Local News, Sport Updates, Politics, Educational News, Religious etc.
Gunmen have kidnapped Adamu, brother to Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed.
He was kidnapped in Bauchi, the state capital, on Wednesday evening.
The police are yet to officially confirm the incident.
Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has debunked media reports claiming that his administration had backed down on paying the N32,000 new minimum wage.
The governor said that workers on Grade Level 1 to 6 had been paid their March salaries with the new minimum wage template.
A section of the mass media had on Tuesday quoted the government as saying the new minimum wage was suspended due to hardship caused by the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country.
Solomon Kumangar, Director General, Media and Communications to the governor, on Wednesday said only the consequential adjustment affecting workers from Level 7 to 17 was suspended temporarily.
He said, “Government wishes to draw the attention of the public to the regrettable misunderstanding arising from an earlier statement regarding the payment of March salaries without the consequential adjustment agreed upon by organised labour.
“As at now, workers have started receiving March salary alerts with the N32,000 minimum wage.
“It is only the consequential adjustment that the government was unable to implement due to the economic crunch imposed by the global pandemic Covid-19.”
Politics News AddThis : Original Author : SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements :
Delta State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Matthew Tsekiri, has sacked his Special Assistant, Tene-Omadide Karure, for refusing to remit N100, 000 from his salary into the bank account of his girlfriend.
Tsekiri had ensured that every month, 40 per cent of Karure’s N250, 000 salary goes to his (commissioner) girlfriend in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
The lady named Kesiena Okotete had been a sidekick for Tsekiri for a while and it was through the hard-earned monthly wage of Karure that he met some of her needs.
SaharaReporters gathered that trouble started after the Delta Commissioner for Science and Technology, whose wife and kids are based in the United Kingdom, sought an increase in the remittance to his girlfriend from N100,000 to N150,000.
Karure, who up until that point had bottled the strain on his salary, refused to give in to the demands of his boss, ultimately leading to his sack.
It was also discovered that Tsekiri right from the time Karure was appointed to work with him in September 2019, collected N400,000 out of the N819, 202 accumulated salary paid to Karure by the Delta State Government. 
On January 30, 2020, Karure made a cash payment of N150,000 to Tsekiri and another N100,000 for the remittance and a N50,000 loan requested by the commissioner.
Again, on February 28, 2020, Karure made a transfer of N100,000 out his salary to the commissioner's account.
When Karure decided that he had had enough of his boss’ insane demands, he confronted him and sought refunds.
SaharaReporters gathered that a total of N650,000 (50 per cent) out of an excess of N1, 319, 000 received between the months of engagement was collected from Karure by the commissioner.
Shortly after dismissing Karure, Tsekiri appointed one Mr Progress Akpofure Okotete, brother to his girlfriend, to resume as special assistant.
When SaharaReporters reached out to the commissioner for comments, his lines were switched off.
Karure on his part when contacted, said, “I am not happy with how I was treated and eventually sacked.
“I want the Delta State governor to investigate the matter so that justice can prevail.
“I want to hold positions of leadership one day, I want it to be clear that my hands are clean and I was wrongfully sacked.”
Corruption Politics Scandal Exclusive News AddThis : Original Author : Saharareporters, New York Disable advertisements :
The Civil Society Alliance Against COVID-19 (CSAA COVID-19) in Nigeria has condemned the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, and other top politicians, who refused to quarantine and self-isolate themselves after visiting high-risk countries in recent times.
In a statement jointly signed by 38 CSOs, the CSAA COVID-19 posited that the actions of the politicians had exposed the Nigerian public to risk of infection.
Recall that Kyari and governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, have tested positive for Covid-19.
The CSAA COVID-19 stated that some members of the National Assembly and governors such as those of Abia, Enugu and Imo have been seen at public events within the last 14 days since returning from overseas.
The group urged politicians and other Nigerians, who have travelled outside the country, to cooperate with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control as well as abide by laid-down safety precautions to isolate themselves.
“At this time, we send all of our support and prayers to NCDC, the Ministry of Health, and all of the medical professionals putting themselves at risk to address this situation.
“We also stand with all of those who have been in contact with politicians, who have acted recklessly and must now endure testing, isolation, and probably repeated screening along with their families and loved ones.
