Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. A presidential campaign spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 elections, Daniel Bwala, on Wednesday, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja. In a chat with State House correspondents after closed-door talks, he declared his availability to work with the President Tinubu-led administration.
2. The Supreme Court has fixed Friday for judgment in the Kano State governorship election appeals. The secretary of the legal team for the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, Barrister Bashir Tudun Wuzirci, confirmed this on Wednesday.
3. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Wednesday dissolved the boards of Titan Trust, Union Bank, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank. The affected banks were indicted by the special investigations committee which President Bola Tinubu set up to probe the CBN under Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the apex bank.
4. A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, the nation’s capital, has ordered that the former minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, be remanded in Kuje prison pending the perfection of his bail conditions. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arraigned Agunloye over allegations of fraud to the tune of $6 billion in the Mambilla hydropower contract.
5. The investigation into the sleaze in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation deepened on Wednesday with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, investigators quizzing several top civil servants linked to the scandals. It was learnt that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission recovered N50bn from the ministry.
6. The deputy governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu, on Wednesday, disclosed that he is deeply hurt that Governor Godwin Obaseki is supporting a Lagos-based lawyer, Asue Ighodalo, an indigene of Edo Central Senatorial District, whom he described as an outsider, instead of him.
7. President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of a nine-man board for the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), with Colonel Aloche Adole, as Chairman. According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the board also has Dr Stephen Adegbite as Secretary.
8. Hundreds of Nigerian retired soldiers, who defended the country during the 1966 civil war, yesterday, took to the streets of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, over unpaid pensions since they retired 44 years ago. The ex-servicemen, armed with placards with varying inscriptions, asked if they deserved what they were going through, after defending the country with their blood.
9. There is an uneasy calm in Enenurhie community over the death of a youth leader, Oyibo Diamond, in police custody at Ughelli A Police Division, Delta State. It was gathered that the deceased, a father of five, who was arrested and detained on December 20, 2023, allegedly died on Christmas Eve in detention in unexplainable circumstances.
10. Former Governor of Benue State, Chief Samuel Ortom has congratulated Governor Hyacinth Alia on the validation of his election by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Ortom, in a statement signed by his media aide, Terver Akase, said the apex court’s decision to uphold Governor Alia’s election has brought to an end a robust process which undoubtedly contributed to strengthening democracy in the state and the country at large.
