TOP STORIES.

Buhari Appoints Segun Awolowo As Secretary National Action Committee On AFCFTA.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mr Olusegun Awolowo as the secretary of National Action Committee on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for a tenure of four years with effect from December 19, 2022.
As secretary, Mr Awolowo is expected to provide direction to the National Action Committee on the AfCFTA for effective coordination of relevant stakeholders towards the attainment of Nigeria’s strategic national interest.

Mr Awolowo, a Law graduate from Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University), Ago Iwoye, has served as Special Assistant to former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He also worked with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Abuja, as Secretary for Social Development and Transport from 2007 to 2011.
Mr Awolowo was the Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council between 2013 and 2022, serving two tenures.

Abuja-Kaduna Train Station Resumes Services.
The Federal Government has approved the resumption of services at the Abuja-Kaduna train station.
The Board and Management of Nigerian Railway Corporation revealed in a memo made available to newsmen on Monday, January 30th, that services will commence at the station starting from Tuesday, January 31st.
Recall that services was halted at the Abuja-Kaduna train days ago after a train derailed at the Kubwa station rail line.

“Subsequently, the Service will resume on Tuesday 31st January 2023 with the following daily schedule,” the memo released by the Director, Operations NRC, Niyi Alli, on Monday reads.

Osun Guber: INEC Reveals Its Position After Tribunal Judgment.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says no final statement can be made yet regarding the tribunal’s stand on the 2022 Osun State governorship election.
This is as the electoral umpire held that it would be wrong to pre-empt the outcome of the case which is now before the Appeal Court.

INEC made the declaration in its reaction to Friday’s tribunal judgment which sacked Governor Ademola Adeleke from office and gave victory to Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall two out of a three-member panel of the tribunal held that the petitioner (Oyetola) was able to prove that there was over-voting in some of the polling units.

Speaking on the tribunal’s verdict and the current situation in Osun State, INEC national commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Barr. Festus Okoye, said until the judicial process runs its full course, nothing can change.
Okoye said the tribunal is only the first stage in the process and it would only be right to wait for the outcome of the other higher judicial processes since the tribunal’s position has been appealed before making any statement or taking any step.
“The judicial process must be allowed to run its full course.

Court Struck Out Suit Seeking Buhari’s Sack.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking to sack President Muhammadu Buhari from office.
A former presidential candidate of Hope Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2019 elections,
Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru, had approached the court to challenge Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the previous election.
In the suit, Owuru prayed the court to declare the presidential seat vacant and swear him in as the authentic winner of that election.

However, following hearings, the suit was on Monday thrown out by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo on three major grounds.
Parts of the grounds are that the suit constituted a gross abuse of court process, statute barred and was an affront to the supremacy of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The presiding judge held that the suit was baseless, frivolous, irritating, and vexatious in its entirety.

2023: They Are Using The Insurgents To Cause Problems – Buhari Reveals Those Responsible For Insecurity

President Muhamamdu Buhari has disclosed those responsible for the insecurity situation plaguing the country days to the presidential election.
Buhari said that external forces are those who are bent on destroying the country. The president stated this on Monday at a presidential lunch in Kano after his tour around the state to commission projects by the administration of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

According to him: “One can clearly see how these foreign countries took on our weaker part of Nigeria, the Lake Chad where we have reserves of crude oil, and causes serious mayhem there with consistent attacks.
“But for Governor Zulum who is serious with his duty, the story of the area around Lake Chad would have been different by now.”
The president stated that when he took over power in 2015 only four of Borno’s 17 local government areas were not under the control of Boko Haram.

2023: Wike Threatens To Hit PDP Leaders On Anti-Party Activities.

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike on Monday threatened to hit back at the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over anti-party activities.
It was learnt that Wike stated this during the PDP campaign rally in Etche Local Government Area (LGA), Rivers State.
Wike in his statement accused the National Working Committee of the party of working with the opposition.
The Rivers State Governor said, “Those of them in Abuja that are talking about anti-party (activities), we have caught them now. They are the ones doing their anti-party (activities).
“I have caught them now and I told them anti-party begets anti-party. You know we carried these small parties to court for failing to do what the law says – APC, SDP.
“The people in Abuja that say they are national have gone to collude with them to write our lawyer a letter that they should take their hands off, in order to kill the cases we filed.
“I will hit them back by tomorrow, there is nobody that touches us that will not get a wound on his body. Anybody that says he will touch us in Rivers State, I will give him many wounds on his body – and we have started it.

