The report by the Central Bank of Nigeria that non-oil exporters repatriated $4.99 billion into Nigeria in 2022 and the sentencing of Nigeria’s Police Chief to three-month imprisonment for flouting 2011 court order by an Abuja High Court are some of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Punch reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria says that non-oil exporters repatriated the sum of $4.99 billion into Nigeria in 2022.
The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this while delivering a keynote address at the second edition of the RT-200 Bi-annual Export Summit on Tuesday in Lagos with the theme “RT Non-Oil Export: The Journey So Far.”
Emefiele said that the 2022 figure was higher when compared with $3.19 billion repatriated in 2021.
“Of this amount, only $1.97 billion qualified for the rebate programme, while only $1.56 billion was sold at the Investors and Exporters (I & E) window or for own use,” he said.
Emefiele said that the apex bank paid out about N81 billion in rebates to Nigerian exporters during the period.
“This is a testament to the resolve of the CBN to ensure quick acceleration of the export value chain in the country.
“I know there have been calls to make all exporters eligible for the rebate, not just limit it to finished and semi-finished products.
“While we see some justification for this, one of the goals of the RT200 programme is to help quicken the process of industrialisation and encourage exporters to earn more from their export business.
“Economists have well-documented a positive relationship between export and industrialisation,” Emefiele said.
The governor noted that export could transform the economic structure of countries from simple, slow-growing, and low-value activities to more productive activities that enjoy more significant margins driven by technology.
The newspaper says that the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday sentenced the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to three-month imprisonment for flouting a 2011 court order.
The IG’s committal followed a suit filed by a police officer, Mr Patrick Okoli, who was unlawfully and compulsorily retired from the Nigeria Police Force.
The court also ordered the payment of N10 million to the applicant as special and general damages for the unconstitutional denial of his rights and privileges as a senior officer of the Nigeria Police Force from 1993 until date.
The PUNCH reports that the court, in a ruling delivered by Justice M. O. Olajuwon, held that the police chief should be committed to prison and detained in custody for three months or until his office obeys an order made by the court since October 21, 2011.
Olajuwon noted that though the Police Service Commission recommended Okoli’s reinstatement into the NPF, a decision that was affirmed by the court, the IG’s office refused to comply with the order.
He said, “If at the end of the three months, the contemnor remains recalcitrant and still refuses to purge his contempt, he shall be committed for another period until he purges his contempt.”
The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, said the IG was not aware of the case.
He said, “It is instructive to note that the case in point concerns an officer who was dismissed as far back as 1992, a few years after the current IGP joined the Nigeria Police Force, based on available facts gleaned from reports. The most recent judgement on the matter was given in 2011, which should ordinarily not fall under the direct purview of the current administration of the Force. Thus, the news is strange and astonishing.
“The IGP has, however, directed the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Force Legal Unit to investigate the allegation in a bid to ascertain the position of the court and proffer informed legal advice for the IGP’s prompt and necessary action.”
The Guardian reports that the Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Free Zone (LFZ), Mr. Dinesh Rathi, has expressed confidence that the integration of Lekki Port with Lagos Free Zone would be a major catalyst to bringing about huge economic fortunes for Nigeria.
Rathi disclosed this during a panel discussion at the West Africa Property Investment Summit titled: “Industrial Infrastructure, Special Economic Zones, and Master Planned Developments,” in Lagos.
He noted that for Nigeria to realise its economic potential, it must begin to focus on planned city developments like the special economic zones to fast-track development and enhance the economic well-being of its people.
According to him, Lagos Free Zone is a classic example of a planned development that can drive growth given its integration with Lekki Port, which is well-equipped with world-class infrastructure to enhance the ease of doing business.
He further explained that the combination of LFZ and the commencement of operations at Lekki Port remains a game changer that would help to unlock the country’s economic opportunities.
He stated that the decision to provide enabling infrastructure in the zone is aimed at assisting investors, both local and foreign, with the ease of doing business to contribute to Nigeria’s attractiveness for FDI and economic transformation.
“What we have also done apart from creating Lekki Port as a gateway and transshipment hub is the creation of a free zone that is well equipped with world-class infrastructure- warehouses, standard factories, logistic parks, among others. All of these are to make the operator come in, plug and play. Operators or investors can thrive in the zone because it provides them with the resilience since they can do it in the most efficient and optimised manner,” he said.
He further stressed that the zone has provided a power plant as a huge incentive for investors, noting that the challenge around reliable and affordable power, which has been the bane of Nigeria becoming a manufacturing hub, may soon become a thing of the past.
The newspaper says that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that with an all-of-society approach, Nigerians must shun the disaster of corruption, embrace honesty and unite to build a great country, because integrity and trustworthiness are vital attributes for success.
The Vice President stated this, yesterday, at the official launch of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) Integrity and Zero Tolerance Manual for school clubs, held at Model Secondary School Maitama, Abuja.
The Vice President praised the initiative as “recognition that integrity, honesty and trustworthiness are crucial individual and collective attributes for successful people and communities. Every corrupt act is not just a crime; it is a crime against society and even children yet unborn.”
Osinbajo noted that establishment of the clubs is “a vital step in finally achieving this milestone in building of the future against the disaster of corruption.”
He described the initiative as visionary and timely because “we must develop an anti-corruption army. That army is waiting in our schools, and we must teach them early that corruption is the worst destroyer of destinies and people, and we must fight it as you fight a mortal enemy in war.”
Speaking at the event, which attracted dignitaries and members of the club in the school, the Vice President noted that the establishment of EFCC Integrity clubs in schools across the country is important because it embodies the values of honesty and hard work toward national development.
Continuing, Osinbajo said: “Every public officer who steals, robs the Nigerian society of funds for healthcare, education etc must be held accountable. We must become policemen against corruption and wrongdoing; whether it is a member of government or a shop assistant or your friend in class who is cheating, because they destroy our reputation.”
Emphasising the need for integrity in society and for all Nigerians to project right values, Osinbajo observed that if the country’s reputation is deemed poor by others, “it will affect all of us.”
According to him, Nigerians, especially the youth, must discard the false notion that “we can get ahead by cheating or stealing whether in public or private life.” He noted: “There are always consequences for wrongdoing.”
GIK/APA