Saraki, Akume, Goje, others eye Senate Presidency

                                                           George Akume, Senator Bukola and Danjuma Goje

Some members of the All Progressives Congress in the Senate who won the recently concluded National Assembly election have refused to make comment on their preferred candidate for the post of Senate President in the eighth National Assembly.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central ); Senate Minority Leader, George Akume ( Benue North West); and Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), have started making moves to contest the post.

However, one of the outgoing PDP senator, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent on Sunday that Mark might recontest the seat “because there is no section either in the constitution or the Senate rules that says only members from the majority party could emerge as president of the upper chamber.”

Militant group threatens Shell over surveillance contract

                                                              President Goodluck Jonathan

A militant group in the Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the Iduwini Volunteer Force, has given Shell Petroleum Development Company a 14-day ultimatum to vacate the community or face unpleasant consequences.

The militants accused Shell of unilaterally terminating a N8.2m annual surveillance contract it signed with the group in 2007.

In a letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent in Yenagoa on Sunday, the group said the ultimatum became necessary after all attempts to make the oil giant see reasons on the need to restore the contract had failed.

It threatened that at the expiry of the notice, if Shell failed to rescind its decision, the militants would be left with no alternative than to commence immediate attacks of its installations, adding that all its unit commanders had been put on alert.

No going back on Fayose’s impeachment –APC lawmakers

                                                                            Mr. Ayodele Fayose

The 19 All Progressives Congress lawmakers in Ekiti State House of Assembly have said there is no going back on the impeachment plot against Governor Ayodele Fayose.

The embattled Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, said the governor could not run away from the process because the impeachment notice served on Fayose was a constitutional matter and contained serious issues of the law.

He said instead of staying in hiding to evade justice, “it is better to live with the reality that the rule of law has come to stay in the country.”

He said this while reacting to media reports credited to the factional Speaker, Dele Olugbemi, and the governor’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, dismissing the impeachment notice as a joke.

Integrity not enough to fight corruption, Bakare tells Buhari

                                                                                Pastor Tunde Bakare

The General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Sunday in Lagos cautioned the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, against appointing persons with questionable character into his government. Some of these people, the cleric said, were among those who facilitated Buhari’s success on March 28.

Bakare, who was the running mate to Buhari in the 2011 Presidential election on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, said this at the 26th anniversary of his church. He delivered a message titled, ‘Democracy audit: chances, choices and consequences.’

The 60 year-old pastor urged Buhari to start the fight against corruption from his circle and lay a good example, saying change cannot be achieved if these were not done.

Naira set to rise further this week

                                                                                            Naira notes

The naira will rise further against the dollar on the parallel market this week, analysts and foreign exchange dealers have predicted.

They argued that the peaceful outcome of the presidential election and the hard stance of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, against corruption and economic leakages had boosted investor confidence in the economy.

The naira, which fell to a record high of 228 against the greenback before the election, rose to 210 on Friday.

However, the local currency traded within the 199-199.50 band on the official interbank market, where it has been stuck since February, after the Central Bank of Nigeria pegged the rate.