Osun Guber: APC Didn’t Use Complete Data On BVAS Server Report To Sack Adeleke – Ex-INEC Director.

A former official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, has provided clarifications on the discrepancy related to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) following the tribunal judgement in Osun State.
Recall that the tribunal on Friday sacked the state Governor, Ademola Adeleke and ordered INEC to present a certificate of return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Gboyega Oyetola.

Osaze-Uzzi, in an interview on Channels TV on Monday, said there should not have been a discrepancy in the July 16 2022 governorship election.
He claimed that APC obtained a certified copy of the initial server report before some of the data were been transmitted by the BVAS hardware.
He, however, pointed out that the verdict was not a unanimous judgement.

President Buhari Plans On Moving To Daura When His Tenure Ends – Lai Mohammed.

President Muhammadu Buhari has once again indicated that he will be relocating to Daura, Katsina State when his tenure comes to an end .
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed made the statement on the President’s behalf on Monday.
Speaking on Buhari’s commitment to a democratic government, Mohammed stated that his principal was ready to hand over power after the completion of his constitutionally-stipulated two terms.
He said, “President Buhari has left no one in doubt of his dogged determination to ensure free, fair and credible elections, handover to a successor elected by Nigerians and then return to Daura after the May 29, 2023 handover date.
“As recently as this past Friday, when he visited the Emir of Daura, President Buhari told the Emirate that he would return and settle down in Daura after handing over on May 29, 2023.”

US Visa Ban: Whatever Action Taken Is Justified – Buhari Government Reacts.

The Federal Government has reacted to the visa ban by the United States of America on some Nigerians undermining democracy.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed while responding to various requests from the media concerning the ban explained that any action taken against individuals who undermine democracy is justified

Lai Mohammed stated this on Monday at the 20th edition of the PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023).
He went on to state that no administration since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999 has shown more commitment to the democratic process than the Muhammadu Buhari government.

Old Naira Notes: Atiku Gives Fresh Advice.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has commended the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the swap of old naira notes in the country.
The former Vice President in a statement on Sunday said the extension would minimize the adverse effect of the policy on Nigerians.
He further advised the CBN to encourage banks to step up their mobile banking activities so that Nigerians in remote and rural areas would benefit from the extension.
Atiku ended his statement by urging Nigerians to take advantage of the new window brought into play by the extension.

2023: Sanwo-Olu Won’t Debate With Me Because He Has Failed – Jandor
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Lagos State, Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has said he would still participate in the Lagos governorship debate.
It was earlier reported that the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated that he won’t be attending a scheduled debate ahead of the governorship election because he does not want to share the same stage with Jandor.

This was when the Lagos State Government condemned the recent clash between armed men suspected to be members of the PDP and some hoodlums in the Aguda, Surulere area of the state.
It was gathered that the state government was reacting to a viral video which emerged capturing the moment gunmen exchanged fire in broad daylight in the metropolis.
In a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, the Lagos State Government called on the police to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.
However, Jandor has come out to react, saying the real reason why Sanwo-Olu pulled out of the debate was because of his alleged failures in the state.
The PDP chieftain at a world press conference on Sunday cited the spiral unemployment numbers which has risen from 14% when he took over four years ago to more than 30%, and poverty level which doubled from 4% to 8% at the same period as part of the alleged failures of the governor.

11 Burnt To Death In Ondo Tragic Road Accident

There were mixed reactions on Sunday morning after eleven people were killed in a tragic road accident in Ondo State.
Reports made available revealed that the tragic incident happened in Ore town along the Benin-Shagamu Expressway in the Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.
The Ondo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ezekiel Son’Allah, confirmed the incident to newsmen, noting that the accident involved a Marcopolo bus and a truck.

He revealed that the victims were burnt beyond recognition as the vehicles involved caught fire. The accident reportedly occurred as a result of excessive speeding on the part of the drivers of the vehicles involved.

Old Naira Note: Details Of Emefiele’s Meeting With Buhari Emerges.

On Sunday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released a document containing details of the meeting between the apex bank’s Governor, Godwin Emefiele and President Muhammadu Buhari.
There has been an outrage over the deadline for collecting old naira notes and swapping them for newly redesigned notes.
CBN had earlier maintained that old N1000, N500, and N200 notes would seize to be valid as legal tender on Tuesday, January 31st, 2023. It urged Nigerians to visit the bank branches and money agents to swap their notes ahead of the deadline.

