Otti Vows To Fish Out Killers Of Aba Policemen
Photo Credit:Punch Newspapers
Abia State governor, Alex Otti, on Saturday said the state government would fish out the killers of two policemen shot dead by unknown assailants in the state on Friday.
The two policemen, Inspector Augustine Ogbudu (36 years) from Cross River State and Superintendent Eziekel Sunday from Kebbi State were killed, while two other police officers were wounded in the Aba area of the state.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that a 14-year-old teenager also lost his life during the attack which occurred at Opobo Junction Ogborhill Aba.
But speaking to newsmen during his visit to the families of the victims, Governor Otti described the attack as unfortunate, vowing that his government would fish out the perpetrators.
“We thought that with all that we have done, including rounding up some of the people that were involved in that last attack that this would not happen again. We have decided to change our strategy. We do not want to speculate but like you (journalist) rightly asked, it is reasonable to suspect that the enemies of the state, particularly those who don’t seem to see anything good or want any good thing for Abia people may be somehow connected to this. That is a suspicion. We are not going to let this go away without identifying and bringing to book all those who are directly or remotely involved,” the governor said.
Photo Credit:Google
FG Replies Peter Obi, Denies Running Four Budgets In A Year
Photo Credit:The Nation Newspapers
The Federal Government has debunked claims that it is running four budgets in a fiscal year.
This was stated in a post on X by Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Mr. Temitope Ajayi.
The media aide responded to a thread of tweets by former Anambra Governor, Peter Obi, alleging the government was running four budgets concurrently.
Ajayi wrote: “Yesterday, @BudgITng raised a false alarm on the basis of rumours that FG is planning a 2024 supplementary budget. It is important to state that the FG is not planning to run 4 budgets within a fiscal year as being alleged.
“The National Assembly only approved that implementation of the capital components of 2023 budget and 2023 supplementary should be extended to December 2024 to achieve its objectives.
Our country can’t achieve sustainable development when Federal, States and Local governments focus on only consumptive expenditures which is essentially what recurrent expenditures represent.
Minister Steps Into IG, PSC Row Over constable Recruitment
Photo Credit:Punch Newspapers
The Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, is intervening in the ongoing face-off between the Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force.
After concluding the recruitment, the PSC on June 4 released the list of 10,000 successful applicants for constable and specialist cadre roles in the Nigeria Police Force.
Eleven days later, the police rejected the list over the allegation that the exercise was marred by corruption and irregularities.
The statement by the Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, read, “Several names of persons purported to be names of successful candidates are those who did not even apply and therefore did not take part in the recruitment.
Following the action of the police, the commission’s union called for the removal of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, for misrepresenting facts on the recruitment.
The PSC in its first response on the matter, challenged the police to provide evidence to substantiate its claim that the recruitment exercise was characterized by corruption.
On June 25, the PSC Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, stressed that the final list of successful candidates from the recruitment would never be cancelled, insisting that the exercise was done in accordance with relevant laws.
No Visa Ban On Nigerians, says Turkey Embassy
Photo Credit:Punch Newspapers
The Turkish Embassy in Nigeria on Saturday confirmed that there is no visa ban on Nigerian passport holders, dispelling reports that have raised concern.
Reports surfaced on Thursday suggesting that Ethiopia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates had revoked certain privileges for Nigerian passport holders, such as visa-on-arrival, e-visa, and outright passport issues.
Specifically, Turkey no longer allows Nigerian passport holders to obtain its e-visa, which was previously a seamless process.
Despite these changes, the Personal Secretary to the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Wunmi Evelyn, clarified in a chat with our correspondent, “There is no visa ban on Nigerian passport holders.
“As it is well-known, if there will be any update regarding rules and procedures of the policies and practices of any country, these updates are officially notified to the respective foreign ministries, and statements/announcements are issued by the embassies.”
Visa applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, the secretary explained, addressing specific instances where applicants faced rejections.