ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: WEDNESDAY

11 May ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: WEDNESDAY

🌎May 23 sacrosanct for Buhari: Amid suggestions that President Muhammadu Buhari could extent his tenure over the security situation in the country, the Presidency has said May 29, 2023, is sacrosanct and he will definitely hand over to his successor on that day.

🌎The Senate has amended Section 84 (8) of the Electoral Act 2022, which will enable statutory delegates participate in political parties’ congresses and conventions.

🌎NNPC has blamed the poor execution of turnaround maintenance in the past and other factors for deterioration and near collapse of the nation’s refineries.

🌎Brent crude was down $3.48, or 3.28%, at $102.46 a barrel on Tuesday as the demand outlook was pressured by coronavirus lockdowns in China and growing recession risks, while a strong dollar made crude more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

🌎The Senate has promised to intervene in the ongoing standoff between the Federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by bringing back the two parties to the negotiation table. (6) INEC has turned down the appeal for an extension of the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties.

🌎The collapse of paper mills in the country has caused a spike in the importation paper worth N296.696bn between July and December 2021, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

🌎President Buhari on Tuesday received Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State who paid him a thank-you visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

🌎The Federal High Court in Lagos has nullified the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations for being “an invalid statutory instrument.” It also nullified all sales and disposals of assets made by AGF Abubakar Malami, under the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019.

🌎Nigeria recorded 15 confirmed cases of monkeypox in seven states between January 1 and April 30, 2022, with Lagos and Adamawa states reporting three cases each, according to the latest report of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

🌎Russia-Ukraine War: Czech Republic Tuesday replaced Russia on the UN Human Rights Council following the latter’s suspension in April.
* Four Russian regional governors resigned on Tuesday as the country braces for the impact of economic sanctions.
Russian aerial strikes hit two hotels and a shopping mall in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight. Ukraine says hypersonic missiles were used in the attack.
* Ukrainian soldiers who have continued defending Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant faced heavy shelling overnight and many are “badly wounded,” a deputy commander said. At least 100 civilians are still trapped at the plant, a Ukrainian official said.
* US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines tells a Senate hearing the next few months could see Russian actions escalate and become more unpredictable. “The current trend increases the likelihood that President Putin will turn to more drastic means,” Haines says
* The bodies of 44 civilians have been found in the rubble of a collapsed building in the Ukrainian city of Izyum