- President Tinubu appoints Fela Durotoye and four others as presidential media aide
- Nyesom Wike rejects EU election reports
- The Naira continues to decline against the Dollar after a steady pace for four days
- Lagos halts scheduled mass burial for #ENDSARS victims
- FG increases the national grid power capacity to 14,000 MegaWatts
Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.
President Tinubu appoints Fela Durotoye and four others as presidential media aide
On October 9, the president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, announced his appointment of Fela Durotoye and four others as members of the presidential aide.
This was revealed in a statement released by the Special Assistant to the President on Publicity and Media, Ajuri Ngelale.
Mr Fela Durotoye, who is a business consultant and President of the GEMSTONE Nation Builders Foundation, was appointed as Senior Special Assistant to the President (National Values and Social Justice).
Mrs Linda Akhigbe, who was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the President (Strategic Communications).
Mr Fredrick Nwabufo, a journalist and communications specialist, was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the President (Public Engagement).
Mr. Francis Abah was appointed as the Personal Assistant to the President (Special Duties).
Mr. Aliyu Audu, the Chairman of the APC Rebirth, was appointed Special Assistant to the President (Public Affairs).
Nyesom Wike rejects EU election reports
The Minister of the Federal Capital of Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, rejected the reports made by the European Union (EU) regarding Nigeria’s election when he hosted Samuela Isopi, the EU Ambassador.
The minister accused the EU of creating a wrong impression of Nigerian citizens, especially the minds of the electorates in Rivers State.
He said the report was inaccurate in producing the actual position of the last Nigerian election.
He blamed the EU for meddling in Nigeria’s democracy by saying it was supposed to act as an observer during the general election rather than writing a report that would tarnish the country’s image of democracy.
“I disagreed with the European Union over the last report on the election in Nigeria. They are to observe. Nigerian laws can’t be the same as EU laws because they have different environments,” he said.
“In Rivers State, the EU’s report was different from what transpired there. How can people who believe in democracy and practise it be portrayed as people who don’t understand democracy?”
Samuel’s Isopi responded to his accusations, saying that the report was gathered and submitted by people not under her operations.
The Naira resumes depreciation against the Dollar after a steady pace for four days
On October 9, the Naira resumed depreciation against the dollar despite exchanging steadily for the past four days at the parallel market (black market).
After trading, the sale of Dollar increased by 0.8%, rising to 1,008 in comparison to the 1,000 which it maintained last week.
It was stipulated that the increase in the dollar was due to the demand of emigrants who planned on leaving the country.
Last week, the naira reportedly displayed strength against the USD at the black and official market; the naira edged the dollar by 1.78% week-on-week at the official market, closing at N741.85/$1 while the naira appreciated by 0.79% week-on-week to 1,000/$1 as demand pressure ease from foreign exchange users.
Lagos halts scheduled mass burial for #ENDSARS victims
The Lagos State Government has halted its plans to carry out a mass burial for the 103 corpses discovered in the traffic event of the 2020 ENDSARS.
The Commissioner for Lagos State Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, disclosed that the scheduled mass burial has been paused because of controversy surrounding its announcement in July.
A leaked memo dated July 19, 2023, revealed that the Lagos State Government had planned to hold a mass burial for 103 victims of the ENDSARS protest, and this raised concerns among the civil human rights groups who had a bone to pick with the government for denying that no one was killed in 2020.
Amnesty International, a human rights organisation, demanded that the state government hold off on carrying out the mass burial but instead conduct a coroner’s inquest and autopsies on the victims.
FG increases the national grid power capacity to 14,000 MegaWatts
Through the Association of Power Generation Companies, the federal government has increased the power capacity of the national grid by a thousand MW since 2020, from 13,000 MW to 14,000 MW.
APGC’s Executive Secretary, Dr Joy Ogaji, stated that the increase of the Mw was due to the $1.3 billion Niger state-based 700MW Zungeru hydroelectric plant, which came on stream in the second quarter of the year.
The national grid now has an installed power generation capacity of about 14,000 megawatts, and this was made possible due to the Zungeru plant that came on stream this year,” she said.
