The naira appreciated further on Monday in the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market.

At the Lagos street market, currency traders, also known as bureau de change (BDC) operators, quoted the naira at N1,100 to the greenback.

The traders put the buying price of the dollar at N1,070 and the selling price at N1,100 — leaving a profit margin of N30.

The figure represents an appreciation of N50 or 4.34 percent from the N1,150/$ it traded on April 12.

At the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees official foreign exchange (FX) trading in Nigeria, the local currency rose by 5.72 percent or N69.02 to N1,136.04/$ on Monday — from N1,205.06/$ on April 12.

On April 11, the presidency said President Bola Tinubu’s multi-faceted approach to eliminating foreign exchange (FX) racketeering is strengthening the naira against global currencies.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president on media, said the country’s financial position will improve, leading to the possibility of Nigerians experiencing a stronger naira and a decrease in the prices of goods.

“The President has been very consistent in his view that the labour pains felt by our people and the incredible sacrifices made by our people over the past 10 months would be rewarded across the board,” Ngelale said.

On April 12, Goldman Sachs Group said the naira could extend gains to trade below N1,000 to the dollar.

Former governor of Kaduna, Nasir el-Rufai, says President Bola Tinubu should sack appointees in his cabinet who do not deliver on their mandate.

El-Rufai, who spoke in Maiduguri, Borno state capital, on Monday, urged Tinubu to look into the possibility of adjusting some of his policies that are not yielding expected results.

“You appointed a person into a position and he is not working according to the expectation, you should have the humility to tell him that I need a better person, go and do something else,” NAN quoted him as saying.

The former governor urged Nigerians to pray and assist the administration in its efforts to make things better.

“What we must do as citizens is to pray for our leaders for God to guide them to see or do what is right,” he said.

“For God to give them the humility to reverse themselves when necessary and do the right thing; that’s how society progresses.”

1. The Federal Government has eventually complied with the demands of domestic crude oil refiners and other operators in the sector, as it declared on Monday that indigenous refineries can now buy crude oil in naira or dollars. It also declared that the total crude oil and condensate reserves in Nigeria increased to 37.5 billion barrels as of January 1, 2024, with a life index of 68.01 years.

2. The State Working Committee of the Kano chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has sanctioned some ward party leaders who earlier suspended the national chairman of the party, Umar Abdullahi Ganduje. Leaders in Ganduje ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government had on Monday suspended the APC national chairman.

3. Nigeria witnessed its sixth power grid collapse of 2024 on Monday, as electricity generation on the system collapsed from 2,583.77 megawatts at 2 am to 64.7MW around 3 am before the grid was restored later in the day.

4. The naira has continued its resurgence against the United States dollar, appreciating N1,136/$ at the official market and N1,050/$ at the parallel market at the close of trading activities on Monday. This was as traders predicted the dollar’s fall to below N1,000 before the end of the week.

5. A Lagos Coroner inquest set up to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr., a 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, has said that he died of natural causes. The coroner, Magistrate Mikhail Kadiri stated that the deceased’s death was avoidable but for parental negligence, while absolving staff of the college of any complicity.

6. The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on Monday, said the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has so far rescued over 1,000 kidnap victims without paying a ransom. Ribadu said this when he received 22 students and staff of the Federal University of Gusau, Zamfara State, rescued on Sunday.

7. Tears flowed freely from family members on Monday as the remains of the late Nollywood make-up artist, Abigail Edith Frederick, were entered into her family home in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The late artist, 24, was laid to rest in her hometown in Ikot Udoma, Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

8. Former governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, says fuel subsidy is back, but many Nigerians do not know this. Fielding questions from newsmen in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, on Monday, El-Rufai said the federal government is now paying more than before.

9. The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has stated that a fire incident at the Afam Power Generating Station was responsible for the grid collapse that occurred on Monday. A statement by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the incident caused a partial disturbance of the nation’s grid.

10. Two persons have been reportedly killed in Minna, Niger State capital during a free-for-all in Maitumbi area of the state. The deaths were as a result of a clash between two rival gang groups in the area, on Monday.