Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, says the victory of Bassirou Diomaye Faye in Senegal has underscored the need for opposition parties in Nigeria to unite and remove President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Atiku also said Faye’s emergence as Senegalese President-Elect shows that democracy is the best form of government.

Posting on X, Atiku wrote: “Against the backdrop of recent military interventions in the West African subregion, the election of Bassirou Diomaye Faye as Senegal’s President-elect in the election of March 24, 2024 gives hope to the future of constitutional democracy in the region.

“For us in Nigeria and elsewhere, there’s a huge lesson to be learnt from the Senegal experience. It is an affirmation that democracy, which is anchored on the supremacy of the ballot, represents the best form of government. It is also possible for the electoral umpire to run an election on the basis of the law and its own guidelines that give confidence to all parties and the voters.

“Our experiences in both 2019 and 2023 show clearly that INEC performed below this expectation.

“Whereas in Senegal, the responses of the major actors and the citizens are a validation of the process of the election that voted for President-elect Bassirou Diomaye.

“It is important to note that last Sunday’s election in Senegal follows the trend of that in Nigeria in 2015 that the opposition can indeed be victorious in an election conducted by the ruling party.

“And for the opposition parties, the lessons are in agreement with my persistent call for our opposition parties to forge a coalition that is formidable enough to oust the ruling party if the salvaging of Nigeria is to stand any chance.

“Congratulations, President-elect Faye. It is my hope and prayer that your election will not only be hugely beneficial to the people of Senegal but also an inspiration to the rest of us in the West African subregion.”

The naira, on Friday, appreciated to N1,280 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market.

The current FX rate signifies a 5.19 percent appreciation from the N1,350/$ reported on March 27.

Currency traders in Lagos, also known as bureau de change (BDCs) operators, quoted the buying rate of the greenback at N1,260 and the selling price at N1,280 — leaving a profit margin of N20.

“The price of the dollar as well as other major currencies have been falling. It is affecting our business as some customers prefer to keep their currencies than change it with us,” a currency trader identified as Aliyu told TheCable.

At the official section of the FX market, the local currency depreciated by 0.69 percent to N1,309.39/$ on March 28 — from N1,300.43/$ on March 27.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on March 29, said the economy recorded over $1.5 billion in foreign exchange (FX) inflow this month, indicating its monetary policy initiatives are effective.

The apex bank said the naira is headed in the right direction, and the administration of Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, remains committed to ensuring the stability of the market and the appropriate pricing of the naira against other major currencies worldwide.

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for 2023 elections has declared his stance on the recent national convention of the party that saw Barr Julius Abure emerge as national chairman.

Addressing Nigerians on X Space hosted by Parallel Facts on Friday, Peter Obi said he ignored the convention because the party leadership under Abure failed to do wide consultation with key stakeholders of the party before embarking on the said convention.

The former Anambra Governor emphasised the need for the right thing to be done to salvage the party, adding that he is more passionate about building a new Nigeria than building a new Labour Party.

“We promised to build Nigeria, we did not promise to build a New Labour Party,” he emphatically affirmed.

He also threw his weight behind the call for a structure for the ‘OBIdient’ movement.

“It is the standard practice around the world where movements form themselves into blocs and are part of the political process,” he added.

Recall the LP has been in crisis in recent times with many of its supporters calling for a proper restructuring of the party ahead of 2027.

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State says his administration is about to build a three-bedroom house for the parents of a female member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who returned to her parents’ thatch house to thank her dad for sacrificing a lot to send her to school.

Mr Eno said he was touched by a video clip showing the unidentified NYSC member returning home to praise her dad for choosing to live in a thatched house while spending his money to train her in school.

The governor’s remark is contained in a video clip posted, Friday, on the X page of the Akwa Ibom State Government.

The NYSC member and her parents are from Cross River State, which shares a boundary with Akwa Ibom State.

GOVERNOR UMO ENO TO BUILD A HOUSE FOR THE FAMILY OF A CORP MEMBER WHOSE VIDEO WENT VIRAL, FOLLOWING HER RETURN HOME TO HONOR HER FATHER WHO LIVED IN A THATCH HOUSE. PIC.TWITTER.COM/BQYPPUA4A0

— AKWA IBOM STATE GOVT (@AKSGOVT) MARCH 29, 2024

 

A team from the Akwa Ibom State Government visited the family in Cross River to identify them and begin building a house for them, Mr Eno said in the video.

“The moral lesson behind what that young woman did is for her to go back to that (thatch) house and make her father proud,” the governor said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has said that it recorded an inflow of over $1.5 bn into the economy over the past few days, indicating that its monetary policy efforts are working positively.

The bank’s acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mrs. Sidi Ali, made the assertions in a statement on Friday.

She noted that data available to the bank indicated that the inflow resulted from the bank’s effort to stabilise the foreign exchange market.

Ali said the naira has also continued to record gains in the Autonomous Foreign Exchange market as it traded at N1,309/$1 as against N1,611/$1 in the second week of March 2024.

The exchange rate between the naira and dollar closed at N1,534/$1 on the official NAFEM market on Monday, February 12, 2024. The current value of the naira shows a considerable appreciation.

Recently, the CBN held its 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting where it decided to increase the interest rate by 200 points to 24.75 per cent from the previous 22.75 per cent.

During his post-meeting briefing, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, also reiterated that the apex bank had cleared all verified foreign exchange backlogs, underscoring the fact that liquidity would improve in the forex market.

The bank conducted the Nigerian Treasury Bills auction of N1.64 trillion on Wednesday, at stop rates of 16.24 per cent, 17 per cent, and 21.124 per cent for the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors, respectively.

