Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Sunday, 3rd March 2024.
1. Atiku Reveals Candidate He Is Backing For Edo Gubernatorial Election
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has urged gubernatorial aspirants and stakeholders to close ranks and rally around Asue Ighodalo, the party’s governorship candidate for Edo State.
Naija News reports that Ighodalo had emerged as the winner of the primary conducted by the ruling party, but the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, had also claimed victory in a parallel primary.
Despite the PDP leadership giving Ighodalo a Certificate of Return, Shaibu has vowed to challenge the party’s decision in court.
In a statement on Saturday, Atiku, through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, congratulated Asue Ighodalo for his victory at the just-concluded primary election of the party.
The former Vice President said that the election of a thoroughbred technocrat by the PDP as the party’s candidate in Edo State signposts the urgency that the PDP gives to ensuring that the next governor of Edo State is a round peg in a round hole.
2. Presidential Panel On Social Investment Programmes Submits Report To Tinubu, Makes Recommendations
The Presidential Panel on the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) has submitted its report to President Bola Tinubu and also made recommendations.
Naija News learned that the panel led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, recommended the removal of the programmes from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
This platform understands that the programmes are implemented by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) domiciled under the humanitarian ministry.
The programmes includes N-Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and Home Grown School Feeding Programme.
3. Shettima Leads Ministers, Senators To Visit Buhari In Daura (Video)
Former Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Saturday, visited former President Muhammadu Buhari, in his hometown of Daura, Katsina state.
Naija News reports that the vice president was accompanied on the visit by some ministers, senators and top government officials.
Among the entourage include the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari; the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Senator Rochas Okorocha, and other chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, had earlier received the Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Airport in Katsina.
4. FG Summons TCN, AEDC, IBEDC Heads Over Poor Electricity Supply
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has invited the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the heads of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) for a meeting over poor power supply in their service areas.
The Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations to the minister, Bolaji Tunji, made this known in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.
According to Tunji, the power supply in those service areas should have improved because of the pressure mounted on GenCos to increase their output.
The media aide added that despite the shortage of gas, power generation has been ramped up to over 4000MW in recent days.
Tunji said the minister has threatened non-performing DisCos nationwide with “outright licence revocation”.
He also stated that the minister also directed TCN to commence repair work on the damaged transmission lines.
5. Tinubu Govt Speaks On Demanding $10 Billion Fine From Binance
The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government has denied slamming a $10 billion fine on the cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, over the free fall of the naira.
In an interview with the BBC on Friday, presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, had accused the cryptocurrency platform of aiding those fixing the Nigerian exchange rate to sabotage the economy.
Onanuga asserted that Binance is not registered in Nigeria and has no physical presence in the country, alleging that the platform was used to arbitrarily fix dollar-naira rates, negatively impacting the value of the local currency.
According to Onanuga, the Tinubu government has slammed a 10 billion dollar fine on Binance due to its illegal operations, which contributed hugely to the devaluation of the naira.
However, in a chat with Peoples Gazette on Friday evening, the presidential aide disclosed that his earlier statements were misrepresented by the media.
Onanuga clarified that he never said the company had been informed about the fine or that the $10 billion figure was conclusively determined by Nigerian regulators.
6. Bwala Denies Calling For Cardoso’s Sack As CBN Boss
A former spokesperson of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation, Daniel Bwala, has denied media reports that he called for the removal of Olayemi Cardoso from his position as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Naija News reports that Bwala was quoted to have called on President Bola Tinubu to sack Cardoso over the ongoing concerns regarding the foreign exchange crisis currently facing the country.
But in a post via his official X handle on Saturday, Bwala said he never asked for the sack of the CBN governor as the media maliciously tried to do.
Bwala stated that he is fully in support of Cardoso implementing the full reform agenda of the Tinubu administration.
He reiterated that if Cardoso is not prepared for the outright reform of the Tinubu agenda, he should be replaced with a Governor with no history of commercial banking background of pampering bank executives.
7. House Of Reps Summon Binance Boss Over Alleged Terrorism Financing, Issues Seven-Day Ultimatum
The House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has summoned the CEO of Binance Holding Limited, Richard Teng, to appear before them over the allegations of money laundering and financing of terrorism.
The Chairman of the Committee, Ginger Onwusibe, issued a seven-day ultimatum to Binance Holdings bossto appear before the committee by March 4, 2024.
Naija News recalls that the federal government banned the major online crypto platforms to avert the continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds, while Binance, an online cryptocurrency exchange, was accused of money laundering by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Onwusibe warned that the committee will take appropriate measures if the Binance head fails to heed the summon.
He criticized Teng for his persistent refusal to attend despite several invitations, highlighting the company’s apparent disregard for the country’s established laws regarding business and financial operations.
The committee, under the chairmanship of Onwusibe, sent a letter dated December 12, 2023, summoning the Managing Director of Binance for a hearing scheduled on December 18, 2023.
8. Appointments Made By Aiyedatiwa Shows He Is Planning To Kill APC – Group
A group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Akoko Progressive Movement (APM), has claimed that the governor of the state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa is rewarding those who worked against the party during the 2023 general elections.
The group alleged that two individuals who were recently sworn in as cabinet members by the governor did not support the ambition of President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 polls.
Speaking via a statement by its Director of Media, Seye Johnson, the group lamented that the appointments have triggered apprehension among party members in the state and that those who worked and toiled for APC in the state and at the national level have been sidelined.
They also stressed that rewarding someone who openly campaigned against the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during the Akoko North-West/Akoko North-East House of Representatives election in 2023, was unacceptable.
9. Tinubu Managing Govt Affairs Like A Military Dictator – APC Ex-Vice Chair
In a bold and critical move, a former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has leveled serious accusations against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, likening his governance style to that of a “military dictator.”
Lukman, who served as the national vice chairman (North West) of the APC, expressed his concerns over the president’s approach to managing government affairs and the potential risks it poses to the party’s future.
In his statement released on Saturday, Lukman accused President Tinubu of sidelining the party’s structures and adopting an autocratic stance, suggesting that the president believes he possesses all the solutions to Nigeria’s myriad of problems.
This approach, according to Lukman, is causing significant harm to the political landscape and undermining the democratic principles on which the APC was founded.
Highlighting the pressing security and socio-economic challenges facing the country, Lukman warned that these issues could jeopardize President Tinubu’s chances of securing a second term and potentially lead to the APC’s downfall in the 2027 elections.
10. Ondo 2024: PDP Zones Governorship Ticket To South
The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decided that its governorship candidate for the forthcoming election will emerge from the southern zone of the state.
The spokesperson of the state PDP, Kennedy Peretei, made this known in a chat with journalists on Friday in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
He stated that the decision was further approved at a stakeholders’ meeting of the party on Friday in Akure.
Peretei added that the idea of a southern candidate is in line with the current political trend and it would be unwise to rise against the tide in the state.
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