Compulsory Direct Primaries Not in line with Parties’ Constitution – Malami
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), says the inclusion of mandatory direct primaries in the Electoral Act amendment bill negates the Constitution of existing political parties.
Punch reports that Malami stated this in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, highlighting the problems with the inclusion of mandatory direct primaries in the Electoral Act amendment bill.
A source at the Ministry of Justice, familiar with the development, said Malami informed the president that making direct primaries mandatory for all political parties will cause confusion.
Senior Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the president had received a communication from Malami on the bill, but said he was not privy to the content of the letter.
Alleged Forgery: Court Grants Fani-Kayode N5m Bail
The Special Offense Court Sitting in Ikeja has granted bail to former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, in the sum of N5 million.
Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe granted the bail on Friday following an oral application made by the counsel to the former minister, Wale Balogun.
The bail conditions included that the defendant must fill an undertaking to attend all his trial dates and to present a surety in like sum, who must be resident in the court’s jurisdiction and should also fill an undertaking that the defendant would attend all hearings.
NCDC Announces Over 1,000 New COVID-19 Cases
The Nigerian Center for Disease Control has announced fresh Covid-19 infections exceeding the 1,000 mark for the second consecutive day.
Giving an update on the outbreak of the disease in the country, the agency, in a Facebook post on Friday, revealed that 1,051 new confirmed cases were logged. The number of cases reported on Thursday is, however, lower than the 1,424 infections reported on the previous day. Wednesday’s figure is the highest to be logged in the last six months.
Although no new death was recorded on Thursday, the 1,051 fresh cases were reported in 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Since the outbreak of the disease in the country in late February 2020, a total of 211,345 infected people has been discharged and 2,983 deaths have been recorded.
NDLEA Rescue 34 Children From Traffickers, Intercept 64,000 Gun Cartridges
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on patrol have intercepted 34 children along the Okene-Lokoja Expressway in Kogi State.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, who confirmed this in a statement on Friday revealed that operatives also seized 64,000 pump action gun cartridges and a new pump action gun in Anambra.
According to him, the children between the ages of eight and 14 were being trafficked from Ijebu-Ode in Ogun to the Federal Capital Territory.
In his reaction, the Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, commended the operatives for their vigilance and preparedness to work in synergy with other security agencies in their areas of responsibility.
Governors To Re-examine Proposed Privatization Of Critical National Assets
The 36 state governors, under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), have unanimously resolved to review the ongoing move by the Federal Government to privatise the 10 generating plants located across the country under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), which they described as critical national assets.
The subnational government currently holds 53 percent equity while the federal government holds 47 percent equity in the 10 power plants.
The NGF position is contained in a communiqué issued and signed at the end of the 36th teleconference meeting by its chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state, where the governors unanimously resolved that the settlement of all outstanding pension obligations should be included as part of the social compact with citizens for the removal of fuel subsidies.
According to the NGF chairman, the book seeks to draw on the personal experiences of governors in the spirit of the States Peer Review Mechanism. It will feature practical ideas, solutions and approaches to solving difficult governance challenges in Nigeria for the benefit of incoming governors, academics and members of the public.
Buhari Orders Finance Ministry to pay withheld salaries of resident doctors
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to release withheld salaries of resident doctors for the month of September and October 2021.
The Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this to State House correspondents after a meeting with Buhari on Thursday.
He explained that the wages, which were seized on the premise of the no-work, no pay-rule following strikes embarked upon by the Joint Health Workers Union, have been approved by the President to be released to the health workers on compassionate grounds.
The minister, therefore, insisted that the recommendations still lie at the level of the Ministry of Education after which the Federal Government will take appropriate action.
Reps urges FG to tackle hike in price of cooking gas
The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to immediately tackle the hike in price of cooking gas to alleviate problems of consumers.
The House also advised the FG to develop effective mechanisms and explore different mitigation options to cushion the effect of persistent rising in the price of cooking gas.
At plenary on Thursday the House further mandated the Committee on Gas Resources to liaise with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources to proffer a lasting solution to the problem.
UAE Denies Entry For Travellers From Republic of Congo
The National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) have announced the suspension of all inbound flights for national and international carriers and transit passengers from the Republic of Congo, from Friday, December 17, effective 8.00 a.m.
This includes suspending the entry of travellers who were in the Central African country 14 days before coming to the UAE, while flight operations will continue to transport passengers from the UAE to the same country.
However, the GCAA affirmed that UAE nationals, their first degree relatives, domestic workers under their sponsorship, diplomatic missions, official delegations between UAE and Congo and Golden residence holders are excluded from this decision.
The GCAA called on all travellers affected by the decision to follow up and communicate with the airlines to amend and schedule their flights and to ensure their safe return to their final destinations without any delay or other obligations.
Former Governor of Anambra, Chukwuemeka Ezeife Loses Wife
Mrs. Ezeife Njideka, the wife of a former governor of Anambra state, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, is dead. Mrs. Ezeife died after a brief illness in the United States of America.
Her death was disclosed in a statement signed by the Secretary of the Igbo Elders Council, Professor Charles Nwekeaku.
Meanwhile, the Anambra state government has commiserated with former Governor Ezeife over the death of his wife.
The state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C Don Adinuba, stated that Mrs Ezeife played a significant part in making the husband become a role model to a generation of not just Igbo people, but all Nigerians.
One dead, three abducted as Bandits storms Zaria LGA of Kaduna
Suspected bandits on Wednesday night killed Alhaji Habibu and abducted three of his children in Sayen Lemu, Dutsen Abba of Zaria local government area of Kaduna state.
Sayen Lemu is a village close to Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria, not far away from where the bandits operated on Monday along the Kaduna-Zaria highway.
A source said the bandits stormed the house of the deceased around 11pm on Wednesday night and shot him dead before abducting his children. The state police command has not issued any statement on the incident.