Latest News in Nigeria Newspapers Today 11/10/2019

President Buhari

Good day! Here is a summary of the latest news in Nigeria newspapers today 11/10/2019.

1. President Muhammadu Buhari has given instructions to his aides to ensure that all assets forfeited by corrupt individuals are sold and proceeds returned to the treasury.  This was revealed when the president was having an audience with members of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC). 

He said that he doesn’t want a situation whereby the assets will be returned to these defaulters when he eventually leaves power. He urged members of the committee to be dedicated to their duties in order to move the country forward.  The committee revealed that N1 trillion reacquired by different agencies of the government was used to fund the budgets of 2017 and 2018.

2. Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan met with President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors at Aso Rock Villa in Abuja. The former president arrived at the Villa at 2:58 p.m. went straight to the office of the president for the meeting. The agenda of the meeting was not disclosed and the former number one man refused to speak with journalists.

3. Jonah Jang, former Plateau State Governor has pleaded with a Plateau State High Court to reject a new application brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The application is seeking an amendment to the 13-count charge brought against him in a N6.3 billion fraud case. 

4. Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria’s Minister for Works and Housing, said that the N157 billion assigned to his ministry is not enough to settle overdue debts. He spoke to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Works stating that the amount owed to creditors for completed road projects stands at N306 billion.

5. The organised labour in Nigeria has been urged to shelve its planned nationwide strike scheduled to begin on October 16. Making the plea is the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA). The association urged the trade unions to exploit every means of dialogue for the sake of the Nigerian economy.

6. Nigeria has signed a $3.9 billion contract with China Railway Construction Corporation Limited. The contract is for the erection of a modern rail line linking Abuja with Baru, Itakpe and Lokoja. 

7. A fresh-look of the National broadcasting code as well as current broadcasting laws has been approved by Nigeria’s federal government. Particularly, the laws would be reviewed so that culpable broadcasting stations would pay N5 million instead of N500,000 as fine for infractions pertaining to indecency, inciting comments and hate speeches.