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Good morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: Forex scandal: EFCC probes $347bn funds, summons foreign firms

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1. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is investigating at least $347bn allocated to companies in Nigeria between January 2014 and June 2023. This came as fresh findings show that the anti-graft agency has extended its forex allocation probe to include some foreign firms operating in Nigeria.

 

2. The Bodija Estate Residents Association, Ibadan, on Wednesday, said about 10 people were still missing following the January 17 explosion in the area. Five people died, 77 sustained varying degrees of injury and 58 houses were damaged during the explosion that rocked Dejo Oyelese street in Ibadan, Oyo State.

 

3. The pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, on Wednesday, annulled the office of the acting leader of the group, being occupied by Pa Ayo Adebanjo. This was as the organisation reiterated its call for the formation of state police amid the rising insecurity in the land.

 

4. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, says it will be calling 15 witnesses to prove the N4bn theft charges it filed against a former governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano. The prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Slyvanus Tahir (SAN), disclosed this on Wednesday shortly after Obiano was arraigned on nine counts before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

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5. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has amassed N265m from the sale of Nomination and Expression of Interest forms to 11 Edo State governorship aspirants. The Nomination Form was sold for N30m, while the Expression of Interest Form was N5m. However, the party made the Expression of Interest Form free for female aspirants and those with disabilities.

 

6. The Chinese national, Frank Geng Quangrong, accused of culpable homicide in the death of his girlfriend, Ummulkhulsum Sani Buhari, has denied killing her intentionally and pleaded with Justice Sunusi Ado Ma’aji of the Kano State High Court to temper justice with mercy. In his testimony on Tuesday, Quangrong claimed that he stabbed his girlfriend in self-defence after she allegedly grabbed his testes in September 2022.

 

7. President Bola Tinubu has said his administration will strongly support public-private partnerships aimed at creating dignified work and employment opportunities for Nigerian youths. President Tinubu stated this at a meeting with the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mastercard Foundation, Ms. Reeta Roy, at the State House, Abuja.

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8. Olayide Owolabi Adelami, the nominee for the position of deputy governor of Ondo State, is scheduled to undergo screening before the Ondo State House of Assembly on Thursday. The Speaker of the Ondo Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, announced this during Wednesday’s plenary after reading a letter from Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

 

9. There was panic in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja on Wednesday, January 24, when residents of Maitama heard a loud sound which was said to be a bomb blast. Confirming the incident, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said it was not a bomb blast but an explosion, saying that an overheated metal refuse container activated under intense heat.

 

10. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, has said the apex bank is implementing “inflation targeting policy” to reduce the inflationary pressures from the current 28.9% to 21.4 per cent in 2024. Cardoso said this would have a profound impact on businesses and reflate the economy in a way that more jobs would be created.

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UK local election: Boris Johnson turned away from polling station after forgetting valid ID

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Former prime minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, was turned away from his local polling station after forgetting to bring the required photo identity.

 

Johnson had joined locals in South Oxfordshire on Thursday to vote in the police and crime commissioner election.

Polling officials however told him he would not be allowed to vote without providing his identity.

There are 22 acceptable forms of ID in the UK including passports, driving licences, blue badges, and certain local travel cards.

 

As prime minister in 2022, Johnson introduced the Elections Act which requires photo ID — a development that sparked intense criticisms from Britons.

Last year, the Electoral Commission warned that the new law could exclude hundreds of thousands of people, including minorities and those with disabilities.

A spokesperson for Johnson confirmed he had forgotten the photo ID, but that he was able to cast his ballot after he returned with a valid ID.

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“Mr Johnson voted Conservative,” Sky News quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Downing Street said it would “look into” changing the controversial rules which require photo ID in order to vote, so that ID cards of veterans can be added to the list of valid identification.

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Governors can pay N615k minimum wage if they get priorities right – NLC

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President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, says state governors can afford to pay the proposed N615,000 minimum wage if they get their priorities right.

Ajaero spoke on Thursday during an interview with Channels Television.

 

Recently, organised labour announced that the new minimum wage should be pegged at N615,000.

The proposal came amid ongoing minimum wage negotiations between federal and state governments on one hand, and organised labour on the other.

 

In 2019, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari pegged the national minimum wage at N30,000.

After the new minimum wage was announced at the time, it took some states forever to implement the increment.

 

Asked during the interview if organised labour’s proposal of N615,000 is realistic, Ajaero said the amount is the “most realistic” given the galloping inflation in the country.

 

The NLC president said organised labour considered factors like transportation, housing, and feeding before arriving at the sum.

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“If you are talking about being realistic, the N615,000 demand is the most realistic. Being realistic is not about slave wage,” Ajaero said.

 

“However, N30,000 is big money if inflation is brought down, and at a single digit.

“Look at the indices that create inflation. If you check them, you can talk about being realistic. All other factors in the country are going high and wages remain constant.”

 

Asked if states can afford the N615,000 proposal, the NLC president averred that it is not about ability to pay but the priorities of states.

“I think we need to understand the issues of ability to pay and not getting the priority right,” he added.

 

“Most of the states that have shown willingness to pay the current minimum wage are not among those getting the highest revenue.

“During the time of Muhammadu Buhari, some states were declared not having enough money to pay and he released funds for them to pay.

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“Those states still refused to pay. It is not the question of either the quantum of money that they have or not, it is what they decide to do with such money.

 

“If they get their priorities right, then a lot can happen.”

 

Organised labour has also threatened to embark on a strike if a new minimum wage is not announced before May 31, 2024.

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15-yr-old Kwara public school student scores 362 in UTME

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A student of a public secondary school, Government Secondary School, Omu Aran, Kwara State, Olukayode Victor Olusola, scored 362 marks in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, to be among the contenders for the highest scorers in the examination.

Though the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, organisers of the exam, had said the Board would not announce the highest scorer to avoid last year’s experience of confusing claims, Olukayode’s score is celebratory, as it is among the highest in recent years.

He scored 95 marks each in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry and 77 in English Language.

 

His exploit is coming against the backdrop of the poor performance of candidates in the exam in which 1.4 million scored less than 200 marks out of 400. The exam was taken by over 1.8 million candidates

Also, Olukayode’s excellent performance is coming at a time when confidence is greatly eroding in what public schools have to offer and some private schools are boasting of being the most expensive in the country.

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Olukayode was born in 2009 and hopes to study Electrical Electronic at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State.

 

His mother, Beatrice Tosin, while giving all the honour to God, also praised the studious and hard working nature of her child.

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