Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. Report now has it that it is no longer feasible for the 2017 budget to be passed on March 30. This is due to the fact that over 80 per cent of the various committees had not reported on the budget yet. This means that only about 10 of the 96 committees have been able to produce their reports.
2. The Senate President, Bukola Saraki has debunked insinuations that the Senate rejected the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, because of a damning report by the Department of State Services which questioned Magu’s integrity. Saraki said that there was nowhere during the deliberation that the Senate made reference to the DSS report, stating that Magu was rejected based on his inability to scale through the screening process. He urged Nigerians not to politicise Magu’s rejection.
3. The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has said the Senate will never confirm Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), because some Senators are allegedly corrupt and will continue to influence decision against the EFCC boss. In a statement released on Saturday, MURIC’s director, Ishaq Akintola, said the action of the Senate shows clearly that it is not fighting corruption.
4. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State has said it was not part of a meeting held in Abuja on Friday by 23 State Chairmen of the party. It descried it as a mere gathering of strange people loyal to the National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. According to the party, no genuine state chairman of the PDP will attend any meeting with Sheriff, considering the damage he had done to the party, except those he handpicked to buy legitimacy for himself.
5. Senator Shehu Sani has recommended that the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai should be punished by the APC for allegedly leaking the memo he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 to the media. In a statement, signed by the Senator, Sani noted that it is ironic that El-Rufai, who he said cannot stand constructive criticism, has the audacity to criticise the President. He said since El-Rufai will always recommend for his punishment each time he criticises his government, he should also be punished for attacking the president.
6. The Federal Civil Service Commission has released lists of successful candidates shortlisted for interview into the Federal Ministries. A statement signed by Chairman of the Commission, Mustaph Sulaiman, disclosed that candidates were shortlisted from applications received during the commission’s 2016 Recruitment Exercise. Those listed include: Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Labour & Productivity, Federal Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Federal Ministry of Transport, Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Bureau of Public Procurement.
7. The Oyo State Police Command on Saturday said it has launched a manhunt for the Fulani herdsman that killed a farmer in Igbeti, Oke-Ogun area of the state. The Public Relations Officer of the command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said that the killer of the farmer, Musiliu Aliu, who was hacked to death on his farm by the herdsman during an argument over the latter’s cattle grazing on Aliu’s farmland would soon be arrested.
8. The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend his anti-graft war on Governors and their states. According to him, the “level of corruption in some states is unprecedented.” He gave the advice, weekend, during the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria 4th quadrennial National Delegates’ conference in Uyo. The NLC president also called on state governors to spend part of the Paris club to settle outstanding salaries, pensions and gratuities of their workers.
9. Senator Dino Melaye has said that President Muhammadu Buhari, cannot send Ibrahim Magu’s name to the Senate for confirmation again, after he was rejected twice. He explained that there is a provision of the Senate rules, which would not allow members consider Magu for the same position again. He said according to Order 131 of the Senate his candidacy is considered lapsed after the two rejections.
10. The Nigerian Peace Corps, NPC, has alleged that some highly placed individuals were behind the recent attack on its Abuja secretariat by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigerian Police Force. NPC claimed that the move was aimed at scuttling the much-awaited Presidential Assent to the Bill of the Corps which has been passed by the National Assembly.
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