These are the top five stories you should be monitoring today.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says the main opposition party, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) deserves to be deregistered for absolute failure both as ruling and opposition party.
The minister attacked the party for “disgraceful and insensitive politics that the PDP has been playing with the abduction and release of the Dapchi girls.”
“What called for non-partisan celebrations was rather thoughtlessly turned into politics, bad, despicable politics that has no place in any democracy.
“At times of national tragedies, countries unite. This is the norm everywhere.
“Indeed, there should be a new criterion for withdrawing the registration of a party like the PDP which has failed both as a ruling and an opposition party!
“If a party cannot rule and cannot be in opposition, what else can it do?’’ he said.
The PDP, in reply, said the APC is less a party compared to the PDP.
The BBC reported on Sunday that SCL Elections, a public relations firm that later became Cambridge Analytica, manipulated Nigeria’s 2007 by organising campaigns to weaken the chances of opposition parties.
The broadcaster said the company organised “anti-election rallies” to demoralise opposition supporters from voting in the elections, which saw the emergence of Umar Yar’Adua as Nigeria’s president.
Three unions, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government to pay pensions and entitlements of 6,000 workers of the defunct Nigerian Airways Limited (NAL).
The unions decried the delay in payment of N45 billion approved by the federal government for the former workers’ pensions and other entitlements.
They issued the ultimatum in a joint petition dated March 19 and signed by Ocheme Aba for NAAPE; Frances Akinjole, ATSSSAN; and Olayinka Abioye for NUATE.
The petition was addressed to Hadi Sirika, the Minister of State for Aviation.
The Nigerian Army Sunday, said one Sergeant David Bako who was alleged to have deserted the Army and took part in the abduction of Dapchi girls with N80 million is not a personnel in the Army.
Leaders of Niger Delta, yesterday, gave members of Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA), and other militant groups in the region a four-day ultimatum to withdraw their 30-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government to reinstate the sacked chairman of Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh (retd).
The leaders also dissociated themselves from the ultimatum by the militant groups, saying: “They (Avengers) do not have the mandate to speak on behalf of the people of Niger Delta.”
And stories from around the world…
Adult film actor, Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, says she was threatened to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006.
She told CBS News a man had approached her in a Las Vegas car park in 2011.
The stranger allegedly said “leave Trump alone“, then looked at her young daughter and added: “It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom.”
Protests broke out across the Spanish region of Catalonia Sunday after former leader Carles Puigdemont was taken into custody in Germany.
Puigdemont, who is wanted in Spain for sedition and rebellion, was detained by German police acting on a European arrest warrant.
He will appear before a German judge later today.
Intimidation of opponents by authorities and voter apathy might not stop Egyptians from going to the polls on Monday (today) in an election that is almost certain to result in victory for the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
At least 37 people were killed when a fire ripped through a busy shopping centre in an industrial city in western Siberia, with scores more reported missing, including children.
“At this time, we can confirm the deaths of 37 people in the fire at the Kemerovo shopping centre”, Russia’s Investigative Committee said, according to Tass news agency.
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school Sunday, accused the National Rifle Association (NRA) of exploiting people’s fears to sell weapons and criticised the US President Donald Trump administration for its hesitant response to last month’s gun rampage in Florida, which left 14 of their peers and three teachers dead.
“The NRA are fearmongers,” said Cameron Kasky, a Parkland survivor and one of the organizers of Saturday’s historic March for Our Lives. Speaking on Fox News on Sunday, he charged the NRA with wanting “to sell weapons by exploiting people’s fears. The second we try to put common-sense regulations on these assault weapons the NRA will say they are trying to steal your guns – fortunately, people see past this.”
Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram
Leave a reply