AFRICAN NEWS FLASH

Barely 48 hours after Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State appointed transition caretaker council chairmen for the 21 local government areas in the state, the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, vowed to contest the appointments in a court of law if they were not dissolved immediately. Addressing newsmen at the party’s secretariat, in Awka, the state chairman, Mr Emeka Ibe, described the appointments as illegal, unconstitutional and an aberration as they ran contrary to section 7 of the 1999 constitution as amended, which stipulates that there shall be elected local government chairmen across the country. He said: “It is a pity that Anambra State is still fixated to the days of backwardness, lawlessness and impunity. What is happening now across the country is that people are fixing dates for the election of council chairmen but here, the governor has brazenly appointed caretaker committee members at the council areas which is unlawful. “We, in the APC, are ...

The Lagos State Director of Fire Services, Mr Rasaq Fadipe, says no life is lost in the Saturday fire incident at the NAFDAC office in Oshodi, Lagos. Fadipe also told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that nobody was injured in the incident which happened at about 3.30p.m. He said that five water trucks were deployed to the scene immediately his men were alerted to put out the fire. According to him, it is not NAFDAC warehouse that was burnt. “The fire occurred in a container loaded with some tyres, drugs and other items. “I don’t know if they were seized items, but my men were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the warehouse and other buildings,” Fadipe said. In his account, Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said that full investigation into the cause of the fire would be carried out by the appropriate authorities. Tiamiyu said that on the spot investigation showed that the incident started...

A former Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari could present his nominee for the chairmanship of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu, up to four times to the Senate for confirmation. The Senate had for the second time failed to confirm the acting chairman of EFCC following reports from the Department of State Service. In an interview on Saturday, Ita-Giwa said Buhari could still re-present Magu to the Senate if he felt the acting chairman of the anti-graft agency is his best choice for the fight against corruption in the country. She listed a former chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu and an ex-minister of aviation, Prof. Babalola Aborishade, as nominees that were screened up to four times by the Senate before they were eventually cleared during the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration. According to her, what is needed i...

The Confederation of African Football on Thursday, elected Madagascan Ahmad Ahmad as the president, ousting veteran leader Issa Hayatou after 29 years in office. The announcement of the result led to wild jubilation in the plenary hall.

The long awaited list of the new Central Bank management team will be announced any minute from now. The list will be sent to National assembly immediately after the announcement. The new CBN management team will be headed by the former Unity Bank managing director Mr Henry James Semenitari who resigned from the bank in 2015. Henry Semenitari Other members of the team include the immediate past Director General of security and Exchange commission Aruma Oteh and Bode Agusto among others. Aruma Oteh Bode Agusto The team wound have been announced since, if not for the absence of President Buhari for medical trip. Our insider source also informed us that part of the discussion between the president and the leadership of the National Assembly two days ago was on how to make sure the list is approved as soon as possible . However, the Central Bank will now operate with a board that will not be headed by the Governor. Searching for who will head the board also contribute...

The Senate has requested that President Muhammadu Buhari nominate a replacement for the Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, following the rejection of his nomination by the legislature on Wednesday. The upper chamber of the National Assembly said the rejection had ended Magu’s chairmanship of the EFCC in acting capacity. The decision was based on a security report on Magu by the Department of State Services. Magu, however, denied the allegations against him in the report, saying the DSS never invited him to defend himself, urging the lawmakers to disregard the report. After all questions had been asked, President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, who presided over the plenary, asked the Clerk to the Senate to confirm how many letters were received from the DSS. He said, “Only one letter was received in my office on the 3rd of October, 2016, from the Department of State Services. Only one letter was received. The one of yester...

SENATE President, Bukola Saraki, said yesterday that Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, would be screened today as substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency. Disclosing this at plenary, Saraki said: ”Tomorrow (today), we have the acting chairman of EFCC, who is also appearing before us for screening and it will follow at11:30 am.” It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had forwarded Magu’s name to the Senate on June 2016 for confirmation. He was appointed in acting capacity by President Buhari on November 9, 2015, following the sack of his predecessor, Ibrahim Lamorde. It would be recalled that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, acting as the President while President Muhammadu Buhari was away in London on a 10-day medical vacation in June 6, 2016 had forwarded a letter to the Senate. The letter was a request for the screening and subsequent confirmation of Ibrahim Mustapha Magu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, a...