Daily News Roundup

Despite the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, on Saturday October 29, 2022 assured his kinsmen that nobody would remove him from office. Ayu made the remark while addressing his kinsmen of Jemgba ethnic group at his residence in the Gboko area of Benue State.

-. Former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Dr. Dan Shere, who was kidnapped by unknown gunmen recently, has been freed by his abductors. It was, however, unclear how much was paid to secure his freedom on Saturday.

-. Construction giants, Julius Berger on Saturday, shut down their operations in Abuja and its environs following a terror alert. In a statement by the company’s Managing Director and Corporate Security Manager, Engr. Lars Bichter and Poul Nielsen, respectively, the company advised its staff to avoid public premises during the weekend.

-. The Nigeria Police Force yesterday refuted the speculation that bombs have been buried across the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi made the clarification in a statement issued on Saturday.

-. The Labour Party yesterday flagged-off its presidential campaign in Nasarawa as supporters of the party trooped out in their numbers to support the standard bearers of the party. Flagging-off the campaign at the Science School field in Lafia, the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, urged the people of Nasarawa State to vote for competency.

- The Bayelsa State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are at loggerheads over the arrest of a member of the APC, Mr Ebikopoemi Bobby Ugo, over allegations of defamation. Investigations revealed that Ugo and three others were invited by the Anti-Kidnapping Team of the Bayelsa State Police Command over allegations of defamation of character.

-. To avoid what may snowball into bitter inter-agency rivalry, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday reacted to claims by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, that her Ministry was kept in the dark by the apex bank in the ongoing process of redesigning the N200, N500 and N1,000 bank notes.

-Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation has faulted a report credited to Fitch Ratings predicting victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election. The campaign organisation, in a statement by the spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, dismissed the report as “merely contrived, imaginary and completely illusory.”

-. A communal clash between two border communities of Gamawa and Zaki LGAs of Bauchi State turned bloody after an unspecified number of people were killed and one man was blinded in the eye by an arrow.

-. Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has kicked against redesigning of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), describing it as economic suicide for Nigerians, especially rural dwellers. According to a statement he issued yesterday, 80 percent of Nigerians, especially rural people, depend on cash transactions.

- Radio Cefod journalist Orédjé Narcisse and Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif have been shot dead in Chad and Kenya.

The incidents occurred on October 20 and 24, respectively, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in separate statements.

Narcisse was murdered in Chad’s capital N’Djamena as he was on his way to work.

The deceased was targeted outside his home, reportedly by individuals wearing Chadian military uniforms.

In February, Chadian journalist Evariste Djailoramdji was killed while covering community violence in Sandana village.

The police released a statement saying an officer fatally shot Sharif in a remote area outside the Kenyan capital.

Sharif, 49, previously worked as an anchor with Pakistan’s ARY TV. He left the country two months ago after an arrest warrant.

The writ followed his interview with Shahbaz Gill, a close aide to former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Gill was said to have comments considered offensive by the military. The news channel was briefly taken off the air subsequently.

On August 31, ARY TV announced it was ending ties with Sharif, citing a breach of conduct on social media.

Sharif specialised in investigative journalism and covered political events in Pakistan for news organisations.

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