Voice Air Media, News Update

Here is Friday’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. President Bola Tinubu has called on ECOWAS member states to come together, strengthen ties and reject forces bent on causing division within the community. Speaking at the inauguration of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament, on Thursday in Abuja, Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, said regional solidarity is imperative to strengthen the bloc’s resilience and effectiveness at this critical juncture.

2.The arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited and two of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, on Thursday, could not proceed due to the inability of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, to effect service of the charge on the defendants. When the matter was called for the defendants to take their plea before Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court, Abuja, only Gambaryan was represented by a lawyer.

3. Popular and controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, has failed to meet the bail conditions granted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale disclosed this development on Thursday, saying “he has been granted administrative bail but has yet to meet bail conditions.”

4. The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State has raised alarm over an alleged plan by Governor Siminalayi Fubara to procure interim orders from some judges to declare the Martins Amaewhule-led State House of Assembly as illegitimate. The Chairman of the APC’s Caretaker Committee in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, revealed this during a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Thursday.

5. The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, says nine persons have been arrested in connection with the killing of police officers in the Ughelli area of Delta State. Egbetokun made this announcement on Thursday at a management meeting of the Force.

6. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu says he will support a proposal for the direct election of members into the parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS. Tinubu, who made the declaration on Thursday, said the move would give citizens of member states a say in who represents them.

7. Some occupants and property owners in the Guzape area of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, in Abuja, have sent a ‘Save our Soul’ to the Minister, Nyesom Wike and relevant government agencies over what they described as ‘life threatening blasting of rocks’ in the area. Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday on behalf of residents of the district, a former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Simon Achuba, who acknowledged that “the purpose of the blasting is for the construction of road for the development of Guzape District”, pointed out that “it is only the living that can enjoy amenities”.

8. Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has declared that he was not responsible for the suspension of Bauchi Central Senator, Abdul Ningi, over allegations of budget padding. Akpabio’s counsel, Umeh Kalu, SAN, in a letter to Falana, titled: ‘Re: Request to Lift the Suspension of Sen. Abdul Ningi’, stressed that the Senate President was not responsible for Ningi’s suspension.

9. The naira continued its appreciation against the US dollar despite a drop in foreign exchange turnover transactions at the FX market. Data from FMDQ showed that the naira appreciated further to N1,255.07 per dollar at the foreign exchange market on Thursday, representing a N7.78 gain against the dollar compared to N1, 262.85 recorded the previous day.

10. Nigeria’s Minister of Youth Development, Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim has warned youths in the country against using the downturn in the economy as a license to commit crimes. She issued the warning in Abuja on Thursday at a Retreat and Leadership Training Course for principal officers of the Peace Corps of Nigeria.