Historically, the CBN has compulsively devalued the Naira to bridge increasingly widening gaps between official and parallel exchange rates, even when these gaps were caused by the obtusely contrived monopolistic market dynamics of demand and supply. It would undoubtedly create much discomfort for CBN Management if unrestrained dollar demand further pushes parallel market rates well above N300=$1; in such event, CBN may again unwittingly, jerk up the official rate above N300 and remove the embedded ‘subsidy’ from the official Naira exchange rate so as to raise the dollar price and discourage demand and hopefully also minimise the inherent rent seeking market opportunities.

It is like a marriage made in Heaven which invariably produces great results. When Governor of Taraba State told me in November last year that his state capital, Jalingo, will in about three weeks, enjoy direct flight from Lagos, through Abuja, it sounded like one of those political promises “made to be broken” (apologies to Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745). Given the short period he had been in office, in one of the poorest states in the nation, and being distracted by his political adversaries, it would appear that sealing a deal with an airline to start operating a flight to Jalingo would be almost impossible.

ELDER Statesman, Chief Bisi Akande was Executive Governor of Osun State for four years from 1999 during which he led his colleagues who were unwilling to pay workers the National Minimum Wage. I was then in the Nigeria Labour Congress, and we went to appeal to him to change his mind.

Can the 2016 budget change our fate? We hope it does. Anyway, now that the alleged missing document has been found along with the thief, there is no need for prosecution; instead let us merely use its content for the benefit of Nigerians. We are not even sure if the theft would not be beneficial in due course. In this regard, the rumour that the Presidency has reduced the allocation for exotic cars by N7billion is heart warming. So is the other story that the allocation to the State House Medical Centre has also been rationalized. But who uses the centre – is it the same people who fly abroad to treat headache or is that one of changes we should look out for?

The Alafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, not too long ago, conferred the title of OMOLUABI, meaning the trustworthy, on Ogbeni Abdulrauf Adesoji Aregbesola. Rauf happens to be the Governor of State of Osun. Up to now, I am not privy to all the good things the good king said about him. But it must have been plenty.