Shun individuals with divisive tendencies, Buhari tells journalists (Punch)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday enjoined leadership and members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists to always ensure that they report the truth and avoid being influenced by individuals with divisive motives. The President, who made the call when he received leadership of the NUJ led by its National President, Mr. Chris Isiguzo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also urged the members to bring a sustainable end to the menace of fake news. He said the call had become imperative in view of the fact that innocent lives had been lost or destroyed due to fake news phenomenon. Read more
NOUN apologises to Obasanjo over salary controversy (Guardian)
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has tendered an unreserved apology to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, over a news report that he was taking on the payroll of the university as a facilitator. The university further made it clear that the elder statesman had accepted to be rendering free services to the university in the same capacity. The university made this known on Thursday in Abuja, through a statement signed by Mr Ibrahim Sheme, its Director of Media and Publicity. Read more
FG closes case against Onnoghen (Punch)
The Federal Government on Thursday closed its case of false and non-declaration of charges preferred against the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Although, the prosecution led by Mr. Aliyu Umar (SAN) had proposed to call six witnesses to prove its case against the defendant, it closed its case after calling three of them. Umar announced his decision to close the prosecution’s case after the third witness, Ifeoma Okeagbue, an official of Standard Chartered Bank, concluded her testimony on Thursday. Read more
2019 election materials safe, open for inspection, says INEC (Nation)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State Thursday said all materials used for the general elections were safe and ready for inspection by any party who followed laid down procedure for inspection. The state INEC gave the assurance while refuting allegations by some persons who claimed the commission colluded with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Essien Udium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to rig election by destroying ballot papers thumb printed in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Reacting to an advertorial titled “Political Jobbers on the prowl,” published in this newspaper on March 16, spokesman for INEC in Akwa Ibom Don Etukudo described the allegation as deliberate falsehood, misinformation and the attempt to malign the commission and the person of the Resident Electoral Commissioner. Read more
Bank official releases balances on Onnoghen’s five accounts (Punch)
An official of Standard Chartered Bank, Ifeoma Okeagbue, gave details of the balances on the five different accounts of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, to the Code of Conduct Tribunal on Thursday. Okeagbue, who is Team Leader, Priority Banking, as well as Onnoghen’s Relationship Manager at the branch of the bank in Wuse II, Abuja, said all the bank accounts were still active. Testifying as the third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the suspended CJN on charges of false and non-declaration of assets, Okeagbue said the accounts, opened separately between 2009 and 2010, were in euro, pound, dollar and naira denominations. Read more
Supplementary polls: Police arrest suspects with card readers in Sokoto (Punch)
Suspects with card readers had been apprehended by men of the Sokoto State police command. The command’s PPRO, ASP Muhammad Abubakar Sadiq, who confirmed this to our correspondent said the suspects were arrested at Emir Yahaya area, within the metropolis, following a tip-off. ASP Sadiq did not disclose the number of those arrested. The card readers according to the PPRO, were meant for use in Kebbe Local Government Area during the forthcoming governorship supplementary election slated for Saturday. Read more
Court postpones Adamawa supplementary guber polls indefinitely (Guardian)
A High Court sitting in Yola has ordered the indefinite postponement of Adamawa State governorship supplementary election scheduled for Saturday. In his ruling, the judge, Abdul-azeez Waziri said the poll should be placed on hold pending his ruling on an interlocutory injunction barring the Independent National Electoral Commission from conducting the polls. On March 14, Waziri ordered an injunction restraining INEC from conducting a supplementary poll following a motion ex parte filed by Movement of Restoration for Defence of Democracy, MRPD. Read more
TraderMoni still in operation —Presidency (Punch)
