Biafra becomes AU member

Agitators for the actualisation of the state of Biafra have revealed their admission as mem­bers of the Economic, So­cial and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) General Assembly of the African Union (AU). This is even as they stated that notable Igbo leaders were still in court with the Federal Government of Nigeria over rights to self-determination

PDP blasts N700m budget for Aregbesola’s inauguration

Osun state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, queried what it called “bogus budget” for the inauguration of Osun state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola for a second term.
Governor Aregbesola is due to be inaugurated for another term on Thursday, November 27, but the opposition party in a statement issued in Osogbo by Prince Diran Odeyemi, the party’s spokesperson, said the budget of N700 million for the swearing-in ceremony “amid hunger by workers, who have not been paid salary in the last three months tells much about the kind of leaders holding the reigns in Osun at the moment.”

Police arrests Dismissed naval officer, others for hijacking truck with N20m goods

The police in Lagos have arrested a dismissed naval officer, Lawal Alli, who led five other gang members to allegedly hijacking a truck with goods which were valued at N20m.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the truck, marked LSD782XB, was hijacked by the suspects around Navy Town, Kirikiri, Apapa, Lagos State on Friday, November 14.

2015: Vote for my husband, Patience begs women

The wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, on Monday in Abuja pleaded with Nigerian women to vote for her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 Presidential election.

According to her, only Jonathan can protect and defend their rights among all the aspirants for the seat.

She also asked women to actively participate in the on-going electoral processes in the country, saying it was time for them to compete favourably with their male counterparts for elective positions.

Photos: US defence secretary Chuck Hagel resigns

US President Barack Obama has accepted the resignation of Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, who he said requested last month to leave Pentagon’s top post.

According to US media, Hagel was pressured by Obama to quit, as Pentagon embarks on a new strategy to deal with the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

Taraba Assembly confirms deputy as Acting Gov

Members of the Taraba State House of Assembly on Monday unanimously confirmed the Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Sanni Danladi, as the Acting Governor.

The confirmation came barely 72 hours after Danladi was reinstated by the Supreme Court’s ruling which nullified his impeachment two years ago by the House.

FG asks Cameroon, others to unite against B’Haram

The Minister of Defence, Lt.-Gen. Aliyu Gusau (retd.) has called on the countries in the Lake Chad Basin to adopt intensified collaborative action against terrorism in the area.

Gusau said there was no better time than now for the countries in the Lake Chad Basin-Nigeria, Cameroun, Niger and Chad – and the Republic of Benin to become united against terrorism, irrespective of the existing differences.

The minister’s comments were contained in an address read on his behalf by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, at the fourth meeting of ministers of defence, chiefs of defence staff, and heads of intelligence and security of the member-countries of Lake Chad Basin commission and the Republic of Benin, in Abuja, on Monday.

Sani slams Jonathan over N’Assembly invasion

A northern-based pro-democracy activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, said on Monday in Kaduna that the security operatives’ siege to the National Assembly   last week demonstrated the degree of desperation and abuse of power by the President Goodluck Jonathan-led government.

Sani, who is the President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, also condemned an alleged “assault” on the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos by soldiers and the Department of State Security.

He said the actions pointed to “visible symptoms of tyranny and a retrogressive slide to totalitarianism by the Jonathan government.”

Senatorial slot: Refund my N5.5m, Kalu tells PDP

A former Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Kalu, has said he is no longer running for the Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The former governor has therefore asked the party to refund the N5.5m he paid for the nomination and expression of interest forms, which he paid thinking that he would contest the party’s ticket for Abia North Senatorial District.

National debt rises to N10.8tn

The total debt of the Federal Government,   the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory rose from N8.32tn on September 30, 2013 to N10.84tn on September 30, 2014.

This means that the nation’s total debt stock rose by N2.52tn or   30.29 per cent within one year period.

Statistics obtained from the website of the Debt Management Office in Abuja on Monday indicated that the N8.32tn did not include the domestic debt of the states in 2013.

Details of the current debt status of the country showed that the external debts of both the federal and state governments stood at $9.52bn or N1.48tn.