News Update

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sought debt forgiveness for developing countries from lenders. He also called for the recovery of the proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows from developing countries, stressing that the return of such funds to countries of origin “is a fundamental principle of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.”

Following the Peoples Democratic Party’s rejection of the results of the Edo governorship poll on Saturday, the All Progressives Congress has warned the opposition party to reconsider its decision to contest the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election, saying it would be a sheer waste of time and resources.

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 A 48-year-old businessman, Christian Ogbuji, described as an “unrepentant kingpin” was, on Tuesday, re-arrested by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for alleged drug peddling. Ogbuji was first arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on May 10, 2023, upon arrival from Uganda via Addis Ababa, onboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 951 for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.986kg.

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 Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, on Tuesday, identified inadequate funding and manpower, as well as lack of a viable industrial base as some of the challenges hampering the contribution by the Nigerian Army to address the nation’s security challenges. The COAS also said Nigerians have poor understanding of security.

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The Nigerian Army on Tuesday announced that it has discharged a female soldier, Private Ruth Ogunleye, who accused a senior officer, Colonel I.B. Abdulkareem, of sexual harassment. The Army specifically said the female soldier was eased out of the service on medical grounds, after the conclusion of its probe, adding that by discharging her, she is entitled to pension and all other benefits for life.

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 The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, on Tuesday, challenged the Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, to swear with the Holy Quran to prove his innocence in banditry affecting the state. Matawalle gave the charge on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily while debunking the governor’s claim which linked him to banditry in the state.

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 The presiding judge in the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Justice Binta Nyako, has recused herself from the trial. On Tuesday, Justice Nyako withdrew from the trial after Kanu made an oral submission accusing her of non-compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court.

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Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed October 31, to deliver a ruling, as well as judgment in a suit seeking the sack of the Chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr Chiedu Ebie, over an alleged wrongful appointment.

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The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has announced that Nigeria’s unemployment rate grew by 1.2 percentage points to 5.3 per cent year-on-year, YoY. This came on a day the Central Bank of Nigeria raised the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, by 27.25 per cent.

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An economist and public affairs analyst, Dr Samson Simon has urged the Federal Government not to heed advice for the total removal of subsidy on petrol.

Simon, who is the Chief Economist, Economics & Data Limited was reacting to the interview granted Bloomberg Tv by the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, wherein he urged the government to completely remove subsidy.

He, however, said it was not the right thing to do at the moment considering that the country does not have sufficient local refining capacity.

From dailypost