Atiku, PDP file five-ground petition, resuscitate alleged certificate scam against Buhari (Punch)
Some details of the petition filed on Monday by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate in the February 23 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to challenge the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress, emerged on Tuesday. The 141-page petition contained five grounds, one of which resuscitates the allegation that Buhari was not qualified to run for the office of the President on the grounds that he did not possess the constitutional minimum qualification of a school certificate. The petition, sighted by The PUNCH, was filed against the Independent National Electoral Commission, Buhari and the APC as the first to the third respondents respectively. Read more
Gbenga Daniel denies abandoning Atiku (Guardian)
The former director-general of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign organisation for the 2019 general elections, Gbenga Daniel, has denied abandoning the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party. “I have not, will not and will never abandon Atiku,” said Daniel on Tuesday. Daniel, who renounced his membership from the People’s Democratic Party last Friday, insisted that he will not rescind his decision to quit active and partisan politics and divorce himself from the activities of the party. Read more
We won’t tolerate breach of peace during supplementary election, Ganduje warns (Punch)
Ahead of the supplementary elections in Kano on Saturday, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje says his government will not tolerate any breach of peace by any group or person in the state. Ganduje gave the warning on Tuesday in Kano when an amalgam of 320 associations, called Kano Peace Ambassadors, paid him a solidarity visit. “We will not tolerate breach of peace under whatever guise, an m the government will not fold its arms and watch people instigating instability in the state. Read more
Wait till May 29 before scrutinising finances of Oyo State, APC tells gov-elect Makinde (Punch)
The All Progressives Congress, Oyo State chapter, has charged the governor-elect, Mr. Seyi Makinde, to prepare for governance and stop chasing shadows. The party urged the governor-elect to wait till May 29 before he could start to scrutinise the finances of Oyo State. The party’s Publicity Secretary, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olatunde, stated this in a statement on Tuesday in Ibadan. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the ruling APC in the state had, in the March 9 governorship election, lost to Makinde of the PDP. Read more
Asaba court ruling has no effect on my election, says Omo-Agege (Nation)
Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege (APC-Delta) says the judgement of the Asaba Federal High Court on his nomination as a senatorial candidate, representing Delta central district has no effect on his election victory. Omo-Agege, made the remarks in a statement issued through his Senior Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy, Mr Godwin Anaughe in Abuja. He said he was not party to the suit. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Toyin Adegoke of the Federal High Court 1, Asaba, had on Monday nullified the candidacy of Omo-Agege for the Delta central and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the just-concluded elections. Read more
PDP senator calls for 2019 budget increase by N10 trillion (Guardian)
A People’s Democratic Party senator, Mao Ohuabunwa, Tuesday called for the Nigerian senate to “jack up” the 2019 budget by 10 trillion Naira. “Instead of reducing, we should ‘jack up’ the budget by 10 trillion,” Ohuabunwa said during the plenary. The 2019 appropriation bill sent by the President is N8.82 trillion. The spending list, N8,826,636,578,915, has a recurrent expenditure of N4 trillion while N2 trillion goes for capital expenditure with N2.2 trillion and N492 billion for debt servicing and statutory transfers respectively. Read more
Bandits are stockpiling arms, Zamfara gov raises alarm (Punch)
Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State on Tuesday in Abuja raised alarm over the stockpiling of arms by bandits operating in the state. Yari made this known while speaking with State House correspondents after he had updated President Muhammadu Buhari on the socio-political and security developments in the state. The governor, who ruled out dialogue with bandits, said, “I have told my people that dialogue will no longer take place during my time because I have done that three times, but it did not work. Read more
Elections: Govt lifts curfew on Jalingo (Punch)
The Taraba State Government on Tuesday lifted the curfew it imposed on Jalingo to forestall the escalation of the post-election violence that broke out soon after the Independent National Electoral Commission announced the results of the governorship polls. A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Darius Ishaku, Alhaji Hassan Mijinyawa, commended the people for their patience throughout the duration of the curfew and urged them to remain law-abiding It quoted Ishaku as directing the security agents to continue their surveillance and patrols to avert any ugly incident. Read more
Child dies, 30 missing as migrant boat sinks off Libyan coast (Punch)
