WHAT’S NEWS? November 1, 2023
By Ezinwanne Onwuka
● Supreme Court’s judgment is the “Lord’s doing”: Nigeria’s First Lady
The First Lady of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu has hailed the Supreme Court’s verdict on the election of President Bola Tinubu, her husband, as “the Lord’s doing.”
The Supreme Court in Nigeria, last Thursday [Oct. 26], aligned with the presidential election petition tribunal and affirmed Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election in February, ending the eight-month legal tussle over the fraudulent election.
At a political rally in Imo State, Southeast Nigeria, the First Lady told a mammoth crowd of the ruling All Progressives Congress [APC] supporters that the court gave her husband a “clean bill”. “This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes,” Mrs Tinubu added.
● Nigeria targets exchange rate of N650/$1 by December
The government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hopes to stabilize the value of the Nigerian currency, the naira, with several reforms that would see the naira rebound against the dollar. The administration is working towards achieving a “fair price” target of N650/$1 by the end of 2023, according to Taiwo Oyedele, chair of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms.
Since President Tinubu became Nigeria’s president on May 29, the value of the naira has plummeted to new lows in the official and unofficial foreign exchange markets. The naira tumbled to a record low of N993.83/$1 at the official market on Tuesday [Oct. 31] while Nigerians are buying a dollar for as high as N1,142.600 [$1.45] on the streets.
To remedy this, Oyedele said the government would crack down on illegal currency traders, set transparent rules for the operations of the official market, and clear a backlog of dollar demand estimated to be $6.7 billion [N5.2 trillion].
● Army kills wanted bandit leader in Kebbi
A team of the Nigerian Army stationed in Danko Wasagu County of Kebbi State, Northwest Nigeria has reportedly killed a suspected notorious bandits’ commander Mai-Nasara. Mai-Nasara was gunned down in Sengeko forest in Kebbi State on Tuesday during a fierce exchange of fire between his gang and soldiers.
The team also arrested five other members of the same gang who tried to escape during the gun duel. The gang is behind the obnoxious attacks and rampant kidnapping-for-ransom in communities in the State.
Security director Abdulrahman Usman credited the success story to the provision of crucial logistics to the security personnel in the state by the State Governor Nasir Idris, according to The Sun.
Read more: https://gazettengr.com/soldiers-kill-wanted-notorious-bandit-mai-nasara-arrest-five-others-in-kebbi/
● Boko Haram bombs several mourners in Yobe
A burial ceremony in Goni Mittiri village in Gaidam County of Yobe State, Northeast Nigeria, ended in a bloodbath on Tuesday evening. About 20 locals were killed when a bomb planted by terrorists suspected to be Boko Haram jihadists exploded.
The locals had gathered for the mass burial of the deceased victims of another bomb explosion the previous day. The Muslim extremists attacked neighboring Ngouro Kiyeyya with bomb explosives on Monday and 16 persons died.
“We counted a total of 20 people at the scene of the incident,” a resident told Leadership about Tuesday’s blast. The corpses have since been buried.
Read more: https://leadership.ng/just-in-20-killed-2-injured-in-yobe-explosion/
● Nigerian government patches up 2023 budget with N2.17tr
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria has earmarked N2,176,791,286,033 [$2,768,878,515] as supplementary budget for the 2023 fiscal year. The huge sum is to fund “urgent issues”, said budget minister Atiku Bagudu. Nigeria budgeted N21.83 trillion [$27,745,648,393] for the year in January.
Out of the proposed supplementary budget, N605 billion would be expended on national defence and security, reflecting the Tinubu administration’s commitment to the country’s security amidst mounting insecurity challenges. N5.5 billion was provided for the student loans program which is billed to take-off in January. The budget will also cover four months of wage awards for federal workers and cash transfers to poor families.
The bill has scaled second reading in both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Read more: https://gazettengr.com/tinubu-presents-n2-1-trillion-supplementary-budget-for-2023-to-nass/
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Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
