Splash Instablog

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demands apologies from the All Progressive Congress (APC) to former President Goodluck Jonathan for the lies the party ruling party told against him. The party also asked the APC to apologise to Nigerians for the propaganda it dished out during the the 2015 election campaign. The PDP said this on Saturday, June 18, in a series of tweets via its handle @PdpNigeria. It also accused the Muhammadu Buhari administration of not fighting corruption but "sharing dollars in Central Bank of Nigeria and doing illegal forex deals". The opposition party said what the present government successfully did in one year was shut down the economy, ruined businesses, drove away investors and gave excuses.

The two were accused of forging the 2015 Senate Standing Rules used in electing them to office. The immediate past Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa , and his deputy Benedict Efeturi were also charged alongside Saraki and Ekweremadu. The charges were filed over a year after the controversial election and inauguration of the two principal officers on June 9, 2016. Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi , who is the secretary of Unity Forum, a group of All Progressives Congress Senators opposed to the emergence of Saraki, had petitioned the Inspector General of Police after the election, alleging that the Standing Rules used for the exercise was forged. He accused the four officials of conspiracy, and demanded criminal investigation of the matter. A detailed report of the police investigation was later submitted to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami . Since the report, the federal government just took steps to press criminal charges against Saraki and th...

Nigeria 's commercial banks will set the first exchange rate of the  naira versus the dollar when the currency is allowed to float freely on Monday after the central bank abandoned its dollar peg, a senior banking source said on Friday. On Wednesday, the central bank said it would float the national currency on Monday, but it has given few details on how the new rules will be implemented. In their first detailed guidance, central bank officials told bank chief executives at a meeting on Friday that lenders would set the first naira rate to the dollar based on demand without intervention from the central bank, one senior banking official told Reuters. A central bank source said that Governor Godwin Emefiele was at the meeting and confirmed that commercial banks will determine the market rate on Monday. The central bank officials also told the bankers it did not commit itself to clearing up a backlog of hard currency estimated at around $4 bill...

We were unfairly treated,' sacked officers condemn military authority But some of the affected officers said they were sacked for being close to some military chiefs during the Goodluck Jonathan administration. The director, Army Public Relations, Col Sani Kukasheka Usman , on Friday, June 10, announced the compulsory retirement of 38 army officers, saying the affected officers were retired "based on service exigencies and in line with the Armed Forces Act, CAP A20 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004." He said their retirement was connected to the role defence contracts which is being investigated by a Presidential committee and the 2015 general elections. But some of the affected officers said they were sacked for being close to some military chiefs during the Goodluck Jonathan administration including the embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki . “Obviously, the new military establishment came with the mindset of doing ...

The central bank said last week it would abandon the peg in a "managed float" and the median forecast from 10 analysts surveyed by Reuters suggests it will trade on Monday in a range of 275 to 300 per dollar. Nigeria' s  naira  is expected to lose around a third of its value when market trading begins on Monday, bringing to an end the central bank 's much-criticised fixed exchange rate system. The naira has been pegged at 197 to the U.S. dollar for the past 16 months but the currency trades at around 350 on the parallel market as a slump in oil revenues has hammered public finances and foreign currency reserves. The central bank said last week it would abandon the peg in a " managed float " and the median forecast from 10 analysts surveyed by Reuters suggests it will trade on Monday in a range of 275 to 300 per dollar. Nigeria's commercial banks will set the first exchange rate of the naira versus the dollar when the new market opens, a senior ...

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arrived back in the capital Abuja on Sunday after a nearly two-week stay in Britain where he had treatment for an ear infection and a holiday. Buhari exited his plane waving to ministers and army chiefs who came to greet him. "I am ok. I am better. You can see me inspecting the guards of honour. Now you can do the assessment yourself," Buhari told reporters at the airport. Buhari returns a day before the  naira  currency is set to be devalued under a new market-driven trading system, ending the central bank's 16 month fixed exchange rate policy. Buhari has for months said that he does not want the naira to be devalued, but backed a more flexible exchange rate policy when the central bank outlined its plans in May, without elaborating. The 73-year-old flew to London on June 6 to see an ear, nose and throat specialist after two doctors in Nigeria recommended further evaluation "as a precaution", his team said. Vic...