President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Tanimu Yakubu as the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, following the expiration of the tenure of Mr. Ben Akabueze.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Thursday.

Yabuku is an accomplished economist and Chief Economic Adviser to a former President from 2007 to 2010; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria from 2003 to 2007, and Commissioner of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning in Katsina State from 1999 to 2003.

The new Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Wagner College, Staten Island, New York, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the same institution.

The statement noted that President Tinubu thanked the outgoing Director-General, Mr. Akabueze, for his services and wished him success in his future endeavours.

“The President expects the new Director-General of this pivotal agency to further enhance the provision of efficient and qualitative budget functions, with a view to promoting fiscal sustainability, transparency, and accountability in public finance management for national development,” it added.

Akabueze was first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari as a Special Adviser Planning (SAP) to the President on February 15, 2016, and later redeployed and appointed as DG Budget, June 10, 2016.

Buhari renewed Akabueze’s appointment as the DG of Budget Office in 2020.

The former Governor of Sokoto State and Senator representing Sokoto-South, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has described the current hardship in the country as a repercussion of re-electing the All Progressives Congress (APC) government in 2023.

Speaking during a stakeholders meeting of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto on Sunday, Tambuwal said: “During our campaigns in 2023, we warned Nigerians not to repeat the mistake of voting APC into power because they have nothing positive to offer them.”

“We told them (that) APC are not prepared to lead this country. What they wanted was to grab power and see them into offices.

“Now they have grabbed the power and are into offices but don’t know what to do with it.

“And life is becoming unbearable to many Nigerians because of their failure,” he added.

The former governor, however, called on the opposition to join hands and ensure that the APC loses in the next election.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure APC loses at all levels of government,” he said

He commended leaders of the party for holding the party together and making it wax stronger.

Earlier, the state chairman of the party, Bello Goronyo, claimed that some APC bigwigs, including serving commissioners had indicated interest to join the PDP.

He expressed optimism that the PDP would reclaim the State in the next election.

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), known as Africa’s Global Bank, has unveiled its first-quarter financial results for the period ending March 31st, 2024.

Demonstrating robust performance, UBA recorded impressive growth across pivotal metrics, with a notable 110% increase in gross earnings and a staggering N156 billion profit for the quarter, marking a remarkable year-on-year growth of 165%.

The Group’s results, which were released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Friday May 3^rd, 2024, saw outstanding year-on-year increases: Gross Earnings rose by 110%, from N271.1billion to N570.2 billion; Interest Income grew by 130%, to N440.7 billion.  Operating Income increased by 115%, from N175.7 billion in 2023, to N378.59 billion.

Further consolidating the record performance delivered in the Group’s 2023 Full Year Audited Financials, UBA again saw Profit Before Tax rising significantly by 155% from N61.7 billion in Q1 2023, to N156.34 billion in Q1 2024; while Profit After Tax jumped from N53.5 billion to N142.5 billion, representing an impressive rise of 165% year-on-year.

Commenting on the results, UBA’s Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, said the Group delivered strong first quarter performance, building on the solid momentum of 2023, as well as the ongoing execution of its long-held strategy of customer focus, geographic diversification and effective risk management and governance.

He said, “Our record Q1 profit before tax was delivered with triple digit gross earnings growth, supported by very strong interest and non-interest income. Fees and Commissions rose by 118% year-on-year on the back of improved efficiencies and continued digital adoption.  This has helped drive improvement in efficiency and customer satisfaction, with the Group’s cost-to-income ratio held at 57.8%.”

“The Group’s balance sheet grew steadily with Total Assets increasing by 23% to N25.4 trillion. Customer deposits closed at N18.4 trillion, recording a 23% increase year-on-year, largely attributed to growth in current accounts and savings accounts.”

“Our unwavering commitment to sound governance, robust risk management, and financial strength positions us for continued growth, while we contribute meaningfully to inclusive economic development across our network.”

Also speaking on the performance, UBA’s Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the Group’s operating results for the quarter showed the actions taken to enhance the Group’s performance continued to deliver.

He said, “Our first quarter results highlight our relentless customer focus and the strength of UBA’s geographic and product diversification, with good performance across all our regions.  We continue to differentiate ourselves across all key financial metrics, with a keen focus on high-quality risk adjusted revenues and cost discipline, while maintaining very sound asset quality.“

“We remain committed to reducing both interest expense and operating expenses and expect to make steady progress as we move through the year toward our stated profitability targets,” Nwaghodoh stated.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-five million customers, across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries and across 4 continents.

With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA connects people and businesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services.