Below are some of the major highlights from today’s tabloid in Nigeria
1. Presidential Primary Screening: APC Questions Tinubu, Umahi, Bakare On Foreign Citizenship, Consensus
The All Progressives Congress commenced its screening for presidential aspirants yesterday. The issues of consensus and foreign citizenship came up when presidential aspirants including the party’s National leader, Bola Tinubu; Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, his Jigawa State counterpart, Badaru Abubakar; the immediate past Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba; Ondo-North lawmaker, Senator Ajayi Boroffice; Pastor Tunde Bakare and Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, were screened in Abuja on Monday.
2. PDP Presidential Ticket: Fellow Southern Governors Betrayed Us
Rivers state governor, Nyesome Wike, has accused southern governors of working against his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate. Wike lost the party’s ticket to former vice president, Atiku Abubakar. Wike, who has vowed to remain in the party and support its 2023 presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, disclosed that he almost scuttled the PDP primaries at a stage when the rule was breached but had to maintain his calmness.
3. APC Ticket: Buhari Disowns Jonathan’s Presidential Bid
Moves by some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress to present former President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s presidential candidate appears to have hit the rocks. According to The Guardian Newspaper, President Buhari has taken measures to distance himself from the plot. The newspaper claims the former President’s aides are “involved in actively keeping the plot alive in the media by releasing photos of his visits to the APC Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Alhaji Mamman Daura, the President’s influential nephew, to insinuate that these two gentlemen are in support of the plot.”
4. Biafra Day: Enugu, Anambra, Imo residents Comply with Sit-at-home Order
Economic and social activities were grounded in Enugu, Anambra and Imo states respectively to mark the Biafra heroes and heroines’ day in the South East. The celebration is marked by pro-groups on May 30 every year, to pray for those who died during the 1960s Biafra-Nigeria civil war. This year, it coincided with the Monday sit-at-home, which the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) declared in the fourth quarter of 2021, to put pressure on the Nigerian government to release their detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
5. Banks’ Credit To Govt. Surges 17.7% to N16.6trn, MPC Expresses Concern
Credit to the government rose by N2.5 trillion or 17.7 per cent to N16.6 trillion as of April 2022 from N14.1 trillion as of January 2022. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Money and Credit data for April 2022, credit to the government rose steadily in the four months, rising from N14.1 trillion in January 2022 to N14.7 trillion in February, and N16.3 trillion in March before advancing to N16.6 trillion in April 2022.
6. Money Laundering: EFCC Arraigns Okorocha, 7 Others For N3.1bn Fraud
Former governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha, appeared at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday alongside six others. They were arraigned on 17-count charges bordering on conspiracy, stealing, conversion of public funds and money laundering to the tune of N3.147 billion.
7. Kidnapped Methodist Church Leader Released
The Prelate of Methodist Church in Nigeria, His Eminence Samuel Uche, who was kidnapped alongside two priests has been released. The clergies were abducted on Sunday afternoon along the Enugu-Portharcourt expressway.
8. Hoodlum Beat Up Anambra Broadcasters
The Anambra state broadcast service was attacked by hoodlums on Monday. According to PUNCH, the broadcasters on the ground when the hoodlums stormed the building were assaulted. Some properties on the station’s premises were also destroyed.
9. Obi Would Have Been My Presidential Running Mate – Kwankwaso
Former Kano state governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has revealed that he had the plans of choosing former Anambra state governor, Peter Obi, as his running mate if he had joined the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP). Obi joined the Labour Party after decamping from the Peoples Democratic Party. He emerged as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 presidential election.
10. Arrest/Detention: Okorocha Drags EFCC To Court, Demands N1bn Damages
A former governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha, has slammed a N1 billion suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Okorocha claimed he was assaulted and forcefully detained by operatives of the anti-graft agency
