Good morning! Here are 10 things you need to know this morning:
1. Nigeria’s President-Elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had said in an article published in Tuesday edition of the New York Times that his administration would restore military relationship with the United States of America, also pledging to reform the nation’s military and to tackle the pressing issue of insurgency.
2. Having spent exactly one year in captivity, Nigerians yesterday remembered the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok. Ceremonies marking their abduction held in several states, particularly in Abuja and Lagos. In a procession that held in Abuja, two hundred and nineteen female pupils, representing each of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls took part, demanding their own release. Report says two young men chained themselves for two hours on the 3rd Mainland Bridge, signifying the continuous abduction of the girls.
3. There was celebration in Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti state yesterday after the Supreme Court declared in its judgment that Ayodele Fayose was the winner and the duly elected governor of Ekiti State in the June 21, 2014 election. Following a unanimous decision by the seven-man panel led by Justice John Fabiyi, the apex court ruled in line with the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ekiti State Governorship Election Tribunal, noting that the petition challenging Fayose’s victory was lacking in merit.
4. Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has denied seeking asylum in any part of the world, as held by a section of the media. Speaking through the Group Public Affairs General Manager of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, the Minister said she never contemplated relocating from Nigeria.
5. The National Security Adviser (NSA) retired Col. Sambo Dasuki has assured Nigerians that the military will do its best to raid the Sambisa forest, the stronghold of the Boko and completely eliminate the Boko Haram insurgents from the north before May 29. He also said that efforts were being made to rescue the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.
6. Lagos State government has debunked the reports of new cases of the Ebola Virus Disease in the state. At a press conference jointly held by the Commissioners of Health, Information and Strategy and Special Duties in Lagos, Nigerians were advised to disregard the rumour claiming that three Liberian returnees died of the disease and infected 12 others. The said website that allegedly started the rumour has been shut down, even as investigation into the origin of the rumour continues.
7. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has again re-assured soccer fans that Coach Stephen Keshi will this Friday sign a fresh contract for the Super Eagles role. The General Secretary of the federation, Dr. Sanusi Mohammed disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday.
8. Human rights group, Amnesty International, has in its assessment of Boko Haram activities revealed that the insurgents have abducted at least, 2,000 women and girls since the inception of 2014. The assessment however revealed that fifty of the abducted Chibok girls were sighted in Gwoza, three weeks ago.
9. Motorists in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja are facing yet another phase of fuel scarcity as long queues have resurfaced in most filling stations in the city. A litre of the product now goes for N250 in the black market.
10. A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Walid Jibrin, has affirmed that President Goodluck Jonathan did well by saving Nigeria from bloodshed after he conceded defeat to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He called on other politicians to emulate the President. He was speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in his country home of Nasarawa, yesterday.
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