News Update.

 The International Monetary Fund has said the naira is currently under pressure and Nigeria is free to seek loan from the Fund to stabilise the currency if it considers it a good option. The Washington-based lender however noted that recent exchange reforms and other steps taken by the Nigerian authorities were in order.

A pastor with the Christ Liberty Evangelism Church, Rosco, Iyana Iyesi, Ota, Oyenekan Oluwaseyi, and three others have been arrested with a human skull in the Saje Area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital. Oluwaseyi and the three others, Ibrahim Agbowewe, Suleiman Ogunbunmi, and Gafari Akinsanya, were arrested by men of the state police command in the early hours of Saturday.

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. President Bola Tinubu may today (Monday) swear in three additional ministers into his 48-person cabinet. The three new ministers are expected to be sworn into office at the Council Chamber of the State House before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting.

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. Several terrorists were killed after an air interdiction conducted by the personnel of the Nigerian Air Force at Bukar Meram in Borno State. Also, over 40 motorcycles and six gun trucks were destroyed during the air raids. The spokesman for the Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said in a statement on Sunday that the operations were conducted after operatives discovered that the terrorists had left Suwa for Bukar Meram.

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. The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, says if elected in the November 11 election, he will facilitate the establishment of an agricultural free trade zone in Okunland. This, he said, would enhance agro-based processing for export, and enhance rapid development of social infrastructure in the area.

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. The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, through his media aide, Paul Ibe, has stated that there is clear documentation regarding his name change from Siddiq to Atiku Abubakar. This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his media adviser, Paul Ibe in response to allegations of forgery made by the ruling All Progressives Congress.

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. As Nigerians struggle to cope with harsh economic reality worsened by the removal of fuel subsidy, the House of Representatives has announced that it has finalised plans for the distribution of official vehicles for members of the 10th National Assembly. In a statement on Sunday, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Akin Rotimi, said the management was in the process of procuring and distributing the vehicles to the members.

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 Vice President Kashim Shettima on Sunday departed Abuja to represent President Bola Tinubu in Beijing, China, at the third Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum. A statement on Sunday in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, said the forum will be held from October 16 to 18.

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 The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to use the forthcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states to redeem its image. It also demanded that the commission replace the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in charge of Imo State, Prof. Sylvia Agu, to avoid a repeat of the electoral chaos recorded in Adamawa State during the last governorship election.

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested, Okafor Williams and Hakeem Salami  two wanted heads of transnational criminal organisations;Illicit drugs and assets worth multi-billion-naira were seized from them after weeks of intelligence-led operations across the country and outside Nigeria.

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