TODAY IN THE NEWS Ogwuche (Middle) Nyanya blast: Key suspect, Ogwuche, extradited to Nigeria– Punch The alleged mastermind of the April 14 blast in Nyanya, Abuja, Aminu Ogwuche, has been extradited by Sudan to Nigeria on Tuesday. Ogwuche, who was handed over to the Interpol Unit of the Nigeria Police Force by the Sudanese authorities was flown into the country in a special flight from Khartoum, Sudan, which touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 3pm on Tuesday. On hand to receive him at the Presidential wing of the airport were the spokespersons of the Police, ACP Frank Mba, Department of State Services, Marilyn Ogar, Army, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade and the Coordinator, National Information Centre, Mike Omeri. The suspect is expected to face trial for terrorism along with other suspects that were arrested in connection with the blast which killed more than 70 people and injured over 120 others at Nyanya area of Abuja. Nyako impeached; faces treason charges- Vanguard There were indications last night that the impeached governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, might be arrested by security agents and charged to court for alleged treason. While the treason charges against the former governor is billed to take off in one court, the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, would be prosecuting Nyako in another court for allegedly looting funds of the state said to have been stashed in a local bank. The governor and the North-East Region manager of the said bank will be charged with another top official of Adamawa State Government, who is being held by the anti-graft agency for aiding and abetting the looting. A competent security source told Vanguard that the Presidency has already ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, to file treason charges against the governor, who lost his plum job yesterday. President Jonathan Jonathan may declare for 2015 soon- Guardian • PDP govs, lawmakers resolve to back president’s re-election Fresh indications emerged yesterday that the uncertainty surrounding President Goodluck Jonathan’s intention to seek re-election in 2015 may end soon. He is now reportedly set to make public his intention to vie for the presidential polls. To make Jonathan’s re-election a reality, governors of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rose from its meeting in Abuja yesterday with a unanimous resolution to support him. President Cancels Meeting with Chibok Parents, Girls, Cites Partisanship- ThisDay •Parents fail to show up at Villa •Police arrest top ranking Boko Haram member •Boko Haram kills 2,053 civilians in 6 months, says Human Rights Watch After waiting for hours for the arrival of the Chibok parents to no avail, President Goodluck Jonathan had to yesterday call off the meeting. The parents of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary school in Chibok, Borno State by Islamist violent sect, Boko Haram, yesterday refused to show up for the scheduled meeting at the Presidential villa, Abuja. The visiting Pakistani Girl Child education campaigner, Malala Yousatzai had extracted a promise from President Jonathan that he will meet with the beleaguered Chibok parents whose daughter had been abducted over 90 days ago. APC alleges murder plot against Aregbesola– Guardian •I can’t wish him dead, says Omisore Osun State All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to use Israeli snipers to assassinate Governor Rauf Aregbesola during his campaign rally. The party’s Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, accused two chieftains of PDP as the masterminds of the plot. The APC urged the Israeli Embassy to check on its citizens, who might have been contracted “to nip the evil in the bud” before the Middle East country gets itself negatively involved in an explosive situation in Nigeria that could affect relationship between the two countries.” It also called on elders not to fold their arms and watch the PDP set Nigeria ablaze, since, according to APC, “that is what assassination of Aregbesola would spontaneously cause.” Nasarawa Assembly begins Al-Makura’s impeachment– Daily Independent •Accuses Gov of siphoning state funds •PDP denies involvement Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Musa Ahmed, on Monday directed the Clerk of the Assembly to serve Governor Tanko Al-Makura with notice of impeachment for alleged acts of gross misconduct. This followed a motion of public interest raised by Deputy Majority Leader of the Assembly, Yahaya Usman (PDP-Umaisha/Ugya), during plenary in Lafia, the state capital. The lawmaker presented a document containing allegations of gross misconduct against the Governor, which, he said, was signed by 20 of the 24 members of the Assembly. FG, others share N756bn from Federation Account in June– National Mirror ‘Manufacturing now key economic growth driver’ The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, yesterday said that the three tiers of government shared N755.95bn from statutory and other revenue allocation sources in June. Speaking at the end of the FAAC meeting he presided over for the first time after his appointment, the new Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, disclosed that the gross revenue that accrued to the Federation Account during the month stood at N784.88bn. This represents a decrease of N59.15bn over the N844.03bn received in May. The committee also approved the transfer of N50.35bn into the Excess Crude Account, bringing the balance in the account to $4.05bn. According to the minister, a breakdown of the distributions showed that N582.93bn was shared under statutory allocation; N66.414bn was distributed under Value Added Tax, VAT, while the balance of N71.04bn was shared from excess non-oil revenue. Abuja bomb blasts: FG warns residents to avoid explosion sites– The Sun Following the explosions at Nyanya and Emab Plaza in Abuja, which consumed lives and property worth millions of naira, the Federal Government yesterday warned Nigerians to avoid accident scenes. Speaking at the ‘After Action Review’ meeting of stakeholders that responded to the two bomb explosions in Abuja, the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mohammad Sidi, recalled that the incidents caused loss of lives and destruction of property. “The impact of these incidents on our psyche cannot be quantified. It has made us to live in constant fear and apprehension on where it is likely to happen again,” he said. Disquiet in electricity market over new bill– BusinessDay The House of Representatives’ Committee on Power and Steel will today commence a public hearing on the bill establishing the National Electricity Management Authority (NEMSA). BusinessDay investigations reveal that analyses by various stakeholders across the sector indicate that the functions of NEMSA as proposed in the House of Reps Bill conflict and overlap with the functions and roles not only of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) but other subsisting institutions. The Bill, a private member’s Bill, proposed by Hon. Patrick Ikhariale (PDP, Edo State), chairman of the House Committee on Power and Steel, proposes to situate NEMSA as a technical regulator and enforcement institution in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). The bill seeks to convert the Electricity Inspectorate Service (EIS, whose functions previously carried out under the auspices of the Ministry of Power had been transferred to NERC in the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, to the National Electricity Management Authority (NEMSA)). The Bill further proposes that NEMSA will also take over the staff and assets of the current Electricity Management Services Plc
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 14:43:20 +0000
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