The presidential candidate of the peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has faulted the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun and the federal government’s plans to deploy N20 trillion Naira of pension funds for infrastructure development in Nigeria.
The finance minister revealed the plans at the federal executive council meeting on Tuesday, stating that the government is focused on tapping into domestic financial resources, for national growth, adding that it was a significant step towards driving economic progress and addressing critical infrastructure needs.
Many Nigerians have condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of 90 billion naira to subsidize the cost of this year’s hajj pilgrimage. Vice President Kashim Shettima made the announcement during the inaugural hajj airlift at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Kebbi state, on Wednesday.
In his speech, Shettima emphasized the president’s commitment to religious pilgrimage, and urged intending pilgrims to pray for the success of the administration and to act as good ambassadors for Nigeria by observing all Hajj protocols in Saudi Arabia.
Following reports of a faulty presidential aircraft, a member of the house of representatives, Ali Isa has suggested that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should travel by road or use commercial flights for official engagements. Isa was contributing to a motion, sponsored by the chairman of the house committee on national security and intelligence, Satomi Ahmed, to probe the status of the presidential fleet.
In Niger state, the planned forced marriage of 100 girls, some orphaned by insurgency, has sparked outrage among many Nigerians, including the minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, who lodged a petition with the Inspector-General of Police and sought a court injunction to prevent the marriage of the girls.
The controversy erupted following an announcement by the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, who was to sponsor the wedding but later withdrew his plans after the minister petition. However, the Niger State Imam Forum made up of Chief Imams of Friday Mosques and Islamic Organizations, have vowed to go ahead with the wedding.
The Forum said the wedding would go on because it did did not contravene the sections of the Nigerian constitution and teachings of Islam. While in Kano state, Shafiu Abubakar, a resident of Gezawa Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday, set a mosque on fire, leaving at least six worshippers dead and several others injured.
Abubakar was said to have used petrol to light up the mosque, while about 40 worshippers were praying. He told the police that he perpetrated the act because members of the mosque had forced him to marry a girl that he did not like. The police on the other hand said preliminary investigation revealed that the incident was not a terrorist attack.
The arrest of Afrobeats Musician, Habeeb Okikiola, also known as Portable by the Lagos state police command on Tuesday, for allegedly failing to pay the debt he incurred after purchasing a mecedes G-Wagon from a car dealer, has been condemned by a cross section of Nigerians and legal practitioners.
Portable was said to have bought the vehicle worth N27 million naira, but paid only N13 million Naira and reportedly refused to pay the rest.
Olajengbesi, a lawyer who represents celebrities, while reacting to the arrest in a post on Facebook, said that the method of debt recovery employed by the police, blatantly disregarded the country’s laws.
He also argued that indebtedness is not a criminal offense, and that even the Nigerian government has debts.
In a viral video, portable was seen jumping over a gate in an attempt to evade arrest, he was later caught and forcibly carried by four police officers into a waiting vehicle.
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