There were a lot of newsworthy events that shaped June 11 to June 17. Here is a list of some selected top national stories across Nigeria.
Lawmaker who called Nigeria Air fraud demanded bribe from me – Hadi Sirika
On Sunday, former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika accused the lawmaker who labelled the launch of Nigeria Air as a fraud of bribery.
He disclosed that the lawmaker, Nnolim Nnaji, demanded five per cent shares of the national carrier from him.
Sirika made the disclosure during an interview on ARISE TV on Sunday.
Sirika said that the lawmaker approached him and asked for the shares for himself and his people.
Tinubu signs student loan bill into law
On Monday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law, the Student Loan Bill, which provides for interest-free loans to indigent Nigerian students.
The bill will enable Nigerian students to access loans at interest-free rates.
I used my wife to influence judgment for politicians when she was appeal court president – Senator Bulkachuwa
On Monday, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa disclosed that he leveraged his wife’s position as president of the Appeal Court to influence outcome of political cases.
Zainab Bulkachuwa was president of the Appeal Court between April 2014 to March 2020.
Recall that she had to recuse herself from the 2019 presidential election tribunal because of her husband’s membership of the All Progressives Congress whom the Peoples Democratic Party was challenging its victory in the presidential poll at the time.
Speaking during the Senate valedictory session on Monday, Bulkachuwa said many of his colleagues in the senate benefited from his encroachment on his wife’s territory as the country’s top judicial officer.
Senator Akpabio emerges Senate President
On Tuesday, former governor of Akwa Ibom State and Niger Delta minister, Godswill Akpabio was elected as the 10th Senate President of the National Assembly.
Abdulaziz Yari was defeated by Akpabio, the All Progressives Congress’s chosen candidate, to succeed Ahmed Lawan.
Voting begun at exactly 08:45am on a state by state basis, alphabetically.
Tajudeen Abbas defeats Wase, Jaji, emerges Speaker House Of Reps
On Wednesday, Honourable Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna State emerged as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 10th National Assembly.
The former deputy speaker Idris Wase, Sani Jaji, were defeated by Tajudeen Abbas.
Tuesday saw the election of Tajudeen Abbas as the 10th National Assembly’s Speaker of the House by the Reps.
Abbas, who was elected in an “openly declare” ballot system was elected by members of the House on Tuesday.
Generators, phones, other electrical products imports to Nigeria gulped $3.47bn in 2022 – Report
On Tuesday, Nigeria spent $3.47 billion importing phones, generating sets, electrical transformers and other electrical equipment in 2022.
The figure was disclosed in a recent report by the International Trade Center.
According to the multilateral agency, which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations, Africa’s most populous Country’s electrical importation bill grew by 11.90 per cent from the $3.09bn it was in 2022.
Further analysis showed that Nigeria had spent $10.26bn importing electrical equipment in the past three years amid falling foreign exchange reserves.
Probe CBN, NNPCL, NCS – Kachikwu urges Tinubu
On Tuesday, the African Democratic Congress’ presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Dumebi Kachikwu urged President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and the Nigeria Customs Service.
During his Democracy Day broadcast on Monday, Kachikwu charged that the three institutions are the bane of corruption in Nigeria.
He stated that probing the institutions is a must for the new administration’s economy to succeed.
“Our President must immediately investigate the activities of our CBN governor, the most political CBN governor we’ve had in the history of Nigeria.
Trump under arrest in federal documents probe
On Tuesday, Former US President, Donald Trump sat inside the federal courtroom in Miami, where he faces 37 criminal charges related to his handling of classified documents at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort.
Trump, who is the first former US president to face federal charges, is expected to plea not guilty to all counts.
This second indictment comes just months after Trump was charged by a Manhattan grand jury in a separate hush-money case.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in both cases and has vowed to stay in the 2024 race despite the charges.
He’s expected to speak Tuesday evening once he returns to his Bedminster resort in New Jersey.
Father, 4 children, 99 others perish as boat capsizes in Kwara
On Tuesday, no fewer than 103 persons have lost their lives in a boat accident at Egbu village, in the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The deceased reportedly met their end after the boat conveying them while returning from a marriage ceremony capsized.
Among the victims of the mishap, which happened on Monday, are a father and his four children.
The tragic incident has cast an ominous cloud of sorrow and despair on the village.
CBN announces unification of all exchange rate windows
On Wednesday, the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Market started operating under some immediate adjustments outlined by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CBN stated that the RT200 rebate programme and the Naira4Dollar remittance programme would both end on June 30 in a statement signed by Angela Sere-Ejembi, director of the financial markets division.
New rules governing the country’s foreign currency market’s operation were also mentioned in the statement.
The CBN advises all market participants and the general public to follow the regulations until additional instructions regarding the adjustments are given.
President Tinubu signs Nigeria Data Protection Bill, 2023 into law
On Thursday, the Nigeria Data Protection Act, of 2023 provided a legal framework for the protection of personal information and the practice of data protection in Nigeria after President Tinubu signed it into law.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, the National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), said this at the NDPD Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) validation workshop in Abuja.
The bill was sent to the relationship Senate and House of Representatives for consideration and passage on Tuesday, April 4 2023, via a letter from former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu Suspends EFCC Chairman Indefinitely
On Wednesday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, ordered the indefinite suspension from office of AbdulRasheed Bawa, the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This was done in order to allow a thorough investigation of Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa’s conduct while serving as the Chairman of the anti-graft agency.
WITHIN NIGERIA reports that this is coming after serious claims of office abuse made against him.
Dokunbo to Tinubu: Military, Navy responsible for oil theft in Nigeria
On Friday, former Niger Delta militant, Alhaji Asari Dokubu, said over 99 per cent of oil theft in the country is carried out by the army and navy.
Dokunbo also alleged that the people perpetuating oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region are powerful cabals most times operating from Abuja with the entitlement mentality.
Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Dokubo said that the reason behind his visit was to give words of encouragement to the President for his actions and pronouncements since he assumed office.