Latest News in Nigeria Newspapers Today 17/10/2019

Aisha Buhari

Here is a summary of the latest news in Nigeria newspapers today 17/10/2019.

1.  A new set of aides has been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari for Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari. The appointment takes immediate effect. In another development, the First Lady has apologised to members of his family as well as Nigerians over the humiliation caused by a viral online video. 

2. Negotiation between the Federal   Government and organized labour over the new minimum wage will continue today. Earlier meetings between both parties failed to reach a favourable conclusion necessitating the need for today’s meeting. 

3. Nigeria’s main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party has faulted the imposition of a N5,000 fee for national identity card by the Buhari-led administration. PDP’s publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, revealed that such action is repressive in a time when many Nigerians are living below the normal standard of living.

4. Seven Koreans have been deported by the Federal Government, the Nigerian Immigration Service has revealed. The deportation was carried out by the Comptroller General of the service, Muhammad Babandede, after being approved by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Interior Minister.

5. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) met on Wednesday and the meeting was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari. The council authorized N5.4 billion for building an indoor shooting range as well as oil and gas parks.

6. The corruption fighting style of President Muhammadu Buhari has been faulted by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts. The committee recommended the digitization of the audit system to prevent corruption instead of running after corrupt officials with EFCC and ICPC after the deed has been done.

7. The Federal Government has been advised to private some of its enterprises so as to be able to fund the 2020 budget which has a deficit of N2.28 trillion. Giving this advice is Alex Okoh, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), during his meeting Privatisation Committee of the Senate.

8. Foreign trips as well as estacodes have been reduced for Ministers and other high-ranking government officials by President Muhammadu Buhari. This is done so that leakages of government funds will be curbed while efficient management of scarce resources will be enhanced.

9. The Nigerian Army has changed Operation Python Dance ‘Egwu Eke’ to ‘Atilogwu Udo’. Operation Python Dance was launched to curb security challenges in the south-eastern part of the country. Revealing this is Col. Aminu Iliyasu, the Media Coordinator of the Nigerian Army Operations.

Latest News in Nigeria Newspapers Today 16/10/2019

Ahmed Lawan

Good day! Here is a summary of the latest news in Nigeria newspapers today 16/10/2019.

1. It has been revealed by the Debt Management Office that Nigeria’s public debt has reached N25.7 trillion by the end of the second quarter of 2019. This is an increase of N3.32 trillion when compared to the same period last year. The federal government is owing N20.42 trillion while the 36 states as well as the Federal Capital Territory are owing a total amount of N5.28 trillion.

2. The National Identity Card is to be renewed with three thousand naira (N3,000) while replacement will cost five thousand naira (N5,000). This was made known by the agency responsible for identity management in Nigeria, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

3. Nigeria’s GDP growth is expected to be weak this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The fund disclosed this in Washington DC during the IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting currently going on in the city.

4. Senator Ali Ndume, Senate’s Army Committee chairman, has faulted the amounted budget for the ministry of defence in the 2020 budget. The ministry is having a budget of N99.87 billion for capital expenditure in 2020. The lawmaker said that this amount represents less than 1% of the total budget of N10.33 trillion which is ideal for a country that wants to end the insurgency war.

5. The meeting between the federal government and the organized labour has been adjourned till Wednesday 16th October 2019 so that grey areas can be sorted out. The organized labour has shifted grounds from 29% to 25% for workers on grade levels 7 to 14 and from 24% to 20% for grade level 15 to 17 workers.

6. President Buhari has requested for approval of the Parliament for N10 billion for Kogi State. The amount represents a refund of projects executed by the state on behalf of the federal government. 

7. Nigeria’s Senate has adjourned plenary for two weeks so that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) can be engaged for the purpose of 2020 budget defence. This was announced by the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan at the plenary on Tuesday.

Latest News in Nigeria Newspapers Today 15/10/2019

Aisha Buhari

Good day! Here is a summary of the latest news in Nigeria newspapers today 15/10/2019.

1. Nigeria’s apex court, the Supreme court,  has informed the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) that the panel that would hear the appeal filed by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, PDP’s presidential candidate, and his party is yet to be constituted.

2. Aisha Buhari, Nigeria’s First Lady has revealed the power play going on at the Aso Villa in Abuja. She said that the viral video that dominated the World Wide Web last week was real. She said that she was angry in the video because the family of Mamman Daura prevented her from getting access to certain parts of the statehouse.

3. The Director-General of NEMA, National Emergency Management Agency, Engr. Mustapha Maihaji has revealed on Monday that almost $665 billion has been lost to disasters worldwide in the last three years. He said that the larger percentage of this loss was witnessed by nations with high income.

4. The doomed state of Nigeria’s refineries has been blamed on inadequate maintenance which has spanned many years. This blame was apportioned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The corporation said that the country has many petroleum technicians but they have been underutilized.

5. Fuel subsidy is expected to cost Nigeria N450 billion in 2020. This was revealed on Monday by Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria’s Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning. She was speaking when publicly presenting the year 2020 budget proposals.

6. Goods worth N1.4 billion have been seized by the Nigeria Customs Service during the ongoing partial border closure. The Comptroller-General of the Service, Col. Ahmed Ali Rtd. made this known to the public.

7. President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to backpedal on the elongation of tenure for 7 federal permanent secretaries. This appeal was made by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN).

8. Nigeria’s government has been asked by the ECOWAS Court of Justice to pay a N10-million compensation for a dismissed soldier, Pte. Barnabas Eli. According to the court, the compensation is necessary because the right to work of the soldier has been violated.

9. The wife of Nigeria’s President, Aisha Buhari, has been accused of attacking Fatima, the daughter of the president’s nephew, Mamman Daura, in the presidential villa. Fatima made this revelation to defend herself in an earlier statement made by the wife of the president.

10. The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, has advised rice millers under the aegis of Rice Millers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) as well as other stakeholders in the rice business to avoid increasing the price of rice because of the border closure.