News
Obi decries Nigeria’s economic decline, calls for urgent action
By Francesca Hangeior
The 2023 Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed deep concern over the country’s economic trajectory since 2015.
In a statement on Monday via X, Obi highlighted the contrast between Nigeria’s economic performance in the early years of its return to democracy and its current state.
“When Nigeria returned to democratic governance in 1999, it maintained an average GDP growth of about 6.72% for 16 years from 1999-2014,” Obi wrote.
However, he pointed out that this growth was not sustained, with GDP growth collapsing to 2.79% in 2015 and the economy slipping into recession in 2016.
He said, “In 2014, just before the inception of a new administration a year later, Nigeria had the biggest economy in Africa with a Gross Domestic Product of $568.5 billion and a GDP Per Capita of about $3,200.”
In contrast, he noted that by 2023, Nigeria had fallen to the 4th largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $375 billion and a per capita of $1700.
Accordingly, the situation worsened in 2024, with the GDP further declining to an estimated $253 billion and per capita dropping to $1087.
This is according to data obtained from StatiSense, an AI data company specialising in financial report analysis, bank statement evaluation, and AI chatbot services.
Subsequently, the former governor expressed alarm at the current state of affairs, saying, “Today, poverty is pervasive and on the increase. Unemployment is rising. Food inflation has skyrocketed to over 43%. Foreign and local investors are losing faith in the future growth of our economy and are leaving in large numbers. Businesses are shutting down.”
Obi called for urgent action to prevent further economic collapse and move it from consumption to production as he criticised the current leadership.
Obi said, “Urgent actions need to be taken to salvage the nation from further economic collapse and move it from consumption to production.
“However, instead of concerning ourselves with all these challenges threatening our collective existence and finding ways to recreate an inclusive and sustainable economy, pull millions of people out of poverty, and return our nearly 20 million out-of-school children to schools, our leaders are more concerned with funding their selfish luxuries and individual lavishness, while throwing blames at others who are only committed to solving the nation’s problems.
“In the face of all these challenges, we the leaders should commit to inclusive and sustainable growth to end the hardship which has continued to burden our fellow Nigerians. Only through that can we achieve a peaceful and secure society.”
News
Commercial S3x Worker Arrested For Stabbing Bartender To Death Over N200 Debt
A 32-year-old sex worker, Riyanatu Musa, has confessed to have stabbed to death a bartender, whom she owed N200 in Adamawa State.
The sex worker stabbed her victim, identified as Yohanna Musa, during an altercation over N200 balance for liquor in Mubi, according to the police.
Spokesperson for the police in Adamawa State, SP Suleiman Nguroje noted that Musa confessed to the crime during interrogation.
“She narrated that she had collected a bottle of dry gin known as ‘big ben’ and one other from the victim and promised to pay the following day, saying that she paid the sum of N1,500 remaining a balance of N200.
“She explained that the fight ensued between her and the victim when he demanded his money and in the course of it she stabbed him with a knife in the chest to death,” Nguroje said.
News
Nigerians man nabbed for k!lling his mother for rituals
A 29-year-old man has been nabbed by the police for allegedly killing his mother for ritual purposes in Cross River.
Spokesperson for the Police Command in the state, SP Irene Ugbo, confirmed the suspect’s arrest and detention to newsmen on Friday in Calabar, albeit without further details.
The incident had occurred on Dec. 25, 2024 in Batriko, Eastern Boki Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Credible source revealed that a combined team of police and the security team of Obudu council area made the arrest on Friday.
According to reports, the suspect had dumped his mother’s body in a well in Obudu LGA, while security operatives had been tracking him since the incident occurred.
The source said that the suspect, who was arrested alongside a native doctor, would be brought to the state command for further investigation.
Recall that the suspect was alleged to have shaved his dead mother’s hair and dumped her remains in a well thereafter.
The source told NAN that the arrest of the fleeing suspect was effected by security operatives at the shrine of a native doctor, with a bag containing his late mother’s shaved hair.
“As I speak with you, the suspect and the native doctor are presently cooling off at the Obudu Divisional Police Headquarters,” said the source. (NAN)
News
Royal matter: Appeal Court Orders Fresh Hearing into Kano Emirate Tussle
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered a fresh hearing in the legal battle over the disputed Kano Emirate involving Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero.
The Appellate Court, in a judgment delivered on Friday, held that Bayero was denied fair hearing due to the shoddy manner in which a Kano High Court conducted proceedings against him.
Justice Mohammed Mustapha, who delivered the lead judgement, stated that the Kano High Court was unfair to Bayero by conducting proceedings without serving him a hearing notice to enable him to present his case.
Justice Mustapha held that all courts of law are bound to ensure justice for all parties by giving them equal opportunities, adding that the conduct of the proceedings against Bayero amounted to a travesty of justice.
Specifically, the Appellate Court held that Bayero ought to have been served with a hearing notice to allow him to present his grievances before judgment was delivered against him in what it described as a shoddy arrangement.
The Court of Appeal, therefore, ordered that the case be remitted to the Chief Judge of the Kano State High Court to be reassigned to another judge for expeditious determination.
Justice Mustapha did not award costs against the respondents in the appeal filed by Ahaji Ado Bayero.
Details later.
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