Latest News in Nigeria Today 24th January 2019
Latest News Today: NCDC Says No Need to Panic over Lassa Fever and Obasanjo thinks Atiku is Twice Better than Buhari. Stay with us for full details and more.
1. Atiku Twice Better Than Buhari, Obasanjo Insists
Former President Obasanjo has satirized President Buhari once again.
He said the President has shown that he is highly incompetent and condones evil and corruption in his government.
He made his statements on Tuesday in an interview with BBC Pidgin where he insisted that the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar will perform twice better than Buhari if elected president.
The former President is said to be highly aggrieved that under Buhari, anyone could steal the country dry and goes scot-free, as long as he belonged to the APC fold.
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2. Navy Captures Notorious Pipeline Vandal
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday, announced the capture of one Shuaibu Ogunmola, a notorious pipeline vandal.
Ogunmola was captured by a Joint Military Task Force on Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism anchored by the Western Naval Command, Apapa, Lagos.
The alleged vandal was said to be responsible for pipeline vandalism over the years, leading to loss of millions of litres of products along the Lagos Atlas Cove Strip in the Strategic System 2B Pipeline Network.
The said Shuaibu was captured recently at his luxury hotel in Ilashe community, along the Badagry Creek.
3. Let the S’East Fight for the Victory of Buhari – Foreign Affairs Minister
Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, says the South-East has a better deal if it votes for the re-election of President Buhari in the forthcoming presidential elections slated for February 16.
President Buhari is expected in Enugu on 24th January as part of his campaign tour in the bid to get re-elected.
The minister appealed to the people of the area saying, “We want to be on the side of history and victory, because in years to come our children will look back and say ‘this was the moment the South-East got it right. “Therefore, our people should come together and fight for the victory of President Buhari,” he said.
4. Buhari Orders Prosecution of Babachir, Oke
President Buhari has ordered the immediate prosecution of former Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal alongside the ex-Director-General of National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ayo Oke.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this at an event he attended in his honour by some Christian youths over the weekend.
Lawal was sacked after a Senate committee indicted him on misappropriating funds meant for internally displaced persons, IDPs, in the north-east geo-political zone.
The former NIA Director-General was also removed from office, following a discovery of $43 million at an apartment he owned in Ikoyi, Lagos.
5. No Need to Panic over Lassa Fever – NCDC
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says there is absolutely no need for Nigerians to panic over the rising cases of lassa fever.
According to the Centre, it has initiated measures to adequately curtail the spread of the disease in the country.
The advice came in a statement on Wednesday by the Chief Executive Officer, NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu in Abuja.
Dr. Ihekweazu added that they would work together with states in response coordination, contact tracing, case management, risk communication and strengthening infection prevention and control practices.
6. Two Die in Rival Cult Clash in Ondo
Two persons have been reportedly killed in a clash between two rival cult groups in Ondo West LGA of the state.
One of the deceased identified as Olaleye Isiaka was said to be the leader of Eiye confraternity in the town.
It was gathered that Olaleye had gone to a motor park in the town, where a clash broke out with another group called the Ayee confraternity.
iDonsabi was reliably furnished that the late Olaleye was said to have tried to escape from the scene even as several gun shots at him did not penetrate his body.
However, he was attacked with cudgels and he died.
7. PHCN Pensioners Petition Buhari over Non-Payment of Arrears
Pensioners of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have appealed to President Buhari to save them from untimely death and untold hardship over the non-payment of their pension arrears that has amounted to N 25.4 billions.
In a petition to Buhari dated January 21, 2019, the pensioners lamented that they were yet to be paid as directed by the president, noting that they had been given the excuse that there were no funds to pay.
The presidency had earlier set up a Presidential Inter Agency Ministerial Reconciliation Committee to authenticate the genuineness or otherwise of their claims.
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8. 36 Die, Baby Survives as Two Passenger Buses Collide
More than 36 people were on Saturday feared dead as two passenger buses collided and caught fire at a Quarry site at Km 96, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
According to an eyewitness, the two 18-seater buses had a head-on collision and the buses caught fire immediately.
All the passengers in the two buses were burnt beyond recognition save for a baby in one of the buses.
9. Troops Kill 58 Bandits, Lose Two Men
Nigerian troops have killed 58 armed bandits in Zamfara state, but however, lost two soldiers in the operation Saharan Daji.
In a statement by the operation’s Acting Force Information Officer, Major Clement Abiade, the operation was reported to have taken place at Dumburum and Gando forests of Sokoto State.
He said the bandits were killed on 20 January, 2019 at Dumburum and Gando forests when the troops encountered a gang of them, armed with sophisticated firearms and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs).
According to the major, the bandit’s side suffered 58 casualties.
It was also reported in another encounter that the troops destroyed 18 camps and rescued 75 kidnapped victims held in some camps.
According to the report, the freed captives were mostly from local communities in Zamfara State.
10. Know the Identities of Herdsmen in your Territory – Zamfara
The Zamfara Government has directed traditional rulers in the state to always verify the identity of herdsmen entering their domains.
This directive from the state government came in a bid by the state government to curtail the incessant cases of banditry by herdsmen going on in the state.
The State Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Bello Dankand, gave the directive in his state-wide radio broadcast on Wednesday.
