The newspaper review for Wednesday, November 15, focused on the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the southeast region of the country amidst agitation among other stories.
The Nation reports that a clearer picture of Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami’s role in the reinstatement of fugitive civil servant Abdulrasheed Maina emerged yesterday.
The minister admitted before a Senate ad hoc panel probing Maina’s reinstatement into the civil service and promotion to acting director that he met with Maina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year.
He also said he wrote letters to the Federal Civil Service Commission (FRSC) on the sacked chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team.
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Maina was in 2015 accused of over N2billion pension fraud and declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC enlisted the International Police (INTERPOL) to trace Maina.
But he dramatically showed up in the country and was last month reinstated as acting director in the Ministry of Interior.
An embarrassed President Muhammadu Buhari ordered Maina’s immediate sack and a probe of how he was brought back. The EFCC stepped up its investigation. But Maina has not been seen since then.
The Senate panel is conducting its probe in camera with a promise to brief reporters at the end of its investigation.
Newspaper review
The Punch reports that two women were on Tuesday arrested by the Special Military Task Force, codenamed Operation Safe Haven, for allegedly trafficking a four-day-old baby girl.
The suspects – Doris Egbufurum, 39; and Esther James, 40 – were said to have been arrested with the baby at Babale Gwam checkpoint, a boundary between Plateau and Bauchi states.
The Commander of Sector 1, Colonel Musa Etsu-Ndagi, who paraded the suspects, explained that they were arrested around 7.15pm on Monday by operatives of OPSH at the checkpoint after the duo boarded a commercial vehicle in Bauchi.
He said, “A passenger in the vehicle raised the alarm that she suspected that the baby with the two women was stolen because neither of them appeared to be her mother. The troops arrested them and investigation revealed that they bought the baby girl from one Mr. Abuna in Bauchi State for N300,000.”
He said the baby was in the military’s custody, adding that she was under the care of medical officers.
Etsu-Ndagi said the OPSH was making efforts to hand over the baby to the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, an agency of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
He said, “NAPTIP does not have an office in Plateau State; their closest office is in Makurdi, Benue State.”
One of the suspects, Egbufurum, who lived in Imo State and worked as a nurse with the Peoples Clinic in Bauchi, said she was taking the baby to Lagos after she bought her from a customer in Bauchi.
“I was taking the baby to a woman who has been married for a long time without a child. She sent N320,000 to me for the job. I bought the baby for N300,000 and wanted to use the N20,000 balance for transport from Bauchi to Lagos,” She said.
Newspaper review
The Guardian reports that president Muhammad Buhari yesterday described his presence in Ebonyi State as a demonstration of strong belief in Nigeria’s unity. Buhari, who did not inspect the guard of honour both at Nkweagu military cantonment and the Government House, maintained his usual line of non-negotiability of Nigeria’s unity. “Our diversity is almost unique and sure,” he said.
Recalling his meeting with the leaders from the Southeast in Abuja last month, Buhari assured the region of his desire to deliver on his promises.
According to him, the 2018 budget includes many projects for the South east in the areas of power, agriculture and social services while contractors handling the Second Niger Bridge have been mobilised and the region would start to witness rapid infrastructural development soon.
The president who is in Ebonyi on a one-day working visit praised Governor David Umahi for keeping aside party affiliation to focus on tuning around the state with his visionary programmes.“I am delighted to be here in Abakaliki to interact with the good people of Ebonyi State and indeed the south east region. I express my gratitude to the people for their hospitality and warm reception since I arrived this state.
“ I commend Governor Umahi for his vision and commitment to the development of this state. Some of the projects I commissioned since my arrival are laudable. I am also grateful to the traditional rulers of Ebonyi State for the honour bestowed on me with the traditional title of Enyi Oha1.”
For his help to the state especially in the areas, of agriculture and solid minerals, Umahi described the honour on Buhari as well deserved. He said: “Today, you made us a giant in agriculture and so, we have here with us 2,000 bags of rice and 2,000 tubers of yam to give to our president.
“It is a prayer answered because you have sown in the land of Ebonyi and God has given you the strength and health to partake in that seed that you planted. We are grateful to give back to our father who has given so much to us.” He, however, appealed to the president for a refund of money spent by the state government on some federal roads in Ebony.
Newspaper review
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, advised people of the South East not to buy into what he described as senseless propaganda on secession.
President Buhari said the people of South East were known for their ingenuity, industrious and entrepreneural, stressing that ‘Igbo is Nigeria and Nigeria is Igbo. Both are inseparable ”
The president who stated this while addressing the people of Ebonyi State and leaders of the South East including traditional rulers at PA Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, Abakaliki, said all ethnic nationalities in the country must work together without compromising their cultural identities.
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According to him: “The people of the South East are known for their ingenuity, industrial and commercial talent. There is no part of Nigeria where you will not find Igbo entrepreneurs, both men and women, contributing to the development of their adopted communities.
“So I am asking you all not to buy into the senseless propaganda on secession. Igbo is Nigeria and Nigeria is Igbo. Both are inseparable.
“We must therefore continue to commit ourselves to the development of Nigeria. A Nigeria where we sustain our national unity without compromising on our cultural identities. A Nigeria where the aspirations of its people is guaranteed without prejudice to tribe or religion. A Nigeria, where we can sleep at night knowing that tomorrow will be better than today."
Newspaper review
Source: Naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Wednesday 15 November 2017