The TraderMoni scheme, other Government Enterprise and Empowerment micro-credit products (MarketMoni and FarmerMoni), a component of the Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programme are still very much in operation, the Presidency has said. Mr Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this in a progress report on GEEP made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja. He said that contrary to speculations in some quarters, the micro-credit schemes have not stopped, as 30,000 petty traders had received TraderMoni loans after elections. Read more
Census will cost over N220bn, says population commission (Punch)
The National Population Commission has said the next census will cost well over N220bn. The Director-General of the NPoPC, Dr. Ghaji Ismail, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the commencement of fieldwork for the continuation of the Enumeration Area Demarcation. He said the 2015 budget for the proposed 2016 census which eventually did not take place was put at N220bn. Ismail said with currency devaluation and inflation rates, the commission would require much more than N220bn to conduct a census. Read more
Thousands stage silent New Zealand march for shooting victims (Guardian)
More than 10,000 people marched silently on Thursday through the New Zealand city where the alleged shooter in last week’s massacre had lived, as the country paid its respects to the 50 victims of the tragedy. Marchers made their way through Dunedin to a rugby stadium where a total of about 15,000 people eventually gathered for a sombre vigil, New Zealand media reported. The accused killer, Australian-born 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, had lived for the past two years in the city on New Zealand’s South Island before carrying out last Friday’s slaughter in Christchurch, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) to the north. Read more
Brexit: Theresa May ‘hopes’ UK will leave EU with a deal (BBC)
Theresa May has said she “sincerely hopes” the UK will leave the EU with a deal and she is still “working on” ensuring Parliament’s agreement. Arriving in Brussels, she said that she had “personal regret” over her request to delay Brexit, but said it will allow time for MPs to make a “final choice”. At the EU summit she will try to persuade the other 27 countries to delay the UK’s exit beyond 29 March. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn said his talks in Brussels were “very constructive”. On Wednesday, Mrs May made a speech blaming the delay on MPs and telling the nation she was “on their side”. Read more
Blast rocks east China chemical plant, injuries reported (Guardian)
A huge explosion rocked a chemical plant in eastern China on Thursday, injuring at least 12 people and shattering the windows of nearby buildings, officials and state media said. The blast occurred at around 2:50 pm (0650 GMT) at a chemical facility run by Tianjiayi Chemical in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, city officials said on their official Twitter-like Weibo account. Around the time of the explosion, China’s earthquake administration reported a 2.2-magnitude tremor in Lianyungang, a city near the Yancheng blast. Read more
Michel Temer: Brazil ex-president arrested in corruption probe (BBC)
Former Brazilian President Michel Temer has been arrested in São Paulo as part of a massive corruption investigation. Mr Temer, a 78-year-old lawyer who served as president from 2016 to 2018, is being investigated in several cases. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. His arrest was considered imminent after he lost his legal protection when he left office. Many politicians and business leaders have been convicted or charged as part of the so-called Operation Car Wash. Read more
Pompeo to visit Western Wall with Netanyahu in break with diplomatic practice (Guardian)
US top diplomat Mike Pompeo planned to visit Jerusalem’s Western Wall alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in what would be a break with longstanding diplomatic practice. Two former US diplomats could not recall such a high-ranking US official visiting the site with an Israeli premier, which could be taken as tacit approval of Israel’s sovereignty over the location in annexed east Jerusalem. The visit comes less than three weeks before Israeli elections in which Netanyahu is facing a tough challenge from a centrist alliance led by a former military chief of staff. Read more
Iraq ferry sinking: ‘More than 70 dead’ in Tigris river (BBC)
More than 70 people are reported to have died after a ferry sank in the Tigris river in Iraq’s city of Mosul. Most of the 100 passengers said to have been on board could not swim, the head of Mosul’s civil defence agency said. The ferry was reportedly heading towards a tourist island as part of Kurdish New Year celebrations. Rescue teams are looking for survivors. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has ordered an investigation “to determine responsibilities”. Read more
ISIS will be eliminated tonight, Trump boasts (Punch)
