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Thaksin Shinawatra returns to Thailand after 15 years

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The billionaire landed in a private jet at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport as the party linked to him prepares to form a government.

Thailand’s Supreme Court on Tuesday sentenced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to eight years of imprisonment.

Thaksin’s jail sentence relates to three convictions passed on the him in absentia, the court said in a statement.

Thaksin was quickly arrested and taken to the Supreme Court after he returned to Thailand on Tuesday, after 15 years in exile.

Hundreds of people gathered to see Shinawatra, a business tycoon-turned-politician, as he arrived in Thailand at 9 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport. He had boarded a private jet from Singapore.

Just a couple of hours before his arrival, his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra — who is also a former Thai prime minister — shared pictures and a video of him boarding the plane on Facebook.

"The day my brother has waited for has arrived," she posted, alongside images of him on a plane. In a video also posted, Thaksin can be seen shaking hands with the crew before boarding the private jet.

After his arrival, Thaksin was escorted by the police to the Supreme Court. The court is due to hear the sentences against him, according to police.

Later, he was taken to Bangkok prison under heavy security, according to Reuters news agency.

Shinawatra was ousted in a coup 17 years ago.

He later went into a self-imposed exile but the polarizing leader has maintained a significant stranglehold over Thailand’s politics.

Born into one of the most prominent ethnic Chinese families in northern Chiang Mai province, the 74-year-old became known for overhauling Thailand’s politics after he was elected prime minister in 2001.

Thaksin is loved by the rural poor for his policies that focused on Thailand’s health system and labor but is despised by the powerful elites who see his tenure as corrupt, authoritarian and disruptive.

Before he became prime minister he formed his own political party, Thai Rak Thai, in 1998, which later came to be known as Pheu Thai party and brought Thaksin’s sister Yingluck to power in 2011.

Thaksin’s arrival in Thailand after 15 years of exile comes on the day a deadlocked parliament is going to vote for a new prime minister.

Legislators have nominated business tycoon Srettha Thavisin for the post of prime minister ahead of a voting round scheduled by the parliament for later in the day. Thavisin, who has become the face of Thaksin’s political movement, will head the coalition led by the Pheu Thai party.

Since March, an interim government has been in charge in Thailand. The country’s parliament has been under a deadlock for weeks leaving the coalition led by the Pheu Thai party to form a government.

Thaksin was convicted in four criminal cases in his absence, although the statute of limitations has expired in one. The sentences against him total 10 years.

Thailand’s progressive party ready to rule — but will they?

CBN loans to manufacturing and power sectors soar to N5.6 trillion

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention loans in the power, manufacturing and aviation sectors have risen to N5.6tn in three years.

The soft loans were advanced amid the continued and varied challenges facing the key sectors of the economy.

The apex bank’s lending to the three sectors were obtained from the CBN result and accounts between 2020 and 2022.

The reports which showed credit concentration in the various sectors of the economy indicated that power, aviation and manufacturing sectors recorded an aggregate ofN5.6tn in loans from the central bank.

The CBN under its suspended governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, competed with commercial banks in aggressive lending to some sectors of the economy. The apex bank loans however came in single-digit interest rate and long repayment tenor.

The breakdown revealed that CBN’s receivables and other assets in the power and aviation sector of Nigeria stood at N50.6bn in 2022, a decline of 96.4 per cent from N1.39tn in 2021.

Also, in the power and aviation sector, it reported N935bn in 2020.

In the manufacturing sector, it reported N1.23tn in 2022, an increase of 33.46 per cent from N919.03bn in 2021. In addition, its concentration in the manufacturing sector was at N1.07tn in 2020.

From the 2022 result and accounts, the apex bank revealed that its total receivables and others stood at N47.39tn from N43.18tn reported in 2021. Receivables from the Federal Government contributed a significant portion.

The Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said the association had made several attempts to secure credit facilities from the apex bank, but did not receive any feedback on any of the occasions it wrote to the CBN.

He said, “We have 2,500 manufacturers. We have asked the CBN which manufacturers they are supporting, so we can collaborate with them, they have not obliged us. We are a coordinated group. We work together. So, to lump us together with other sectors that have non-performing loans, I don’t understand what they are talking about.”

Nigeria’s top lawyer pledges to follow the rules

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Fagbemi says he will operate an open door policy and welcome constructive criticism.

Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the new Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, says he will anchor his leadership on President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

Fagbemi said this as he resumed as Nigeria’s 24th Attorney-General, succeeding Abubakar Malami, who served in President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime for eight years on Monday in Abuja.

He noted that although expectations are high, he expressed readiness to work with the staff and added that he will operate an open door policy and welcome constructive criticism.

"We will anchor everything on Mr President’s renewed hope agenda.

"Considering the strategic role that our ministry is positioned to play, I want you to partner with me, follow the rule, engage in constructive criticism, so that together we can redouble efforts and get the job done," he said.

Responding, Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General of the ministry, in her remarks noted that the ministry’s constitutional responsibilities and statutory mandates are enormous.

"We will deploy all the human and material resources of the ministry and its parastatals to support and assist you in realising your set objectives," she said

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Fagbemi arrived at the ministry at 3:10 pm and was received by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary,

He was conducted round his office by the permanent secretary who introduced him to all the directors and heads of agencies under the ministry.

