News In Bits

The Senate will on Thursday, today, screen Prof Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, who was nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The Director of Information, Office of the Secretary Research and Information at the National Assembly, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday.

 Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has resigned his membership of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. The governor’s spokesman, Daniel Alabrah, who announced this, did not give details on why the governor resigned from PDP.

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Federal Capital Territory, FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has asked governors of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC to thank him. Wike, who bragged that he paved the way for them through good works, said their defection has justified his support for President Bola Tinubu.

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 The Department of State Services, DSS has arrested the dismissed officials accused of using its name to commit fraud. The secret police announced this in a statement, on Wednesday. The individuals identified as Barry Donald and Victor Godwin will be prosecuted, according to the secret police.

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 The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has said that the recent defections of some state governors to the ruling party has vindicated the position of the opposition coalition on the plan to turn Nigeria into a one-party state. In a statement, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the opposition is not bothered by what he described as “political apostasy” by the governors.

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 Seriake Dickson, Senator representing Bayelsa West, has kicked against the wave of defections into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaking with reporters at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, after plenary on Wednesday, Dickson said he remained committed to the PDP.

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 Former President Goodluck Jonathan has lamented the abandonment of key projects he initiated as Governor of Bayelsa State, blaming successive administrations for failing to sustain his development agenda. Speaking on Wednesday at the inauguration of the Best Western Plus Hotel in Yenagoa, Jonathan said he had begun several hotel projects to attract tourism and investment to the state before he became Vice President in 2007.

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A Kano State High Court, presided over by Justice Musa Dahuru Muhammad, on Wednesday, sentenced a football team coach, one Hayatu Muhammad, to eight years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine for committing sodomy against his minor player. The convict, a resident of Sanka in Dala Local Government Area of the state, was found to have committed the act twice at different locations.

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 The Bauchi State Police Command has rescued three kidnapped victims and arrested six suspects allegedly involved in the abduction at Euga Village, Toro Local Government Area of the state. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, disclosed this in a statement.

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 Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Wednesday revealed that he turned down an offer of appointment from President Bola Tinubu, saying he preferred to focus on his personal life after years in public service. Fayose, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, said despite his long-standing personal relationship with President Tinubu, he had no intention of joining or accepting any political role under the All Progressives Congress government.

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