- Terrorists release photos of 62 hostages from the Kaduna train attack
- Ayade, Nwajiuba join race for APC ticket
- I owe nobody else any allegiance outside the oath – Osinbajo on his decision to run in 2023
- Ngige insists ASUU is making negotiation difficult
- Why we closed land borders for 2 years — Buhari
Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top news stories you shouldn’t miss:
Terrorists release photos of 62 hostages from the Kaduna train attack
The terrorists who attacked an Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28 Tuesday released four photos of their captives.
The photos showed the kidnapped victims in four groups, the first showing 23 persons including five children and 18 women.
In the second image, 17 men, including a man who looked like an Indian were seen, while the third photograph showed six of the victims in a sitting position, with a bandage wrapped in one of the victim’s right legs. The fourth image depicted another group of 16 men in a sitting position.
A security expert, Abubakar Ahmed, was quoted as saying that the message inherent in the release of the pictures, explained that, “They want to tell the world that the abducted passengers are alive and in good condition.”
Ayade, Nwajiuba join race for APC ticket
A governor and a minister joined the race for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket yesterday.
Cross River Governor Ben Ayade announced at Aso Villa, Abuja that President Muhammadu Buhari had asked him to bid for the ticket.
Minister of State (Education) Emeka Nwajiuba said his friends had raised 100 million naira for him to purchase nomination and expression of interest forms.
The ruling party began the sale of forms for political offices yesterday.
I owe nobody else any allegiance outside the oath – Osinbajo on his decision to run in 2023
The vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Tuesday, took his nationwide consultation tour, in promotion of his presidential ambition, to his home state of Ogun, with a declaration that he swore the oath of allegiance only to Nigeria, and not to any single citizen of the country.
Osinbajo was addressing swirling allegations that his decision to run for president was a betrayal of his former principal and erstwhile political godfather, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who had also declared his presidential aspiration ahead of 2023.
He said, “After all I have learnt, if called upon to serve the nation, should I say No? I have decided that I will run for the office. I have sworn an oath to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is an oath to our people; our children and the future of Nigeria. I owe nobody else any allegiance outside the oath.”
Ngige insists ASUU is making negotiation difficult
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has absolved himself of responsibility for the ongoing industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the three other unions in federal universities.
In a statement by the ministry’s Acting Head of Press and Public Relations, Patience Onuobia, in Abuja, yesterday, Ngige was quoted as boasting he has successfully resolved 1,683 industrial disputes since his assumption of office in 2015 and has been taking extra measures beyond his statutory responsibilities to forestall strikes.
“What is new, however, is that I have done what Napoleon could not do. You can ask them, the ASUU leadership. I’m sure that in the innermost part of their hearts, they can’t sweep away my untiring efforts. I am the only conciliator lately, who has conciliated and put timelines on agreements and pushed all the parties to implement and stick to the timelines. Such fidelity wasn’t there hitherto,” the statement reads in part.
The minister accused ASUU leadership of making reconciliation difficult, saying: “Negotiation now is being made impossible by ASUU. For example, ASUU insists that the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA) should take the payment platform, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS), that it developed and deploy it for payment in the university whether it is good or bad, whether it failed integrity and vulnerability test or not.
“And ASUU members know that fraud committed on payment platforms can run into billions. If a hacker adds zeros to hundreds, it becomes billions. NITDA brought out the report of its test on UTAS – that it passed the user acceptability but failed vulnerability and integrity tests- the two critical tests that prevent fraud.
Why we closed land borders for 2 years — Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday that his government shut the nation’s borders to protect farmers. Buhari spoke as the President of Africa Development Bank, AfDB, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, disclosed that the bank has earmarked $1.5 billion Africa Emergency Food Plan to cushion the effect of the Russia/Ukraine conflict expected to trigger the global food crisis.
The President, who spoke at a meeting with the AfDB boss in his office in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, explained that much had been achieved in encouraging local farmers since the land borders were closed two years ago. He, however, lauded the AfDB for planning ahead of whatever negative consequences might come from the Russia-Ukraine conflict in terms of food security.