Some of the heads of the agencies under the ministry that were present include Buba Marwa, chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Tony Ojukwu, executive secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Senator Adeola accuses Nigerian soldiers of murdering aide

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Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, has accused Nigerian soldiers of killing his senior aide, Mr Adeniyi Oluwatoson Sanni at a checkpoint in Lagos.

Mr Adeola said soldiers perpetrated the act tragic around the Ikeja neighbourhood early on Saturday, August 5, 2023.

The Senator’s allegation is contained in a statement he signed and made available to THISDAY in Abuja on Monday.

Mr Adeola said that his aide Mr Sanni was stopped at a checkpoint by security agents around the Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos on his way to his home at Isheri.

The senator said that the soldiers asked his late aide to provide his vehicle particulars and that he was able to provide them after his wife sent them to him on his phone via WhatsApp.

Mr Adeola said that when Mr Sanni’s wife called a while later, Sanni told her that he was still with the soldiers and that they were checking the documents.

Sanni’s remains, ridden with bullets, were later discovered at the Toyota Bus Stop area of Oshodi, close to a military barracks.

Mr Adeola said, “I am of the firm belief, based on available facts at the disposal of the police that his aide was killed by a syndicate of soldiers operating under the newly deployed Commander of 9 Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Nsikan John Edet, through mounting of checkpoints and robbing of lone occupants of cars.

“Top police sources familiar with the investigation informed me that a similar brutal killing and armed robbery occurred around the same Ojodu-Berger late Thursday night of August 17, 2023, resulting in the killing of another Nigerian whose body was discovered around Iyana-Ipaja after he was taken away by soldiers from the checkpoint.

"Unknown to the soldiers, the occupant of the car they killed and took away his car was the second car in a convoy of two heading towards the same destination.

“The first car passed the soldiers checkpoint but the second car was stopped to check his vehicle’s papers.

“On noticing the absence of the second car after a while, the occupant of the first car (name withheld) placed a call to his colleague in the second car who informed him that he was being taken to Iyana Ipaja by the soldiers at the checkpoint.

"That was the last he heard from him and his dead body was later discovered dumped on the road just like Mr. Sanni.

“The survivor in the first car reported the case to the police and a pattern of armed robbery and killing in the area involving men in Army uniform was established.”

Mr Adeola asked the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, to find the soldiers who killed his aide so that they can be brought to justice.

The senator said that such killings and armed robbery incidents have been established against soldiers at checkpoints around Ikeja at night.

“To date, the black Toyota Camry of Mr Sanni, his phones and other valuables are yet to be recovered,” he added.

GTBank Releases 2020 Full Year Audited Results…Reports PBT of ₦238.1 Billion

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Guaranty Trust Bank plc has released its Audited Financial Results for the year ended December 31, 2020, to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.

A review of the result shows improved performance across all key financial metrics in the face of the unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the quality of past decisions and reaffirming its position as one of the best managed financial institutions in Africa. The Group reported Profit before tax of ₦238.1billion, representing a growth of 2.8% over ₦231.7billion recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2019. The Group’s Loan book (Net) grew by 10.7% from ₦1.502trillion recorded as at December 2019 to ₦1.663trillion in December 2020, while Customers’ deposits increased by 38.6% from ₦2.533trillion in December 2019 to ₦3.509trillion in December 2020.

Guaranty Trust Bank’s Balance sheet remained well structured, diversified, and resilient with Total assets and Shareholders’ Funds closing at ₦4.945trillion and ₦814.4billion respectively. Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 21.9%, while Asset quality was sustained as NPL ratio and Cost of Risk (COR) closed at 6.4% (Bank: 5.9%) and 1.2% (Bank: 1.0%) in December 2020 from 6.5% (Bank: 6.2%) and 0.3% (Bank: 0.2%) in December 2019 respectively.

Commenting on the financial results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said; “2020 was arguably the most challenging year that the world has faced in decades. In such unprecedented times, we sought to live out the full extent of our values; safeguarding lives and livelihoods for our people, our customers, and across the communities where we operate. We were on solid footing going into 2020; the strength, scale, and liquidity of our balance sheet, coupled with the quality of our past decisions and the efficacy of our digital-first customer-centric strategy gave us the resilience and flexibility to navigate the economic shocks and market volatility that dominated the year.”

He further stated that; “Amidst the many challenges that persist, we remain ardent believers in Africa’s growth potential. Our world is increasingly digital, and we see it opening new and exciting opportunities for empowering people and uplifting our communities. With our commitment to deepening customer relationships and intense focus on delivering innovative financial solutions, we enter 2021 well-positioned to lead this new world.”

Guaranty Trust Bank plc continues to post the best metrics in the Nigerian Banking industry in terms of all Financial Ratios i.e. Post-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 26.8%, Post-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 4.6%, Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 21.9% and Cost to Income ratio of 38.2%.

Renowned for its forward-thinking approach to financial services and customer engagement, GTBank was recently ranked Africa’s Most Admired Finance Brand in the 10th-anniversary rankings of Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, the pre-eminent survey, and ranking of the Top 100 admired brands in Africa. The Bank was also awarded the Best Bank in Nigeria by Euromoney Magazine for a record-extending tenth time and the Euromoney Excellence in Leadership Africa Award for its swift reaction in responding to the Covid-19 crisis and for addressing the impact of the pandemic on its customers and communities.