10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Tuesday morning, December 17, 2019

These 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers will make your Tuesday morning, December 17,  2019.

1. Buhari to sign 2020 Budget Tuesday

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday sign the 2020 Appropriation Bill of N10.59 trillion into law. The Senate last week forwarded the Appropriation Bill to the President for assent. President Buhari had on October 8 presented the budget estimate to the joint session of the National Assembly. The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, had promised that the lawmakers would pass the budget before the end of the year in order to revert the nation’s back to the January to December budget cycle. Read more

2. VP Osinbajo admits Nigeria still far behind in poverty eradication

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has admitted that the country is far behind in the race to eradicate poverty. He added that the reason for this was that there were no systematic and focused approaches to eradicating poverty in Nigeria. Osinbajo made this comment while speaking at the second Abiola Ajimobi roundtable programme to mark the 70th birthday of the former governor of Oyo State. He delivered a speech on the topic: “Managing the Dynamics of Nigeria’s Advancement: The Socio-Economic options.” Read more

3. Public opinion will determine fate of hate speech bill —Senate President

The President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has declared that the controversial Hate Speech and Internet Falsehoods and Manipulations and other related Matters Bill will not be passed without desirable public hearing. Lawan made the declaration on Monday in Abuja while washing his hands off the aforementioned bills at a Luncheon/Media briefing where he reiterated that the fate of the bills hung in the public domain. Read more

4. Obaseki returns to the trenches, labels Oshiomhole a pathological liar

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has said that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole must not be taken seriously because he is a pathological liar. The governor, who has been having a running battle with Oshiomhole, his predecessor in office, over the control of the APC in the state, stated this in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie. Read more

5. The rich must be taxed mercilessly to solve problem of poverty in Nigeria —Aregbesola

The Minister of Interior, Raif Aregbesola has said that if the rich failed to address the problem of poverty in Nigeria, that their comfort would be taken away. Nigeria has since been ranked as the World capital of people living under extreme poverty. And Aregbesola said that for the country to solve the problem of poverty, there was need for the few rich to be taxed ‘mercilessly’. The former governor of Osun State spoke at the 70th birthday of Abiola Ajimobi, the immediate past governor of Oyo state. Read more

Read also: 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Monday morning, December 16, 2019

6. APC lifts Akeredolu, Amosun, Okorocha’s suspension

The peace process initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari and other stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) yielded huge dividends on Monday as the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) lifted the suspension slammed on the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Senator Rochas Okorocha, Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON, Mr. Osita Okechukwu and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani. The quintet were suspended shortly after the 2019 general elections over concerns about their alleged roles in the run-up to the elections. The decision to lift the suspension, according to the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, was a fallout of the party’s NWC meeting held at its national secretariat in Abuja. Read more

7. I can’t release Sowore, AGF Malami replies Falana

After taking over the case of detained Publisher, Omoyele Sowore, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said his office cannot take any decision on the release of Omoyele Sowore. Malami, in a statement issued on Monday, said that he could not take a unilateral decision on the release of Sowore without recourse to the court, where the ‘RevolutionNow’ protests convener and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, are being prosecuted on charges of treasonable felony, among others. Read more

8. MALAMI: Over $400bn has been stolen out of Nigeria by public officials and their foreign collaborators

Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami on Monday lamented that the country has lost over $400 billion to offshore havens. The minister, who led Nigeria’s delegation eighth session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in the United Arab Emirates taking place from December 16 to 20, according to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu, said the money lost to illicit financial flows was “stolen and expatriated by corrupt leaders and their foreign accomplices including multinational companies.” Read more

9. Maina’s son withdrew N58m from UBA account in 2 months —Witness

Mohammed Goji, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operative, Monday told Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, of how Faisal Maina, son of a former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed, withdrew N58 million from a United Bank for Africa (UBA) account within two months. Goji, who is a second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Maina’s son for alleged fraud, is a Principal Detective Superintendent with the EFCC. Goji is also a member of the EFCC team that investigated the fraud allegedly perpetrated by Maina and he made the revelation while giving evidence when the case resumed on Monday. Read more

10. ICPC secures order to seize 60 houses from NSCDC commandant

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), has secured a temporary forfeiture order to seize 60 houses belonging to a Deputy Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Ms Adenike Ishola. The anti-graft agency, stated this in a statement it posted on its website on Monday, claiming that Ishola has been on the run after jumping bail. The ICPC further stated that a High Court sitting in Abuja granted the interim forfeiture order on assets linked to Ishola and her company located at Sabon Lugbe, Abuja, adding that part of the assets was an estate comprising of 60 buildings at the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. Read more

 

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