1st NEWS EVENING NEWS UPDATE – APRIL 9, 2019
National Assembly: We aren’t in a hurry to release zoning formula –APC
The All Progressives Congress on Monday said it was not in a hurry to release a comprehensive zoning formula for the leadership positions meant for the ruling party in the National Assembly. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Lanre Issa-Onilu, stated this in an interview with our correspondent. He said consultation on the arrangement was still ongoing. When told that the delay was making lawmakers-elect across political zones show interests in different positions and may be difficult for them to drop their ambitions when the formula was finally released, Issa-Onilu said the party was not exercising any fear in that regard.
Nigeria’s economy slipping, says World Bank
The World Bank has said that the Nigerian economy has been slipping since 1995 and this continued till 2018. The bank, in its latest report on the regional economy titled, ‘Africa’s Pulse’, released the taxonomy of growth performance in sub-Saharan Africa, which focused on the macroeconomic and financial features that led to growth resilience on the continent. According to the bank, the taxonomy is used to help identify the factors that are correlated with success or failure in economic growth performance in sub-Saharan Africa, with emphasis on macroeconomic and financial variables.
Senate confirms NEDC board chairman, 10 others
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Maj.-Gen. Paul Tarfa (rtd.) as Chairman of the North East Development Commission. The Senate also confirmed the appointment of Mohammed Alkali as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NEDC, alongside nine members. This followed presentation of report by Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Sen. Abdul Aziz Nyako on confirmation of nominations into the board of the commission.
Police dismiss 9 senior officers, demote 6 for misconduct
The Police Service Commission has approved with immediate effect the dismissal of nine senior Police officers for gross misconduct. It also approved the reduction in rank of another six officers for different cases of misconduct. The PSC spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, said in a statement on Tuesday that this was part of the outcome of the fifth plenary meeting of the Commission, which held in Abuja on March 26 and 27, 2019, presided over by its Chairman, Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector-General of Police. It stated that the Commission also approved ‘severe reprimand’ for five officers and ‘reprimand’ for another five.
Court admits evidence on Olisa Metuh’s N400m alleged fraud case
The Federal High Court, Abuja, has admitted into evidence, records of expenditure of the N400m the former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, is alleged to have fraudulently received. The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, admitted the document titled ‘President National Assignment Account’ into evidence and marked it as exhibit D20. Metuh had testified that the N400m was paid to him by former President Goodluck Jonathan for a special national assignment. He had also testified that he disbursed the money under the directives of the former president, after which he also tendered account with receipts of payments to him.
Fire razes Katsina varsity
A wild fire on Tuesday razed some offices of the Katsina State owned Umar Musa Yar’Adua University. It destroyed sections of some buildings at the Faculty of Education, the office of Head of Library and Information Science Department, the examination office and some lecturers’ rooms. The cause of the fire outbreak is still unknown but some onlookers said it might be due to an electrical fault. Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, who visited the institution afterwards in the company of Deputy Governor, Alhaji Mannir Yakubu and Special Adviser on Higher Education, Alhaji Bashir Ruwan Godiya, directed that a committee be set up to investigate the cause of the fire.
7 JTF members dead in clash with bandits
No fewer than seven parsons were feared dead during a clash involving Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) and some bandits in Tsamiyar Jino village in kankara local government area of Katsina state. Confirming the incident, spokesman of the Katsina State Police Command, Superintendent Gambo Isa, told newsmen on Tuesday that 35 persons didn’t die as erroneously stated in many social media posts. He further disclosed the Civilian JTF popularly known as Yansakai (volunteers) went into the forest to fight the bandits against the warnings of Police not to do so.
I owe millions in legal fees, ex-president Zuma wails, denies keeping Ghadafi’s $30m
Former South African President, Jacob Zuma, on Tuesday denied hiding some $30m belonging to the late Libyan leader, Moamer Gaddafi, in his mansion. “Sigh! I owe millions in legal fees… I now hear that I have been keeping money belonging to my late brother Gaddafi,’’ tweeted Zuma, who is embroiled in numerous corruption scandals. Over the weekend, South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper had published an investigation that said Libyan military authorities have asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to help recover late Muammar Gaddafi’s millions – now believed to be in eSwatini, formerly Swaziland. “Where’s this money, because His Majesty knows nothing about it?’’ Zuma tweeted, referring to the Swazi king, who the Times said had recently confirmed the existence of the money to Ramaphosa. Before he was deposed and killed in 2011, the Libyan leader had a strong relationship with South Africa and Zuma had offered his “brother” a safe haven, according to the Times.
Erdogan’s party wants rerun of Istanbul election
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party on Tuesday urged the Istanbul mayor’s election be re-run after electoral authorities rejected a demand for a recount of all ballots cast in the city.The Justice and Development Party (AKP) had appealed after its Istanbul candidate narrowly lost in last week’s local election in what would be a major setback after a decade and a half in power. Erdogan’s party also lost the capital Ankara but the president on Monday questioned the Istanbul results and hinted at a rerun because he said the vote was marred by ballot box theft.
Brexit puts end in sight for Britain’s Theresa May
The beginning of the end of Theresa May’s Brexit strategy was an emotional address to the nation in which she blamed parliament for the delay in Britain’s departure from the European Union. The televised speech on March 20 was one of the few times in nearly three years as prime minister that she has followed her instincts rather than the counsel of her closest aides, said a source close to May. Venting her anger at parliament, which had already rejected her deal twice, she said Britain’s departure had been blocked by political infighting for which she was not responsible. Her move backfired, spelling the end of attempts to agree terms acceptable to hardline Brexit supporters in her Conservative Party and to Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which props up her minority government.
Facebook changes user terms under pressure from European Commission
The European Commission said Facebook is to make changes its terms and conditions, for the first time clearly spelling out to users its business model of making income from sales of their personal data. The changes, set to be introduced by the end of June at the latest, explain in plain language how the company’s business model is based on the use of its users’ data to develop profiling activities and deliver targeted advertising. The new terms detail what services Facebook sells to third parties for the use of users’ data, how consumers can close their accounts and under what circumstances accounts may be disabled by the firm.
Top Apple insider claims major MacBook Pro redesign isn’t expected until 2021
Apple is expected to release new Mac hardware this year, but a reliable insider suggests the massive MacBook Pro redesign some fans might be waiting for has been delayed to 2021. Specifically, the 16-inch MacBook Pro model that was featured in previous reports, which now may not launch sooner than the first half of 2021. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is often accurate when it comes to Apple-related forecasts, said back in mid-February that Apple was preparing to launch a MacBook Pro featuring a 16-to-16.5-inch screen, as well as a brand new design. The report did not reveal additional details about the laptop, although the unusual screen size seemed to be indicative of a significant redesign for the flagship laptop.
Yahoo strikes $117.5 million data breach settlement after earlier accord rejected
Yahoo has struck a revised $117.5 million settlement with millions of people whose email addresses and other personal information were stolen in the largest data breach in history. The proposed class-action settlement made public on Tuesday was designed to address criticisms of U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California. She rejected an earlier version of the accord on Jan. 28, and her approval is still required. Koh said the original settlement was not “fundamentally fair, adequate and reasonable” because it had no overall dollar value and did not say how much victims might expect to recover. She also said the legal fees appeared to be too high. Yahoo, now part of New York-based Verizon Communications Inc, had been accused of being slow to disclose three data breaches affecting about 3 billion accounts from 2013 to 2016.
