Today's Headlines:Kalu, Lawan Buhari, Others Named Senate C’tee Chairmen; NARD Meets Akpabio, May Call Off Strike Today
Kalu, Lawan, Tambuwal, Buhari, Others Named Senate Committee Chairmen
Photo Credit:The Sun papers
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has unveiled chairmen of various standing committees of the upper legislative chamber, with former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu emerging as chairman of the Committee on Privatisation.
The announcement by Akpabio was made immediately after the Senate resumed from its break on Monday night in Abuja
Former Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, emerged as the Chairman, Committee on Defence, while the former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, is Chairman, Committee on Water Resources, and former Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe is Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, while ex-Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal clinched Housing Committee chairman.
Others are former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, who heads Interior Committee, and Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), who is Chairman, Committee on Finance, Abdulfatai Buhari (APC, Oyo North) chairs Committee on Ation, Osita Izunaso, heads Committee on Capital Market, Neda Imasuen (LP, Edo South), Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Godiya Akwashiki (SDP, Nasarawa), Airforce Committee, and Abdulfatai Buhari, Chairs the Senate Committee on Ation.
Named also are Establishment, headed by Cyril Fasuyi; Ecology/Climate Change, Chaired by Seriake Dickson, Bayelsa West (PDP), and Jide Ipisagba, who heads Petroleum Downstream.
NARD Meets Akpabio, May Call Off Strike Today
Photo Credit:The Sun papers
Striking members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) may call off their two week old strike after a closed door meeting with Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Principal Officers of the Senate, yesterday.
Speaking after the meeting, the National President of the association, Dr Emeka Innocent Orji, disclosed: “We had a very fruitful meeting with the Senate led by the President of the Senate and from our discussions with them, we are very hopeful that when we table our discussions today before the NEC, something positive would come out.
“From our interaction with the President of the Senate and the practical demonstration he did before us today, we are very confident that there would be light at the end of the tunnel in the next 24 hours.
“Because of the intervention of the President of the Senate, who is the number three citizen and the assurance he has given us, our planned national protest has been cancelled while the decision on the ongoing strike would be taken as soon we meet, he assured.
Speaking in the same vein, Senator Akpabio, thanked the medical doctors for honoring the Senate by calling off their planned national protest and also working towards calling off the strike.
According to him, “ I thank you onbehalf of the Senate for honoring us with your decision not only to cancel the planned public protest, but to also call off the strike in the interest of the suffering masses.
Photo Credit:Google
Diplomacy Best Way Forward But force still an option – Tinubu
Photo Credit:Vanguard papers
President Bola Tinubu has not ruled out military intervention in neighbouring Niger after its president was ousted in a coup but believes diplomacy is the “best way forward” to resolve the crisis, his spokesman said Tuesday.
Tinubu, also head of the West African bloc ECOWAS, weighed in for the first time since the soldiers behind the coup in Niger defied the bloc’s Sunday deadline to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum or face the possible use of force.
Meanwhile, efforts by ECOWAS and the United States to parlay with Niger’s new rulers have made no headway ahead of a crisis summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday.
No options have been taken off of the table,” Tinubu’s spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said, while adding that Tinubu and other West African leaders favour a diplomatic solution.
The United States said it still held out hope for reversing the coup but was “realistic” a day after a top US envoy appeared to make no progress in an unannounced visit.
“We do have hope that the situation will be reversed but at the same time, we are making clear, including in direct conversations with junta leaders themselves, what the consequences are for failing to return to constitutional order,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Tinubu Is Playing Die With The North
Photo Credit:Daily Trust
he ongoing contemplated military action against military leaders and coup plotters in Niger Republic is designed to assert Tinubu’s legitimacy and draw parallels with strong leaders of the past, defining his presidency in a moment of uncertainty. Like his earlier reforms, he is not unaware that northern Nigeria will suffer the consequences, and he is unperturbed.
Much like Thatcher’s decisive commitment to defending the Falklands, which reinvigorated her political standing, Tinubu sensed an opportunity to cement his contested presidency by embarking on sweeping reforms to demonstrate an unwavering resolve and a dedication to the Nigerian people. The tangible impact on the lives of those in the affected areas continues to fuel debate and speculation among political observers, both within Nigeria and on the international stage, about whether these strategies will ultimately fortify Tinubu’s position or further divide an already polarised nation.
These trial-and-error reforms are having significant repercussions, particularly in northern Nigeria. The negative consequences of his policies, such as fuel subsidy removal, currency devaluation, and school fee increment, have created a wave of discontent in the region with dire socioeconomic challenges. Since the inauguration, the North has been at the receiving end of Tinubu’s experimental policies.
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