News

Govt palliative worsening food inflation, says Cardoso

Published

5 months ago

May 3, 2024

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has said that the huge purchase of foodstuffs by the government as palliatives is contributing to the galloping food inflation in the country.

He stated this in his contributions during the March Monetary Policy Committee, which was published on the website of the CBN.

The MPC increased the benchmark interest rate to 24.75 per cent, from 22.75 per cent.

The committee had said that its hawkish stance was to tackle inflation.

However, the country’s inflation rate accelerated to 33.2 per cent in March, with the food inflation rate reaching 40.01 per cent, a year-on-year increase of 15.56 percentage points from 24.45 per cent in March 2023.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the surge in food inflation could be attributed to rising prices for items such as garri, millet, yam tuber, water yam, and others.

Following the removal of fuel subsidy, the Federal Government approved N5bn for each state and the Federal Capital Territory to enable them to procure food items for distribution to the poor in their respective states.

In his comments, the CBN governor noted that inflationary pressure had failed to abate despite the hike in the interest rate in February.

He said, “Despite notable stability in the foreign exchange market resulting from decisions taken at that 293rd MPC meeting, inflationary pressure remains unabated. While there is the argument that the significant tightening since the last MPC meeting is yet to fully permeate the system and yield its expected impact, the risk of galloping inflation persists. If such a hyperinflationary scenario is to become reality, available options to control inflation could be severely constrained. From the facts presented to the MPC, there is a clear indication that the monetary factors contributing to inflation are diminishing in their significance.

“This could be considered as evidence of the impact of decisions reached at the 293rd MPC meeting. Staff reports show that the principal drivers of acceleration in inflation are hikes in food and energy prices which are associated with structural factors. Further, new dimensions of inflationary pressure are emerging. First, ‘seller inflation’ arising from the oligopolistic structure of commodity markets such as noticed in the prices of local commodities is gaining significance. In addition, huge purchases by the government for distribution as palliatives to vulnerable citizenry is adding another dimension to the food price inflation, with seasonal factors of food price increases during religious fasting and festive periods, adding price cyclicality

He further said that the new sources of inflation were better addressed by the fiscal authorities to complement the efforts of monetary policy.

Another member of the committee, Bala Bello, echoed a similar sentiment about the rising inflationary trend, saying, “Both food and core inflation rose in February 2024, underpinning acceleration in headline inflation to 31.70 per cent in February 2024 from 29.90 per cent in the previous month. This continued rise in inflation was mainly due to persisting high production costs, lingering security challenges and exchange rate pressures.

“Inflation is currently unacceptably high and requires decisive and coordinated efforts to curb it, given its adverse impact on citizens’ purchasing power, investment decisions and broad output performance.

According to Bala, the Federal Government’s initiatives at addressing food insecurity, such as the release of grains from the strategic reserves, distribution of seeds and fertilisers, and support for dry season farming, are important and commendable.

News

Govt cites security threats, bans Telegram for officials

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

Ukraine on Friday restricted the use of Telegram for its government, military and security officials, citing “threats” to national security on the app founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.

“The National Security and Defence Council decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations and critical infrastructure facilities,” the council said in a statement on Facebook, saying it was a “matter of national security.”

News

Ooni unveiles launch of Olojo Festival, reveals ancestral significance

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Thursday, announced the commencement of the 2024 Olojo Festival, revealing the event’s ancestral and spiritual significance.

Ogunwusi spoke at his palace during a news conference on the 2024 Olojo Festival with the theme “Evolving Transformationaly Domestic Tourism With Community Festivals.”

According to him, the festival is significant because of the spiritual exercises that characterise it and the testimonies it attracts.

He said the celebration of the revered cultural event was held annually in the ancient city to celebrate the day of the first dawn.

The Ooni said the festival was in remembrance of “Ogun,” god of iron, who is believed to be the first son of Oduduwa, progenitor of the Yoruba people.

He added that the festival marked the birth of the “Aare Crown”.

Ooni said that several prayers rendered to Olodumare through the iconic “Aare crown” during the Olojo festival had been answered with so many testimonies.

He stated, “Olojo is the festival of dawn and the birth of the crown, “Ade Aare”, the crown of all crowns. The crown that gave birth to all crowns all over the world with all the colours of the rainbow. It is called the spectrum of rainbow crowns.

“The crown does everything humans do, it is a very spiritual crown, very sacred. I am a living example and witness. I have actually charged the crown, I have prayed with it, that I want this done, this particular time.

“This is my ninth year on the throne, going to my tenth year by the grace of God, I have seen a lot of testimonies.

