Encomium
- NEW MINISTERS DISRUPT FEC MEETING
There was a mild drama at the federal executive council (FEC) meeting after Stephen Ocheni, the new minister from Kogi state, attempted to exchange handshakes with all his colleagues during the weekly meeting.
It was reported that Mr. Ocheni went round shaking all the ministers seated in the council chambers but an official in the presidency drew his attention to the fact that he was disrupting proceedings.
Immediately Ocheni was stopped, the council erupted with laughter.
Acting President, Prof. Osinbajo administered oath of office on Ocheni and Suleiman Hassan from Gombe state before the FEC meeting and announced that portfolios will be assigned to them soon.
- SENATE CHANGES NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE TO NIGERIAN POLICE
The Nigerian Senate has pushed for the change of name from the Nigerian Police Force to simply the Nigerian Police. This is part of the recommendations in the 29 bills approved by the Senate in the ongoing Constitution amendment process.
Some stakeholders in the security sector have claimed that if the word force is removed from the Nigerian Police, it will better drive home the reality that the police is really “your friend”, especially because friends don’t need force, like the military, in relating with fellow friends.
However, the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, while commending his colleagues for job well done, said that the senate has laid the foundation for a new and better Nigeria by approving the 29 bills in the ongoing Constitution amendment process.
- NIGERIAN SENATE BARS JONATHAN FROM 2019 ELECTION
The Nigerian Senate, on Wednesday, barred a former president, Goodluck Jonathan from running for a second term in office. This was done during voting in series of new bills being passed by the upper legislative chamber.
The Bill sought that any vice president who had completed a tenure of a sitting president and contested a fresh four years mandate shall not be eligible to run for a second term of office.
- RESIGN, GO HOME AND REST – FANI-KAYODE tells Buhari
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has asked ailing President Muhammadu Buhari to resign, go home and rest.
The Peoples Democratic Party chieftain stated this on his social media account at the wake of Governors visit to the President in the United Kingdom.
Fani-Kayode in a series of tweets said: “The President/Presidency is not meant to be a tourist attraction, a museum of old fossils or a mausoleum of decaying bodies to be viewed by curious dignitaries in a distant foreign land. It is an act of cruelty to expect this poor man to lead a nation of 180 million.
Let him resign, go home and rest.”
- NIGERIA POLICE REDEPLOYS ALL OFFICERS SERVING ALONG ABUJA-KADUNA HIGHWAY
Nigerian authorities have redeployed all police officers currently serving along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway. a statement by Police Spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, says. The affected officials include “Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, all other Officers, Inspectors serving in the Police Divisions, Police Stations and out posts situated on Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria Highways.
The police said the redeployments were to ensure “total success of absolute Sanity currently ongoing on Abuja-Kaduna Highway aimed at routing out gangs of kidnappers and armed robbers terrorising Abuja-Kaduna Highway.”
- NIGERIA MILITARY RESCUES NNPC OFFICIALS KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM
The Nigerian military has rescued some of the oil workers and security escorts abducted by the Boko Haram fighters during an oil exploration mission to the Lake Chad Basin on Tuesday.
The military led an operation with some members of the Civilian JTF to the area on Wednesday after they got the news of the abduction.
The rescue operation was successful as several insurgents were killed and four members of the Civilian JTF, two NNPC officials and a member of the Department of Geology, University of Maiduguri, were rescued from the insurgents.
- NIGERIA CUSTOMS SEIZE 140 IMPORTED SNAKES
The Nigeria Customs Service on Wednesday seized packages containing animals being imported into the country. Customs intercepted three consignments containing 140 species of snakes and 660 other animals imported into the country from Cameroon.
A Cameroonian vessel, MV Flesh, ferried the animals through the Calabar waterways to the National Inland Waterways Authority jetty in Calabar, Cross River State.
The other animals in the packages were geckos, millipedes, hairy frogs and spiders. All were said to be worth about N6.9m.
The Customs Area Comptroller in charge of Calabar Free Trade Zone – Cross River and Akwa Ibom commands – Mrs. Nanbyen Burromvyat, said:
“There is no permit to bring live animals into the country. We have seized and we are handing the animals over to the Nigerian Quarantine Services for further action.”
The Captain of the vessel, Victor Agbor, said he did not spot the containers when he was about leaving his country.
- SENATE APPROVES INDEPENDENT CANDIDATURE FOR ELECTIONS
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday approved independent candidature for the country’s electoral process.
The approval on Wednesday was part of the ongoing amendment of the 1999 constitution.
Before now, only political parties could sponsor candidates for elections in the country.
The development means candidates can now contest for elective positions without joining a party.
- 15 RESCUED, 8 DEAD AS FOUR STOREY BUILDING COLLAPSED IN LAGOS
Following the collapsed building in Massey Street on the Lagos Island, it has been reported that eight people are dead, while rescue efforts continue to get victims out safely from the wreckage.
It was recalled that the four storey building housing more than thirty rooms gave way on Tuesday around 2 pm, emergency rescue operations continued into Wednesday as officials of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos state fire service, the police and neighborhood safety corps worked tirelessly to rescue victims buried under the rubble. However, the residents are calling on the government to do more to regulate the building sector in the state.
- EFCC RECOVERS N329BN FROM 9 OIL FIRMS
The Kano Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered a sum of N328,988,296,990.62 from nine major oil marketers across the country. The amount represents the cost of products the companies collected from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiary, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, but refused to pay as and when due. The recovery was sequel to a petition against the leadership of NNPC and PPMC. The petitioners had accused the NNPC and PPMC of conniving with the nine oil marketers to divert a whooping sum of N40 billion belonging to the government agency and asked the EFCC to move to recover the cash. The EFCC in a swift reaction referred the petition to a special task force which swung into action by conducting discrete investigation. The EFCC said in a statement made available to Vanguard on Wednesday that findings by the operatives of the EFCC revealed that the oil marketers were actually indebted to the federal government of Nigeria to the tune of N91,519,485,204.44 between 2010 and 2016.
