Friday brief: Buhari acknowledges borrowing worries
+ Obiano's Abuja trip & UK's travel policy
* The Naira/Dollar rate was calculated by averaging buying rates from several Nigerian FinTech startups.
Good morning.
Welcome to the Friday briefing. This newsletter keeps you updated with the latest news from Nigeria. Don’t forget to subscribe to receive it in your email before 7 am (WAT) every weekday.
Obiano goes to Abuja
Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano paid a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday and left with an assurance that the federal government does not plan to impose a state of emergency on Anambra State before the November 6 governorship election in the state.
Attorney-General Abubakar Malami on Wednesday had said a state of emergency was an option available to the government, to ensure the security of lives and property during the election, drawing backlash from constitutional lawyers and opposition parties.
“I just finished meeting with the president and I mentioned it and the president didn’t suggest that,” Obiano told journalists. “The president is firm, he wants a peaceful election in Anambra State. He wants a free and fair election in Anambra State, that’s the president for you.
“But if people in his party are going around making insinuations, using his name to do things, the president clearly told me that he does not support that, full stop.”
Lai Mohammed: The Minister of Information says it is okay to declare a state of emergency in Anambra rather than Katsina because bandits are not like IPOB, who are seeking to leave Nigeria.
Quote: “You do not compare apples with oranges. The bandits in Katsina do not want to leave Nigeria,” Mr Mohammed said on why the federal government has not considered an emergency rule in Katsina. “They do not want to declare their own republic and they are not saying there will be no elections. They are primarily criminals.”
INEC: The electoral agency has released the final list of candidates for the Anambra governorship election. All the candidates are male.
UK now recognises Nigeria’s Covid vaccine certificate
The United Kingdom says Nigerians who are fully vaccinated can now travel to England without isolating for ten days on arrival.
They also will not be required to provide a pre-departure test or undertake a day 8 test. Although, they still need to book and pay for a day 2 test.
The new rule will begin to apply on October 11.
“This policy applies to those fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca (including Covidshield), Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson),” the UK government said in a statement.
Buhari acknowledges borrowing worries
While presenting the 2022 budget at the National Assembly on Thursday, President Buhari noted that Nigerians were right to be concerned about the high levels of borrowing undertaken by his administration. But he insisted that the debt levels were still within sustainable limits.
“As you are aware, we have witnessed two economic recessions within the period of this administration,” the President said. “In both cases, we had to spend our way out of recession, which necessitated a resort to growing the public debt.
“It is unlikely that our recovery from each of the two recessions would have grown as fast without the sustained government expenditure funded by debt.”
Foresight: Economy experts have advised the federal government to consider selling refineries and other unprofitable public assets in order to finance part of the 2022 budget deficit of N6.3trn.
What else is happening?
Chiwetalu Agu: The Nollywood actor was assaulted and arrested by the Nigerian Army for wearing a Biafra-themed outfit. The army said he was soliciting support for proscribed group IPOB.
Peter Obi: The former Anambra Governor says he didn’t break any law after a Pandora Papers investigation revealed he had failed to declare some of his assets while in public office.
Atiku Abubakar: The former Vice President says zoning is not the solution to Nigeria’s problems and suggests that the next President can come from any region.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu: The Lagos State Governor appears to have endorsed Bola Tinubu for the 2023 presidency while speaking at an event in Lagos.
Abdulrazak Gurnah: The Tanzanian’s emergence as the 2021 Nobel Laureate for Literature is a sign that “the Arts – and literature in particular – are well and thriving” in Africa, says fellow Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka.
Football: In a major upset, the Super Eagles were beaten 1-0 in Lagos by the Central African Republic in a world cup qualifying match.
Environment: A bill that allows for the compensation of people living around airports for noise pollution has passed second reading at the House of Representatives.
And that’s it for today and the week.
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