of N109billion.

Justice M.A Hassan gave the Order on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 while ruling on a motion exparte no. M/1149/2022, filed by the EFCC. This was according to a statement by the anti-graft spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren.

In the motion, the EFCC had prayed the Court for an Order of interim attachment/ forfeiture of the properties in the Schedule to the application, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case in Charge No. FCT, HC/ CR/299/2022, Federal Republic of Nigeria V. Ahmed Idris and Others.

The Commission had requested the court to grant among others, an Order approving the interim “management of the assets and properties in the Schedule to this application to the applicant”, an order “to open an interest yielding account where monies realised from the management of the assets and properties of the persons stated in the Schedule to this application shall be paid”, and an order “freezing the Bank Accounts of the persons referred to as account holders/ or the bank accounts set out in the Schedule to this application”, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case.

Justice Hassan granted the motion as prayed but further ordered that the recovery account sought to be opened by the applicant, ”shall be in the name of the Commission as Recovery Account and the details of the Account shall be reported back to the Court within one week of opening”.

Nine properties linked to the second respondent, Mohammed Kudu Usman, located in Abuja, Niger and Nasarawa States, were also forfeited in the interim.

They include plots of land with shops in Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State, a 37 hectares of farmland with livestock located along Minna-Bida Road in Niger State, Bungalow flats at Gwarimpa, Abuja, Bungalow Buildings at Masaka, Nasarawa State, plots of land at Dutse Alhaji Abuja and 13 plots of land at Integrated City, Minna, Niger State.

Airline operators warn passengers of imminent flight delays over aviation fuel scarcity

Nigerian airlines, under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), say there will be major disruptions of flights due to persistent scarcity of aviation fuel, also known as jet-A1.

Obiora Okonkwo, spokesperson, AON, said this in a statement on Tuesday.

This would be the third time aviation fuel scarcity would be linked to disruptions in the sector in 2022.

In May and July, AON had warned passengers of disruptions in flight operations due to scarcity of fuel, leading to “flight rescheduling, and, or, cancellations”.

The development also led to a hike in domestic flight tickets.

Speaking in the statement on Tuesday, Okonkwo disclosed that scarcity of jet fuel returned in the past few days.

He also said passengers should expect flight reschedules and cancellations.

“We wish to inform the general public of impending disruptions in scheduled flight operations due to the scarcity of aviation fuel, otherwise known as jet-A1, which reared its ugly head again in the last few days,” he said.

The scarcity, Okonkwo said, would force airlines to reschedule flights, leading to late operations and in extreme circumstances, to cancellations.

He said the unintended development was a pain on airline operators and a stain on the industry, especially at this time of mass movement of people for the Christmas and New Year festivities.

“While we do our utmost best to manage the situation and ensure safe flight operations, we plead the understanding of the travelling public in the circumstance,” Okonkwo added.

“We also call on the concerned authorities including product importers and marketers to do their best to resolve this ugly situation so as to ease the stress it brings on the travelling public.”

However, he said AON is “committed to doing all that is necessary to ensure seamless services and safe air travels in our dear country”.

President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the national shared services center by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy at the Galaxy Backbone, yesterday in Abuja PHOTO; State House

NBS: FG generated N2.1trn from company income tax in first nine months of 2022

Abubakar Yunus, Abuja

The federal government generated N2.1 trillion from company income tax (CIT) in the first nine months of 2022.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its recent CIT report for the third quarter (Q3) of 2022.

Poor revenue generation has continued to pose a challenge to Nigeria’s finances, ultimately affecting its capability to finance its budget — hence the resort to debt acquisition.

President Muhammadu Buhari had said the country’s poor performance in resource mobilisation was a source of concern, as “tax revenues are approximately 8 percent of our output”.

Buhari, in September, inaugurated a presidential committee on the national economy, to provide solutions to the country’s economic troubles, especially in the area of getting revenue.

As one of the government’s revenue-generating mechanisms, the CIT is a tax on the profits of registered companies in Nigeria. It also includes the tax on the profits of foreign firms operating in the country.

The tax is currently charged at the rate of 30 percent for companies having more than N100 million in turnover, and 20 percent for companies with a turnover ranging between N25 million and N100 million.

In the latest CIT report, NBS said in Q1, the federal government got a total revenue of N551.5 billion; and in Q2, the figure increased to N714.4 billion.

As at Q3 of 2022, the CIT revenue increased to N810.2 billion. This gives a total of N2.1 trillion revenue yield from tax in nine months (Q1,Q2, and Q3).

The NBS said the figure represents an increase of 55 percent when compared to the N1.3 trillion generated in the first nine months of 2021.

For the period under review, local payments contributed N1.3 trillion while foreign CIT payments amounted to N749.82 billion.

Despite foreign exchange (FX) challenges, the manufacturing sector led the list of sectorial contributions with N358.2 billion in income tax paid to the federal government in nine months. According to NBS, the revenue from this sector represents an increase of 121 percent compared to the N162.2 billion recorded in the same period in 2021.

