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Police survivors in the Tuesday morning attack, which shattered the quietness of the sprawling Iwollo community in the Ezeagu Local Government of Enugu State, said they were caught unawares. The attack, which occurred at about 4.00 a.m. claimed the lives of four police officers. It also left residents in fear as they trooped to the station to have a glimpse of what remains of the station. The Guardian learnt the hoodlums, on arrival, scaled the walls to access the place and opened fire on the station,  when they discovered that the police station was under lock and key. After killing the four policemen on duty, they allegedly freed detainees before setting the two buildings inside the police station ablaze. The buildings, motorcycles and a commuter bus parked in the station were not spared either. It was further gathered that the hoodlums, who forced the gate of the station open, also removed a Hilux Patrol van belonging to the station. They were sa...

  Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday waded into the disagreement between state governors and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the repayment of the budget support facility obtained by the states.  He did this at the virtual meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) he presided over. During the meeting the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and governor of Ekiti state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, had insisted that they wanted the loan repayment due in May to be deferred. However,  the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, insisted that the states should begin the repayment without future delay especially the monies owed to the banks. The CBN boss stressed that there were challenges arising from delays particularly as it concerned auditing. According to a statement by the Vice President’s spokesman, Laolu Akande,  “on the Budget Support Facility, state governors restated their request to defer the repayment of the loans, which was to h...

Tougher days ahead as governors pull subsidy plug • Poverty, inflation to worsen in coming months Tougher times are here and any pretension to the contrary has been ripped to shreds with Wednesday’s resolution of the governors giving full backing to complete deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, which in effect may jerk the pump price of petrol to N385 per litre. The masses will face more challenging times in the coming months as government closes in on resolving the lingering downstream market deregulation crisis. Attempts to remove subsidy on the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) had severally been stalled with the government and organised labour locked in endless negotiation. But on Wednesday night, the cash-starved governors recommended the immediate removal of petrol subsidy and proposed an over 130 per cent pump price increase, from N162 per litre to between N380 and N408.5. Stakeholders have raised questions on how the governors arrived at their decisi...

  Senator representing Osun Central Senatorial District, Dr. Ajibola Basiru, has called for the immediate removal from office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Alhaji Abubakar Malami SAN, over his argument, equating open grazing with Southerners’ selling spare parts in the North. Dr. Basiru, who spoke in his personal capacity as a patriot and Senator said that, “anyone who cannot rise above primordial sentiments and pursuit of parochial ethnic agenda need not occupy position of trust especially at this time of sectional agitations. It was not dignifying of the status of the nation’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice to make such remarks. The Senator said that equating the activities of nomadic herdsmen, destroying people’s means of livelihood with others, legitimately carrying on businesses by selling spare parts in their shops, stand logic on its head. He noted that Nigeria is a federal system with the states government empowered to make and implemen...

  The Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, has commiserated with families of the victims of the recent gas explosions in Abeokuta, the State capital, warning against adulteration of the product. The governor, who conveyed his condolence in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, on Thursday, also said a stakeholders’ meeting  has been summoned to discuss the development on Friday. The stakeholders’ meeting, which is part of the measures being taken to find a lasting solution to the problem, will have in attendance dealers, cylinder manufacturers and retailers in that sector. The governor, however, warned that anyone found guilty of selling adulterated gas products or violating safety protocols in the state would be visited with the full weight of the law. Abiodun, who according to the statement has been in consultations with Federal authorities to find a solution to the recent incidents, said no stone will be left unturned to stop such...

  Spending money outside state a breach of trust, says Sagay Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to return the £4.2m Ibori loot or invest it in specific projects in the state. Okowa, who spoke at the quarterly media briefing in Asaba, said the state government had written the Attorney General of the Federation and the presidency on the need to return the fund or channel it to specific projects. “Now that the United Kingdom has returned the money to the country, we want to ensure that it is refunded to the state. Letters have been written and we have made appeals to Mr. President and Attorney General of the Federation. We asked that either the money is returned to us, or applied to projects in Delta State. “We also suggested some projects to which the money can be applied. The £4.2m should amount to about N2.2b going by current exchange rate,” he said. Okowa also said his decision to dissolve the state’s executive council was ...

  The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) yesterday deplored Federal Government’s frequent loan requests, noting that the action was mortgaging the future of the country and generations unborn. The group was reacting to Tuesday’s plea by President Muhammadu Buhari to get National Assembly nod to borrow fresh N2.343 trillion to fund the 2021 budget deficit of N5.602 trillion. In a statement issued yesterday in Enugu, the youths stated that a country, with financial needs, could apply for loans to tackle urgent matters, stressing, however, that “a situation where the President collect loans almost on a monthly basis leaves much to be desired.” Insisting that the most populous nation was in “serious trouble the way President Buhari is going about loan issues”, the apex socio-political Igbo youth organisation, urged Nigerians to be interested about the economy. Signed by the President and Secretary General, Goodluck Ibem and Kanice Igwe, COSEYL, which implored ...

 The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) extended losses to three consecutive trading days to close on a downturn, yesterday, causing market capitalisation to plunge by N301 billion.    At the close of transactions, the all-share index (ASI) decreased by 577.43 absolute points, representing a decline of 1.48 per cent to close at 38,445.09 points. Also, market capitalisation of listed equities dropped by N301 billion to close at N20.038 trillion.   The market decline was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks including Airtel Africa, BOC Gases, Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar Refinery and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM).      Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said: “In the coming trading session, we expect the local bourse to extend the bearish performance.” As measured by market breadth, market sentiment closed negative, as 25 stocks declined relative to 23 gainers.    MRS Oil Nigeria and Seplat Petrole...

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) were sabotaging efforts to reshape the country’s security architecture and meaningful electoral reforms. Apart from vetoing bills to reform the electoral system, PDP accused the President and his party of doing “nothing to facilitate the issues.” In a statement by the Director General of the forum, CID Maduabum, the state chief executives expressed shock that the APC could engage in “propaganda to market an unexecuted electoral reform project and security improvement drive.”   The governors, who tackled the ruling party for its comments that their tagging of Ibadan meeting was a mere political jamboree and its outcome a waste of time, noted that the “declaration is patriotic and in national interest, as the APC response is insensitive to the sufferings of Nigerians.” They went on: “Perhaps, because the caretaker committee is not elected a...