Mixed Feeling about Subsidizing Tertiary Institutions & more –15th June 2023

Kedu from BA! This is the Rorshok Nigeria Update from the 15th of June twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Nigeria.

The new President Tinubu has started making changes, just like he promised.

On Monday the 12th, the president signed the student loan bill into law!

The new law will financially assist students in tertiary institutions by providing access to interest-free loans. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund will administer and manage the loans which will begin to be disbursed from September to October.

Although some people have welcomed the idea, others worry that education will no longer be cheap in the country because the government subsidized tertiary education. Others argue that universities will now be able to make more money on their own terms and will no longer go on strike to make their demands. But we'd like to hear from you! Do you think the student loan bill is a good idea? Let us know.

In another major development, the Central Bank of Nigeria (or CBN)has announced the unification of all segments of the forex exchange market. On Wednesday the 14th, the country eased its control of the naira and has now allowed the local currency to freely float. For those who don’t know, a free-floating exchange rate occurs when a government allows the exchange rate to be determined purely by market forces and there is no attempt to ask the central bank to influence the external value of the exchange rate. Shortly after the change, the currency began to recover and closed at about 664 naira per dollar as opposed to the 750 and 755 naira per dollar it earlier stood at.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu has suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (best known as EFCC). In a statement on Wednesday the 14th, the office of the secretary to the government said that Bawa was suspended to conduct a proper investigation into his behavior while in office. Allegations of abuse of office triggered the suspension.

Shortly after his suspension, the Department of State Security (best known as DSS) invited the suspended EFCC chairman for questioning. Recall that Tinubu also suspended the Central Bank Governor and ordered an investigation into his activities. He has since been in the custody of the DSS.

On democracy day, celebrated on the 12th of June every year, Tinubu said that there will be more reforms in the country’s judiciary and that court orders that undermine democracy would no longer be allowed. He said that he is determined to give the country a vibrant judiciary that can be trusted to deliver justice and strengthen institutions.

Speaking of judicial reforms, on Friday the 9th, a federal high court in Lagos ordered the national assembly to amend a section of the law that allows the attorney general of the federation (best known as AGF) to detain certain persons. The suit argued that the law gave too much power to the AGF and deprives people of the constitutional rights to liberty and fair hearing. Even though the national assembly objected to the change, the court dismissed the objection and ordered them to go ahead with the amendment.

Recall we told you that the 9th national assembly would be dissolved on Monday the 12th and that the next set would be sworn in on Tuesday the 13th.

Well, Godswill Akpabio, a senator representing Akwa Ibom north-west, has been elected as the senate president. Akpabio served as governor of Akwa Ibom state from two thousand and seven to twenty fifteen and senate minority leader from twenty fifteen to twenty eighteen. He was also appointed minister of Niger Delta affairs and resigned in June twenty twenty-two to contest the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress but stepped down on the night of the primary election, alongside others, for the eventual winner of the general election President Tinubu.

Meanwhile, in the house of representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the lawmaker representing Zaria constituency of Kaduna state, emerged as speaker of the house of representatives. Abbas is a prince from the Zazzau emirate and was a primary school teacher, a polytechnic, and a university lecturer before he joined politics in twenty ten.

Listen up because the federal government has issued a new health alert!

A disease called anthrax has broken out in some neighboring countries like Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Togo. On Monday the 12th, the Ministry of Agriculture said that the disease has already claimed some lives and warned against the consumption of hides (or ponmo) because anthrax is an infection that typically affects ruminants such as cows, sheep, and goats. it is transmissible from contaminated animals to humans. However, the disease is not spread from person to person by casual contact. Symptoms include cough, fever, muscle aches, and if not diagnosed and treated early, the disease could end up in pneumonia, severe lung problems, shock, and death. Animal vaccinations are advised to be intensified in Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states because of their proximity to the affected countries.

Let’s have a look at the oil sector.

On Tuesday the 13th, Seplat Energy Plc announced that the federal government has restored the immigration documents of Roger Brown, its CEO. On the 3rd of March, a federal high court stopped Brown from participating in the management of the company after some aggrieved stakeholders in the company sued the CEO over allegations of racism, favoring of expatriate workers, discrimination against Nigerians, and breach of good governance.

The ministry of interior also withdrew the work permit, visa, residence permit, and all relevant documents that authorized Brown’s entry or stay in Nigeria after they reviewed the evidence brought against him. The ministry also said that Brown worsened matters when he refused to honor two counts of invitations, claiming he was not in the country when he was actually in Abuja.

Seplat Energy denied the allegations and said that Brown would continue to work as CEO in the UK. In an update on the matter, Seplat said Brown can now legally enter, work, and stay in Nigeria.

There has also been a major development in the business sector.

On Tuesday the 13th, the first trading day since the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as the governor of the CBN, the Nigerian stock market surged to its highest level since July two thousand and eight. Some market analysts have speculated that the surge is linked to investors’ optimism that the CBN governor’s removal is a sign of coming monetary policy reforms. Tajudeen Ibrahim, head of research at Chapel Hill Denham, said the increase is a reflection of optimism over the policy signals from the president and will enhance the performance of companies.

In other news, some parents of the Chibok schoolgirls — who are still in captivity —have appealed to President Tinubu to facilitate the release of the remaining ninety-two abducted students. Recall that on the 14th of April, twenty fourteen, Boko Haram terrorists abducted 276 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Borno state. While some of the girls escaped from the terrorists, many others have also been rescued. In a letter on Monday the 12th, some of the parents of the abducted girls pleaded with the president to put an end to their sorrow and intensify efforts to bring back their girls.

In some exciting news, on Tuesday the 13th, the Guinness World Record (or GWR) finally certified Hilda Baci as the holder of the record for the longest cooking marathon! In May, Baci undertook an attempt to break the record of eighty-seven hours forty-five minutes set by Lata Tondon, the Indian chef, in twenty nineteen. Baci cooked over 100 pots of food during her four-day kitchen marathon so that she could hit the 100-hour record. However, GWR said that seven hours were deducted from her 100-hour attempt because she mistakenly took extra minutes in one of her rest breaks. In that case, her new record is ninety-three hours and eleven minutes. Congratulations to her!

And that's it for this week. Another quick question. How are we doing on bias? Ax grinding? We try to be independent and stick to the facts and context with favor and fear of none. How are we doing? So do we seem even a teensy bit biased? Tell us at nigeria@rorshok.com

ka o di!