Abuja residents lament rising food prices amidst fuel, naira scarcity

By Abubakar Y. Ojimaojo

Prices of food items have continued to rise in Bwari, FCT, amidst the fuel and naira scarcity, leaving residents groaning under intense hardships.

According to residents on Friday, foodstuff prices have continued to rise unabated as against the drop in prices in states and rural areas.

Talatu Danjuma, a tomato seller at the Bwari market, said that the commodity price had risen quickly, with a basket now selling for N16,000 as against N5000 and N6000.

Ms Danjuma attributed the hike to the high cost of transporting goods from the farms due to fuel scarcity.

Naira Scarcity: Fraudsters becoming more creative, NDIC warns bank customers

By Abubakar Y. Ojimaojo

Amid nationwide naira scarcity and growing efforts by Nigerians to use electronic means to pay bills and do other transactions, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has warned bank customers and the public against displaying their bank details, saying fraudsters are becoming more creative.

The NDIC, on its official website on Friday, gave out four tips for bank customers to safeguard their accounts.

The corporation said customers should ensure that their phones have a password, and they must not share their mobile bank application password with anyone.

NDIC also warned bank customers to ensure their token was secure and other parties could not access it.

The corporation urged customers to ensure that their debit card numbers and the card verification value (CVV) were not made public.

Blessing Yohanna, a yam seller, expressed worry that the naira scarcity was affecting her business. Most of the transactions were now cashless, and traders in rural areas would not accept electronic transfers.

“About N30,000 of my money is still hanging due to network issues surrounding transfers. Five tubers of yams which we used to sell for N2,500, now go for N3000 because we have to include POS (Point of

Sale) charges,” Ms Yohanna said.

Another resident, Philip Abang, condemned the exorbitant charges by the POS operators, describing it as “outrageous.”

Mr Abang said, “Queues are on the increase daily in banks and filling stations, situations that are seriously affecting businesses.

I thought the Supreme Court’s pronouncement on the return of the old notes of N500 and N1,000 was going to alleviate our plight in this country. It is unfortunate that people are still rejecting the old notes, and the new money is not in circulation up till now.”

He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to take urgent steps to tackle the challenges and save the masses.

“I have to be at the bank by 4:00 a.m. to pick a number in order to get cash. It is that bad,” Mr Abang said.

A survey also revealed that foodstuff prices have gone a little higher or remain static.

A bottle of palm oil previously selling for N100 now costs N1200. A bag of rice, however, still costs between N37,000 and N45,000 depending on the brand or if it is local or foreign.

A cup of melon (egusi) now costs N400 instead of N300, a crate of eggs is now N2,500 instead of N2,200, and a kilo of beef now goes for as much as N3,500.

Court bars Seplat Energy CEO from management

AFederal High Court in Lagos Wednesday issued an interim order restricting the Chief Executive of Seplat Energy, Roger Brown, from everyday running and management of the company.

The court also restricted Mr Brown’s proxies, agents and privies from managing the company until a decision is reached on a motion by some stakeholders on notice for interlocutory injunction.

The petitioners involved are Moses Igbrude, Ajani Abidoye, Sarat Kudaisi, Robert Ibekwe and Kenneth Nnabike who prayed the court to grant an order restraining the chair of the directors’ board, Basil Omiyi, and all independent non-executive directors of Seplat Energy from running the company’s affairs “in an illegal, unfairly, prejudicial and oppressive manner pending the hearing and determination of the petitioners’ motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

The plea was granted, according to copies of court documents obtained by Nigerian online Newspaper Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke, the presiding judge, adjourned the lawsuit to 23 March, 2023, when the hearing of the pending application is due to commence.

Meanwhile, the petitioners made a separate request for an order forbidding Seplat Energy and its chairman from retaining Mr Brown as the company’s CEO or allowing him to serve in any other role within the firm.

The petitioners presented to the court exhibits including a letter directed to the minister of interior, stating allegations of racism, discrimination, favouritism and breach of corporate governance against the Seplat CEO.

Another letter from Rauf Aregbesola, Nigeria’s minister of interior, showing the ministry’s resolution of the petition, was also part of the exhibits.

Mr Aregbesola had on 3 March written Mr Omiyi, apprising him