INSTANT NEWS

Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers

1. President Muhammadu Buhari has placed travel restrictions on his Ministers, saying they can only travel out of the country eight times in a year. The Minister of Information, Culture & Tourism, Lai Mohammed, who made this disclosure on Monday, said Buhari has directed that no Minister should go on foreign trips more than twice in a quarter.

2. A member of Sokoto State House of Assembly, Isah Harisu, is dead. The lawmaker, who represents Kebbe State Constituency passed away on Monday after he showed signs of discomfort, slumped and died.

3. The Federal Government has described the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, as irrational and inhuman. Addressing the press in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Monday, Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, maintained that the terrorists “do not subscribe to any religion, despite their pretensions.”

4. President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the people of the South East geographical region that more good things will soon come to the zone. The President promised that his administration was committed to developing the region and bringing dividends of democracy to the Igbo dominated area.

5. The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that there is no cause for alarm over the country’s debt profile both domestic and external as being speculated by scaremongers. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who gave the assurance on Monday in Lagos, said there were misrepresentations in the figures being pushed out in certain quarters about the debt profile, adding that the country had not reached its debt ceiling of 25 per cent in total public debt stock to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

6. The Zamfara Hisba Commission says it arrested a police officer with three girls at a hotel room in Gusau. Chairman of the commission, Dr Atiku Zawuyya, while parading the suspects at the commission’s headquarters on Monday, quoted him as saying the police officer, who is serving with the Central Police Station, Gusau, and others committed acts contrary to Sharia law.

7. The Writers Against AIDS has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the financial transactions of state agencies for the control of HIV/AIDS mostly headed by governors’ wives.W AAIDS in a statement on Monday by the National Coordinator, Wole Adedoyin, said the funds, which ought to have been used in taking care of people living with AIDS, were either diverted into unknown accounts for selfish purposes.

8. Rochas Okorocha, Imo West Senator has reacted to the alleged rift between him and Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Okorocha, who said he was yet to know the cause of the rift, stated that he looked forward to hearing from Oshiomhole and will remain in the APC.

9. The Federal Government says it is studying the situation on change of West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) currency, Eco, to be used as ECOWAS single currency. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, who made this known in a statement by Yunusa Abdullahi, her Special Adviser, Media and Communication, in Abuja on Monday. Reacting on this development, said Nigeria as a country would respond in due course.

10. Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, on Monday, signed the State’s N449.97bn 2020 appropriation bill into law. Gov Abiodun, while assenting to the bill assured the people of the state that his administration would be measured by the performance of the budget; saying the implementation of the year 2020 budget was sacrosanct.

The Edo State House of Assembly on Monday, suggested the removal of Mr Patrick Aguinede, the suspended chairman of Esan West Local Government Council, over alleged unremitted Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

The request followed the consideration of the report of the panel of enquiry constituted by Gov. Godwin Obaseki to investigate allegations of fraud leveled against the chairman.

The report of the panel of inquiry was on Monday forwarded to the house by the governor.

The Leader of the House, Roland Asoro moved for the House to resolve into the Committee of the Whole to consider the report.

The motion was seconded by Mr Emmanuel Okoduwa, member representing Esan North-East II constituency.

He said considering the report at the Committee of the Whole, the chairman presented fake figures to the panel.

He also said that the panel found the chairman wanting for under remitting the council IGR into the state government coffers.

According to the panel, Aguinede was allegedly remitting N4.5 million while within the period he was suspended, the council remitted N7.6 million.

The report, however, noted that the acting chairman of the council between Oct.7 and Oct. 30 remitted N9.1 million IGR to the state government.

The report stated that the difference in the amount generated in the council revealed that Aguinede was under remitting the council IGR.

The panel, therefore, recommended that the chairman be removed from office having been found culpable of the allegations.

The house after deliberation adopted the panel’s recommendation and removed the chairman from office.

The speaker, Mr Francis Okiye, thereafter, directed that clean copies of the resolution be sent to the governor, NAN reports.

Also at plenary, the house summoned the chairman of the State Internal Revenue Service, Mr lgbinidu Inneh and the state commissioner for finance to appear before the House committee of Selection on Jan. 6, 2020.

Atiku Sends Christmas Message To Nigerians

Former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2019 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar congratulates the Christian community in Nigeria on the occasion of this year’s Christmas celebrations.

