2023: Ohanaeze Ndigbo rejects Atiku’s proposal, saying it is a collective disrespect to the people of the southeast

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has described Atiku Abubakar’s proposed single four years tenure if elected as president in 2023 as a practical joke.

Raymond Dokpesi, the leader of the technical committee for the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign, had said the former Vice President would govern Nigeria for a single term if elected as president.

Dokpesi also vowed to go naked if Atiku fails to hand over to the Igbos after his tenure.

However, Ohanaeze Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said the proposal was a collective disrespect to the people of the southeast,  declaring  that Igbos will reject the vice-presidential slot, as the region should be allowed to produce a president in 2023.

Buhari has lent N1.682trn to state governors, payable in 20 years -Presidency

President Muhammadu Buhari has given loans in excess of N1.682 trillion to governors across Nigeria, says the Presidency.

This was disclosed in a statement by presidential media aide Garba Shehu criticising and describing Governor Samuel Ortom Benue State as a failed politician with a penchant for taking loans from the federal government.

According to the Presidency, Buhari is a national hero who regularly pays federal civil servants’ salaries, unlike state governors who run to him for loans to settle salary arrears.

Governor Samuel Ortom was singled out because of his latest tirades against the president in a recent interview.

The Presidency stated that Mr Ortom’s state did not miss out on all occasions salary bailout, excess crude loan and budget Support loan, each repayable in 20 years.

26 Lassa fever deaths recorded in 2022, FG activates emergency response

The Federal Government, on Wednesday, announced the activation of emergency response over the outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria and decried the increased number of cases.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, and made available to news men.

According to the statement, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has activated the national multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre in response to the Lassa fever outbreak in some parts of the country.

The Federal Ministry of Environment is also implementing a Lassa fever environmental response campaign in high burden states.

Its symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, general body weakness, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pains, chest pain, and in severe cases, unexplainable bleeding from ears, eyes, nose, mouth and other body openings

NNPC wants N3 trillion for fuel subsidy in 2022 – Minister

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has requested a total of N3 trillion from the federal government to fund fuel subsidy in 2022.

The Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this while briefing journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.

The federal government had on Monday suspended its plan to remove fuel subsidy.

 Ahmed said about N3 trillion would now be required to continue paying for the subsidy.

Having taken into account the current realities, increased hardship in the population, heightened inflation, and also that the measures that needed to be taken to enable a smoother exit from the fuel subsidy are not yet in place, it was however  agreed by Council that it is desirable to exit fuel subsidy.

Ghana/Nigeria: NFF Boss Upbeat Ahead of WC Qualifier Against Black Stars

The President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick says victory over Ghana for a FIFA World Cup (WC) slot was a must and Nigeria would put in maximum effort to ensure such feat was achieved.

According to Mr Pinnick, World Cup participation was a birthright of Nigeria and were not going to let Ghana’s Black Stars mess with their chances.

Speaking on pay-per-view television, Supersport after the Super Eagles drew the Black Stars in one of the final eliminators of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, Mr Pinnick confessed the enormity of the task the Super Eagles faced but was confident victory was not far from the team.

Pinnick’s confidence may have stemmed from the excellent performance of the Super Eagles at the group stages of the ongoing AFCON in Cameroon that saw them top the group consisting of Egypt, Sudan and Guinea Bissau with the maximum points, however, Pinnick indicated that games between Ghana and Nigeria was not an easy one and ruled out the latest would be an exception.