US President Donald Trump has declared that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria will be eliminated from its last territory in Syria by Thursday. Trump, who spoke at the White House, announced that the last of the Islamic State’s territory in Syria was currently being liberated by US-backed forces and that the situation would be resolved “by tonight.’’ While holding maps of ISIS’ territory in Iraq and Syria before and after his election, Trump pointed to a very small portion of the map that was currently being held by the terrorist group. Read more
Arnold Schwarzenegger mocks Donald Trump’s fat physique (Metro)
Musclebound film icon Arnold Schwarzenegger has mocked President Donald Trump’s tubby 243-pound body. In a new interview with The Atlantic, the Terminator star called for Trump to dwell on infrastructure and immigration reform while exercising, adding: ‘I know he must be working out every day because he’s so unbelievably in shape.’ Schwarzenegger, 71, issued a further slew of insults against Trump over his online rants and continued attacks on former Arizona Senator John McCain, who died last August. Read more
Father sells his daughter to pay off gambling debts (Metro)
A father has been arrested for selling his toddler daughter in order to settle a £6,800 gambling debt. The man, known only by his surname of Jiang, is accused of selling the girl, aged one, after becoming addicted to online gambling. Jiang told his wife that the girl would be staying with her grandmother. Instead, he sold his daughter to a couple in Guiyang, Guizhou, for the amount of money he needed to pay off his debt. Last November, Jiang told his wife their daughter would be staying with his mother in Zunyi city, about 100 miles away. Read more
AFCON qualifers: Receive Seychelles, Egypt warmly, Police urges Nigerians (Punch)
As Nigeria’s Super Eagles engage the Pirates of Seychelles in an African Cup of Nations qualifier at the Stephen Keshi Township Stadium Asaba, Delta State capital on Friday, the Delta State Police have advised all and sundry to be their brother’s keeper by giving the visitors a warm reception. Nigeria will also play the Pharaohs of Egypt, in an international friendly match on Tuesday 26, March 2019. The State Police Commissioner, Mr. Adeyinka Adeleke in a statement issued by the acting Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Chuks Orisiewezie on Thursday in Asaba, enjoined Delta residents and indeed Nigerians to extend the visiting teams warm hospitality which Nigeria is known for during their stay. Read more
Rohr confirms Onuachu for first game (Nation)
Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Gernot Rohr has revealed that he will give a debut appearance to new invitee, Paul Onuachu against Seychelles and Egypt respectively, AOIFootball.com reports. After taking charge of its first training session on Tuesday evening, the Franco-German confirmed that the lanky forward will get at least 45 minutes or more and hopes to add another dimension to his forward line especially with the aerial strength of the FC Midtjylland forward. “We have possibilities to see everybody because we have two games. We will see several players. Read more
‘Unhappy’ Sanches considering leaving Bayern Munich (Guardian)
Euro 2016 winner Renato Sanches says he is considering leaving Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich at the end of the season because of a lack of playing time. The Portuguese midfielder joined the club as an 18-year-old in 2016 for 35 million euros ($39.9m) — a Bundesliga record for a teenager. “I’m not happy here,” he told magazine Kicker. Bayern signed Sanches to great fanfare after he helped Portugal win the European Championship title in France and was voted the tournament’s best young player. Read more
Thai king attends cremation of Leicester City owner Vichai (Guardian)
Thailand’s king presided over the cremation of former Leicester City owner and duty-free magnate Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha at a Buddhist temple Thursday in a ceremony that brought together the Thai business and political elites. The 60-year-old Thai founder of duty-free giant King Power died in October in a helicopter crash after watching his beloved football club play. His sudden death stunned Thais and football fans who followed his fairytale-like ascent, while also raising questions about the future of his company’s near-monopoly over Thailand’s duty-free sector. Read more
Juventus opt for Asian pre-season amid Ronaldo US rape claims (Guardian)
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus will play the pre-season International Champions Cup in Asia and not in the United States amid the Portugal star’s rape investigation there, the New York Times has reported. Most of the matches take place in the United States but organisers are planning to play Juventus’ elsewhere amid Ronaldo’s legal case, eliminating the risk of the Portuguese star being detained by authorities in the US as part of their investigations, the newspaper reported. Juventus have confirmed their participation in the event with the official programme to be unveiled on March 27. Read more