NEWS : Senate confirms nominees for Federal Competition Commission

 

Nominees for Chairmanship and members of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Tribunal were confirmed by the Nigeria Senate on Wednesday.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi in a report submitted to the red chambers on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with the credentials of the nominees.

He said the nominees’ security report and their screening during the panel’s sitting was satisfactory, while he urged the Senate to confirm them without delay.

The report said: “That the Senate do receive and consider the report of the Committee on Trade and Investment on the confirmation of the nomination of the following persons for appointment as Chairman and members of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Tribunal.”

After deliberations, the nominees as forwarded by President Muhammadu Buhari were confirmed by the Committee of the whole.

1. Mrs Saratu Mama Shafii (Chairman) Northcentral
2. George Chukwuma Mbonu (Member) South East.
3. Barr. Thomas Okosun (Member) South-South.
4. Dr. Umar.Dauda Duhu (Member) North East.
5. Mr.Ibrahim El-Yakubu (Member) North West.
6. Sola Salako Ajulo (Member) South West
7. Kenneth Tersoo Gyado (Member) North Central.

After their confirmation, Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan enjoined the members to diligently discharge their responsibilities in the interest of the nation.

NEWS : Boko Haram will turn to Southern Nigeria when done with Northerners – Aisha Yesufu

 Aisha Yesufu, Co-convener of the BringBackOurGirls, BBOG advocacy group has warned that the Boko Haram sect may turn to the Southern part of Nigeria after it is done with the north..

The activist issued the warning while cautioning Nigerians against being less concerned about the plight of the North, stressing that no region is immune to the sect’s violence.

In a series of tweets, Yesufu insisted that terrorism was a menace to all Nigerians.

She wrote: “When Boko haram is done with the North they will face the South. If you think this is none of your business, some thought it wasn’t their business when it was happening in the North East, now it is.

“Terrorist attack to anyone anywhere is a terrorist attack to everyone everywhere.”

This is coming at a time Boko Haram killed several rice farmers in Zabarmari, Jere Local Government Area of Borno State.

The terrorist group also abducted students of Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State.

Claiming responsibility, the sect had said the abduction was to promote Islam and discourage western education in the North.

NEWS : 9th Mile Enugu congestion Govt launches intervention

 

As Nigerians get set for Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Chairman of Udi LGA, Hon. Pascal Ifeanyi Agu has taken steps to end the perennial gridlock usually experienced at the 9th Mile axis of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

At the same time, the council has also, in partnership with the Governor of Enugu State, Rt Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, commenced road rehabilitation across the 20 wards in the Local Government Area.

Agu said the project would enhance the free movement of goods and services within the yuletide and beyond.

This was contained in a press statement issued by his special assistant on media and publicity, Comrade Eneiga F.P.I.

The Council announced that, “These contracts are fully engaged and have covered Umulumgbe, Okpatu, Eke, Ukana, Awhum, Ngwo Uno and Ngwo Asaa Wards, as well as Obioma and Nsude.

“More importantly, the Chairman has kick-started a 3.4 & 1.9 Kilometre fully paved roads namely: the Umuabi- Umuaga Link road and the Ezi John- Amebor-Aniobodo bye pass in Obinagu, respectively.

“These interventions are to alleviate the suffering of our rural dwellers who ply these roads and ensure an enjoyable Christmas for all.”

On the 9th Mile traffic gridlock, he noted that, “This problem seemed to have defied all solutions in the past, but the Chairman took the bull by the horn by facilitating the relocation of the building materials dealers, who contribute largely to the blockage of passageways.

“With the vision of the Udi Smart City initiatives, the Committee on 9th Mile Modern Market Revitalisation was set up by the Chairman and tasked with reawakening of the near moribund market and effecting the decongestion of the ever busy 9th Mile roads.

“With this, travelers will have it easy this time unlike in the past where people spent man hours in 9th Mile traffic gridlock,” he stated.

He added that other sectors had not been neglected as primary health care, education and services, among others were also receiving adequate attention.

