18th July Newspaper Headlines from Nigeria

1. The Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Tuesday said he will reveal to Nigerians when he is ready to dump the All Progressives Congress, APC. Saraki said this at the Ilorin International airport, in Kwara State. When asked by journalists what he will do over the pressure by some of his followers to lead them out of the APC, Saraki said they should not ‘worry’ or ‘push’ him over the matter as he will make the announcement at the right time.

2. A former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, was on Tuesday re-arraigned at a Federal High Court in Lagos on an amended 39-count bordering on fraud. Kalu, who is now a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-graft agency is prosecuting Kalu alongside his former Commissioner for Finance, Ude Udeogo, and a company, Slok Nigeria Ltd., said to be owned by the former governor.

3. President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate, stating that Nigeria will need N254 billion (N254,445,322,600) to prosecute the 2019 general elections. He consequently requested the lawmakers to grant approval for the sum to be drawn from the 2018 and 2019 budgets.

4. Anti-corruption monitor, Transparency International, TI, has condemned the alleged vote-buying by the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP during Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State. TI said that vote-buying could affect the credibility of the election and endanger the country’s democracy.

5. Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mike Ozekhome, has described the Executive Order no. 6 issued and signed by President Muhammadu Buhari as illegal, unconstitutional, undemocratic, and immoral. He said by signing the executive order, President Buhari was usurping the powers of the National Assembly.

6. Electricity distribution company, Discos has responded directly to about 14 issues raised by the minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola over the lapses he noticed with the company. Debunking Fashola’s statement, they asserted that the ministry had consistently promoted policies that had resulted in sector-wide confusion, infringed on the responsibilities of the various sector players, imposed its agenda on the regulator, compromising its independence, created lack of respect for contracts as well as distorted and redefined the law of privatisation.

7. President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a former Legal Adviser of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Dr Muiz Banire, as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria. Buhari also appointed the chairman and 12 commissioners of the Federal Civil Service Commission. The president has already sent the names of the new appointees to the NASS for confirmation.

8. Apostle Johnson Suleiman of the Omega Fire Ministries has lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Assistant on New Media, Lauretta Onochie for attacking him over the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election. Suleman through his spokesman, Mr Phrank Shaibu said Onochie was dragging the Presidency into the gutters for reacting to an unconfirmed prophecy on the page of a Facebook user.

9. The recovery of two bodies of police officers killed by suspected bandits on Monday in the Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Tuesday resulted in a protest by police officers in the state capital. The officers protested the continued loss of lives of personnel in the hands of bandits by shooting into the air.

10. The Federal High Court in Abuja has formally served a warrant for the release of former National Security Agency, NSA, Sambo Dasuki on the Director-General, DG, of the Department of State Services, DSS, Mamman Daura and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. The report claims that at about 1 p.m on Tuesday, a court bailiff from the Federal High Court accompanied by the two sureties who stood for Dasuki officially served Daura and Malami with the warrant of release.

 

credit: Dailypost