FG Mulls Incentives for Banks to Restructure Oil Firms’ Debts DPR remits N2tn to govt coffers Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The federal government is considering a regulatory forbearance for banks to encourage them to restructure oil companies' loans.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said yesterday at the 2021 Society of Petroleum Engineers Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) in Abuja that
the decision followed the banks' exposure to debts from the oil firms, whose revenues have been hampered following the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry.
The policy involves regulatory authorities permitting banks and financial institutions to continue operating even when their capital is fully depleted and reflects the unwillingness of
regulators to take disciplinary action against problem banks for a given period. In a report by Fitch Ratings in December 2020, it predicted that Nigerian bank assets' quality was expected to
weaken over the next 12 months to 18 months, saying that though earnings are expected to recover gradually with the economy, the banks Continued on page 10
The Rise Fund to Invest $200m in Airtel Africa... Page 8 Friday 19 March, 2021 Vol 26. No 9476. Price: N250
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Six Months after, Aisha Buhari Returns Home from Dubai Deji Elumoye in Abuja Six months after she left for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has returned
to Nigeria. Aisha, whose Dubai trip was steeped in controversy due to conflicting reports on why she travelled was said to have returned to Abuja on
Wednesday evening and was reportedly sighted at the State House, Abuja, upon arrival from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Although there was no
official confirmation from her office as at press time, a top government official told THISDAY that the first lady was back in the country. "Yes, it's true, the first lady
has returned to the villa," the senior official said. Aisha’s last public appearance was in September, 2020 during the wedding of her daughter, Hanan, to
Mohammed Sha’aban on September 4, 2020 at the State House. Since then, she had gone off Continued on page 10
South-east, South-south Leaders Reject PDP’s Panel Report, Insist on Power Shift Chieftain accuses party officials of sellout Atiku begins e-registration of supporters, groups for 2023 contest Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu South-east and South-south leaders yesterday rejected the report of a committee set up by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which recommended the scrapping of its zoning policy. The PDP Committee on the Review of the 2019 General Election, headed by the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, had recommended that the party should allow all aspirants from all parts of the country to contest for its 2023 presidential ticket. But reacting to the recommendation yesterday the leaders, who spoke to THISDAY dismissed it as a hatchet job, accusing the PDP leadership of selling out to the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, and former
President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, both of who they claimed are eyeing the top job in 2023. Incidentally, Atiku has launched a campaign for electronic registration of his supporters and support groups, creating a portal for interested faithful to login. “We understand their game,” a party chieftain from the South-east, said last night, adding: “The party leaders are pandering to the wishes of Atiku and Saraki.” Most vocal in the opposition to the Mohammed panel’s proposition were the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and its counterpart, Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF). In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Chiedozie Ogbonnia, Ohanaeze said it remained Continued on page 10
COVID-19 Vaccine Safe, Govs Assure Nigerians... Page 5
A DIPLOMAT’S FAREWELL... Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas (left), and President Muhammadu Buhari, during Chambas’ farewell visit to Buhari in Abuja...yesterday godwin omoigui