School Fire in Nigeria Kills 17…Nigeria’s 2025 Budget Rises to $36.1 Billion…IBM Pulls Out of Nigeria…Tinubu Demands Urgent Action on Insecurity
● Deadly School Fire in Northwestern Nigeria Kills 17 Students
At least 17 students have died in a fire that swept through an Islamic boarding school in Kaura-Namoda, a town in northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara State, on Tuesday night.
The fire, which burned for about three hours before being brought under control, also left 17 students severely injured. Authorities are still investigating the cause, but local resident Abdulrasaq Kaura said it started with sticks locally called kara.
“It happened…inside their study hall. There were about 100 of them in the house. After they evacuated the students, they thought none of them remained inside the house,” Kaura said, according to TheCable. “When they returned after the fire, they started seeing their legs, hands… they got burnt beyond recognition.”
The deceased students have been buried, while authorities continue investigating the tragedy.
● Tinubu Seeks $3 Billion Increase in Nigeria’s 2025 Budget
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has requested a ₦4.5 trillion ($3 billion) increase in the country’s proposed 2025 budget, raising it from ₦49.7 trillion ($33.1 billion) to ₦54.2 trillion ($36.1 billion).
In a letter to lawmakers, Tinubu attributed the adjustment to additional revenue inflows, including tax collections, import duties, and earnings from government-owned businesses.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who read the letter on the Senate floor Wednesday, referred the request to the Appropriations Committee for urgent action. “The National Assembly will conclude and pass the 2025 budget before the end of February,” Akpabio assured.
The budget review comes as lawmakers have already approved key economic benchmarks, including an oil price of $75 per barrel and an exchange rate-projection of ₦1,400 to $1, subject to revision in early 2025.
● IBM Exits Nigeria, Transfers Operations to Third-Party Firm
IBM has exited Nigeria, joining a growing list of international companies scaling back their presence in the country. The tech giant is also pulling out of Ghana and other African markets, transferring its operations to a third-party company.
Under a new agreement, IBM will hand over its regional functions to MIBB, a subsidiary of Midis Group, an IT and telecommunications conglomerate.
“MIBB will market and sell IBM products and services in 36 African countries, thereby giving MIBB’s sales network direct access to IBM products, services, and support, further boosting innovation and growth in the region,” the company said in a statement cited by The Guardian.
IBM had operated in Nigeria for over 50 years, playing a key role in developing the country’s tech sector. In recent years, other global firms like Guinness, Meta, and Microsoft have also reduced their footprint in Nigeria, citing economic and operational challenges.
● Tinubu Pressuring Security Chiefs to End Insecurity, Says Defense Minister
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu is pushing security officials to end insecurity in the country, according to Defense Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar.
“We are under Tinubu’s pressure to end insecurity in Nigeria. He always inquires when the problem will end because it is high time insecurity is tamed,” Badaru said in an interview with BBC Hausa, according to Pulse.
He revealed that Tinubu recently met with him, the service chiefs, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, and Minister of State for Defense Bello Matawalle to discuss the situation. The President asked for a timeline, and security chiefs assured him that “things would normalize by the end of the year.”
Badaru also confirmed that notorious bandit leader Bello Turji remains at large but assured that “we will soon apprehend him.”
What’s News Today? February 6, 2025, compiled by Ezinwanne Onwuka for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
