FG declares Monday public holiday
The Federal Government has declared Monday, October 3, 2022 as a public holiday to mark the 62nd independence anniversary celebration.
“The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who made the declaration on behalf of the federal government, congratulated all Nigerians on this year’s celebration and assured of the government’s commitment to tackling all the challenges facing the nation and bringing smiles to the faces of all the people,” a statement signed by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, said.
“The world is going through dire economic and security challenges, which have also affected our nation. However, I am assuring us all that the government will not abandon the people, but will continue to confront all these challenges with all the might at our disposal until respite comes our way, “Aregbesola noted, according to the statement.
The minister asked Nigerians to use the occasion of the 62nd anniversary celebration to not reflect on the challenges we face as a nation but to unite in overcoming these challenges. He advised Nigerians to always embrace hard work and shun any get-rich schemes that only end up causing us pain. He urged all Nigerians to embrace productivity, saying that only through it can we create wealth and get rich.
Read also: Hold us responsible, Peter Obi tells Nigerians as campaign kicks off (Photos)
Yobe North Senatorial Election: Machina hails court judgement
Bashir Machina, winner of the All Progressive Congress (APC) senatorial election for Yobe North Senatorial district, has praised the judgement of the Federal High Court in Damaturu, confirming him as winner and rightful candidate of the party in next year’s general election.
In passing out her judgment, Justice Fadima Murtala Aminu, the presiding judge, declared null and void the parallel primary election that produced Ahmed Lawan, the Senate President, on June 9, 2022.
Hours after the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as the candidate of the APC, the jubilant aspiring senator described the judgement as “a victory for justice.”
This judgement puts a stop to the ambition of the Senate President, who has been in the National Assembly since 1999 and was hoping for a return in 2023.
After losing his bid to upstage Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the APC presidential ticket, he was hoping to be given the party’s ticket for the Yobe North Senatorial district.
Senate vows to pass Electoral Offences Bill
The Senate has reassured that it will pass the Electoral Offences Bill for assent by President Muhammadu Buhari before the 2023 general election.
According to NAN, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC), stated this on Tuesday at the screening of 19 nominees for INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja.
“The National Assembly is unwavering in making sure that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) succeeds in the conduct of the 2023 general election .”
As difficult as Nigeria’s problems looks, they are not insolvable — Peter Obi
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, said on Wednesday that no matter how daunting and challenging the country’s problems are, they can still be solved.
He arrived at this conclusion during an interview with Charles Aniagolu on the Arise TV news programme. He acknowledged that the country is facing one of its most challenging periods in its more than 62-year existence. He, however, believes that with the right attitude and composure while dealing with the most crucial factor of them all, which is insecurity, the country can forge ahead.
“I assume office next year as the President of Nigeria and will be faced with an array of daunting tasks which we need to deal with and which at times look so insolvable and huge that they can even scare you,” Obi said with a reassuring smile that beamed confidence and composure.
“But I say, as difficult as it looks, it is not insolvable. To start with a number of areas, and for me, the number one thing is insecurity,” he added.
“Insecurity today is impacting badly on virtually all facets of the country,” he presented, emphasising what he has been saying in his various talk shows organised both at home and abroad.
“It is impacting on the most important area that you need to deal with ordinarily—economy. The economy is in a bad shape, but unless you solve your security problems, you can’t deal with that because it’s impacting heavily on that. It is impacting on inflation. ”
According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the August inflation rate was 19.64 percent, the highest in over ten years. Families struggle every day to cope with the rising cost of food and energy prices. The former Anambra governor was making his point based on changes that Nigerians are struggling to deal with.
“It is impacting on your ability to attract investment, so that is the number one thing to deal with. Because if you deal with that, you can then start dealing with the other issues, which include dealing with ensuring that there is a rule of law, under which you have corruption, law and order, bringing about a lucrative environment that can attract investment, and then you can move on to other things. “Dealing with the issue of human capital, the issue of some physical infrastructure and everything.”
Bank of England to buy 65 billion pounds of UK bonds to stem rout
The Bank of England stepped into Britain’s bond market on Wednesday to stem a market rout, pledging to buy 65 billion pounds ($69.4 billion) of long-dated gilts after a government fiscal statement triggered the biggest sell-off in decades.
According to ibtimes , citing potential risks to UK financial stability, the BoE also said it would delay the start of a programme to sell down its 838 billion pounds ($891 billion) of government bond holdings, which had been due to begin next week.
“Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to UK financial stability,” the BoE said. “This would lead to an unwarranted tightening of financing conditions and a reduction of the flow of credit to the real economy.”
The BoE said it remained committed to an 80 billion-pound reduction over the next 12 months in its holdings of bonds bought under its quantitative easing programme after the global financial crisis of 2007-08 and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
British 30-year bond yields hit their highest since 2002 on Wednesday, before the BoE announcement, and traders complained it was becoming increasingly hard to buy and sell bonds as no one wanted the risk of holding such a volatile asset.
