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| President Muhammadu Buhari and President Donald Trump |
THISDAY
60 WORSHIPPERS KILLED IN TWIN BOMB ATTACKS IN MUBI
No fewer than 60 worshippers were killed and 68 others
injured as twin-bomb explosions which bore the unmistaken signature of the Boko
Haram terror sect on Tuesday rocked a mosque in Mubi, Adamawa State; North-east
of Nigeria while the worshippers were holding the Zuhr (afternoon) prayer.
According to the accounts of two local residents who attended funerals of the
victims as reported by the AFP, the deaths toll is likely to rise as more
bodies could be recovered from the twin bomb blast scene. One of them, Muhammad
Hamidu, confirmed that: “I took part in the burial of 68 people. More bodies
were being brought by families of the victims.” Another resident, Abdullahi
Labaran, said: “We left 73 freshly dug graves where each victim was buried.”
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the
recruitment of 6,000 additional policemen as part of fresh measures to address
the nation’s security challenges including the farmers/herdsmen clashes across
the country. The president dropped the hint in a special interview session with
Voice of America, in Washington, United States on Tuesday morning. On his
purported comment on youth while in London, President Buhari dismissed the
report, saying that the media only preferred to interpret and report what they
like instead of concentrating on developmental journalism.
VANGUARD
LABOUR THREATENS TO TRADE VOTES FOR MINIMUM WAGE IN
2019
ORGANISED Labour yesterday warned that Nigeria workers
would in 2019 general elections vote against any government that refused to pay
the new minimum wage currently being negotiated in the country. President of
Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who gave the warning while
addressing workers and government officials, led by Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo, at the 2018 National May Day celebrations, also raised alarm that the
heightened insecurity in country was drifting to Nigeria to the precipice.
Wabba who equally warned against any attempt to renegotiate the minimum
wage once it was agreed on, said: “The recent nation-wide minimum wage public
hearings have unmasked the enemies of Nigerian workers. We insist that once the
Minimum Wage Act is signed into law, all employers in public and private
sectors must pay at once. We shall stand with those willing to pay more than
the minimum. We shall resist any move to renegotiate the minimum wage at any
level.
This came as the National Assembly said it would
expeditiously pass the minimum wage into law as soon as it was sent to the
National Assembly, saying the welfare of workers remained one of its
priorities.
PUNCH
SENATE PANEL PRESENTS BUHARI’S IMPEACHMENT REPORT
TODAY …GRILLS IG ON MELAYE
The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, is
expected to appear before the Senate on Wednesday (today). He will be grilled
by the lawmakers on the arrest, detention and hospitalization of Senator Dino
Melaye. The Senate had last Wednesday summoned the police boss to brief
senators the next day on Melaye’s case and the killings by armed herdsmen and
militias across the country. Idris however shunned the invitation, choosing to
accompany President Muhammadu Buhari who was on a two-day visit to Bauchi
State. The lawmakers had declined to engage his representative, the Deputy
Inspector-General of Police (Operations), Mr. Joshak Habila. Miffed by his non-appearance,
the Senate had resolved to reschedule the IG’s address to today. Also, the
Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters is expected to
present its report today on President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of the
payment of $496m out of the Excess Crude Account for the purchase of military
aircraft. The 12 Super Tucano aircraft ordered from the United States will be
delivered in 2020.
The Senate had on Thursday resolved to refer the matter
to the committee for legal advice, when lawmakers became divided on it. The
panel was given the mandate to investigate the circumstances surrounding the
arms deal and whether the President violated the constitution or not. Most of
the lawmakers who spoke on the withdrawal and spending pointed out that the
President had breached Section 80 of the 1999 Constitution, while a few
disagreed. Senator Mathew Uroghide, who is the Chairman of the Committee on
Public Accounts, had specifically urged the President of the Senate, Bukola
Saraki, to allow the chamber to invoke Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution
against the President. What it means is that this matter does not need to be
investigated; it is clear that this offence has been committed by Mr.
President.
LEADERSHIP
OUR ACHIEVEMENTS WILL SHOCK CRITICS – PMB
President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his call on
youths in Nigeria to seize opportunities in agriculture, a sector of the
economy he said is already proving to be the bedrock of the nation’s new
economy. Speaking at Blair House, Washington DC after his White House
engagements with President Donald Trump, the President, at a meeting with the
chief executive officers of six American agricultural companies and their
Nigerian counterparts including Aliko Dangote and John Coumantaros, again
lamented the challenges of the country’s youth bulge, with “sixty per cent of
the population below 30 years.” President Buhari also promised the support of
his administration in the promotion of skill development, innovation and
entrepreneurship among the young population.
The media may not appreciate the work we are doing but we
will shock them by the success we are recording.” President Buhari welcomed the
several investment proposals being put in place by the Americans and their
Nigerian counterparts.
NEW TELEGRAGP
LOOTED FUNDS: NIGERIA, US AGREE ON RETURN OF $500M
President Muhammadu Buhari and President Donald Trump of
the United States of America have approved for the Attorney Generals of both
countries to draw out a clear road map on how to repatriate $500 million looted
funds to Nigeria. Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami,
who spoke in Washington on the sideline of Presidents Buhari and Trump’s
meeting, said the road map would be drawn up at the end of yesterday’s meeting.
Trump consolidated on the general overview of what transpired between the two
presidents. According to him, Trump’s acknowledgement of Buhari as a real
leader, his acknowledgment that the administration has, indeed, succeeded in
cutting down corruption and the payment of N135 million compensation to victims
of the Apo Six killed in 2013, were indication that the meeting was a fruitful
one. Malami also said Trump’s commitment towards assets recovery and reparation
of looted funds was also demonstrated during the meeting.
NATION
OBASANJO’S ‘DON’T RUN’ LETTER WAS ABUSIVE, SAYS BUHARI
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in the United States
spoke on former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s January 23 “Special Statement”,
which asked him not to seek reelection in 2019. The statement, the President
said, was “abusive”. The statement generated heat across the country, with some
analysts backing Obasanjo and others condemning him. Buhari said despite
perceiving the letter as abusive, he refrained from replying in kind. Rather,
he said, he authorized that the government’s reaction should be to tell the
country what it has achieved. The President said: “Even when the Minister
of Information and Culture wanted to reply that abusive letter written by
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, I told him not to. I later allowed him but
only to highlight the achievements of our administration.
In his statement titled: The way out: A clarion call
for Coalition of Nigeria Movement, Obasanjo accused the President of nepotism,
having a poor understanding of politics and engaging in blame games rather than
accepting responsibility for his failure. The statement read: “Whatever may be
the state of President Buhari’s health today, he should neither over push his
luck nor over-tax the patience and tolerance of Nigerians for him, no matter
what his self-serving, so-called advisers, who would claim that they love him
more than God loves him and that without him, there would be no Nigeria say.
President Buhari needs a dignified and honourable dismount from the horse. He
needs to have time to reflect, refurbish physically and recoup and after
appropriate rest, once again, join the stock of Nigerian leaders, whose
experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed in the sideline for
the good of the country”.
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