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2023: Movement, celebrities unveil ‘Fund40Million Ballots Donation Campaign’ for Obi

A political group, 40Million Ballots Movement on Monday unveiled ‘Fund40MB Donation Campaign’, to support the Labour Party (LP) presidential hopeful and his running mate.

The campaign is a donor fundraising for the LP Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the movement officially kick-started the political donor fundraising in collaboration with Celebrities for Peter Obi (CEPO) in Lagos.

The event, which had in attendance many Nollywood actors, actresses, singers, comedians and other celebrities in entertainment industry, also featured several support groups for the presidential ambition of Obi.

The Convener of the group, Kennedy Iyere, described the initiative as a youth-driven 2023 ballot revolution.

He said it was meant to raise fund for the actualisation of the presidential bid of Obi.

Iyere noted that the fundraising was to sustain the momentum and mobilise campaigns in support of Obi in the forthcoming general elections.

“We don’t want money to be an issue. The determination is in young people to take back their country and rescue Nigeria from the precipice,” Iyere said.

Read also: Calabar locked down as “Obidient” rally takes center stage

Pat Utomi hails ‘Obidients’ over solidarity rallies

Pat Utomi, a chieftain of the Labour Party, on Monday praised all supporters of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, aka “Obidients,” for the rallies held on Saturday.

On his social media accounts, Utomi shared a video message of his appreciation to the supporters of Obi, the ‘Obidatti’ army.

“To you ‘Obidients’ everywhere, our gratitude, our gratitude and congratulations,” he said. “On Saturday, October 1, you showed the world that Nigeria had had it with the old order. A new Nigeria is possible and you proved that you are ready to claim this new Nigeria. ”

“On behalf of Peter Gregory Obi and Datti Ahmed and all of us who are involved in organising this new Nigeria to be birthed, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“I think that you have proved the point that the voice of the people is the voice of God. You deserve all the congratulations that are possible to offer.

“Congratulations and thank you. God will bless you richly, and your children will be proud forever of what you have done. Thank you. ” He concluded.

Kwankwaso promises to restore Nigeria’s glory if elected president

Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has pledged to restore the country’s glory if elected next year.

The former governor of Kano State made this known on Sunday shortly after a closed-door meeting with NNPP party chieftains in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, after which he commissioned the party offices.

He said that he was motivated to run for president because he believes he has the capacity to restore the security and infrastructural glory of the country if elected.

“Well, you see, our strategy normally is to allow people to continue to underrate us. Our politics is underground, not in the air. People can see and touch our supporters, and these are committed supporters,” the former Kano State governor noted.

“People who very much believe in our ideology believe if we are given the opportunity, we are in a position to change many things for the better, and therefore, they also believe that if we get the position, the country will be a better place. That is why you see so many people everywhere in the country showing solidarity for our candidature. ”

He admitted that before coming to seek the election, many had written down the chances of his party taking the presidency. He, however, agreed that in the past two months, the same people who had written down the chances of his party had changed their minds.

“Seven months ago, when we decided to join this party, many people thought we were not going anywhere,” Kwankwaso noted. “But by the grace of God, today in this country, everybody knows us.”

The NNPP flagbearer admitted that while he campaigned for President Muhammadu Buhari, he was unhappy with the level of joblessness among youths, some of whom have now taken to drug abuse and banditry.

Global recession can be avoided with right fiscal policies – IMF

The global recession can be avoided if governments’ fiscal policies were consistent with monetary policy tightening, but it is likely that there would be countries falling into recession next year, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director said on Monday.

According to Reuters, in the context of monetary policy tightening, fiscal policy cannot stay idle because the cost of living crisis is hitting parts of society dramatically, Kristalina Georgieva said.

“We do need central banks to act decisively. Why, because inflation is very stubborn… It is bad for growth, and it is very bad for poor people. Inflation is a tax on the poor,” Georgieva told Reuters in an interview during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

She added that fiscal policies that indiscriminately support everybody by suppressing energy prices and providing subsidies are working against monetary policies’ purposes.

“So you have monetary policy putting a foot on the brakes and fiscal policy putting a foot on the accelerator,” she said, after taking part in a conference on food security in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Turkey inflation hits new 24-year high of 83% after rate cuts

Data showed on Monday that Turkey’s annual inflation climbed to a new 24-year high of 83.45 percent in September, still lower than forecast, after the central bank surprised markets by cutting rates twice in the last two months.

Despite soaring prices, the central bank was expected to cut its policy rate again this month after President Tayyip Erdogan called for single-digit interest rates by the end of the year.

Inflation has surged since November last year, as the lira slumped following cuts to the policy rate by the central bank, in an unorthodox easing cycle long sought by Erdogan.

The Turkish Statistical Institute said consumer prices rose 3.08 percent month-on-month, less than a Reuters poll forecast of 3.8 percent. The annual rate of consumer price inflation was predicted to be 84.63 percent.

It was the highest annual figure since July 1998, when Turkey was fighting to end a decade of chronically high inflation.

Transport prices increased nearly 118 percent year on year in September, while food and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased 93.05 percent.

Despite the relentless rise in inflation, Erdogan said last week he had advised the central bank to lower its policy rate at its upcoming meetings, a day after saying he expected interest rates to come down to single digits by year-end.