Here’s a brief update of Latest Nigerian News from Nigerian Newspapers of Tuesday 31st October 2023.
- Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, reported that during a forest raid around the Lokpanta Cattle Market on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, security forces uncovered 50 decomposing corpses, including 20 headless bodies, as well as numerous skeletons. Governor Otti also revealed that kidnappers were using the cattle market as a point for ransom collection.
- The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, assured Nigerians that the Federal Government’s plan to introduce new foreign exchange rules would accurately reflect the true value of the naira. This plan includes cracking down on illicit currency trading, with the aim of closing the gap between the official and unofficial exchange rates, reaching a fair price for the naira before the end of 2023.
- Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State expressed concern that the Boko Haram crisis could escalate to a national level if not effectively contained. He pointed out that the continued presence of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Borno’s Local Government Areas is a potential time bomb.
- The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a supplementary appropriation of N2,176,791,286,033 for the second half of 2023. The announcement was made by Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, following a federal cabinet meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja.
- Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, expressed concern that Nigeria would be in trouble if the Supreme Court’s decision implied that crime should be rewarded. Atiku contested the result of the February 25 election, which declared President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.
- Elder statesman and leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, alleged that Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is behind the plot to impeach Rivers State Governor, Sam Fubara. Clark suggested that Wike’s intention is to force Fubara’s deputy to resign after a successful impeachment and install the Speaker of the state House of Assembly as the new governor.
- Rivers State experienced confusion on Monday due to attempts by the House of Assembly to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The conflict between the governor and the divided House of Assembly, just five months after their inauguration, stemmed from a strained relationship between Fubara and his benefactor, former Governor Nyesom Wike, who is now the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister.
- The Federal Government and the German geo-scientific technology company GeoScan GmbH, based in Berlin, signed an agreement to stimulate the exploration of Nigeria’s mineral deposits, valued at over $700 billion. Solid Minerals Development Minister Dele Alake announced that the agreement focuses on the exploration and exploitation of mineral deposits in the country.
- Reports revealed that a total of N21.1 billion was spent on procuring vehicles for various ministries, departments, and agencies within five months. The approvals for these disbursements were detailed in a document from the Bureau of Public Procurement, and they were allocated to 10 different agencies between April and August 2023.
- Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists invaded Beneshiekh town, the headquarters of Kaga Local Government Area in Borno State, on Monday, where they killed the Chief Imam, Sheikh Baba Goni Muktar Malumti, and set ablaze some Islamic books that belonged to him.