The decision to increase the interest rate raised lots of concern among citizens and economic experts but Cardoso said the bank’s decision was intended to stabilise the economy by bringing the interest rate at par with the current inflation in the country, stating that the increase would not be long.

“While the increase in interest rate may have tendencies toward strangulating the economy, with the foreign exchange rate coming down, that also helps to moderate it overall.

“And as I said earlier, you would expect that this would not be too long drawn; at least I would hope so. We are getting towards a situation where the exchange rate is moderating, and we are expecting it to moderate, and then it finds a level that, quite frankly, is sustainable. This would involve huge collaboration with the fiscal side because a lot of that cannot just rely on the monetary side alone,” the governor said.

While noting that Thursday’s rate signified that the Naira was headed in the right direction, Ali assured that the Cardoso-led CBN would remain committed to ensuring the stability of the market and the appropriate pricing of the Naira against other major currencies worldwide.

An 84-year-old crocodile which lived at Delesolu’s Palace, Oje in Ibadan, Oyo State is dead.

The palace in which the ancient crocodile died is known for its unique practice of rearing crocodiles as pets.

Because of this, the palace has been a popular choice for many tourists due to its historical sights.

Chief Raufu Yusuffu Delesolu (Ayingun Olubadan), head of the family and a respected Chief in Ibadan, said that the crocodile had been brought to Igbejo Delesolu in 1940 after the first one was acquired by white men. Since then, it had resided in the Delesolu compound until its recent demise.

Chief Raufu explained that people from various backgrounds, including Africans and white visitors, enjoyed seeing and feeding the crocodile with different foods. He mentioned that the crocodile had been around for about 84 years, predating his own birth.

Contrary to speculation, Chief Raufu clarified that the crocodile was not worshipped as a deity by their ancestors but was instead treated as a cherished pet. He reminisced about times when the crocodile would venture out during heavy rains, prompting a search by men in the compound to bring it back safely.

While the family mourns the loss of the crocodile, they are making arrangements for its burial within the family compound.

Controversial Nigerian crossdresser, idris Okuneye aka Bobrisky has opened up on where and when he had his first kiss.

He disclosed that he he had his first kiss during his first year (100L) at the University of Lagos, UNILAG with his male roommate.

This revelation came during an exclusive interview with Comedian BaeU. When asked about his first kiss, Bobrisky didn’t hesitate to share that it occurred in his hostel room at UNILAG with his roommate.

He stated, “My first kiss happened in school, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), in my hostel, with my roommate.”

When questioned if the roommate was male, Bobrisky confirmed, saying, “Yes,” and elaborated that it was his first-ever kiss.

See Video Below;

The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) has made a new announcement.

The CDCFIB announced that it will conclude the ongoing recruitment process into the Federal Fire Service (FFS) on June 15, 2024.

The Minister of Interior and chairman of the Board, Olubumi Tunji-Ojo, said the new date was in line with the Board’s reviewed timeline for the conduct of employment in the paramilitary Services under its purview.

Tunji-Ojo who spoke through the secretary of the CDCFIB, Ja’afaru Ahmed, at the end of its quarterly review meeting with heads of the four paramilitary agencies under its supervision, said shortlisted candidates would be requested to visit the Board’s portal via messages to their emails and mobile phone numbers.

The minister urged the public to ignore messages on social media inviting them to pay some amount for placement, adding that they were from fraudsters.

He also said the Board considered 118 cases of erring officers of the four Services under its purview and took appropriate disciplinary measures.

The summary of cases and resolution of the Board made available to Daily Trust after the meeting indicated that 48 officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service, 21 officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service, 12 officers of the Federal Fire Service and 37 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were involved.

The breakdown shows that 30 officers were dismissed from the service while five others were to be dismissed and prosecuted.

Also, 9 were recommended for retirement and 17 were to be de-ranked and punished while 14 others were recommended to be discharged, acquitted and issued commendation letters.

The Tinubu-led Federal Government have allegedly released the sum of N90 billion to subsidise the 2024 pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

A source at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) told Daily Trust that without this intervention, each of the intending pilgrims would have been requested to add at least N3.5 million to the initial fare which was pegged at N4.9 million.

The source told the publication;

“The forex crisis has caused a lot of problems. That is why the Hajj Commission has asked intending pilgrims to pay the extra amount of N1.9 million each. The commission actually needed N230 billion to sort out the fare differential caused by the forex crisis.

“The N90 billion support which was provided by the government was announced in the presence of reporters during the inauguration of the board and management of the Hajj Commission which was held at the Office of the Vice Presidency on February 28, 2024. But they (reporters) were asked not to report it. That was why no newspaper carried the report. Or did you see it in any reports? If the intending pilgrims pay ₦1.9 million, it is then it can be balanced."

He added that NAHCON had also contacted state governors “to subsidise the hajj fare for the intending pilgrims in their respective states. Kano has responded by subsiding it by N500,000 for each pilgrim.

“By the previous calculation, the N90 billion given by the federal government can only subsidise 19,000 intending pilgrims by ₦3.5 million. But by spreading it on 50,000 pilgrims, it reduces it to N1.9 million; meaning that the federal government has subsidised each pilgrim by ₦1.6 million before each intending pilgrim was asked to add the remaining N1.9 million.”

A top official at the Presidency also confirmed that the federal government “actually provided some financial support for the hajj exercise”. The official said;

“Of course, the federal government has offered support for the pilgrims because the pilgrims have been lamenting.

“Normally, any support that the government is giving to any faith, whether the Christian faith or the Muslim faith, the government does not like to announce it openly so that it will not appear as if the government is favouring on faith.”