Here are the major Nigerian news headlines and highlights for today, Friday 26 February 2021:
1. President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, ruled out amnesty for bandits, declaring that his administration would continue to deal with them, and other criminals who constitute a threat to innocent citizens across the country. President Buhari said this at the Northern States Governors’ Forum and leaders meeting in Kaduna.
2. As Niger State government intensifies efforts to rescue the abducted Kagara students and others, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has flayed the attitude of the FG, saying the state has been left to its faith. The governor spoke in Minna, yesterday, when the Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, paid him a sympathy visit.
3. The Federal Government has said it is set to present a supplementary budget to the National Assembly for acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination of frontline workers. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, made this disclosure on Thursday during a briefing in Aso Rock Villa.
4. The Niger State Government, yesterday, said it is not foot-dragging in securing the freedom of students and teachers of Government Science College, Kagara, adding that it is the state’s policy not to pay any ransom. The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mohammed Sani Idris, stated this during the Post-Exco briefing in Minna.
5. Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has slammed journalists and Nigerians for using the word ‘criminals’ to describe bandits. He started this yesterday during a programme on Arise Television.
6. Son of a murdered notorious bandit leader in Zamfara State, Muhammed Sani, on Thursday surrendered 30 AK-47 rifles, 2 GPRP rifles, rocket launchers and a large cache of ammunition to the state government.
7. Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, yesterday, dismissed claims of defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC. He disclosed this during a meeting with members of the PDP National Working Committee, NWC, led by the party’s National Chairman, Uche Secondus in his residence in Abuja.
8. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has said, the Federal Government will not make progress unless it borrows more to fund critical infrastructure in the country. Mrs. Ahmed spoke on Thursday during a ministerial media briefing, organised by the Presidential Communications Team.
9. Gunmen, who abducted Emmanuel Odetunde, a student of Sociology at the University of Ibadan,Oyo State, have demanded N100m ransom from his family to free him. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said in a statement that they were working alongside other security operatives to ensure that the victim returns safely.
10. The Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, has confirmed 634 more cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The development brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 154,476.
