1. Bandits have launched another terror attack on Danbaza community in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, kidnapping 47 people. According to a resident of the village, Mustapha Danbaza, 11 people were abducted in one family during the attack.

2. A Supplementary Appropriation Bill containing requests for a new presidential jet may be forwarded to the National Assembly tomorrow, it was learnt last night. The money for the jet will be included in the supplementary appropriation. Three of the aircrafts in the PAF have been put on sale to augment the cost.

3. The Labour Party (LP) leadership tussle deepened on Tuesday as its National Transition Committee, LPNTC, insisted that the national chairman, Julius Abure, must resign. The labour leaders, who stormed the venue of the meeting of the National Working Committee, NWC, in Abuja, said the tenure of Abure and other members of the NWC would expire by month end.

4. The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has called for urgent resuscitation of the university system before it breaks down totally. According to ASUU, universities are collapsing due to the government’s failure to address outstanding issues with the union.

5. Governors of the 36 states of the federation have resolved to meet on Wednesday to resolve issues regarding the proposed new minimum wage. Acting Director on Media and Public Affairs of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, Halima Ahmed, said the meeting would hold by 7pm in Abuja.

6. The Federal Government, on Tuesday, declared that there was no importation of dirty fuel into Nigeria, countering the recent position of an official of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. It declared this after meeting with oil marketers and local refiners of crude oil in Abuja, where parties at the meeting discussed issues about refined products’ pricing, issues of competition and the importation of products that are produced in Nigeria.

7. The Ogun State Police Command says it will prosecute a man, Lekan Akinyemi, who was arrested for allegedly exhuming and beheading a corpse for ritual purposes in the Itoko area of Abeokuta, the state capital. It was gathered on Tuesday that the suspect was arrested on Monday after a resident alerted the police about suspicious activities around his father’s grave.

8. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has opted to consult further on minimum wage before sending an Executive Bill to the National Assembly. The President took the decision yesterday at a meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, where he received the report of the Tripartite Committee from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume.

9. President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Executive Council, FEC, to set up a committee to oversee the cholera emergency operation centre operated by the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC. The Minister of Health, Dr Ali Pate, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the council meeting on Tuesday.

10. The Naira on Tuesday appreciated in the parallel market to N1,500 per dollar from N1,505 per dollar on Monday. However, the currency depreciated to N1,500.79 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

The Rivers state Police authorities have declared a former Niger Delta militant leader Gabriel ‘General’ Asabuja wanted.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Police Tunji Disu said this on Monday when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Asabuja was seen in a viral video making some strong comments amid the local government council crisis rocking Rivers State.

But Disu has condemned the action, saying, “That video caused a lot of panic in the state. It gives a lot of concern to everybody even out of the state. I want to assure you that we are not going to take kindly to that. We have put actions in motion. We would get him at the appropriate time. We have gotten a lot of people of his kind.

“You cannot prepare a video and start firing and threatening people not to move around and do what they are expected to do in town and expect the police will fold their hands. We are working towards it. We have invited him and he does not want to come but we will do what we want to do. We are looking out for him.”

“He is wanted. That is correct,” the Rivers State Commissioner said on the current affairs show.

Crisis Rocks Rivers
River State has been embroiled in crisis since late last year following a fallout between Governor Sim Fubara and his predecessor Nyesom Wike.

The latest in the trend is the crisis over the leadership of local government councils. The tenure of the chairpersons, their deputies, and councilors ended earlier in the month, prompting Governor Fubara to swear in a caretaker committee.

That move did not go well with Wike’s loyalists who claim the governor’s action was wrong. There have been protests, claims, and counter-claims since then.

But police authorities in the state have warned against violence, saying they are ready to deal with anyone who foments trouble in the state.

The federal executive council (FEC) has approved N1.99 billion for the purchase of 33 vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) to boost the operations of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The council gave the approval on Tuesday at its meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.

Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting, Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, said the council also approved the procurement of firearms and ammunition worth $1.442 billion to strengthen the NDLEA’s fight against drug trafficking.

Fagbemi said the FEC approved N985 million to purchase body scanners at all the country’s international airports.

“We submitted three items to the council on NDLEA,” he said.

“FEC approved the procurement of 33 Mikano motor vehicles CNG to boost the operation of NDLEA.

“Approval for NDLEA for procurement of firearms, ammunition, and counter-narcotics for the sum of $1.442 billion

“The procurement of two units of body scanners for use both at Abuja and International Airports at N985 million.”