“All those who have created risks must immediately cooperate with the authorities and not in any way slow the exercise in damage limitation,” the statement reads.
The group also said that Nigeria had to plan for the worst, which is a significant rise in the number of infections over the next two to four weeks.
It added that this would require an extraordinary scaling up of the capacity of the NCDC, state task forces and civil societies.
The group urged government to pay more attention to vulnerable and poor Nigerians as they could be threatened by measures being taken to curb the spread of the virus.
“It will require the government, private sector, civil society and our religious bodies to work together to ensure that testing takes place, preventive humanitarian response is coordinated, and that measures across the board are ramped up.
“We demand that attention is paid to the most vulnerable in our society. While urgent measures need to be taken, they must be well thought through and not harm low income earners and those whose very survival could easily be threatened by badly administered lockdowns.
“The Federal Government and states must immediately formulate and engage teams that include non-government actors capable of collaborating on this extraordinary challenge.”
Politics PUBLIC HEALTH News AddThis : Original Author : Saharareporters, New York Disable advertisements :
A former governor of Lagos State, who doubles as the Chairman of Lagos Governor's Advisory Committee, Bola Tinubu, has thrown his weight behind Speaker of the state's House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, in the ongoing crisis in the parliament.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that the Governor’s Advisory Council was convened to intervene in the crisis after the Assembly sacked two principal officers and suspended two other lawmakers indefinitely.
The Speaker was also battling to save his seat after revelation of several financial misconducts perpetuated by him.
Following SaharaReporters' expose on some of the shady dealings of the Speaker and his surrogate companies, the panic button was pressed by Obasa.
He was reported to have urgently mobilised some members of the GAC to convene the meeting and intervene to save his seat. See Also 
At the GAC meeting that was to end the crisis of the Assembly, Tinubu and others expressed full support for Obasa.
Sources privy to the meeting, who spoke to SaharaReporters, said that Tinubu expressed anger at how activities of the Assembly got leaked to SaharaReporters.
The sources added that Tinubu not only refused to listen to defence of the suspended members but also gave the Speaker the "authority and go-ahead to direct the affairs of the House as he wishes".
Tinubu was said to have been furious at SaharaReporters stories revealing how Obasa awarded contracts to himself through his companies.
"The reports were mainly the cause of the anger of Tinubu against the suspended members of the Assembly.
"He accused them of betraying the ‘family’ and his dynasty," the source revealed.
While speaking, Obasa accused some of his colleagues of feeding confidential information to some members of the civil society and SaharaReporters.
With Tinubu's latest backing, Obasa is said to have vowed to go after all perceived enemies within and outside the Assembly.
It was gathered that the Speaker might move against some lawmakers by either suspending or removing them from juicy committees.
Meanwhile, several members of the party and ranking former members of the Assembly have accused the All Progressives Congress leaders of getting ‘returns’ from the Speaker.
Some compromised members of the council, as earlier reported by this newspaper, played a significant role in putting the meeting at the mercy and support of Obasa.
SaharaReporters had published a report highlighting a list of companies the Speaker had been using to award contracts to himself and launder public funds.
To avoid the companies from being directly linked to him, Obasa registered his father, wife and children as shareholders in the organisation. See Also 
Some of the companies are Adesav International Ventures, Quick Solution International Ventures, White Honey Enterprises, Cream on Ice Services, A.B DELCO Nigeria Company, and Fabric Splash Ventures.
Others are Skye-Macosh Company, Swifthill International Ventures, Silver Section Global, Davedab Global Ventures and Jose Macosh Company.
Politics Exclusive News AddThis : Original Author : SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements :
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed “grief and sorrow’’ over loss of soldiers ambushed by Boko Haram terrorists in Gorgi Village, Borno State.
According to a statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Buhari while commiserating with families of the slain soldiers, said, “Sacrifices of our gallant patriots cannot be quantified, and their sacrifices cannot go in vain.’’
The President said the death of every soldier causes deep pains because he knows what it means to be a soldier, and fully understands the extreme risks associated with the profession.
According to the statement, Buhari appealed to the military “not to allow the incident to affect their morale’’.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has dispatched a team to assess the situation and report back to the government.
