News

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The Senate has scheduled a hearing on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) most recent cash withdrawal limit policy for Tuesday, December 13, 2022.

In its plenary session on Wednesday, the Senate voiced its concerns.

In a point of order, Senate Minority Leader Aduda Phillip called attention to the CBN’s new policy because it will have an impact on many people, particularly small company owners.

In response, Senate President Ahmad Lawan instructed the banking committee to speak with the CBN and discuss the issue during the screening of the CBN Deputy Governor, which is anticipated to take place before the next week. 

Recall that Lawan had previously advised the CBN not to approach the policy immediately.

The CBN limited the maximum weekly cash withdrawal over the counter (OTC) by corporate organisations and individuals to N500,000 and N100,000, respectively, under the new withdrawal policy.

The new withdrawal rule set the weekly limit cash withdrawal by Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at N100,000, with a daily maximum of N20,000.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Bill Cosby, a renowned American stand-up comedian and actor, has been sued by five women over sexual assault during their early careers.

The 85-year-old Cosby has been dragged through the mud by numerous women over the allegation of rape throughout the years.

The Daily Reality recalls that back in 2018, the comedian bagged a 10-year jail term in Pennsylvania for indecent assault.

Several reports indicated that the majority of the women sued the actor for acting more like a predator than a mentor to them.

The victims were identified as Plaintiffs Lili Bernard, Eden Tirl, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson, and Cindra Ladd.

They alleged that the actor was able to take advantage of them because they were young and vulnerable.

Some time ago, the actor was also dragged to court by Mrs Minifield, who claimed Cosby drugged and abused her multiple times.

The victim recalled one incident in which she awoke during a rape to discover the actor trying to smother her with a pillow.

By Habibu Maaruf Abdu

The Arewa Film Makers Association of Nigeria (AFMAN) Kano chapter has elected new executives to pilot its affairs for the next two years.

The ten-member exco were elected unopposed in an uncontested election held on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at the Social Welfare Centre, Court Road, Kano.

Captain Musa Gambo emerged as the union’s new chairman, succeeding Jamilu Yakasai who had been holding the position since 2019.

Other members of the new exco include:

Mansurah Isah – Vice chairperson

Mustapha Anwar – Secretary

Abubakar Adamu G. Boy – Treasurer

Hassan Maiwada – Financial secretary

Zaharaddeen Muhammad – Press secretary 1

Abubakar Alaramma – Press secretary 2

Ali Worth Me – PRO 1

Rahama M.K. – PRO 2

Maimuna Muhammad (Wata Yarinya) – Welfare officer

By Muhammadu Sabiu

As a step toward implementing the naira redesign strategy, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has released a new cash withdrawal policy that states withdrawals over N100,000 and N500,000 will now be subject to 5% and 10% fees, respectively.

The apex bank also said that going forward, only denominations of N200 and lower will be accepted at ATMs.

All Deposit Money Banks, other financial institutions, primary mortgage banks, and microfinance banks received a letter on Monday from the director of banking supervision at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Haruna Mustafa.

A third-party check for more than N50,000 would not be accepted for payment, per the letter cited with the BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/015/069. The daily cap for over-the-counter, OTC, and ATM withdrawals is N20,000.

The letter reads, “The maximum cash withdrawal over the counter (OTC) by individuals and corporate organizations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,000, respectively.

“Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively; third-party cheques above N50,000 shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of N10,000,000 on clearing cheques still subsist; the maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine (ATM) shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day; Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs; The maximum cash withdrawal via point of sale (PoS) terminal shall be N20,000 daily and in compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits are required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed N5,000,000 and 10,000,000 for individuals and corporate organizations.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A young man identified as Emmanuel has dragged the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanw-Olu, to court over claims that the governor is his father and has refused to acknowledge paternity.

Emmanuel’s lawyer, John Aikpokpo-Martins, revealed this in a Facebook post on Tuesday. 

According to Aikpokpo-Martins, his client had approached the Delta State High Court claiming that the governor is his biological father. He noted that his client requested the governor to waive his constitutional immunity to undergo a DNA test to confirm the claim. 

He further stated that the governor had filed court processes refusing to waive his immunity and undergo a DNA test. As a result, the court has adjourned the case to January 17, 2023, to hear the objection of the governor. 

In the court processes seen by the Daily Reality, Emmanuel sought the following orders : 

“A declaration that the Defendant is the biological father of the claimant begotten from Madam Grace Moses of Oleri, Delta State.

