1. A 17-year-old female student of the Imo State University, Owerri, Jesse Chidebere, has been arrested by the Orji Police Divisional Headquarters for faking her abduction and death. The police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, on Monday, in a statement, disclosed that the hoax caused “significant distress to her family and the university community.”
2. Political leaders and traditional rulers of the North have rejected the Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing proposal in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bill being considered by the National Assembly. The leaders expressed support for the livestock reform programme which has led to the creation of the Livestock Development Ministry.
3. A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday granted a motion filed by former Senate President Bukola Saraki seeking to amend two separate suits he filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and others. Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the application after it was moved by Saraki’s counsel, Tunde Afe-Babalola and was not opposed by the defence lawyers.
4. The Minister of Works, David Umahi, said the ministry has terminated several road contracts nationwide due to delays in their completion. Although he did not specify which projects were affected, Umahi confirmed that due process was followed in the terminations, many of which had been ongoing for over 20 years.
5. Hon Alexander Ikwegh, the House of Representatives member for Aba North/South Federal Constituency, is currently being interrogated by the police over the incident involving him and a Bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseya. Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Olatunji Rilwan Disu, disclosed this on Monday.
6. A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday convicted and sentenced five women to two years in prison each for illegally importing 6.96 kilograms of “Ghana loud,” a potent strain of cannabis sativa, commonly known as marijuana. Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke convicted and sentenced them after they all pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy and unlawful importation, charges brought by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency against them.
7. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered Power Minister, Adebayo Adelabu and all relevant agencies to expedite the restoration of electricity to affected states in the North. A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said President Tinubu expressed concern over the situation.
8. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is satisfied with the level of compliance with the new N70,000 minimum wage by states, Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator George Akume said on Monday. Speaking with reporters in Abuja, Akume said the governors who fixed the minimum wage higher than N70,000 in their states should be commended.
9. The Senate will screen the ministerial nominees forwarded to it today for confirmation by President Bola Tinubu. It was gathered that the nominees, who have been cleared by the Department of State Services, DSS, besieged the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, yesterday, to submit their curriculum vitae to beat the deadline.
10. The Naira yesterday appreciated to N1,730 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,740 per dollar last weekend. However, the Naira depreciated to N1,670.65 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.
