MINISTERS ARE JUST NOISE MAKERS - PRESIDENT BUHARI.

President Muhamadu Buhari will appoint his ministers before month’s end as he promised although he believes technocrats do much of the job.

In a 12-minute interview with France 24 Television during his state visit to France from where he returned yesterday, the President was quoted to have said: “The ministers are there to make a lot of noise; for the politicians to make a lot of noise. But the work is being done by the technocrats. They are there to provide the continuity, dig into the records and then guide us, [those of us] who are just coming in.

“I think this question of ministers is political. People from different constituencies want to see their people directly in government, and see what they can get out of it

WIFE OF SUN NEWSPAPER'S DEPUTY MD HAS BEEN FREED BY HER ABDUCTORS AFTER 2 DAYS IN KIDNAPPER'S DEN.

After spending two days in kidnappers’ den, the wife of The Sun’s Deputy Managing Director ( DMD ), Steve Nwosu, Toyin, was in the early hours of Thursday freed.

She was abandoned by her abductors at Festac First Gate, Amuwo Odofin, where the police recovered her at about 2:20am.

The heavily armed kidnappers had whisked her away from her Ago Palace residence in Okota on Monday at about 1:50am, with a speed boat, after robbing her family and two other houses.

NIGERIA ARMY ARRESTS 33 FOOD SUPPLIERS OF BOKO HARAM.

The Nigerian Army said on Wednesday that its soldiers had arrested 33 suppliers of foodstuffs to the members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in an electronic mail on Wednesday that the insurgents were arrested around Azir-Wazikoro in the Damboa axis of Borno State.

Usman said that the suspects were caught with large quantity of foodstuffs at Korode during intensive patrol carried out by the troops.

VANDALS KILL SEVEN DSS OPERATIVES, ESCAPE WITH THEIR CORPSE & GUNS.

Seven operatives of the Department of State Services had been reportedly killed in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

The security operatives were reportedly killed in the Ishawo Road area of Ikorodu on Tuesday during an encounter with suspected pipeline vandals. It was learnt that the incident happened around 7pm on Tuesday.

Correspondents were told that the vandals, who were suspected to be Ijaw youths, made away with the dead operatives’ weapons after killing them.

(HIGHLIGHTS) Olympiakos 0 Bayern Munich 3.

OLYMPIAKOS 0 BAYERN MUNICH 3

(HIGHLIGHTS) Dinamo Zagreb 2 Arsenal 1.

Dinamo Zagreb  2 Arsenal 1

(HIGHLIGHTS) Chelsea 4 Maccabi Tel Aviv 0.

CHELSEA 4 MACCABI 0

NIGERIA ARMY CAPTURES & DE-RADICALISE OVER 200 BOKO HARAM FIGHTERS.

The Department of Civil Military Affairs at the Army Headquarters said on Wednesday that it had captured and de-radicalised over 200 Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa.

The Commander, 28 Task Force Brigade, Mubi,  V O Ezugwu, a Brigadier-General, said this at the opening of a two-day sensitisation programme on de-radicalization held in Mubi, Adamawa.

“This Brigade has rescued and de-radicalised over 200 Boko Haram insurgents from November 2014 to date

14-YR-OLD MUSLIM STUDENT ARRESTED FOR TAKING HOME MADE CLOCK MISTAKEN FOR BOMB TO SCHOOL. #ISTANDWITHAHMED.

A 14-year-old Muslim boy was arrested after his teacher decided his homemade clock could be a bomb, prompting people to tweet they #IStandWithAhmed in solidarity with him.

Ahmed Mohamed, who enjoys making his own radios and go-karts, took the club to MacArthur High school in Irving, Texas on Monday.

A teacher raised concerns, prompting police to question him, search his things and march him from the school in handcuffs.

(DETAILS) FG FILES 13-COUNT CORRUPTION CHARGE AGAINST SENATE PRESIDENT BUKOLA SARAKI. (@BUKOLASARAKI).

The Code of Conduct Bureau has filed a thirteen-count corruption charge against Senate President, Dr Olusola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The charge was filed on September 11, 2015 Deputy Director in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, M.S Hassan.

Among other charges, Saraki was accused of making false declaration of assets on assumption of office as Kwara State Governor in 2003.

Saraki was also accused of not declaring some assets he acquired while in office, acquiring assets beyond his official earnings and operating foreign accounts in contravention of the law as a public officer.

AMBODE VS FASHOLA - GOVERNOR AMBODE INDICTS FASHOLA ON N489.690BN 2015 BUDGET.

The frosty relationship between the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and his predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, further degenerated yesterday as a letter indicting the previous administration of abysmal implementation of the 2015 budget was read on the floor of the state House of Assembly.

Ambode took over from Fashola on May 29, 2015.  He has, since then, cancelled some of the contracts and agreements entered into by the Fashola’s administration and also released indicting information about the amounts approved by the last administration for certain contracts.

The Government had posted information on the official website of the state’s Public Procurement Agency (PPA) http://www.lagosppa.gov.ng about the list of contracts awarded under the Fashola administration. The list stated that Fashola had spent N78.3 million on his personal website, http://www.tundefashola.com, in 2014, and another N139 million on the drilling of two boreholes at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

MORE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS FOR WIKE AS INEC CONFIRMS ONLY 293,072 VOTERS WERE ACCREDITED TO VOTE IN THE APRIL 11 GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION.

The Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja was on Tuesday told that a total of  293,072 voters were accredited to vote in the April 11 governorship election in the state.

A Staff of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs Abimbola Oladunjuoye, told the tribunal that the figure consisted of those whose  finger prints and Primary Voters Cards (PVC) passed or failed to register in the Card Readers that were deployed for the election. The figure is however, in  sharp contrast to figures released after the poll won by Governor Nyesom Wike with over 1.2 million votes.

