1. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu promised on Thursday that the country would advance and prosper, but everyone needed to work together to make sure this happened.
At the opening of the overhead bridge that connects Wuye District to Wuse District and the provision of engineering infrastructure to Wuye District, the President made the announcement in Abuja.
During his speech, Tinubu urged all countrymen to put in their best effort and commitment to bringing prosperity to the country, saying that his administration will make sure that no one is left behind.
Speaking specifically about the projects, President Tinubu emphasized that they would facilitate quick traffic flow improvements within the district and easy access to the Wuye axis.
2. Governors Have Seven Days To File A Defense In The LG Autonomy Lawsuit: The governors of the 36 states have been ordered by the Supreme Court to provide their defenses in response to a lawsuit that the federal government has brought.
In lawsuit SC/CV/343/2024, the federal government is arguing for complete autonomy for the 774 local governments.
In order to prevent governors from forcibly dissolving democratically elected councils, the federal government is requesting an order.
The governors, represented by the state attorneys-general, were given a seven-day deadline by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court to submit their answers to the original summons during the Thursday court session.
In addition, the court ordered Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney general of the federation (AGF), to provide his response to the states’ replies no later than two days.
The Supreme Court panel’s leader, Garba Lawal, agreed with the AGF that the case’s national importance required a shorter deadline.
The hearing is scheduled for June 13, and the Supreme Court ordered that all processes be filed by June 10.
3. The Petrol Subsidy Is No Longer Available, But NNPC May Still Step In—Lokpobiri: The minister of state for petroleum resources, has confirmed that Nigeria’s gasoline subsidy program has ended, providing clarification on statements made by President Bola Tinubu over the matter.
In a recent interview that aired on Channels Television during President Tinubu’s first year in office, Lokpobiri restated that the government has made a firm decision to stop subsidizing gasoline—a change in policy that President Tinubu announced on May 29, 2023.
The removal of the subsidy that had long kept fuel costs artificially low as a result of this declaration significantly raised the price of gasoline.
Although the official subsidy system has ended, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is still able to interfere in the market in some extraordinary circumstances, according to the Minister.
This adaptability is thought to help control any market volatility and stabilize pricing.
In addition, Lokpobiri clarified any misconceptions around President Tinubu’s remarks about the subsidy, pointing out that part of the uncertainty stemmed from the fact that the 2023 budget, which was created during the government of previous President Muhammadu Buhari, did not include money for maintaining the subsidy.
4. Ensuring Every Square Foot of Nigeria Is My Top Priority – Bola Tinubu: President Bola Tinubu has declared that protecting every square foot of the nation is his top priority.
He conveyed his belief that the objective would be accomplished with the support of the Nigerian military and intelligence services, particularly the Department of State Services (DSS), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
He gave the people his word that Nigeria would finally triumph over its enemies and face all obstacles.
On May 30, during the inauguration of the DIA Abuja headquarters, the president said this.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which primarily provides intelligence to the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces, is a crucial element of the country’s security framework, according to the president, who was in company with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
5. N800/$ is the customs import duty rate that the Tax Reform Committee proposes: The federal government has been asked to adopt an exchange rate for customs import duty of N800 per dollar by the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday about the tax panel’s operations in Lagos was committee chairman Taiwo Oyedele.
The tax specialist raised concerns about the import duty rate, which fluctuates frequently as a result of the foreign exchange (FX) market’s volatility, during the presentation of some of the committee’s suggestions. According to Oyedele, this prevents businesses from making enough plans. Recently, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has been constantly adjusting the import tariff rate.
6. Three soldiers are killed by gunmen in a new attack on an army post in Abia. Unidentified gunmen are said to have recently attacked and killed at least three Nigerian Army soldiers in Abia State.
The security officers from the Nigerian Army’s 14 Brigade Headquarters, Ohafia, who are attached to the 144 Battalion, tragically died at the army outpost located on the well-known Obikabia junction off Umuola in Aba North local government area.
The gunmen arrived in a black SUV and were said to have taken the soldiers by surprise.
The Nation claims that before leaving, the gunmen also seized the soldiers’ weapons and set fire to the outpost and patrol van.
7. Kwankwaso is in trouble as the EFCC launches an investigation into a N2.5 billion fraud: The misappropriation of the New Nigeria People’s Party’s (NNPP) campaign fund for the 2023 elections and the National Working Committee’s failure to compensate party agents who participated in the nationwide 2023 presidential and governorship elections have prompted the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to launch an investigation.
The anti-graft agency invited the party’s National Secretary, Oginni Olaposi, on Sunday to provide evidence in support of the fraud charges brought against Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and his Private Secretary, Folashade Aliu, regarding the purported misappropriation of party funds through the use of a covert campaign and donations account.
According to a source who spoke with Vanguard, Oginni’s petition also purportedly indicted Prof.
Rufai Alkali, Abba Kawu, and Dipo Olayokun, signatories to the New Nigeria People’s Party’s United Bank of Africa (UBA) account.
The source stated that the EFCC might be forced to look into Dipo Olayokun’s unexpected wealth and how, in less than two years of being a signatory on NNPP’s account, he was able to purchase homes in desirable parts of Abuja.
The party’s National Secretary, Oginni, confirmed the development in a conversation with the previously mentioned publication.
He said that last Wednesday, the EFCC invited him to its Abuja headquarters to give a statement and provide clarification on the petition he signed on the party’s behalf, which accused Kwankwaso and his associates of N2.5 billion in fraud.
8. Spiritual Threats Were Attempts to Prevent Tinubu From Becoming President Adebisi Akande: A former national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has asserted that political scheming and spiritual threats were used to attempt to thwart President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration.
According to Akande, the opposition was threatening Tinubu because they wanted to prevent him from winning the presidency.
The revelation was made by the esteemed statesman on Thursday at a lecture hosted by Arewa Think Tank to commemorate the accomplishments of President Tinubu’s first year in office.
Akande bemoaned the fact that the opposition has never favored national unification.
9. The Way to go is Not What Happened In Banex Plaza: DHQ The recent altercation between military troops and a few citizens in Abuja’s Banex Plaza has been denounced by the Defense Headquarters (DHQ).
The DHQ called the civilian attack on soldiers self-sabotage in a statement made public on Thursday in Abuja by Maj Gen Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations.
It further stated that this is not the best course of action because the military requires citizen assistance to defeat bandits throughout the nation.
The DHQ statement emphasized that the soldiers must have the highest morale possible because they have been combating terrorism and risking their lives to protect people for more than ten years.
It further stated that in order to keep things from getting worse or getting out of control, military personnel who go above and beyond or make mistakes should report such events.
10. A New Crisis as the Assembly Led by Amaewhule Is Prohibited From Serving: As Rivers State Lawmakers by Court, the members of the State House of Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule are not permitted to sit or pose as legislators in the state by a State High Court located in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.
In a lawsuit filed by the pro-government Siminilayi Fubara MPs, led by their Speaker, Victor Oko-Jumbo, and two other members, Sokari Goodboy and Orubienimigha Timothy, Justice C.N. Wali issued the ruling.
The lawsuit named the state’s chief judge, the attorney general, and 25 legislators as the 26th through 25th defendants, and the Rivers Governor as the 26th and 28th defendants.
A similar injunction on a motion ex-parte had been granted by the court on May 10th, preventing communication between the governor, the attorney general, the chief judge, and the parliamentarians in question.