From August 1, loan defaults will be settled using funds in other banks

Effective August 1, banks will be able to debit the accounts of loan holders in other banks to settle defaults.

This is according to global standing instruction (GSI) guidelines published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday.

The CBN said the GSI, which was developed in collaboration with stakeholders, should be the last resort used by a bank to settle loan defaults.

The apex bank said the directive would apply to eligible loans granted from August 28, 2019.

At its meeting that held on August 26, 2019, the bankers’ committee of the CBN agreed that loan defaults will be settled using customers’ deposits in other banks.

“The GSI shall serve as a last resort by a creditor bank, without recourse to the borrower, to recover past-due obligations (principal and accrued interest only, excluding any penal charges) from a defaulting borrower through a direct set-off from deposits/investments held in the borrower’s qualifying bank accounts with participating financial institutions,” the guideline document read.

A bank setoff happens when a financial institution removes money from a deposit account to cover a missed payment on a loan.

The apex bank listed the objectives of the GSI to include facilitating an improved credit repayment culture, reducing non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking industry and watch-listing consistent loan defaulters.

It warned banks not to use the GSI to recover penal charges that may have accrued on a credit/loan and included as part of outstanding balances/obligations of a borrower.

According to the guidelines, the account types that the standing instruction can be applied to include individual and joint savings accounts, current accounts, domiciliary accounts, investment/deposit accounts (naira and foreign currency), and electronic wallets.

Banks already have to get the credit history of customers before approving loans.

The CBN said banks must regularly report to the CBN on recoveries made through the GSI and releases made to other banks.

In the event of wrongful debit, the guideline provides that an erring bank would be made to take full liability and pay a flat fine of N500,000 per incident.

- THECABLE

ANIMAL TALK !!! Buratai: Service chiefs have not disappointed Nigerians on security

Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, says the service chiefs have not disappointed President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria in the discharge of their duties.

Buratai spoke when he welcomed Gabriel Olonisakin, chief of defence staff, to the Nigerian army super camp four, located in Faskari, Katsina state.

Olanisakin was on an operational visit to the camp to assess how troops in the newly formed exercise, Sahel Sanity, were faring.

Buratai said a few days after the exercise was launched, troops began tackling banditry and other criminal activities in the north-west.

He expressed appreciation to God for giving them good health to lead the armed forces.

“Exactly five years ago, I was in Ndjamena, Chad Republic, when I heard the announcement of General Olanisakin as the Chief of Defence Staff as well as my own appointment as Chief of Army Staff. We are grateful to Almighty God for giving us good health to lead the armed forces,” he said.

“It is a thing of joy to say that we are quite grateful to the president and commander-in-chief of armed forces for this honour, and assure you that we have not disappointed President Muhammadu Buhari in carrying out our responsibilities. We have not disappointed Nigerians.”

The army chief added that some logistics suppliers, as well as informants and collaborators of bandits, have been arrested.

In his remarks, Olanisakin praised Buratai for “modernising” the Nigerian army, adding that the super camp four was one of the initiatives to meet modern security challenges.

There have been repeated calls for the removal of the service chiefs owing to persistent attacks on lives and property by bandits across the country.

TheCable had reported how the service chiefs, who are overdue for retirement, have spent more than 35 years in service.

In June, Buhari told the services chiefs that their best is not good enough as regards the security challenges in the country.

The president said excuses will no longer be tolerated and that he expects them to live up to expectations going forward.

- THECABLE

US denies Hushpuppi’s request for bail

Nigerian suspected fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi has been denied bail in the United States.

DAILY POST had reported that his lawyer, Gal Pissetzky had said that his client was kidnapped by the FBI from Dubai and taken to the US.

Pissetzky also insisted that his job as an Instagram celebrity paid for the $10,000 monthly rent on his luxury Dubai flat.

His lawyer applied for him to leave jail with an electronic tag and live with the uncle, but US prosecutors opposed the bail application.

According to the UAE’s The National, the prosecutors said he could commit crimes with just a smartphone and an internet connection and that he posed too much of a flight risk.

Reacting to prosecutors’ argument, Pissetzky said his client had too much to lose if he flees from the United States.

“He is loved, respected and he is a celebrity.

“I don’t see the reason why he would want to ruin his credibility in the world and his status rather than stay here and face this allegation.

“Anywhere he goes, people will know.

”Having grown up very poor in Nigeria, Mr. Abbas is now paid to pose with high-priced items such as Louis Vuitton bags that people would buy after seeing his posts on Instagram.

“He is an influencer. That’s a job today, as much as it is hard to imagine this is actually a full-time job,” Pissetzky said.

However, Judge Jeffrey Gilbert denied Hushpuppi bail on grounds of him being a flight risk.

Gilbert also ordered that the suspected Nigerian fraudster be remanded in custody until he is taken to a court in California.

- DAILY POST

U.S. executes by lethal injection murder convict Daniel Lewis Lee

Daniel Lewis Lee injected to death in U.S.

The U.S. government on Tuesday carried out the first federal execution in almost two decades, putting to death Daniel Lewis Lee, by lethal injection.

Lee, a white supremacist, was involved in the killing of an Arkansas family as part of the 1990s plot to build a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest.

He murdered an Alabama gun dealer, his wife and their 8-year-old daughter in 1996.

Lee, 47, of Yukon, Oklahoma, died by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, AP reported.