He urges Nigerians to allow Love and Hope be their guiding principle as they mark the festivities.

Atiku in a press release on Tuesday signed by Paul Ibe his media aide, says that Nigerians, notably the Christian community, should be thankful to God that the Christmas festivities, heralding the birth of Jesus Christ, have come again.

The Waziri Adamawa says love is the conqueror of all things, including the challenges and tribulations that befell many people during the year and that has come thus far to celebrate Christmas, HOPE should remain the watchword of the faithful that the future would be better.

He says that Christians should celebrate with all their heart and extend their joy to all their neighbours including their fellow countrymen.

He says that going by all that happened in the course of the year, it is only Love, Hope and expectations of a better future that can hold Nigeria and all mankind together.

Saudi Arabia on Monday warned courts and maazouns (Muslim marriage notaries) against validating marriages of people under the age of 18.

The Ministry of Justice has stressed that these cases should be submitted to a competent court, as a measure to protect the rights of children.

The department stressed that under the Child Protection System, a marriage contract with a person under the age of 18 should only be concluded if it is assured that the union would not cause harm to the young boy or the girl and was in their best interest.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged customers not to pay N50 charge to businesses for using point of sale (POS) machines.

Musa Jimoh, a director in CBN’s payment system management department, explained the apex bank’s merchant charge directive on Monday.

“The stamp duty is a fee regulated by an act. The CBN doesn’t regulate the stamp duty so we can’t change anything. Stamp duty as it is today has been misinterpreted,” Jimoh said on a Channels TV programme monitored in Lagos.

“Our circular that talks about merchants paying stamp duty according to the law does not say that the stamp duty should be paid by the consumer. That’s actually a misrepresentation of the CBN’S directive.

“What our directive says is that merchants should pay all necessary charges as regulated by the government agency including stamp duty. When there is an electronic transaction to an account other than a savings account and the transaction amount is more than N1,000, you have to pay stamp duty.

“Our explanation to banks is that we would like the merchants to comply with this directive by ensuring that every single payment customers make to them, the merchants pay the regulated stamp duty of N50.

“What has happened is that they have transferred this fee, blatantly and openly to the consumers. This is very wrong.

“No single individual should pay N50 in addition to the cost of the good. Stamp duty is not to be paid by individuals that are consuming the goods and services of the merchant. The merchants who are receiving the money are the ones who are supposed to pay.”

It had earlier been reported that consumers would pay more for POS transactions after the CBN said stamp duty would be charged on individual transactions rather than previous plans where charges occurred on aggregate transactions.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has been ordered to release Omoyele Sowore, convener of RevolutionNow movement, and Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA).

The directive was given by Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, in a statement issued today.

Malami said the decision to release them was necessitated by compliance with the bail granted the duo by the court.

The statement reads: “The Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation has reviewed the pending criminal charges against the duo of Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) and Omoyele Sowore. Whilst the Federal High Court has exercised its discretion in granting bail to the Defendants in respect of the charges against them, I am also not unmindful of the right of the Complainant/Prosecution to appeal or further challenge the grant of bail by the court having regards to extant legal provisions, particularly Section 169 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015,” the statement read.

“However, my Office has chosen to comply with the court orders while considering the pursuit of its rights of appeal and/or review of the order relating to the bail as granted or varied by the courts.

“In line with the provisions of Sections 150(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and in compliance with the bail granted to Col. Sambo Dasuki (Rtd) (as recently varied by the Court of Appeal) and the bail granted to Omoyele Sowore, I have directed the State Security Services to comply with the order granting bail to the Defendants and effect their release.


“The two Defendants are enjoined to observe the terms of their bail and refrain from engaging in any act that is inimical to public peace and national security as well as their ongoing trial which will run its course in accordance with the laws of the land.

“I wish to reiterate again the utmost regard of my Office for the entire judicial structure of Nigeria. This administration remains unrelenting in deepening the rule of law and the administration of justice in general.”

Sowore has been in DSS custody since August 3, while Dasuki has been in custody since 2015.

The only person that can #ImpeachBuhari is Buhari.

Period!

— DRIVING SCHOOL DROPOUT ™🌍 (@eniturn) December 19, 2019