Naira Strengthens as CBN Boosts FX Sale to Manufacturers Obinna Chima In line with its determination to ensure improved foreign exchange (FX) liquidity to critical sectors of the Nigeria economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has once again
given access to requests for FX valued at N1,003,373,891.75 through the interbank window. The move is to enable respective industries procure industrial raw materials and machine spare-parts. The effect of the FX liquidity
boost was immediately felt on the parallel market segment of the FX market as the Naira pared some of losses yesterday. Specifically, the Naira appreciated by N10 to close at N485 to the dollar on the parallel market yesterday,
compared with the N495 to the dollar it stood the previous day. Analysts said FX rate on the parallel market is extremely volatile. Meanwhile, the forex utilisation figures for December 2016 released yesterday
revealed that the industrial raw material group got the highest share of N483,075,669.82, approximating to 48.1 per cent. Figures from the CBN report for December also showed that the petroleum and the aviation sectors
received N372,116,111.79 and N123,666,001.06 or 37.1 per cent and 12.2 per cent respectively, while agriculture received N24,516,109.09 or 2.1 per cent. Continued on page 8
Federal Agencies Can’t Cow Me, Says Wike… Page 8 Saturday 24 December, 2016 Vol 21. No 7919. Price: N250
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Hope Rises As Experimental Ebola Vaccine Records 100% Success
Yemi Adebowale with agency report
An experimental vaccine against the Ebola virus, developed in Canada, in conjunction with the World
Health Organisation (WHO) has been found to be 100% effective. According to a report published in The Lancet, a British medical journal on Thursday, the vaccine called
RVSV-ZEBOV offers hope of better protection against the disease that ravaged West Africa in 2014, killing more than 11,000 people. "Ebola left a devastating legacy in our country. We are
proud that we have been able to contribute to developing a vaccine that will prevent other nations from enduring what we endured," said Dr. KeÏta Sakoba, the director of the National Agency for
Health Security in Guinea. The experimental vaccine was given in 2015 to people in Guinea who were in contact with patients who had recently confirmed cases of Ebola.
A few months after the early trials, the WHO said the preliminary results were an "extremely promising development." Continued on page 8
Court Orders EFCC to Freeze Patience Jonathan’s Bank Accounts Davidson Iriekpen A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to freeze the multiple bank accounts operated by former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, on the grounds that it contains suspected proceeds of crime. The account, with Skye Bank Plc, has a balance of $5,316.66. Also affected by the order are five companies and one Esther Oba. The companies are believed to have a total of N7,418,829,290.94 in six banks, while Oba has a balance of $429,381.87. The order by the court was consequent upon an ex-parte motion filed by EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo. He contended that there was an urgent need for the court to direct the bank to, in Continued on page 8
PA JOSEPH OBERE
To Be a Polygamist, One Must Be a Good Liar
SuperSaturday pg. 10-11
SUSAN JATTO
I Tried Committing Suicide to Escape Abusive Marriage
Plus pg. 17-19
OVATION CAROL NIGHT…
L-R: Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi; former Ogun state governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Group Managing Director/ CEO UBA plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzocha; outgoing President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama; and Publisher/Editor-in-chief, OVATION Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu at the Ovation carol night, held at Eko Hotel, in Lagos… recently
UN Security Council Bars Israel from Building in Occupied Territories… Page 14