The All Progressive Congress, candidate in the election, Dakuku Peterside had petitioned the Justice Suleiman Ambusar-led tribunal, challenging Wike’s victory.

OONI'S THRONE - GIESI RULING HOUSE COMMENCES SCREENING OF 17 CANDIDATES.

As the Osun State Government initiates the process for the selection of new Ooni of Ile-Ife, the Giesi Ruling House of Ile-Ife has set up another screening committee to verify all the 17 contenders that have shown interest to contest the vacant stool.

A reliable source on Tuesday informed  in Osogbo that the screening committee superseded the one earlier put in place to collate and ascertain the intention of all the candidates.

No fewer than 31 candidates had signified interest to occupy the stool before they were reduced to 17.

EFCC ARRAIGNS FOUR OVER N1.2BN PENSION SCAM.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday  arraigned four persons before an Abuja High Court for their involvement in an alleged pension scam running to the tune of N1.2 billion.

According to a statement signed by EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, the accused persons, allegedly smuggled fake names into the pensioners’ register when they were offered a biometric contract to regularise the names of pensioners on the pension payroll, by the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye.

The four accused persons arraigned  before Justice Abubakar Talba on a 29-count charge bordering on conspiracy, and obtaining by false pretence, allegedly smuggled in the names of fake pensioners, and collected unearned pensions.

According to the statement: “The four accused persons - Ibrahim Ahmed Mazangari, Muhammed Sani Sulaiman, Hajia Fatima Mazangari and Saleh Yerima Tsojon, were alleged to have obtained N1.2 billion from the federal government by false pretence and with intent to defraud, purporting same to be monthly pension payable to M. S. Suleiman, Saleh Yerima Tsojon, Isah U. Adamu, Daniel Mikano, and Abdulahi Garba Musa who were falsely held out at pensioners of the federal government, by inserting their names in the pensioners’ payroll.”

Uwujaren added that the alleged fraud involved two companies, which are Xangee Technologies Limited and Century Construction Company Limited.

FACING AFRICA'S DEEPENING POVERTY.

Africa’s poverty situation was put on the front burner when Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina was sworn in as the new President of African Development Bank in Abidjan, early this month. Lack of critical infrastructure, such as electricity, denies most economies on the continent the badly needed productive base for sustainable growth and development. This is a serious challenge the AfDB boss has pledged to confront from five priority areas: electricity, food production, economic integration, industrialisation and improvement in the quality of life.

According to him, electricity is the most significant because of its multiplier effect. Unfortunately, power is not available to two-thirds of Africa and this explains why the International Energy Agency says that additional $450 billion investment is required in the power sector to, at least, reduce the problem by 50 per cent, and make every urban dweller have access to power by 2040. It is this consciousness that propelled Adesina to pledge: “We must light up and power Africa…Energy is the engine that powers.”

TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT - BANKS MOVE N1.2TN INTO CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA.

Banks were, yesterday, busy with the transfer of an estimated N1.2 trillion of public sector funds to the Central Bank of Nigeria in compliance with the Federal Government directive on Treasury  Single Account, TSA.

As the deadline for the implementation of the  Treasury Single Account for MDAs closed, yesterday, Nigerian banks were sorting out accounts of MDAs the CBN circulated among banks to identify which of the accounts was domiciled in their banks.

As a result, there was no trading between banks. According to , banks made no bids on the inter-bank money market yesterday as they were engaged on how to comply with the directive to transfer government revenues into a single account with the Central Bank.

PRESIDENCY UNDER PRESSURE TO RELOCATE ASO ROCK VILLA CHAPEL & MOSQUE.

Indications emerged last night that despite denials by top officials of the administration, the Presidency had come under pressure to relocate the Villa Chapel, where Christians have been worshipping on Sundays.

Informed Presidency sources familiar with the location of the Villa Chapel, which was built and inaugurated by President Olusegun Obasanjo, is said to be too close to Buhari’s bedroom and kitchen and must give way.

Findings show that unlike Obasanjo who deliberately built the church to be close to his official residence so that he could enjoy worship and prayers from the comfort of his bedroom, the same would not apply to the new president, who is of a different faith.

NORTHERN LEADERS DEMAND FRESH NATIONAL CONFERENCE.

Northern leaders, mainly former political office holders from the zone, on Tuesday canvassed against the implementation of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference convened by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

The northerners said the Jonathan’s government had its agenda for setting up the confab and that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari could not work with the outcome of the 2014 conference.

The northern ex-political office holders, under the aegis of the Northern Reawakening Forum, asked Buhari to convene a fresh National Conference, specifically to address some pertinent issues affecting the North-East and other parts of the region.

WE ARE NEGOTIATING WITH BOKO HARAM OVER RELEASE OF CHIBOK GIRLS - PRESIDENT BUHARI.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said that the Federal Government had begun negotiations with members of the Boko Haram sect to secure the release of the Chibok girls.

The President disclosed this while responding to questions from members of the Nigerian community in France under the aegis of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation.

Buhari said that he was worried by the continued stay of the girls in the camps of Boko Haram since April 14, 2014 when they were abducted by Boko Haram fighters.

NIGERIA IS DESTINED TO FAIL - FEMI FANI KAYODE.

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, says Nigeria has been destined to fail since its creation by the British in 1914.

He said the British created Nigeria such that the ‘poor North’ would continue to rule while the ‘rich South’ will remain oppressed.

Fani-Kayode said this in a Facebook post on Tuesday titled, “The 9th Earl of Bathrust and the Nigerian State.”