“For instance, the Chairman had visited Oghu Community last month, this is a Town to which no local government Chairman had visited in the past twenty years, owing partly to both its distance and the inaccessible nature of the roads.

“He saw the deplorable conditions of their maternity centre and has concluded plans to provide adequate beds and other accessories.

“He has also transformed the local government secretariat by giving the deplorable building a facelift for the Smart City he envisioned.

“He has completed the Chairman’s Office building and work is already at a very advanced stage on the old Secretariat Building and the long abandoned 700 seater capacity Udi LGA Pavilion.

“The education department is also receiving unprecedented attention as the Chairman has not only rebuilt from the scratch, the fire damaged Education Office, but instituted the first ever Essay competition for school children of Udi,” he further stated.

NEWS : Why I sacked General Ihejirika as Chief of Army Staff – Goodluck Jonathan

 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday, suggested that he sacked a former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubuike Ihejirika, because he (Ihejirika) was not doing the right thing.

Jonathan said he was not under any pressure to sack Ihejirika from office, adding that he cannot sack a person who is doing the right thing no matter the pressure.

The former President said this during a book launch in his honour in Abuja on Tuesday, adding that some people thought he sacked the former COAS due to some pressure from the North.

“He mentioned my removing the Chief of Army Staff, General Ihejirika and said that because there was so much pressure on me from the north, it was not pressured,” Jonathan said.

“If somebody is doing what is right, even if you want to hit my head, and split my head, I will not (sack the person).”

NEWS : Why National Assembly should impeach Buhari – Fayose

 

Ayodele Fayose, former Governor of Ekiti State, on Tuesday pointed out reasons the National Assembly should impeach President Muhammadu Buhari.

Fayose said the National Assembly should impeach Buhari to regain its powers and integrity.

In a series of tweets, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain said the federal lawmakers have surrendered their powers to Buhari.

According to Fayose: “If the NASS wants to regain its power and integrity, the President should be impeached. But can this NASS bite?

“When you give a gun to a son, whose mental capacity you do not trust, you will end up being faced-down. As it is, the NASS constitutional legislative rights are already lost to the President and he is now more or less the head of the three arms of government.

“The NASS needs to stop arrogating to themselves, powers already surrendered to President Buhari.

“Or were they not the ones who turned the President to a god who must not be questioned and surrendered their rights to him? Have they forgotten how the CG of Customs shunned them?”

His remark is coming at a time Buhari snubbed the National Assembly.

The lawmakers had invited the president over the spate of insecurity in the country.

Despite a presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie confirming that Buhari will honour the invitation, Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation had stressed that the National Assembly lacked the powers to summon Buhari over issues of insecurity.

HEALTH : COVID-19 cases in Nigeria increase as Abuja records 305

 The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded a drastic increase in the number of new COVID-19 infections in Nigeria.

NCDC on its Twitter page confirmed 758 new cases.

This brings the total number of cases in the country to 74,132.

FCT had the highest number of cases at 305, followed by Lagos, Kaduna, Bauchi and Gombe with 152, 103, 44, 35 and 31 cases, respectively.

The other states recorded as follows:

Rivers-17, Sokoto-15, Kwara-13, Kano-9

Ebonyi-8, Ogun-5, Osun-5, Oyo-4, Edo-4

Anambra-4, Bayelsa-2, Ekiti-1 and Taraba-1

NEWS : NCC orders MTN, Glo, Airtel, others to block SIM cards without NIN

 

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given telecommunications operators in the country two weeks to block all SIM cards that are not registered with the National Identity Numbers (NIN).

It warned that any telecom operators that failed to comply with the directive risked outright withdrawal of its licence or heavy penalty.

A statement on Tuesday by the Director of Public Affairs of the NCC, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, noted that “following the earlier directive on the suspension of new SIM registration by network operators, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) convened an urgent meeting of key stakeholders in the Communications industry on Monday, December 14, 2020.”

DAILY POST recalls that this is coming less than a week after the NCC had ordered telecommunications companies to halt the sale and activation of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM).

NCC warned that non-compliance by network operators could lead to withdrawal of operating license.