Outrage in APC as Buhari Appoints More Northerners

There are rumblings in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC over President Muhammadu Buhari's latest appointments.

Sources within the party who spoke to The Punch complained that once again, the appointments were skewed in favor of the North, adding that something must be done fast to avoid a backlash from the other parts of the country.

“The President does not consult before making most of these appointments and I can tell you that Nigerians are going to term the party and the President as a northern party and the President of Northern Nigeria,” one of the sources said.

In the latest appointments announced on Thursday, President Buhari approved
Babachir David Lawal from Adamawa State as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Mr. Abba Kyari from Borno state as his Chief of Staff.

Other appointments approved by the President, according to the statement by Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adeshina are those of Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retd.) as the new Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service; Mr. Kure Martin Abeshi, Comptroller-General, Nigerian Immigration Service; Senator Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate); and Suleiman Kawu as SSA on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).

With the exception of Senator Ita Enang from the South South, all the appointees are from the North.

Of the nine previous appointments made by Buhari, eight were from the North. Dissenting voices in APC worry that President Buhari is fast presenting himself as the President of Northern Nigeria and the APC as a northern party.

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65 Modular Refineries Get Buhari's Nod

Sixty-five Nigerian companies have been granted licenses to build modular refineries by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The 65 were selected from a list of 285 that applied for the license.

Modular refineries are small refineries with capacities of 1,000 to 10,000 barrels per day refining capacity. They can be easily assembled and taken apart.

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Atiku's Daughter Donates Salary To Charity

Daughter of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and newly appointed Adamawa State Commissioner for Health, Dr Fatima Atiku will not be taking home her salaries and allowances. This is because she wants them to be used in revitalizing the health care system in the state.

Speaking to newsmen on Friday in Yola after her swearing in. Dr Fatima Atiku said,

"I am very grateful to the governor for appointing me to head the Health Ministry.

"The ministry is the most challenging because of the insurgency problem that had caused some damage to the health system in the state.

“For this reason, I shall be donating my salary and allowances for use in enhancing the delivery of healthcare service in the state. "

Twenty one other commissioners were also sworn in at the occasion.

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Chad Sentences Boko Haram Convicts To Death

A court in N'djamena, Chad on Friday sentenced 10 convicted Boko Haram terrorists to death for masterminding the double suicide bombings in the capital city in June.

In the first ever trial in Chad of members of the Nigeria based Islamist terror group, the court ruled that "the 10 Boko Haram defendants have been condemned to death."

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CBN Approves Loans For States To Pay Salary Arrears

States burdened with salary debts now have a reprieve as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has approved the request by commercial banks to grant loan facilities to indebted states to enable them to offset backlogs of salary arrears.

The National Executive Council, NEC, had at its meeting in June charged the CBN to collaborate with other stakeholders to find out ways to liquidate salary arrears owed by states and local governments.

The apex bank said that so far, only two states, Kwara and Zamfara have met the conditions for the disbursement of the loan and have therefore received the facility.

According to the apex bank, the conditions for accessing the loan facility include:

1. A resolution of the State Executive Council authorizing the borrowing.

2. The State House of Assembly consenting to the loan package,

3. Issuance of Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) to ensure timely repayment.

The debtor states include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Cross River, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Yobe, and Zamfara.

The salary debts owed by these states range from two months to eleven months.

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Handle Classified Documents With Confidentiality, Head of Service Tells Civil Servants

Civil servants in the country have been warned that classified documents must be handled with utmost confidentiality. The warning was contained in a circular titled "Handling of Classified Documents," and issued to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs in Abuja on Thursday.

The circular signed by Alhaji Muhammad Manga, Assistant Director (Media Relations), Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation observed that some officers were in the habit of misusing classified documents including those of the Federal Executive Council.

It reminded civil servants that classified documents were not meant for public consumption. It warned that anyone found in breach of the law would be made to face sanctions.

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Buhari Meets Board Of Centenary City Over Fraud Allegations

Following bickering over alleged fraud in the Centenary City Project, President Muhammadu Buhari will this Friday meet with members of the board of Centenary City Plc.

Chairman of the board and former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar will be leading the board members to the meeting.

This was disclosed to newsmen on Thursday by the Permanent Secretary, General Services, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Muhammad Bukar. He was at the Presidential Villa, Abuja to brief President Buhari on the activities of his office.

The meeting may not be unconnected with the recent petition to the President by the Vice Chairman, South South of the PDP, Dr Cairo Ojougbo, demanding a probe into the role of former SGF, Senator Pius Anyim in the Centenary City project.

Ojougbo had accused Anyim of conniving with the sponsors of the project to defraud the government.

However, Bukar said that government money was not put in the project which is totally private sector driven.

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