TOP 10 NEWS MAKING THE ROUNDS IN NIGERIA TODAY, WEDNESDAY

TOP 10 NEWS MAKING THE ROUNDS IN NIGERIA TODAY, WEDNESDAY

1. Buhari Has Reduced Boko Haram To Almost Nothing – Keyamo

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has hailed the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for dealing with Boko Haram terrorists.

Keyamo said Buhari, who inherited Boko Haram and the farmer-herder crisis, has significantly reduced the terrorists’ dominance to “almost nothing.”

Speaking to Trust TV, the Minister admitted that the terrorists had not been wiped out.

He said in part, “Boko Haram hasn’t been totally wiped out, but it has reduced significantly because we constructively engaged our neighbours. We reduced them to almost nothing. I’m not saying these things have totally wiped out, but on the scale of what we met and on the scale of what we have, it has reduced significantly.”

2. ASUU Has Blackmailed Every Every Government – Buhari’s Aide

An aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie has accused the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of blackmailing governments in Nigeria.

The Special Assistant to the President on Social Media made the accusation in a tweet via her Twitter handle on Tuesday.

Onochie called on the National Assembly to enact laws that would mandate the leadership of the union to pay the salaries of striking members.

The presidential aide said it is unfair for ASUU executives to live off the union’s dues alone and other members suffer the consequence of the strike.

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3. Shekarau Gives Update On Defection Plans, Tells Nigerians What To Expect

Former Kano State Governor and Senator representing Kano Central, Ibrahim Shekarau has reacted to the trending rumours about his defection.

There had been several reports that Shekarau had concluded plans to dump the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) based on a ‘mouthwatering’ offer from the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

More recent rumours also stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu scheduled a meeting to woo Shekaru to his party.

Shekarau in a statement on Tuesday through his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Sule Ya’u Sule however said no concrete decision has been reached about any possible defection.

He urged members of the public to wait and hear from him before jumping to conclusions about his political movements.

Shekarau, who currently represents Kano Central in the Senate and is the senatorial candidate of the NNPP, however, promised to make his decision known this week.

4. President Buhari To Present 2023 Budget Bill In September

President Muhammadu Buhari will present the 2023 budget to the National Assembly in September 2022.

The Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, made this known at an event on Monday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Akabueze who was represented by the Director, Expenditure (Socials) in the Budget Office, Fabian Ogbu, said the Nigerian leader will present the 2023 appropriation to the National Assembly on the said date, baring any last-minute change.

He stated that the federal government is determined to ensure consistent and timely preparation, submission and approval of annual budgets as part of its Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms.

Ogbu, however, lamented that MDAs do not study the Budget Call Circular in detail and as such make mistakes that should ordinarily be avoided if they had complied with the relevant sections of the Budget Circular.

5. Zamfara: Matawalle Restricts Motorcycles, Directs Shooting Of Violators

Governor Bello Mattawale of Zamfara has banned the riding of motorcycles from 8 pm to 6 am in all areas and outskirts of Gusau town.

Speaking during a broadcast on Monday night, Matawalle also directed the security personnel to shoot at sight violators of the ban in the areas.

The governor listed the areas that will experience the ban to include Mareri, Damba, Tsunami, Tsauni, Barakallahu, Samaru, Gada Biyu, and Janyau East.

Matawalle ordered security forces to shoot anyone riding a motorcycle between 8 pm and 6 am on the outskirt of Gusau, who refuses to stop when ordered to do so.

He said the measure was taken following reports on the use of motorcycles by bandits to perpetrate their criminal activities within the state capital and its outskirts.

Matawalle, however, stressed that the security of lives and property of the citizenry remains his priority.

6. Buhari Gives Dangote Fresh Appointment As He Inaugurates NEMC Council

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed popular businessman and Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote as the head of the 16-member Council of the Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC).

The development was confirmed in a statement shared on Tuesday by the Special Assistant to the President on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad.

President Buhari inaugurated the council on Tuesday at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja and charged them to work on saving the country from the scourge of malaria.

Explaining why Dangote was chosen to head the council, Buhari was quoted to have said the track record of the billionaire and his passion for such projects informed the decision.

7. Muslim-Muslim Ticket: They Have Set A Trap For Tinubu – ECWA Scribe

The General Secretary of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Yunusa Nmadu Jnr has alleged that the Muslim-Muslim ticket fielded by the All Progressives Congress, APC, is a plot for its candidate, Bola Tinubu, to fail the 2023 presidential election.

Nmadu insisted that those who advised Tinubu to nominate the former Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima as his running mate do not mean well for him and they have simply laid a trap for him to fail.

The ECWA scribe said this while speaking to journalists in Kaduna on Tuesday.

He added that the same faith ticket was also an insult to other faith in the land.

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8. Police React To Kidnap Of Nasarawa Commissioner

The Nasarawa State Police Command has confirmed the kidnap of the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Lawal Mohammed.

Mohammed was abducted on Monday night at his residence in Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area of the state.

In a statement released on Tuesday in Lafia, the state capital, the command spokesman, DSP Ramhan Nansel, said the officers of the command were drawn to the sound of sporadic gunshots in the local council.

Nansel said that the operatives attached to Nassarawa-Eggon Division immediately raced to the scene and discovered that Mohammed was forcefully abducted to an unknown destination.

He, however, said the search and rescue operation for the commissioner is ongoing by a combined team of police operatives.

9. Tinubu: Amaechi’s Ally Roasts Adebayo Shittu, Says Wike Not Welcomed To APC

Moves allegedly to convince Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been resisted by a chieftain of the APC, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze.

Former Communications Minister Adebayo Shittu, who had described Wike as a tactician, stated that the Rivers State Governor is welcomed to the ruling party.

Shittu, the Director-General of Tinubu-Shettima Coalition for Good Governance, said former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, should be happy Wike is being linked to the party as Wike’s joining the APC is an opportunity for the duo to settle scores and reconcile.

In a statement on Tuesday, Chukwuemeka Eze described Shittu’s comment as uncomplimentary and disparaging of the personality of the former Transportation Minister.

10. I Am Not Interested In Ministerial Position – Wike

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike on Monday stated that he does not have the intention to become a minister in 2023.

There had been speculations that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar might give him the Minister of Petroleum.

Wike was reportedly offered the position after Atiku picked the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.

The Governor of Rivers State stated this during the commissioning of the newly constructed VIP lounge at the Port Harcourt International Airport Omagwa on Tuesday.