Here are the stories that drove the conversation today:
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has advised Nigerian leaders to make personal sacrifices towards strengthening the nation’s democracy and make the country great.
According to a statement by his spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan spoke against the backdrop of the coming Ekiti Governorship election in the state on Friday night at the inauguration of a flyover built by the administration of Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose in Ado Ekiti.
He added that, “Leaders, should always strive to resist the pressure from unpatriotic elements who wish to subjugate democracy to attain selfish ends.”
The Joint Military Task Force in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Delta Safe, has confirmed a fire incident at an oilfield operated by Conoil in Koluama, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The fire was reported to have started on Saturday morning, engulfed an oil rig owned by Depthwize Nigeria, an oil services firm working at the oil block operated by Conoil Nigeria Limited
Spokesman for the OPDS, Maj. Abdullahi Ibrahim, who confirmed the incident on Saturday, said that all personnel on board the rig were successfully evacuated.
The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) on Saturday confirmed receiving an Order of Interim Injunction from the National Industrial Court (NIC) compelling it to immediately resume duties.
Addressing an emergency news conference on behalf of the national body of JOHESU in Abuja, Dr Godwin Okara, the Chairman, Assembly of Healthcare Professionals Association (AHPA), said the notice was served on the union at 5.39 p.m on Friday (May 25).
Okara however noted that JOHESU had before the receipt of the NIC order filed Court Processes before the same court and the Court of Appeal on May 21, challenging the locus standi of the Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, an NGO, and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will soon introduce some innovations for a free and fair election so as to end the use of election tribunals in the country.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom, Mr. Mike Igini, who disclosed this in Calabar recently while presenting a keynote address at a public lecture, said the commission is working towards a model whereby once a result is declared at the polling unit, it will be as it is declared.
The Lagos State Waterways Authority(LASWA) has praised passengers aboard two boats which collided on Friday for wearing life jackets.
According to LASWA’s Managing Director, Mr Damilola Emmanuel, the fact that those involved in the incident were wearing life jackets prevented the loss of lives.
A boat fully loaded with 22 persons aboard and another with just the captain and deckhand had collided and capsized in the Ojo area of Lagos around 7:45pm.
And stories from around the world:
Venezuela released American Joshua Holt and his wife Saturday after nearly two years in jail, in what its leftist government said was a gesture aimed at fostering dialogue with Washington to avert US “aggressions.”
Officials in both countries said the couple were on their way to Washington, where US President Donald Trump said Holt would be received with his family at the White House.
Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met in Caracas Friday with President Nicolas Maduro, paving the way for the release. (AFP)
More than two dozen people have been killed in one of Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, local sources said on Saturday, although the exact circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear.
Agbor Balla Nkongho, a local human rights lawyer and activist, said at least 34 bodies were found on Friday in Menka. He declined to say who had killed them.
Another local source who visited Menka on Saturday and asked not to be named said she saw a total of 29 bodies, including three outside a school, riddled with gunshot wounds. Some were women and others boys as young as 13, she said. (Reuters)
The leaders of North and South Korea have met in the de-militarised border area between the two countries.
The meeting is only the second between South Korea’s Moon Jae-in and the North’s Kim Jong-un.
Mr Moon’s office said, “Both leaders exchanged opinions… for the successful holding of the North Korea-US summit,” saying that Mr Moon would announce the outcome of the talks on Sunday morning. (BBC)
Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Saturday called on all sides involved in the situation around North Korea to show restraint, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was vital Pyongyang completely shed itself of all nuclear weapons.
The two men made the comments at a news conference in Moscow after discussing North Korea and other geopolitical issues. (Reuters)
Pakistan will hold general elections on July 25, a presidential spokesman said Saturday, offering the prospect of what would be only the second ever democratic transfer of power in the nuclear-armed country.
According to a spokesman from Mamnoon Hussain’s office, “The president has approved July 25 as the date for holding general elections in the country.”
The date which was confirmed by the government of Pakistan’s Twitter account was also reported by state media outlets.
The announcement comes as the current government enters its final week in office. It is expected to hand over power to a caretaker administration in the coming days. (AFP)
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