2023: Afenifere Backs Southern Governors On Rotational Presidency

The Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, on Sunday declared its support for the Southern governors on rotational presidency. Jareh Ajayi, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere made the group’s stance known in an interview yesterday. On July 5, Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF) met in Lagos State and insisted on rotational presidency, stressing that the 2023 presidency should be zoned to the south. The decision of the governors was made public in a communiqué read by the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu. According to Ajayi, the group is totally in support of the governor’s position, adding that it would only be fair and just for the Southern part of the country to produce the next president of Nigeria.

Senate Approves President Buhari’s Loan Request Of $8.3 Billion, €490 million

The Senate has approved President, Muhammadu Buhari’s request for ongoing external loans to the tune of $8,325,526,537 and €490,000,000 under the 2018-2020 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan. The approval on Thursday came on the heels of the consideration of a report on the 2018-2020 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan by the Committee on Local and Foreign Debt. The Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Clifford Ordia, in his presentation, said the committee noted with utmost importance, the genuine and very serious concerns of Nigerians about the level and sustainability/serviceability of the country’s borrowings in the last decade. President Muhammadu Buhari had in May, requested the National Assembly to approve the loan. “Our (Nigeria’s) debt service figures constitute a huge drain on our revenue to the extent that it accounts for over 30 per cent of our expenditure in the annual budget,” Ordia said.

NYSC: Court Vindicates Kemi Adeosun

A Federal High Court in Abuja has cleared former Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adosun of the controversy over her participation or otherwise in the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) scheme which resulted in her eventual resignation from office in 2018. The presiding judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, in a judgment on Wednesday, held that Adeosun was not qualified to have participated in the scheme when she graduated at 22 years because as of then, she was a British citizen, and when she formally returned to the country and became a citizen, she was over 30 years, which is above the eligibility age of the NYSC.

Anambra 2021 Poll: INEC Omits Top Politician, Political Party From Candidate List

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate Charles Soludo, as well as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the candidates’ list for the Anambra 2021 Governorship poll. INEC who released the list of candidates for the November 6 poll on Friday, listed a member of the House of Representatives from another faction of the All Progressives Congress (APGA), Chukwuma Umeoji as the flagbearer instead of Soludo. 

President Buhari Swears In Five New Permanent Secretaries

The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, sworn in five new permanent secretaries at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday, July 14. The permanent secretaries include Marcus Ogunbiyi (Lagos), Ibrahim Yusuf (Katsina), Olusesan Adebiyi (Ekiti), Maryanne Onwudiwe (Enugu), and Ibrahim Abubakar Kana (Nasarawa). The permanent secretaries were sworn in shortly before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

Ex-President Obasanjo Done With Politics

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo reveals he has taken his hands off politics hence has no intention of creating a new political party as reported by some media outlets. This was publicized in a statement on Monday by Obasanjo's aide on Media Affairs, Kehinde Akiyemi tagged 'Obasanjo Not Forming Political Party'. Akinyemi who revealed the ex-president is currently in Kabul, Afghanistan, as a guest of President Ashraf Ghani and has declared the report false.