There were, however, a series of lamentations by Nigerians as the new naira notes are yet to circulate. To ease the tension and allow those who are yet to get exchanged do so, the CBN announced on Sunday (yesterday) that President Buhari has approved the extension for the collection of the old naira notes.
According to the apex bank, the development resulted from the Sunday meeting between Emefiele and President Buhari.

Ganduje Makes U-turn, Says Kano Ready To Receive Buhari.

Governor Umar Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has backtracked, saying the state is now ready to receive President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that the Kano State government had written to the president seeking a postponement of the visit over the “suffering” caused by the deadline for the old naira notes.
However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in a statement on Sunday, announced that it has extended the deadline for the validity on the old naira notes till February 10.
Speaking to newsmen on Sunday after leading a delegation to Daura, Katsina State, to meet Buhari, Ganduje said the president can now come to the state to commission some projects.
“We are very much ready to receive him and we have a lot for him to commission, including federal government projects and state government projects. They are state-of-the-art projects,” he said.
According to the governor, the state is satisfied with the president’s response to the concerns raised over the visit.

 

Buhari Appoints New NYSC DG.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Brig. Gen. Y. D. Ahmed as the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The Army General will take over on Monday from Christy Uba who has headed the NYSC for about three months.
Recall that Buhari had appointed Christy Uba, the first woman to be appointed to NYSC since its establishment about 50 years ago, following the sacking of Brig. Gen. Mohammed Fadah over alleged incompetence and poor performance.
Uba, the most senior director and Director, Information and Communications Technology, was appointed on November 22, 2022.
The NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, had said the appointment followed the sacking of Brigadier General Muhammad Kaku Fadah as DG by Buhari.

 

2023: ‘PDP Breached Constitution’ – Nnamani Speaks About Why He Is Supporting Tinubu

A former governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani, has given his reasons for supporting the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.
Nnamani alongside other chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti and Imo states were suspended from the party for alleged anti-party activities.
Subsequently, the PDP chieftain’s posters with Tinubu and different slogans were sighted online showing his alleged full support for the APC flag bearer.
Giving his reason for supporting Tinubu, Nnamani claimed that the PDP had breached its constitution to disallow the South the opportunity to run for the presidency.
According to him, the PDP constitution specifies that key political offices be rotated between the North and South to ensure equity, justice and fairness.

It was gathered that the former Enugu State governor explained in a statement made available to pressmen on Sunday in Abuja that the PDP constitution was clear about adherence to the policy of rotation.

Old Naira Notes: House Of Representatives Rejects CBN Extension.

The ad hoc committee on the new naira redesign and naira swap policy of the House of Representatives rejected the extension of the deadline for the exchange of old naira notes.
It was earlier reported that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele on Sunday announced that the deadline has been extended by ten days.

Recall that the apex bank had fixed the 31st of January as the deadline for the exchange of the old naira notes; N200, N500 and N1000.
Emefiele, however, on Sunday said President Muhammadu Buhari gave permission for the deadline to be extended to February 10.
The ad-hoc committee chaired by the leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa in reaction to the development rejected the extension, insisting that the CBN must comply with sections 20 sub 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN act.
The House on Tuesday constituted the ad hoc committee to look into the deadline set by CBN.

Top Boko Haram Commander, Abu Illiya Is Dead.

A top command of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group, Abu Iliya, has reportedly died.
Troops of Operation Hadin Kai, in collaboration with hybrid forces of the Civilian Joint Task Force, killed the terrorist.

The Nigerian Army and the collaborating bodies recorded success in a recent operation in the Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.
A counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, confirmed the development in a report on Sunday, January 29. He revealed that 31 other terrorists were neutralized during the operation.

According to the report, the terrorists were killed during intelligence-led aggressive fighting patrols in Boko Haram hideouts in Kayamari, Habasha, and Yuwe villages.
Makama confirmed further that the gallant security men contacted the terrorists during a counter-offensive patrol in Yuwe, resulting in a heavy gun battle.

Some of the terrorists reportedly escaped after seeing the superior firepower of the troops, leaving their properties and weapons with at least 50 bicycles recovered during the raid.
Meanwhile, the army also confirmed the latest victory on its verified Twitter page on Sunday afternoon, describing the development as an additional victory over the terrorists.
It confirmed that there was an ambush operation in the early hours of Saturday, 28 January 2023, around Yuwe village in Konduga LGA of Borno state.