“An order directing and compelling the Defendant to acknowledge and accord the claimant all the rights of a son in accordance with all the laws applicable whether customarily, statutorily or constitutionally.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further denying the parenthood of the claimant”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Lagos State Government has announced that the State is ready to comply with the Supreme Court judgement on the use of hijab by female pupils and students in Lagos schools.

In July 2022, the Supreme Court had dismissed an appeal by the Lagos State Government and upheld the use of hijab in Lagos schools.

Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, announced the state’s readiness through a circular he issued and signed on behalf of the government on Monday, December 5, 2022.

“It’s hereby notified for general information that the supreme court judgment SC/910/2016 delivered on the 17th of June 2022 on the use of Hijab as it affects pupils/students in Lagos State schools has delivered that the students should be allowed to wear the hijab if desired,” the circular read in part.

Mr Muri-Okunola stated that a comprehensive guidelines on the use of hijab will be issued to all agencies of the government in due course.

He added that, “you are to note that the judgement is binding on all schools in the State.

“As a law-abiding administration, all accounting officers are to note the contents of this circular for immediate compliance and give it the deserved service-wide publicity,” He said.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Yakubu Dogara, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has rejoined the main opposition party a few days after endorsing the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar for president. The defection is the latest political move by the lawmaker in his consistent opposition to the same-faith ticket of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

On Monday, the former legislator was welcomed into the party at a rally in Lagos State for the presidential race.

Note that this is coming just 48 hours after Dogara and several irate northern APC officials expressed their support for the former vice president’s presidential candidacy.

This is not the first time the former speaker changed his party, as it’s less than a year since he dumped PDP for APC at the Presidential Villa Abuja.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Aliyu Tilde, has resigned from the Bauchi State Executive Council.

Mr Aliyu Tilde announced his resignation as the State Commissioner for Education in a Facebook post on Monday.

According to Mr Tilde, the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Muhammad, has approved his letter of resignation and same have been communicated to him through the Secretary to the Bauchi State Government.

Stating his reason for resignation, he said he resigned in order to attend to a call of an associate who direly needs his services.

Part of the statement reads : “A few minutes ago, Today, 5 December 2022, I received a letter from the Secretary to the Government conveying my release by His Excellency.

“In it, the Secretary conveyed ‘the appreciation of the Executive Governor for your contribution to the Education Sector and wish you well in your future endeavor…’”

“With this, my tenure as Commissioner of Education has come to an end. I am happy to see the peaceful ending of what have been very exacting but fruitful years and will ever remain grateful to God who stood by me until the last minute.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claimed that Nigeria had veered off its path toward unity and prosperity under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement released by his campaign group on Sunday, Atiku said that for Nigeria to be great, it must be inclusive and united.

He continued by saying that a nation needs strong leadership that is willing to carry out the mission if it is to be united.

In the former vice president’s words, the approaching general elections are a rescue operation to save the country’s spirit.

The statement partly reads, “The ruling party, APC, has taken us adrift, and we are far off the course to the purpose of unity and prosperity.

“That is why you and I must work assiduously together to ensure that we recover Nigeria.

“Saving the soul of Nigeria must begin with denying the APC your vote in 2023. They have failed us woefully and must be punished for that.

“But it’s not enough to vote out the APC. We must coalesce into the PDP – the only viable party that has the capacity to dislodge the failed ruling party”.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Aminu Muhammad Adamu, the detained critic of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has apologized to Aisha Buhari and thanked the people who stood for him on social media.

Following Aminu’s release from detention, he took to his Twitter handle on Saturday to apologize to the First Lady and thank his supporters for their supports.

Aminu, a student of the Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, was arrested for trolling Aisha Buhari on Twitter. He was then secretly arraigned and remanded at a correctional facility in Suleja, Niger State.

Aminu in his tweet said, “I would like to use this medium to express my sincere apologies to those I’ve hurt especially our mother, Aisha Buhari it was never my intention to hurt your feelings and insha Allah I will change for the better. However, I’m also grateful for your forgiveness, thank u mama😊🤝.”

Aminu also thanked those who supported him in another tweet. He noted that his ordeals amount to a lessons for everyone

“I would also like to use this medium to express my heartfelt gratitude toward those that helped me go through the darkest hours of my life, man cannot escape his destiny but my incidence should serve as a lesson to all of us. Thank you all and one love❤️🌹.” He said

Aminu’s arbitrary abduction and consequent detention was condemned by international human rights organizations, media influencers and many people nationwide.