SABINEWS EVENING NEWS UPDATE FOR AUGUST 2, 2016
Buhari appoints Adegbuyi as Postmaster General
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Bisi Adegbuyi as the Postmaster General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Postal Services. The appointment was contained in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Tuesday in Abuja. Read more
NDLEA nabs man, seizes N1.78bn hard drug
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Anambra says it has arrested a 31-year-old man, Vincent Chidiebere, for allegedly peddling hard drug worth N1.78 billion. Addressing newsmen in Onitsha on Tuesday, the Commander of NDLEA in the state, Mr Sule Momodu, said that the suspect was arrested in Awka on July 28 with methamphetamine weighing 25.2kg. Read more
Tension in Ekiti Assembly As Lawmaker-Elect Storm House for Swearing-in Ceremony
Tension rose on Tuesday in Ekiti State House of Assembly as a lawmaker declared by the court to be the true representative of Ado Constituency 1, Hon. Toyin Obayemi besieged the House for him to be sworn-in as declared by the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti. Obayemi stormed the assembly in company of his supporters at about 10.30am and went straight to the office of the Clerk, Mr Tola Esan to submit the judgement delivered on July 4, 2016 by Justice Taiwo Taiwo and the subsequent certificate of return issued to him in Abuja by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC). Read more
Budget padding: Jibrin meets APC leaders behind closed doors
A former Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, is in a meeting with the leaders of the All Progressives Congress at the party’s National Headquarters in Abuja. Jibrin, who arrived at the APC Headquarters around 2pm, was summoned by the national executive of the party after his allegation of budget padding against the leadership of the House of Representatives led to tension in the lower chamber of the National Assembly. Present at the meeting are the APC Deputy National Chairman, North, Lawal Shuaibu; and the National Vice-Chairman, North-West, Inuwa Abdulkadir. It was learnt that the national officers of the party from the North specifically summoned Jibrin to the meeting. Read more
Nigeria to raise nearly a billion dollars in naira Treasury bills
Nigeria plans to raise 245.18 billion naira ($773.44 million)worth of Treasury bills with maturities ranging between three months and a year on Aug. 3, traders said on Tuesday citing a central bank Treasury bill calendar. The central bank plans to issue 45.18 billion naira in 3-month debt, 80 billion naira of 6-month paper and 120 billion naira of 1-year bills in a Dutch auction, they said. Read more
Dangote refinery will address fuel scarcity – Ambode
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Tuesday said the refinery project being developed at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) by President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, would address the perennial fuel scarcity problem in Nigeria and West Africa. Ambode, who spoke during an inspection tour of the refinery by the Togolese President, Mr. Faure Gnassingbe, expressed optimism that the project would positively change the face of oil and gas business in West Africa. Read more
Flour Mills of Nigeria plans 40 bln naira share sale
Aug 2 Flour Mills of Nigeria plans to raises up to 40 billion naira ($128 million) in equity and has registered the capital raise as a shelf programme with regulators, its chief finance officer said on Tuesday. Read more
Nigerian naira closes firmer at 310.50 per dollar
The Nigerian naira closed at 310.50 against the dollar on Tuesday, firmer than previous close of 315.50, Thomson Reuters data showed. The local currency traded $23 million at 280.50 just after the interbank market opened at 316.50. Read more
Half-naked women protest against killings in Kaduna
Half-naked women on Tuesday protested over alleged night attacks by herdsmen on Ninte village in Godogodo Chiefdom of Jema’a Local Government, Kaduna State. The women from Ninte and surrounding villages staged the protest at the palace of the Chief of Godogodo. The women demanded government intervention to stop the alleged increasing cases of night killings, rape, burning of houses by some assailants in the area. Spokesperson of the protesters, Mrs. Deborah Reuben, accused the government of insensitivity to their plight since the incident started in May. Read more
Robbery: Four to die by firing squad
A High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital has sentenced four members of an armed robbery gang to death by firing squad. The convicts who were said to specialise in hijacking petroleum tankers at gun point are Abdurahman Yinusa, Maliki Sanni, Ajayi Saliu and Mohammed Jimoh. Before their arrest in December, 2009, the four convicts and one other person at large had robbed many people several times on Isua/Idoani expressway in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State. Read more
