• Federal government announces public holiday for Eid-Ul-Adha
• FG drops tax charges against Binance executives
• The naira loses value against the US dollar in the official and black market
• Reps and NAFDAC remove ban on sachet alcoholic beverages
• UK records low migration of students and foreign workers

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.

Federal government announces public holiday for Eid-Ul-Adha

The federal government, through the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has declared Monday and Tuesday, June 17 and 18, as public holidays for the celebration of Eid-Ul-Adha.

The public holiday announcement was made by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Dr Aishetu Gogo Ndayako, on Friday, June 14.

The PermSec confirmed that the Minister had congratulated all Nigerian Muslims, home and abroad, calling for peace, kindness and sacrifice and that they use this period to pray for unity and prosperity.

FG drops tax charges against Binance executives

The federal government has officially dropped the tax charges against the Binance Executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, who escaped from Nigeria. Nigerian authorities had seized both executives on the claim of being complicit in tax evasion.

The allegations against the two Binance executives were filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); however, a Federal High Court in Abuja declared the two free of their alleged tax evasion crimes within the country.

Although the Binance team had stated that Tigran Gambaryan was not a decision-maker in the company, the firm displayed gratitude for freeing him of the charges, “We are relieved that the Federal Inland Revenue Service has served and filed amended charges today, resulting in tax charges against Tigran Gambaryan being dropped.”

The naira loses value against the US dollar in the official and black market

The Nigerian currency has depreciated against the US dollar in both the official and black market, trading at ₦1,482/$ from ₦1,476 in the official market while it trades at ₦1,485/$ compared to its previous rate of ₦1,480 in the black market.

The Bureau De Change operators have revealed that they purchase dollars at the rate of ₦1,460/$ and sell ₦1,485, keeping a gain of ₦25 to themselves.

According to the FX rates, the gap between the official and parallel market is ₦2.28, and the daily FX market turnover stood at $183.47 million.

Reps and NAFDAC remove ban on sachet alcoholic beverages

The House of Representatives, along with the National Agency of Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has removed the prohibition on sachet alcoholic beverages in the country.

Earlier this year, the federal agency stated its reason for banning sachet alcohol as the non-registration of manufacturing these products after their licence expired on January 1, 2024.

However, the House of Representatives demanded an investigation into the incident surrounding the banning of sachet alcohol by NAFDAC.

UK records low migration of students and foreign workers

The United Kingdom has recorded a 30% decline in the migration of students and foreign workers moving into the country.

According to the data released by the Home Office, the decline, from 121,000 to 85,200 in the first five months of 2024, is on par with both the Conservative and Labour parties’ goals to reduce net migration into the country.

This makes it the largest decline in migration since the pandemic, as migrants often consist of skilled workers, students, and health and care visa holders.

The large decline of migrants is due to the harsh, stringent rules placed upon prospective migrants.