Today's Headlines:We’ll Invade Niger If Diplomacy Fails—ECOWAS, Address hunger—Oyo APC tells Makinde

We’ll invade Niger if diplomacy fails — ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, said yesterday in Accra, Ghana, that it will not hesitate to invade the Niger Republic if all efforts to reverse the coup in the country fail.

Source: Vanguard

This came as the German government said it is in support of sanctions imposed on the military junta in the country by the European Union, EU. It will be recalled that ECOWAS Heads of State and Government had at its second extraordinary summit in Abuja last week, activated its standing force should the junta in Niger refuse to restore to power the ousted president of the country, Mohamed Bazoum.

The threat came as defense chiefs of member states met in the Ghanaian capital to strategize on the next line of action on Niger and discuss details of the standby force. The meeting continues today. “Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa…are ready to answer the call of duty. “By all means available, constitutional order will be restored in the country,” ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said.

Address hunger, Oyo APC tells Makinde

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State, yesterday, warned Governor Seyi Makinde to desist from the further award of contracts at an allegedly inflated cost and rather find ways of tackling hunger in the state.

Source: Vanguard

Reacting to an announcement that the state government had approved N3.35 billion for the purchase of Kia Rio cars as security vehicles and another N3.19 billion for the maintenance of street lights in the state, the party described it as a misplaced priority. The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, said: “It has come to a point that we, as stakeholders in the affairs of the Pacesetters state, cannot continue to watch as the present PDP administration would not cease from plundering scarce resources.

“We queried the wisdom behind spending billions of naira on the purchase of the Kia Rio brand of luxury cars as security vehicles some years ago and we got vindicated as only a few number of those cars are seen around today. “The state government is now repeating the same sleaze with the Wednesday approval of N3.35 billion on another 105 units of the same fragile vehicle brand for security.

Emefiele: FG showing signs of disobeying court orders —Judge

Justice Nicholas Oweibo of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, noted that the Federal Government has shown signs of not being law-abiding and has no respect for the court.

Source: Vanguard

The judge made the pronouncement while striking out the firearm possession charge against the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele. The charge was brought against Emefiele by the Department of State Services, DSS. Justice Oweibo, struck out the charge for want of diligent prosecution, noting that the Federal Government had shown signs of not being law-abiding and had no respect for the court.

Meanwhile, the scheduled arraignment of Emefiele, on a fresh 20-count charge, was, yesterday, stalled following the absence of one of the defendants in the case. Though Emefiele was brought to court by DSS, who are still holding on to him before an Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama, to enter his plea to the fresh charge against him, the court was told by the DSS that the 2nd defendant, Saadat Yaro, was unavailable.

Moronkola, Adams Congratulate New Sports Minister, Enoh

Congratulatory messages have trailed the appointment of Senator John Owan Enoh as the new minister of sports development.

Source: Leadership

LEADERSHIP reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday assigned portfolios to all the 45 minister-designates, whose nominations were recently confirmed by thSenatete, with Senator Enoh from Cross River State assigned to the sports development ministry.

The director-general of the National Institute for Sports, Professor Olawale Moronkola, described the appointment as the right choice for the betterment of sports. According to Moronkola, “I commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s choice of Senator John Enoh as the new minister of Sports.

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