A child died and 30 people went missing when a migrant boat sank off the Libyan coast on Tuesday, the Libyan Navy said. “The wooden boat sank after it crashed into rocks near the coast of the western Libyan city of Sabratha,’’ Libyan Navy spokesman Ayoub Qasim told dpa. He said the residents of the city managed to rescue 16 migrants, 13 Africans, and three South Asians and recovered the body of a child while 30 others were missing. “The 30 people are likely to have survived as the boat was close to the beaches,’’ he said. Read more
Air crash: Canada to assess Boeing 737 MAX airworthiness without US (Punch)
Canada said Tuesday it will make its own assessment of Boeing’s modifications to its 737 MAX airliners before allowing them to fly again in its airspace, after two crashes in less than five months. “Of course, when that software change is ready, which is in a number of weeks, we will, in Canada, even if it’s certified by the FAA, we will do our own certification,” Transportation Minister Marc Garneau said. Garneau’s comments marked a break from protocol, with Canada traditionally working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the US commercial airline industry. Read more
Facebook settles with rights groups on ad discrimination (Punch)
Facebook unveiled major changes to how it uses targeted advertising on Tuesday, settling a legal challenge alleging it discriminated in messages on jobs, housing, credit and other services. The leading social network said housing, employment or credit ads will no longer be allowed to target by age, gender or zip code — a practice critics argued had led to discrimination. The changes came as part of a settlement with the National Fair American Civil Liberties Union, National Fair Housing Alliance, Communication Workers of America and others. Read more
Google unveils game streaming platform (Punch)
Google on Tuesday unveiled a streaming platform called Stadia that allows video game play on any internet-connected device, eliminating the need for games consoles. The tech platform, announced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, aims to connect more people to participate in interactive play on PCs, tablets, smartphones and other devices. Google also unveiled a new controller that can be used to play cloud-based individual or multiplayer games. Read more
Callum Hudson-Odoi: England striker can play at highest level, says Harry Kane (BBC)
Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi can play “at the highest level”, according to England captain Harry Kane. Hudson-Odoi, 18, is in the England squad for the 2020 European Championship qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro, despite not starting a Premier League match. “He has been great over the last couple of days,” said Kane. “We’re excited to have him. Everyone is fighting for places and he sees this as an opportunity for himself.” Read more
Kane insists club rivalries will not split England camp (Punch)
England captain Harry Kane insists the Three Lions’ squad are too united to be divided by the tension surrounding the Premier League title race and upcoming Champions League ties. Four English sides have reached the last eight of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in a decade with Tottenham striker Kane set to face a host of international teammates who play for Manchester City three times in two legs of a Champions League quarter-final and a vital Premier League match next month. City and Liverpool are vying for the title, while Spurs face competition from Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea for a top-four finish. Read more
England’s Danny Rose backs Raheem Sterling in criticising portrayal of black players (BBC)
England full-back Danny Rose says players were “over the moon” to see Raheem Sterling criticise the media’s portrayal of black players and says the winger was “spot on” in his analysis. Manchester City’s Sterling, 24, was allegedly racially abused by a fan while playing at Chelsea in December. The forward later said newspapers helped “fuel racism” by the way they portray young black footballers. “Raheem was only saying what we all say in the dressing room,” said Rose, 28. Read more
Big win for PSG as UEFA financial probe dropped (Punch)
Paris Saint-Germain won a major victory on Tuesday when the world’s top sports court backed the French champions against European football’s governing body UEFA over club finances. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld PSG’s appeal against a UEFA decision to reopen a probe into the club’s compliance with Financial Fair Play regulations. UEFA had originally cleared PSG of wrongdoing in June following an investigation triggered by PSG splashing out 400 million euros ($454 million) to buy Brazilian superstar Neymar and French phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. Read more
Former NBA star pleads guilty in bribery scheme (Punch)
Former NBA star Chuck Person pleaded guilty on Tuesday to accepting $91,500 in bribes while working as an assistant basketball coach at Auburn University. Person, 54, was one of several university coaches arrested following an FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball. Person, who played for 13 years in the National Basketball Association, pleaded guilty to one count of taking bribes from a financial adviser. In exchange, Person would use his influence to steer his players to the financial adviser when they were embarking on professional careers in the NBA. Read more