Connect with us

News

10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Thursday morning, December 19, 2019

Published

on

Top 10 stories from Nigerian newspapers

These 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers will make your Thursday morning, December 19,  2019.

1. Reps canvass for Senate President, Speaker as members of National Security Council

A bill to amend the Constitution to allow the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to become members of the National Security Council (NSC) has passed the second reading at the House of Representatives. The bill sponsored by Mr Olusegun Odebunmi, which passed second reading at the plenary on Wednesday, is seeking to amend Section 25, Part 1 (K) of the Third Schedule of the constitution which lists members of the council as including “(a) the President who shall be the Chairman; (b) the Vice-President who shall be the Deputy Chairman; (c) the Chief of Defence Staff; (d) the Minister of the Government of the Federation charged with the responsibility for internal affairs. “(e) the Minister of the Government of the Federation charged responsibility for Defence; (f) the Minister of the Government of the Federation charged with the responsibility for Foreign Affairs; (g) the National Security Adviser; (h) the lnspector-General of Police; and (i) such other persons as the President may in his discretion appoint.” Read more

2. Buhari appoints Sarki Auwalu as DPR head

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Sarki Auwalu as substantive Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for an initial term of four years. This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina. According to Adesina, Auwalu’s appointment was because he had been a driving force of the DPR which he joined in 1998 as Principal Chemical Engineer. Read more

3. Trump impeached!

The president of the United States of America, Donald Trump has made history as the third president in the history of that country to be impeached.

The House of Representatives in a historic vote on Wednesday, impeached him for abuse of power, setting up a Senate trial on removing him from office. Read more

4. Best Christmas gift you can give your constituents is to resign, Kalu’s ex-political adviser tells him

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s Senior Special Adviser while he was Abia State Governor, Amah Abraham, has advised his former principal to honourably resign from the Senate. This he said would be proof that Kalu values the collective interest of Abia North Senatorial zone which he represents, above his personal gains. Abraham made this statement on Wednesday in reaction to the bail application filed by the convicted senator at the Lagos Federal High Court. Ripples Nigeria had reported that Kalu was serving a 12-year-jail term following his conviction on a 39 count fraud charge. Read more

5. Maina, son to remain in Kuje Correctional Centre till next year

A former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTM), Abdulrasheed Maina, and his son, Faisal, are to remain in Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, till January 2020. Justice Okon Abang, who gave the order, on Wednesday, adjourned hearing on the ex-pension task team chief’s bail variation application till January 13, 2020 while Faisal’s trial was adjourned till January 20, 2020. Earlier on Wednesday, Justice Abang had said that though it would not be convenient for the court to take trial, bail variation arguments would be taken. Read more

Read also: 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Wednesday morning, December 18, 2019

6. Rivers APC gets court clearance to conduct congresses

The Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) can now go ahead to conduct its ward, local government and state congresses. This follows the ruling of a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt Wednesday which cleared the APC to conduct the congresses. One Ibrahim Umar and 22 others had dragged the state APC to court soon after the party declared new dates for its congresses in the state. Ibrahim and others had asked the court to enforce and interpret the judgment of the High Court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court which nullified APC congresses before the 2019 general elections. Read more

7. In latest ranking, betting platforms among Nigeria’s 50 most visited websites. What’s driving the trend?

A recent ranking of Nigerian websites has revealed the dramatic growth being recorded by betting platforms operating in Nigeria. The ranking revealed that a handful of betting websites made it as top 50 websites visited in Nigeria for the period under review. Ranking among top 50 websites underscores the level of visibility and volume of visits these sites are enjoying especially considering how saturated the website ecosystem is in the country. Read more

8. ‘Humanitarian workers deserve protection’, US reacts to execution of aid workers in Nigeria

Following the recent execution of four aid workers by members of the Boko Haram sect in North East Nigeria, the United States Embassy in Nigeria has called for the protection of all humanitarian workers in the country. The aid workers who were working on a health project implemented by the NGO Action Against Hunger, were among 6 aid workers kidnapped on 18 July when their convoy was attacked on the road to Damasak. The first hostage was executed on 24 September while the only female abductee is still in captivity. The US embassy condemned the killing in a statement issued on Wednesday by its Public Affairs Section. Read more

9. Hyundai to set up car plant in Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, announced that Nigeria would collaborate with, and support Hyundai Engineering Company Limited to set up a car plant, and also rehabilitate petroleum refineries in the country. He made the announcement when he received the President/Chief Executive Officer of Hyundai Engineering, Mr Chang Hag Kim, at State House, Abuja on Tuesday. Buhari said Nigeria was committed to ensuring energy security in the country, “and the goal is to achieve self-sufficiency in the supply of petroleum products within the next three years.” Read more

10. Gunmen attack Abuja-bound passenger bus in Kogi, abduct 12 persons

An Abuja -bound Bayelsa passenger bus was reportedly attacked by unknown gunmen along the Okene-Lokoja expressway in Kogi State on Tuesday, with 12 people abducted. One of the passengers escaped while two others sustained serious injuries. The ill-fated bus, owned by De-prize Motors, a Yenagoa- based transport firm was travelling from the Bayelsa State capital to Abuja when it came under attack at about 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. A staff of the transport firm, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the kidnappers are demanding N50million ransom from the firm for the release of their driver while the fate of the other victims has not been ascertained. Read more

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now