‘We inherited a dire situation’ – Shettima defends Tinubu’s policies
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Vice President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu’s administration inherited a dire situation when it took over in 2023.
Shettima stated this on Thursday in Abuja when he hosted a delegation from the United Nations System in Nigeria on a courtesy visit.
According to him, fuel subsidy had been an albatross around the neck of successive governments in Nigeria.
“We had two options: either we get rid of subsidy or subsidy will get rid of the Nigerian nation.
“We have to be our brother’s keeper, but we were literally subsidising the fuel of the entire West African region,” he said.
He said that President Tinubu’s decision to abolish the subsidy and unify the exchange rates to allow the naira to float freely “created a lot of challenges from the humanitarian end”.
Shettima added that removing fuel subsidy and unifying exchange rates were tough but necessary decisions to rescue Nigeria from economic disaster.
The Vice President, however, assured all that Nigeria would work closely with the UN to address the country’s challenges.
He also promised the UN delegation that Nigeria would close ranks with the global body.
Earlier, Mr Mohammed Fall, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, had said that the global body would collaborate with President Tinubu’s administration to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.
JUST IN: Terrorists kill vigilantes, abduct two village heads, others in Kaduna
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Some terrorists have reportedly killed eight vigilante members and two other persons in Kakangi and Unguwan Matinja communities in the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The village heads of Kakangi and Kisaya villages under Kakangi Ward were also abducted.
A resident of the LG identified as Idris Khalid, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent, said the gun-wielding men invaded the villages at about early Thursday.
The eight vigilante members who were killed in Kakangi were Bala Kamba, Abdurrahman Musa (Ubale), Kabiru Dan Dugui, Hambali Abu, Aliyu Abu, Nura Jika (Maleka), Mubarak Musa (Dan Wamba) and Ikra Hantsi.
Khalid added that the two victims in the Ungwan Matinja community under Gayam Ward were identified as Christopher Abubakar and Isah Gambo.
He said the vigilantes were attacked while trailing the kidnapped victims who were abducted on their way to a burial between Kakangi and Sabon Layi.
“The vigilantes engaged the terrorists, killing scores of them but could not rescue the two traditional rulers and others.
Lagos govt uncovers fresh apartments under bridge in Ikoyi
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As part of the ongoing demolition of illegal structures, the Lagos State government has uncovered another set of apartments under a bridge located in the highbrow area of Ikoyi, Lagos State.
Recall that earlier on Tuesday, Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, had in a tweet on his official X handle page, announced the discovery of an apartment under the Dolphin Estate Bridge in Ikoyi where tenants paid N250,000 annual rent.
In a latest tweet on his X handle page on Friday, Wahab announced that the illegal settlement was discovered under Osborne Bridge, Ikoyi.
According to him, “Another illegal settlement was discovered under the Osborne Bridge, Ikoyi. Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps @LAGESCOfficial (KAI) commenced an immediate clearance operation,” the commissioner wrote on X.
He also shared videos of the location.
The state government had earlier dislodged under bridge tenants who paid N250k annually to yet to be identified landlords.
The tenants who were dislodged in the process were discovered during an enforcement exercise by officials of the state government during demolition of illegal structures.
Naira closes 1,402/$ at official market as dollar demand persists
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The naira traded at a loss at the official market, depreciating to N1,402 against the United States dollar on Thursday.
According to data from the FMDQ exchange securities, the naira dropped by N12 or 0.86 per cent from the N1,390 recorded at the close of trading activity on Tuesday.
There was no trading activity on Wednesday due to the Worker’s Day celebration.
At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, the intraday high closed at N1,445 on Thursday weaker than N1,450 on Tuesday. The intraday low also depreciated to N1,299 on Thursday as against N1,200 on Tuesday.
Dollars supply at NAFEX appreciated by 3.1 per cent or $7m to $232 on Thursday from $225.36m recorded on Tuesday.
The naira had depreciated following a renews demand for the greenback at both the official and parallel market.
Based on data from the FMDQ official trading platform, the naira gained N28.15 on the final trading day of April, settling at N1,390.96/$ as against N1,419/$ on April 29.
The positive trend was also reflected in trading volumes, with a 52.45 per cent surge in forex turnover, reaching $225.36m, up from the prior volume of $147.83m.
However, compared with the beginning of April, the April 30 rate was a 5.8 per cent depreciation from N1,309.39 seen on April 1.
Similarly, Bureau De Change operators said the naira recorded a reduction in value at the parallel market on Thursday.
Abubakar Yahu, a BDC operator in Wuse 2, Abuja, said traders bought the dollar at N1,310 and sold at N1,360 leaving a profit margin of N50.
He said the dollar was rising marginally due to constant demand but not at the same rate when the naira slid to N1,900 two months ago.
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