Today's Headlines: Military deposes Gabon President, takes over govt, Govt saves N1.83tr in 2 months
Military deposes Gabon President, takes over govt
The Gabonese President, Ali Bongo, has been deposed by the military, four days after winning the presidential election.
Source: Nigerian Tribune
This comes amid a move to resolve the removal of a democratically elected president in the Niger Republic. Soldiers were said to have appeared on Gabonese national television in Gabon to announce that they had taken power, according to a BBC report. The putschist, TRIBUNE ONLINE learned, also announced the annulment of Saturday’s election and the dissolution of the democratic government in the country.
Bongo, who came to power after the death of his father in 2009, won a third term in an election that the opposition argued was heavily disputed. At the time of filing this report, both the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) have yet to react to the development.
Subsidy cut windfall: Govt saves N1.83tr in two months
The Federal Government has saved N1.83 trillion less than three months after it stopped the payment of subsidy on petrol, The Nation has learned.
Source: The Nation papers
The savings were made from revenue that accrued into the federation account in June and July. A source within the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) confirmed to our reporter that the amount was saved in the federation account “first as a fallback (augmentation) for a rainy day”.
The source said that N1, 051,946,000,000 was saved from the N1.97 trillion revenue generated in June. An additional N779,890,000,000 was saved from the N1.746 trillion revenue raked in last month. According to the source, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy (CME), Mr. Wale Edun, has briefed the heads of revenue-generating agencies on what the government plans to do with the savings.
Worsening hardships, stress increasing NCDs among Nigerians – Experts
As the nation’s socio-economic condition worsens with hope seemingly appearing bleak, physicians fear the situation, if not promptly addressed, may plunge a substantial number of Nigerians into serious health crises due to increased physical and mental stress.
Source: Punch papers
The recent removal of fuel subsidy on fuel, further depreciation of the naira, impending increase in electricity tariff, and the introduction of Value Added Tax on diesel, amid an already battered economy, have further worsened the cost of living, pushing many Nigerians into untold hardship.
In the face of the aforementioned, the senior health professionals said people may have to watch their stress levels as they struggle to make ends meet, to avoid harming their health. According to them, stress causes kidney failure, and brain and heart damage, adding that already, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease is rising, yet remains underdiagnosed in the country.
Woman faints as LASTMA official, driver clash
A yet-to-be-identified woman was knocked down and lost consciousness as an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority official and a commercial driver clashed on Kodesoh road along MRS filling in Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday.
Source: Punch papers
Two eyewitnesses who spoke with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday claimed the woman involved in the accident was pregnant. However, LASTMA in a statement sent to our correspondent dismissed the claim. Speaking, Blessing who was on the scene of the accident said “The shuttle bus driver violated driving rules and an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority came down from his vehicle and wanted to remove the shuttle bus driver key.
“In the cause of doing that, the LASTMA official dragged a pregnant woman down and she slipped and hit her head against the wall. “What I can say is that she was rushed to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital and the LASTMA official ran away.” Blessing concluded. Another eye witness, Nifemi claimed that a shuttle bus driver and a LASTMA official clashed resulting in a woman being knocked down and unconscious.
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