By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

President Bola Tinubu has endorsed N108 billion for the 36 states of the federation to tackle flooding and other natural disaster.

This was revealed on Wednesday by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Receiving the Speaker of the House of Representatives Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, the Vice President described the situation in Maiduguri as a “national calamity”.

“The President has shown his zeal, willingness and commitment to partner with the states towards addressing these issues,” Shettima said.

“Recently, he approved the release of N3 billion to each state of the federation to address some of these challenges so that all parts of the federation should have buy-in and belonging.”

Shettima also commended the Speaker for what he described as his “stellar leadership in the National Assembly,” saying despite having nearly 70 per cent of the members as newly sworn-in, the Speaker has been able to keep the flag flying.

“There is a lot of stability in the House of Representatives, and we have to commend you for providing that leadership. We wish you well and, Insha Allah, you are one of the fulcrums of our democratic journey.

“A harmonious relationship among the executive, the legislature and the judiciary is very essential to sustain democracy in Nigeria.

Once again, thank you most sincerely on behalf of the President, the government and people of Borno for your show of empathy and support,” he said.

On his part, Tajudeen commiserated with Shettima, Tinubu, the government and people of Borno State, assuring that the National Assembly will provide support for the affected community.

“We in the National Assembly are looking all through to see what kind of support we will give to the people affected. We are very sorry, Your Excellency, for what happened. We share your pains; we share your concerns; we are together in this from the beginning to the end.

“Insha Allah, it will come to pass, and people will go back to their normal lives and businesses as if it did not happen because we and you will make sure that we provide all the palliatives for them to regain their means of livelihood. Thank you, Your Excellency; please, convey our sincere concerns to the Governor and to the people of Borno State,” he said.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Five police officers and three soldiers were reportedly killed when the security operatives were ambushed by a group of terrorists on Thursday morning in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

A military source confirmed this, revealing that the troops were escorting workers of a construction company, Setraco Nigeria Limited, when the terrorists ambushed them and started shooting, resulting in the death of eight security personnel.

The source added that a prompt response from the Army saved other security personnel attached to Setraco workers, adding that several terrorists were eventually killed in a gun battle.

However, some terrorists escaped with weapons stolen from the deceased security personnel.

The source called for prayers for their team in Zamfara.

According to him, troops escorting Setraco workers on their way to Tsafe LGA in Zamfara encountered ambush”.

He said three soldiers and five policemen were killed and rifles were carted away.

“We came swiftly to reinforce and we were able to kill many of the bandits. Police have evacuated the bodies of both the personnel and the bandits,” the source added.

This comes shortly after reported how some terrorists blocked the busy Gusau-Funtua highway in Zamfara State and abducted an unspecified number of travellers on the road.

This was confirmed during a telephone conversation with the State Police Command Spokesman, Yezid Abubakar.

The police spokesperson said the command had deployed several personnel to the scene of the attack and he was yet to be briefed on the exact figure of the people that were kidnapped by the terrorists.

“It is true but we are on top of the matter. Our men have been deployed to the place but they are yet to come back so I don’t know the exact figure of the people that were kidnapped. I will get back to you when I get the information,” the police spokesman said.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday ordered all Payment Service Providers to route all transactions from PoS terminals at merchant and agent locations — physical or electronic — through an approved CBN Payment Terminal Service Aggregator.

The directive was contained in a circular issued by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo on behalf of the CBN’s Payments System Management Department.

The apex bank stated that all PoS transactions from merchant and agent locations must now be routed through any CBN-licensed PTSA.

The circular also announced a 30-day deadline requiring service providers to comply with enhanced routing guidelines for point-of-sale transactions.

This move aims to strengthen the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria and decentralise PoS transaction routing, addressing concerns about the centralisation of such transactions under a single entity.

The circular read, “To achieve the objective of tracking electronic transactions in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in August 2011, granted a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator licence to Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc. In furtherance of the above, the CBN hereby directs acquirers to route all transactions from PoS terminals at merchant and agent locations, whether on physical or electronic PoS terminals, through any CBN-licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregator.”

“PTSAs are required to send PoS transactions to only processors certified by the relevant Payment Scheme, nominated by the Acquirer, and licensed by the CBN.”

This development follows the expiration of the 5th September deadline for PoS agents to formally register their businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Although the directive was challenged in court, the CAC recently announced that it has commenced taking drastic actions, including shutting down PoS businesses that failed to register.

The directive on PoS business registration comes against the backdrop of frequent fraud incidents involving PoS terminals and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s plans to prevent trading in cryptocurrency or virtual currency.

According to a report by Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, PoS terminals accounted for 26.37% of fraud incidents in 2023.