Good morning. Happy New Month. Here are 10 things you need to know this morning.
1. The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Pius Odubu, and his entourage, Saturday, escaped death in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of the state when some heavily armed men opened fire on them.
A policeman, an operative of the Department of State Services and three other persons were injured during the attack and were taken to an undisclosed hospital. He was in the area to formally declare his intention to contest the September 10 gubernatorial election in the state under the All Progressives Congress.
2. Gunmen have kidnapped wife of Ubong Assam, the paramount ruler of Esit Eket in Akwa Ibom. Mrs. Assam, who is heavily pregnant, was abducted alongside four other children of the traditional ruler. Chief Asuquo Abia, the Secretary, Traditional Rulers Council, Esit Eket, confirmed that the gunmen invaded the palace of the paramount ruler in the wee hours of Friday morning where they whisked the expectant mother and the children away to an unknown destination.
3. Herdsmen from different parts of Nigeria have declared that nobody can stop them from grazing their cattle in any part of the country, especially in the south.
According to them, any attempt to stop them from carrying out their work is unconstitutional.
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, said the ultimatum given by different groups for the herdsmen to vacate the southern part of the country would not work, nothing that Nigeria belonged to everyone.
4. Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has restated the resolve of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to institute a new culture of probity and accountability in governance.
He declared that it is now a new day in Aso Rock.
Osinbajo, who spoke at The Platform, a public engagement forum organized by the Covenant Church led by Pastor Poju Oyemade noted that, “The government of President Muhammadu Buhari is completely and irrevocably committed to change.”
5. No fewer than 359 policemen have been killed on duty between January 2014 and April 2016, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, has said.
Arase, who was delivering a lecture at the University of Jos, disclosed that 272 policemen sustained various degrees of injuries within the same period, adding that the casualties occurred while intervening in civil conflicts.
6. Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s current economic policies.
She said the economic policies are similar to those he promulgated during the military regime he led in the 1980s.
According to her, Buhari’s “archaic” and “opaque” economic principles are not only encouraging massive corruption and abuse of power, but also hurting the poor they were intended to help.
7. Abductors of Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, have asked the family for a ransom of N200 million.
The dare-devil men, who contacted the family via phone on Friday night said the payment should be made without delay or the captor would never smell freedom.
8. President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba has lambasted the nation’s political elite for allegedly acting irresponsibly and squandering the nation’s wealth.
Wabba said workers had undeservedly been reduced to beggars by government due to non-payment of salaries for months
9. No fewer than 254 people have died in various traffic accidents in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States in the first quarter of 2016, the Federal Road safety Corps has revealed.
Mr Victor Nwokolo, the Zonal Commanding Officer RS 1, who made this disclosure in Kaduna at the flag off of a “special operation curb road accidents in the zone”, noted that 305 road traffic crashes were recorded during the period, in which 1,322 persons were injured.
10. A former National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olabode George has ruled out the possibility of his party returning to power.
George warned of the inherent dangers of the current crises plaguing the party, saying that it posed a big obstacle to its bid to regain power in 2019.
The party chieftain said until the PDP put its house in order, there was no hope of recapturing power from the APC, which he said had also failed woefully.
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