News Summary; 25/01/2017 FG Will Not Stifle Press Freedom And Many More

FG  Set to Receive Consignment Of Fertilizer From Morocco

The Federal Government is set to receive first consignment of tones of fertilizer from the Kingdom of Morocco based on the agreement between Nigeria and Morocco. Minister of Agriculture and Rural development Audu Ogbe says the input are expected in Nigeria this week Musa Baba Aliyu reports.

Conference Conflict & Information Management

Maintaining a unified platform for security and conflict management agencies to share and develop information is critical to ensuring effective crisis mitigation. This was the consensus among security and information management experts at the 2017 West Africa Conference on Security Communication and Public Information Management.

Defence correspondent Ismail Musa has

  EFCC re arraigns Dasuki

The former National security Adviser Colonel Sambo Dasuki has been re arraigned before an FCT High court. Judiciary correspondent Femi Okeowo explains that this is a first step towards consolidating his trial.

Minister Inaugurates River Basin Management

The Federal Government is walking the talk in the resolve to reposition the River Basin development Authorities towards ensuring food sufficiency  in the country. To this end the Minister of Water Resources, Suleman Adamu has inaugurated the management terms of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities in Abuja. Correspondent Musbau Dan-Wahab reports.

 SON Enforcement

 In furtherance of its effort to rid the country of products considered unsafe for consumers, the standards organization of Nigeria has confiscated phones and accessories worth millions of naira in parts of the Federal Capital Territory.

Abdullahi Sulayman Iyaji reports.

 FG Will Not Stifle Press Freedom

The Federal Government will not do anything to stifle press freedom, because it is keenly aware that a free press is vital to the success of any democracy. The Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed who said this in a statement says the Federal Government has nothing to do with the recent arrest of Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of the online newspaper premium times, and a reporter working for the paper, Ms Evelyn Okakwu. The Minister said the whole issue of the  journalists arrest is purely a private affair involving a citizen and a privately owned newspaper, and wondered how that could now be construed as an attempt by the Government to intimidate the press. He assured Nigerians that the Federal Government has no immediate or long-term plan to stifle press freedom neither will the social media be regulated nor have its operations tampered with. Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has directed the National Broadcasting Commission NBC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the reported shooting in South Africa of the ongoing Big Brother Nigeria reality show. In a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister said the NBC should determine whether multi-choice by shooting the show in South Africa has breached the Nigerian Broadcasting code in any way, as well as the issue of possible deceit, since the viewing public was never told that the event would be staged outside Nigeria. Alhaji Mohammed according to a statement by Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant to the minister, said while concerned Nigerians have bombarded his office with calls to complain about what they regard as an anomaly, they should remain calm while NBC investigates the issue.

Business News

Joint Ministerial monitoring committee of OPEC and Non-OPEC Producers during their first meeting in Vienna, Austria says 1.5 million barrels per day output cut has already being achieved in the first month of the deal.

FG Reiterate Commitment On Ogoni Clean Up

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment on the Ogoni land clean-up to its fullest in the Niger Delta. This came to the fore when the minister of  state for Environment Ibrahim Usman Jibril received the house committee on Environment and Habit to the National Assembly correspondents Kenneth Nanim reports.

SGF Assures NANS Of Government Support

The secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir David Lawal has reassured Nigerian youths of Federal Government’s determination to provide employment. The SGF said this while receiving Executive members of the National Association of Nigerian students (NANS) who visited him in Abuja. Babachir David Lawal urged the Association to educate their peers to take advantage of the current economic diversification drive which emphasizes agriculture and solid minerals development as these two sectors can provide mass employment for the youths. He also stated that the present administration appreciates youths role in political development.

The NANS President, Comrade Aruna Kadir expressed the student body’s readiness to partner with the Federal Government in the areas of conducting free and fair elections, entrepreneurship promotion and the anti-corruption war.