More than 50 military personnel including top commanders were killed during the ambush, which took place on Saturday.
The Presidential Intensive Care Unit inside Aso Villa has been activated and placed on standby after President Muhammadu Buhari went into self-isolation on Tuesday evening.
A top government source told SaharaReporters that persistent coughing by the President raised fears in Aso Villa on Tuesday despite him earlier testing negative to Coronavirus.
Since it emerged that Abba Kyari, Buhari's Chief of Staff, tested positive for the deadly virus, all had not been the same in the Presidential Villa. See Also 
Already activities had been suspended at the place while all those, who came in contact with Kyari since his return into the country after a trip to Germany earlier this month, had been asked to self-isolate.
Germany has 29,056 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and 123 recorded deaths.
On Tuesday, SaharaReporters broke the story of how three of Kyari's staff had tested positive for the virus.
This was after the online publication had exclusively reported on Monday that Kyari was gravely ill and may had contacted Coronavirus after his latest trip abroad.
According to SaharaReporters source, the Presidency was doing everything possible to protect Buhari and his immediate family hence the preparation of the Presidential ICU in case of an emergency. See Also 
The source also said that Kyari was earlier denied the usage of the facility after Ministry of Health officials pointed out that crisis could arise should an emergency come up around Buhari.
Since returning from the trip abroad, Kyari has had contacts with several prominent persons including Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Babagana Kingibe, a prominent member of the 'cabal' and Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello.
Aliko Dangote, Governor Bello Masari of Katsina and Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, are among others that Kyari came in contact with after returning to Nigeria.
PHOTONEWS: Kyari Had Contact With Kogi Governor, @GovBello, @GarShehu, Others After Coronavirus Infection#CoronaVirusUpdate #COVID19 #COVIDー19 @NCDCgov pic.twitter.com/Z7Ml4ZtSsv
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) March 24, 2020
Nigeria so far has 44 confirmed cases of Coronavirus with one death recorded.
Politics PUBLIC HEALTH Exclusive News AddThis : Original Author : SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements :
There are currently plans by Nigeria's Presidency to move Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, to Lagos for urgent medical attention after he was confirmed to have been infected with Coronavirus.
SaharaReporters had on Monday exclusively reported that Kyari was seriously ill and suspected of having Coronavirus after returning from trips to Germany and Egypt where the virus had killed dozens of persons in recent weeks. See Also 
Breaking News BREAKING: Buhari’s Chief Of Staff, Abba Kyari, Reportedly Sick, Suspected Of Contracting Coronavirus 0 Comments 2 Days Ago
Following the confirmation of the situation on Tuesday, a top government source in the know told SaharaReporters that Kyari may be moved to Lagos any moment from now in an attempt to save his life.
Lagos has one of the most functional infectious diseases treatment and isolation centres in the country. See Also 
PUBLIC HEALTH Buhari’s Chief Of Staff, Abba Kyari, Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Confirms SaharaReporters Story 0 Comments 1 Day Ago
An Italian man, who first imported the virus into Nigeria in February, was successfully treated at the Lagos centre at Yaba before being declared free of the pandemic and released to go home.
In the face of a global lockdown and with many countries with functional health systems closing their borders to international visitors, the Lagos Centre is perhaps one of the few places to successfully deal with Kyari's case at this time.
Already, activities at Aso Villa, Nigeria's seat of power, have been shut down to avoid a further spread of the virus. See Also 
Breaking News BREAKING: Aso Villa Shuts Down After Buhari’s Chief Of Staff, Abba Kyari, Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Garba Shehu, Others In Self-isolation 0 Comments 1 Day Ago
Since returning from the trip abroad, Kyari has had contacts with several prominent persons including Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Babagana Kingibe, a prominent member of the 'cabal' and Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello.
PHOTONEWS: Kyari Had Contact With Kogi Governor, @GovBello, @GarShehu, Others After Coronavirus Infection#CoronaVirusUpdate #COVID19 #COVIDー19 @NCDCgov pic.twitter.com/Z7Ml4ZtSsv
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) March 24, 2020
Aliko Dangote, Governor Bello Masari of Katsina and Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, are among others that Kyari came in contact with after returning from his foreign trip.
The Presidency is yet to issue an official statement on the matter.