Good morning! Here are 10 things you need to know this morning
1. Outspoken preacher and founder of Lagos-based Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has taken a swipe at Nigerian politicians for using the abduction of 219 Chibok schoolgirls to score what he termed ‘cheap political points.’
Bakare, in a statement on Sunday during the thanksgiving service to mark the second anniversary of the disappearance of the schoolgirls, which was organized by the BringBackOurGirls coalition at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, flayed the current government for its cold attitude towards the rescue of the girls.
2. Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has denied media reports that the Islamist militant group Boko Haram was demanding $50 million from the government as ransom before releasing the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.
Mohammed said the current government was doing all it could to bring back the girls alive.
3. South-East based groups under the aegis of Igbo Women Assembly, IWA, and the Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, has debunked the claim by Department of State Services, DSS, over the killing of five Northerners.
The group faulted the claim by the DSS that the five Northerners were killed and buried by some members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB in a forest in Aba, Abia State.
4. Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has accused the Federal Government of planning to impose more hardships on Nigerians by increasing Value Added Tax (VAT) from the current five per cent to 10 per cent.
The governor said Buhari and his team were insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, who were suffering from the bad economic policies of its administration.
5. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Code of Conduct Bureau to investigate current and past high-ranking public officers in Nigeria named in the Panama papers.
SERAP in a statement gave CCB 14 days to carry out the investigation, adding that anyone one found culpable should be sent to the tribunal for prosecution.
6. A former Secretary to the Federal Government and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae, has affirmed that he would depend solely on God for protection following constant attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen on his farm in Akure, Ondo State.
According to the elder statesman, he did not know the reasons for the continuous attacks by Fulani herdsmen, especially the latest one, which led to the killing of his security guard, who was said to be a member of the Oodua Peoples Congress.
7. Vice President, Yemi Osinbanjo has again called on Nigerians to exercise patience as the Federal Government was doing everything possible to address the current economic situation in the country.
Osinbajo, who made the call on Saturday when he visited the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi II in his palace, noted that things will get better in no distant time.
8. A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, has rated the performance of his party since taking office close to one year below average.
He also warned the party against repeating the mistakes made by the Peoples Democratic Party which led to its electoral defeat in 2015.
9. The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, has claimed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is laying a foundation for the arrest of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The IYC, however, advised the anti-graft agency to shelve any plan to “persecute” the former President, insisting that such a move would spell doom for the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
10. In the entertainment world, veteran Nollywood actor, Fred Amata, has been sworn in as the President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria, DGN.
The ace director was sworn in alongside other elected members of the national executive of the guild after defeating his rival, Lancelot Imasuen in the February 26 election.
Dailypost
