News Roundup

There are indications that state chapters and affiliate unions of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, are already gearing up for a possible declaration of a nationwide strike following the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum given to the Federal Government to provide palliatives to cushion the pains associated with the recent fuel subsidy removal.

-. The Yoruba Council of Elders has urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgent importance, create an enabling environment for the return of all involuntary exiles, who are victims of past draconian regimes. The Yoruba elders said that those in exile include “the personages of Professor Banji Akintoye and Chief Sunday Igboho, who were harassed for advocating proper and dignified treatment of their law-abiding kinsmen”.

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- The Benue State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Makurdi, the state capital, has upheld the election of Governor Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress, APC. The tribunal dismissed the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its governorship candidate in the March 18 poll.

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- Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which voided the declaration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf as winner of the March election, has come down hard on his supporters for threatening the lives of the panelists while the trial was on. The tribunal accused the supporters of ‘chasing’ the panelists out of Kano, saying that such conduct smacked of terrorism and anarchy.

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-. A fire incident at a petrol warehouse in Seme Krake, a Beninous town on the border with Nigeria on Saturday left no fewer than 33 people dead, local authorities said. Dallys Ahouangbegnon, chief of the local fire brigade, said the fire, which broke out close to the pineapple market in the town, spread to houses and vehicles parked near the illegal site.

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-. The Nigerian Army has asked troops to always be on the guard in tackling the myriad of security challenges, saying failure is not an option. Commander Corps of Artillery, Major General Marcus Kangye, said this on Saturday while addressing the troops during a familiarization visit to the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala Barrack, Ogun State.

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-Governor Umo Eno of of Akwa Ibom State has said he prefers to achieve an impactful one term in office to having a useless two terms. The Governor made this remark in his reaction to threats by some aggrieved stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State to withdraw their support from him for a second term in office.

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-. The Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, has called on President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, wade into security challenges bedevilling the northern part of Nigeria, just as it demanded urgent action in securing the release of female students of Zamfara University, Gusau, abducted last week.

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- The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, on Saturday confirmed that there was no casualty in the three-storey building that collapsed at Ikpoh Street, Surulere, Lagos. Territorial Coordinator, NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos. The building came down at about 10.00 pm on Friday at No. 14 Ikpoh Street Surulere.

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-. The Ondo State Family Court sitting in Akure, the State capital, has ordered the remand of a man, Pelumi Folorunsho, for allegedly sodomising his step-brother. The men of the State police command arrested the defendant for allegedly sodomising the eight-year-old boy at No. 3a, Odige Street, NEPA area of Akure on September 16, 2023.

from dailypost