“I will pray with the crown worn on my head, I pray to the almighty God, Olodumare through the crown. I have never seen any failure in it. It is our strong heritage, our strong culture and tradition and we will continue to uphold it forever.

He added that they were not idol worshipers, but rather custodians of their ancestors’ legacy, which continued to benefit them.

“These are things we should not joke about, It is our heritage, we should not compromise it with anything. It is created by nature, by God Almighty who is the supreme being,” he said.

Explaining the nature of the “Ade Aare”, Ooni described the crown as a sacred, mysterious being which bears the nature of humans.

According to him, the crown functions like humans.

He said, “Olojo is the time when the crown comes out for blessings. This is a crown that has life in it till date, right from time immemorial.

“The crown changes the weather, it does not see the atmosphere except once in a year, during Olojo festival.

It’s fake news, Ooni’s palace denies marriage trending story
“In the crown, we see everything complete, we see the day, night, four corners of the world, the northern, southern, eastern and western poles.

“The birth of the crown is actually the first dawn pathfinded by Ogun, which is linked to our celebration.”

The Ooni added, “Olojo is the main new year celebration and this dovetails to everybody’s new yam festival all over because what is used to bring out yams are cutlasses and hoes made with iron.

“This is the time we get beautiful harvests, the time we get wallnuts, bitter kola. For us in Ile-Ife, we still uphold our heritage and that is why we celebrate the first dawn.”

Ogunwusi appreciated the sponsors for the festival.

“I want to appreciate you all, our sponsors, for everything you have been doing. For always responding to my calls. May God bless you and may our ancestors guide you all. I appreciate the state government as well,” he added.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Osun, Abiodun Bankole-Ojo, appealed to sponsors of the Olojo festival to look into the possibility of developing some tourism sites within the state, like the Oranmiyan Groove.

“Please corporate bodies, stop giving us monetary and material gifts, come and develop the Oranmiyan site as a tourist site. Government will not be able to do it all,” he said.

The Olojo Festival Chief Consultant, Ayo Olumoko, urged Nigerians and international tourists to grace the festival.

NAN reports that the Grand Finale for the 2024 edition of the annual Olojo Festival in Ile-Ife, will be held between September 26 and September 30.

On September 26, there will be Ayo Olopon Traditional Game, Festival Cultural Talent Hunt (Audition) and Olojo Festival Colloquium.

On September 27, there will be Ojo Ilagun, Iwode Ile-Ife (Community cleansing) and Oonirisa’s terrestrial message to the world.

September 28 is the festival’s grand finale official ceremony, Ojo Okemogun, and the Aare cultural procession.

September 29 is Ojo Ajoyo (Asekagba), Grand Royal Reception – Invitational, Adire Oodua Cultural Exchange Exhibition and Oonirisa’s Ife Award for Community Service, 2024.

September 30 would be for the Ojo Ibile (Oonirisa’s ancestral traditional propitiation) and cultural talents hunt.

News

Trump Says Israel Will Go Extinct Within Two Years If He Loses US Election

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

Trump expressed concern about his polling numbers among Jewish voters, lamenting his current standing compared to Harris, the Democratic candidate.

President Donald Trump suggested that Jewish-American voters could bear some responsibility if he loses the upcoming presidential election to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump expressed concern about his polling numbers among Jewish voters, lamenting his current standing compared to Harris, the Democratic candidate.

Reuters reports that Trump claimed that Israel could face extinction within two years if Kamala Harris wins the election, suggesting that Jewish voters who support Democrats would share some responsibility for that outcome.

Speaking to a crowd, Trump stated, “If I don’t win this election, the Jewish community will play a significant role in that. If 40% or even 60% of people are voting for the enemy, Israel, in my opinion, will cease to exist within two years.”

He referenced a poll indicating that Harris had 60% support among American Jews.

Although he didn’t specify which poll he was citing, a recent Pew Research survey showed American Jews favouring Harris over Trump by 65% to 34%.

Trump also expressed disappointment over winning less than 30% of the Jewish vote in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Trump reiterated similar sentiments earlier at a summit in Washington aimed at combating antisemitism in the U.S.

The Trump campaign has prioritised appealing to Jewish voters in critical battleground states, where even a small shift in support could influence the election outcome.

In Pennsylvania, for instance, there are over 400,000 Jewish residents, and Biden won the state by just 81,000 votes in 2020.

In response to Trump’s comments, Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, criticised him for his past associations with individuals accused of antisemitism.

Trump has consistently denied allegations of antisemitism, noting his Jewish son-in-law during his speeches on Thursday.