The information and communication sector followed with N131.2 billion in income tax paid to the federal government.

The report said the financial and insurance sector remitted a sum of N163 billion as CIT, followed by mining quarrying with a remittance of N114.3 billion.

Other sectors with increased tax revenues include; the public administration and defence, compulsory social security with N68.3 billion remitted; other service activities generated N56 billion; and transportation and storage sector remitted N56.3 billion.

In 2021, Nigeria held 97 percent of the box office revenue from movies in West Africa, whereas in 2020 it accounted for 99 percent of the revenue. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, movie theatres were closed in Liberia, Ghana, and Nigeria. They reopened only in Nigeria in September 2020.

Analysis of the NBS data by TheCable Index, shows that the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, which comprises the fashion, music and movie industries, recorded the highest growth rate on quarter-on-quarter (q-on-q) basis.

In Q1 of 2022, the sector remitted N2.1 billion to the federal government and by Q2 of the same year, the figure increased to N3.38 billion.

More so, in Q3, the figure doubled to N6.54 billion, which makes a total of N11.99 billion in nine months.

This also means that the sector increased its remittance to the government in Q3 2022 by 93 percent, when compared to Q2; followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing with 75.38 percent.

On the other hand, accommodation and food service activities had the lowest growth rate at -64.81 percent, followed by water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities at -64.75 percent.

BUSINESS

CBN increases cash withdrawal limit to N500,000 weekly

By Abubakar Yunus, Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria has increased the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawals across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations to N500,000 and N5 million, respectively.

The directive is contained in a circular issued by the bank on Wednesday and signed by the director of banking supervision department, Haruna Mustafa.

The development is coming two weeks after the CBN reduced the weekly over-the-counter cash withdrawal limit for individuals to N100,000 and that of corporate organisations to N500,000.

PEOPLES DAILY reports that the apex bank also reduced withdrawals at Automated Teller Machines and point-of-sale terminals to N20,000 daily.

The policy had generated mixed reactions among Nigerians, with the House of Representatives also wading into the matter.

In the Wednesday circular, the apex bank said it made the upward review based on feedback received from stakeholders.

“The CBN hereby makes the following reviews: (1) the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawal across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations shall be N500,000.00 and N5,000,000.00 respectively.

“2. In compelling circumstances where cash withdrawal above the limits in (1) is required for legitimate purposes, such requests shall be subject to a processing fee of three per cent and five per cent for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively.

“Further to (2) above, the financial institution shall obtain the following information from the customer, at the minimum, and upload same on the CBN portal created for the purpose: valid means of identification of the payee (national ID, international passport, or driver’s license), bank verification number of the payee, tax identification number of both the payee and the payer, and an approval in writing by the MD/ CEO of the financial institution authorising the withdrawal.

“Third party cheques above N100,000 shall not be eligible for payment over-the-counter, while the extant limit of N10 million on clearing cheques still subsist.”

The CBN also said monthly returns on cash withdrawal transactions above the specified limits should be rendered to the banking supervision department, other financial institutions supervision and payments system management departments.

It added, “Compliance with extant AML/CFT regulations relating to the KYC, ongoing customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reporting etc. is required in all circumstances.

“Customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS, eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions.

The apex bank noted that it recognised the vital role that cash played in supporting underserved and rural communities and would ensure an inclusive approach as it implemented the transition to a more cashless society.

“All banks and OFls are to note that aiding and abetting the circumvention of this policy will attract severe sanctions,” CBN said.

“The above directives supersede that of December 6, 2022 and take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023,” the CBN said.

L-R: Panelist, Cristie Adejoh; the celebrant, Eugenia Abu; Special guest of honour Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Mariam Katagum and another panelist, Cyril Stober, during the 60 for 60 the wisdom Conversation Eugenia Abu @ 60 in Abuja, On Monday.

NDE trains 25 graduates on Solar installation in Kaduna

National Directorates of Employment (NDE) has trained 25 graduates on Solar installation as a means of making them self reliance in the country.

Speaking at the Flag off of the Solar Power Installation and maintenance training in collaboration with Abuja Graduate School in Kaduna,NDE Acting State Coordinator Mrs Victoria.W . Dada said the participants were selected from science oriented courses.

The Acting Coordinator, said power output needs to be complimented with other renewable sources of power hence the need for the solar training. "It is not news to anyone that the growing rate of unemployment among graduates is ever increasing with statistics not looking good and putting a dent to unemployment figures in our country," he said.

She explained that the Directorate observed that abundant untapped energy lies in Solar system which is the sun.

In his remarks, NDE Director General Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo represented by the Zonal Director , Hassan Mustapha said it's NDE mandate to creat job opportunities for the youth.

He urged the participants to take the training seriously so as to be self dependent as well as employers of Labour. " This training is to avail you with modern challenges so as to provide chances of getting electric power. The essence is to make you self reliance," he said.