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10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Thursday morning, October 24, 2019

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Top 10 stories from Nigerian newspapers

These 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers will make your Thursday morning.

1. Nigeria, Russia sign agreement on construction of 1,400km Lagos to Calabar rail track. What happens to current pact between Nigeria and China?

The Presidency claimed on Wednesday that Russia has agreed to support the development of Nigeria’s rail infrastructure by constructing 1,400 kilometres track from Lagos to Calabar, Cross River State. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a statement in Abuja, that the development was one of the agreements reached during a bilateral meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the ongoing Russia-Africa Summit, in Sochi, Russia.

2. NASS to pass 2020 budget before Christmas break

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said the assembly would ensure the passage of the 2020 Appropriation Bill of N10.33 trillion in December. Lawan made this known on Wednesday at the two-day Joint National Budget Hearing on the 2020 Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly Complex. Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had on October 8 presented the budget proposal before a joint session of the national assembly.

3. Lagos to get new airport in April 2020

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said Wednesday that Lagos State, the nation’s commercial nerve centre, would get a new international airport before the Easter celebration next year. Sirika also told State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, that the Federal Government would deliver a new airport in Kano in December this year. He said President Muhammadu Buhari had approved counterpart funding for the delivery of the two airports as scheduled.

4. Corps members to benefit from new minimum wage

Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has confirmed that members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) would also enjoy the new minimum wage of N30,000. The minister confirmed the upward review of the monthly allowance of N19, 800 via his official Twitter handle on Wednesday evening. He tweeted; “New Minimum Wage: NYSC members to enjoy new minimum wage/allowee Details coming …”

5. Lagos, Rivers, two others are the only viable states in Nigeria —Report

A report released Wednesday by a budget- tracking organisation, BudgIT, has revealed Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Kano are the only economically viable states in Nigeria. In the report titled: “State of States”, BudgIT said the 32 other states depend on federal allocations to survive. The presentation of the report took place in Abuja and was attended by representatives of governors of Kaduna and Ekiti states.

Read also: 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Wednesday morning, October 23, 2019

6. Miyetti Allah cries out over outbreak of cattle disease, seeks govt intervention

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has raised the alarm over the outbreak of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in Bauchi State and the Federal Capital Territory. MACBAN called for urgent intervention of governments through nationwide vaccination of cows to curtail the outbreak. General Secretary of the body, Othman Ngelzarma, made the call while briefing the newsmen about the disease on Wednesday in Abuja.

7. Buhari renames communications ministry, gives reason

Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications has been renamed to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. This was announced in a statement on Wednesday by the ministry’s spokesperson, Philomena Oshodin. It said President Muhammadu Buhari renamed the ministry based on the request of the minister, Isa Pantami. The Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami, would now “properly position and empower the ministry to fulfil his digital economy objectives,” the statement said.

8. Nigeria loses $15bn yearly to tax evasion —Fowler

Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Tunde Fowler, Wednesday revealed that Nigeria was losing about $15bn (about N5.37tn) to tax evasion annually. He made this comment during a seminar by the West Africa Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) on “Exchange of Information’’ as a tool to combat offshore tax evasion, especially in the ECOWAS sub-region. He noted that the increasing mobility of income and assets had created a major challenge for tax administrators in the sub-region.

9. Those who sued the Nigerian govt and won damages are being owed N150bn. Does justice truly end with the courts?

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Wednesday appealed to the Senate to appropriate N30bn to the ministry annually to defray debts. Malami who was speaking before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, explained that debt judgements incurred by the Federal Government had risen to N150bn. He said the bills accumulated because the ministry was not funded regularly to meet its obligations in that regard.

10. Former INEC boss, Jega, expresses fears Nigeria may break up

A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Wednesday said if care is not taken and preventive measures put in place, predictions over Nigeria’s break up may still come to pass.

The former INEC boss who stated this on Wednesday in Abuja, said “The CIA thought that 2015 was the do-or-die period for Nigeria, that there would not be a Nigeria in the way you know after the 2015 General Elections. That has come and passed but I think if we do not take care, a lot of these predictions will come to pass”.

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