Jail-break: FG threatens heavy sanctions on errant officers
The Federal Government has threatened to sanction heavily, prison officers found culpable for cases of jail-breaks and escape from prison formations in the country. It said that it was important for prison officers to carry out certain routines daily to ensure the security of the facilities, warning that negligence, dereliction of duty and absenteeism by officers will be severely punished. The Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau (retd.), handed down the warning during a meeting with all senior prison service officers at the Nigeria Prison Service headquarters in Abuja, on Tuesday. Read more
Breastfeeding Of Babies Should Start Within 30 Minutes Of Birth – FG
The Federal Government has advised nursing mothers to commence breastfeeding within 30 minutes of child’s birth to enhance healthy living of the child. Dr Chris Isokpunwu, who is the Head of Nutrition in the Ministry of Health, gave the advice at the inauguration of the 2016 Breastfeeding Week on Monday in Abuja. It was organised by the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) in Abuja. Read more
I Inherited N293 bn Workers’ Claims – Winifred Oyo-Ita, HOS
Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOS), said she inherited N293 billion outstanding workers’ claims on assumption of office in October, 2015. She spoke on Monday in Abuja at a media briefing as part of activities to mark this year’s Civil Service Week. The HOS said that the Federal Government was, however, doing everything possible to ensure that the allowances were paid to the beneficiaries. Read more
NEMA Provides Food for 800 Ex-Boko Haram Terrorists
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has presented food and non-food items to the military for Operation Safe Corridor programme meant to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate 800 repented and surrendered Boko Haram insurgents to fast-track the peace process in the North-east. The Director of Media and Public Relations, NEMA, Mr. Sani Datti, said in a statement on Tuesday, that the items were presented in Gombe by the Director General of the Agency, Muhammad Sani Sidi. Read more
Robbery: Robbers, Thugs Threaten Land Developers In Delta
Landlords, including property developers, in Issele- Azagba, Okpanam communities, Oshimili North local government area of Delta State, are currently living in fears of the unknown over alleged murder of one person in the past few weeks in cold blood by suspected armed robbers including land speculators operating in the areas. While the landlords and developers have raised the alarm through their lawyer, they said that the situation might portend bad omen if urgent steps are not taken to foil the sinister motives of the suspected armed robbers and thugs. Read more
NFF unveils Nigeria’s new kit
The Nigerian Football Federation has unveiled a new kit for the national football team. According to the NFF, the team will take to the pitch this week in the new kit, designed by Nike featuring Dri-FIT technology. “The home kit is a solid green, with white ribbing around the back of the modern crewneck collar,” it said Read more
2016 Olympics: Police Arrest NFSC Visa-Seeking Member At Brazilian Embassy
The internal wrangling rocking the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC) has reached a climax with the alleged arrest of a member of the club at the Brazilian Embassy. The Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the club, Mr Hafeez Balogun, told newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos that the member, a female, was arrested at the Brazilian Embassy in Lagos. Read more
British Airways offers instant rewards during check-in
British Airways has commenced an instant rewards scheme for customers in Nigeria, with all travelers who are non-members of the airline’s Executive Club loyalty programme receiving frequent flier miles upon check-in. Speaking on the initiative which began last week at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Regional Commercial Manager, West Africa, at BA, Mr Kola Olayinka, observed that customer details would now be automatically registered for BA Avios, whether or not the customer is a member of the Executive Club. Read more
Turkey detains 36 over sex tape scandal
A sex tape saga that affected Turkey’s opposition parties several years back has returned to the headlines, as detention orders were issued Tuesday for 120 people in connection with the video. A media report in Istanbul said that sex tape engulfed the centre-left People’s Republican Party and the Nationalist Movement Party on the right and has been linked to the same movement of an Islamic cleric that the government blames for the failed coup attempt on July 15. Read more
