News Roundup

Minister of labour and employment, Simon Lalong, has left President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet, it was learnt at the weekend. Lalong, the immediate past Plateau State governor, has opted to take the Plateau South Senatorial seat which he won.

 The Federal Government spent N375.8bn on electricity subsidy between January and September this year, as power consumers paid a total of N782.6bn for the commodity during the same period. The latest power subsidy figures obtained in Abuja from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, an agency of the Federal Government, showed that the government subsidised electricity in the first, second and third quarters of 2023.

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 A member of the United States House of Representatives, Christopher Smith, has asked the US Department of State to include Nigeria in the list of countries of ‘Particular Concern’ over the rising cases of religious persecution in the country, including killings for blasphemy.

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 A man simply identified as Nuhu was shot dead by the police after he went on a shooting spree, on Saturday, stabbing a police inspector multiple times and snatching his AK-47 rifle in the Ada George area of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. It was learnt that the hoodlum said to be a scavenger also attacked another police officer who tried to stop him and reportedly took to his heels.

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 South-South leader, Edwin Clark, on Sunday, asked the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola to as a matter of urgency, carry out a holistic reform of the judiciary, saying that alleged corruption, malpractices and naked abuse of office can no longer be tolerated. He said this in an open letter to the CJN made available to newsmen in Abuja.

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 The Labour Party, LP, has dropped its petition against the election of Rivers State Governor, Sim Fubara, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 governorship election. Its governorship candidate, Beatrice Itubo also pledged to support Fubara’s government for the progress of Rivers State.

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 The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has given the federal government till Jan 31, 2024, to implement the upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS. President of the association, Dr Uche Ojinmah, gave the ultimatum on Sunday during the closing ceremony of the association’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Abuja.

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 The Martins Amaehwule-led faction of Rivers State House of Assembly has described decisions reached by the four-member Assembly led by Edison Ehie as null and void, saying the lawmakers are only holding family meetings. The four lawmakers had approved the 2024 budget last week, barely 24 hours after it was presented by Governor Similanayi Fubara.

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 Dr Olusimbo Ige, a Nigerian, has been appointed as the Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health, thus becoming the first black female to occupy such a position. Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, disclosed this in a congratulatory message to her.

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 Suspected bandits killed four farmers and abducted eight others from Nahuta village in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State on Saturday. Police spokesman in the state, ASP Abubakar Aliyu, confirmed the attack on Sunday.

from dailypost