“I didn’t do it,” Lee said just before he was executed. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I’m not a murderer. … You’re killing an innocent man.”

Lee’s death Tuesday came a day after a federal judge halted the first federal execution in 17 years just hours before it was scheduled to take place.

U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan stopped the scheduled execution, citing the potential pain inflicted by the lethal injection cocktail.

The decision to move forward with the execution — the first by the Bureau of Prisons since 2003 — drew scrutiny from civil rights groups.

The relatives of Lee’s victims, also sued to try to halt it, citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

- PM NEWS

Ibrahim Magu most corrupt, helped late Abba Kyari hide looted funds – Nnamdi Kanu claims

Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has alleged that nobody is more corrupt than Ibrahim Magu, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Kanu alleged that Magu helped Abba Kyari, the late Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari hide money he looted.

Speaking on Radio Biafra, the IPOB leader said: “Abba Kyari died on the 2nd day of April, we announced it, they were busy running around to get a mask for Abba Kyari instead of telling the people the truth.

“Abba Kyari embezzled #13.5 billion naira meant for Aso Rock Clinic. Himself and his family took over NNPC as their family business.

“There is nobody more corrupt than Magu the EFCC Chairman. He keeps money for Abba Kyari”.

A presidential panel headed by Justice Ayo Salami is currently investigating the activities of Magu as Czar of EFCC.

The ongoing probe followed allegations of insubordination and corruption levelled against Magu by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

In view of the ongoing probe, Magu was suspended by the presidency and Mohammed Umar was picked to head the commission, pending the appointment of a substantive chairman.

- DAILY POST

Sad day for football: Klopp, Mourinho knock CAS over Man City decision

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said the decision by Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to lift the two-year UEFA ban on Manchester City was “not a good day for football”.

Tottenham manager, Jose Mourinho described the ruling a disgrace.

Manchester City were successful Monday in upturning the ban over breaking Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

“I don’t think it was a good day for football yesterday (Monday), to be honest,” Klopp told a virtual news conference on Tuesday.

“FFP is a good idea. It is there for protecting teams and the competition, so that nobody overspends and have to make sure the money they want to spend is based on the right sources.”

After winning the appeal, Manchester City will now be allowed to compete in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

CAS ruled that Manchester City did not breach FFP rules by disguising equity funding as sponsorship.

“It’s not up to me to judge this and I don’t, but I think this FFP framework we should stick to (it).

“I hope FFP stays just because it gives kind of borders that you can go to, but not over it, and that’s good for football,” Klopp said.

“If you start doing that, nobody has to care any more and the richest people or countries can do what they want.

“It will make the competition really difficult and I think that will lead automatically to a kind of world super league with like 10 clubs and it will depend on who owns the clubs and not the names of the clubs. It makes sense to have these rules.”

Klopp did say, however, that Manchester City’s place in the UEFA Champions League next season might at least benefit Liverpool as they try to retain their English Premier League (EPL) title.

“They won’t have 10 or 12 games less now —- no other team would have had a chance in the (Premier) league,” he said.

The decision of the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to overturn Manchester City’s two-year UEFA ban from European football while fining them 10 million euros (9.09 million pounds) is disgraceful.

Mourinho

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho also attacked the CAS as a disgrace.

UEFA ruled in February that Manchester City had committed serious breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations and failed to cooperate with its investigation.

It then handed the English Premier League (EPL) side a ban and a fine of 30 million euros.

However, the CAS on Monday said Manchester City did not violate FFP rules by disguising equity funding as sponsorship.

But it imposed a reduced fine for failing to cooperate with European football’s governing body.

“In any case it’s a disgraceful decision because if Manchester City are not guilty then they should not be punished with the fine,” Mourinho told reporters in a virtual news conference ahead of Wednesday’s clash against 13th-placed Newcastle United.

“If you’re not guilty, you shouldn’t have a fine. If they are guilty, the decision is also a disgrace and they should be banned from the competition.

`I don’t know if Manchester City are guilty or not, but either way it’s a disgraceful decision.”

UEFA’s FFP rules face likely changes in the wake of the CAS ruling.

Mourinho said the system needs to be overhauled if it is to continue to serve its purpose which is to aim to stop clubs running big losses through spending on players.

“I think this is going to be the end of Financial Fair Play, because there is no point,” Mourinho said.

“I would like to see it used in a proper way. At this moment we are talking about Manchester City, but in the past other clubs were in a similar situation.

“I think it’s better to open the circus door and let everybody enjoy.”

NCDC: Lagos recorded 12 COVID-19 deaths within 24 hours

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 12 COVID-19 related deaths were recorded within 24 hours in Lagos state on July 12.

The NCDC made the disclosure in its COVID-19 situation report for July 12.

According to the centre, 16 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours in four states: Lagos, 12, Abuja two, while Enugu and Gombe recorded one death each.

It said the new deaths had increased the numbers of COVID-19 related mortality in Lagos to 172.

NCDC also disclosed that on the reported day, Lagos recorded 152 new COVID-19 infections from the 571 infections confirmed from 20 states.

It said the new infections had increased the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 12,427.

The NCDC said the state also recorded 111 new recoveries, thus increasing the number of patients who had been successfully treated and discharged in Lagos to 1,897.

Lagos is the epicentre of cronavirus in Nigeria.

Data from the World Health Organisation, Africa Region, shows that there were 594,285 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent, with more than 298,000 recoveries and 13,203 deaths as of Sunday.

- THECABLE