Breaking News in Nigeria this Morning, Wednesday 17th of June 2020

1. Doctors who fail to resume work today will be sacked - Federal Government threatens doctors over strike.

The Federal government has threatened to sack medical doctors in its payroll who fail to appear at their duty posts today being Wednesday.

To this end, the government has directed all Chief Medical Directors, CMDs, of its hospitals to open a record-keeping register between 7am and 12 noon each day, beginning from Wednesday, insisting that those who fail to show up for work would be identified and appropriately dealt with.

The government’s threat which came through the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, was a fallout of a meeting convened at the instance of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, to negotiate with the striking doctors under the aegis of National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, with a view to resolving the issues that led to declaration of strike, Monday by the latter.

The negotiation meeting, which started at about 1 pm on Tuesday and lasted several hours ended in deadlock as members of the association led, by its National President, Dr Aliyu Socumba, angrily stormed out of the meeting.

He threatened that the doctors would only suspend the ongoing action within 24 hours if the government bring something tangible on the table.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire who was probably angry by the decision of the NARD leadership to storm out of the meeting said a directive would be issued to medical directors of all the hospitals to open a register to collect records of all who report to work and those who did not.

While briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting he said the government has an obligation to protect the lives of Nigerians who are suffering from one illness or the other.

2. APC names Ajimobi as acting National Chairman.

The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday night, announced its Deputy National Chairman (South), Senator Abiola Ajimobi as its acting National Chairman.

This followed the decision of an Appeal Court in Abuja to uphold the earlier suspension of the party’s substantive Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, by of a lower court.

This was contained a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu in Abuja.

3. Buhari approves appointment of 12 new Permanent Secretaries.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of 12 new Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yem-Esan, made this known in a statement signed by Mrs Olawunmi Ogunmosunle, Director Communication, in her office yesterday, in Abuja.

The new Permanent Secretaries include Mr Akinlade Oluwatoyin from Kogi, Malam Alkali Nura from Kano State, Mr Anyanwutaku Ifeoma from Anambra, Mr Ardo Kumo from Gombe State, Mr Belgore Lamido from Kwara and Mr Ekpa Akpabio from Cross River.

Others are Malam Hussaini Babangida from Jigawa State, Malam Mahmuda Mamman from Yobe, Mr Meribole Kwukuemeka from Abia, Malam Mohammed Ganda from Sokoto State, Mr Tarfa Peter from Adamawa and Mr Udoh Omokunmi from Oyo State.

Yemi-Esan said that a date for the swearing-in and deployment of the new permanent secretaries will be announced in due course.

4. Senate President, Ahmad Lawan has revealed that Nigeria loses $29billion annually to the Power Sector.

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, revealed on Monday that Nigeria was losing an average of $29bn to power sector failure.

Lawan stated this in Abuja while declaring open an investigative public hearing on the ‘Power Sector Recovery Plan and the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic.’

He charged the Senate Committee on Power, the organisers of the event, to look at what had happened to the agreement signed in 2013 on the privatisation of power sector.

He said, "Some authorities say we lose about $29bn every year because of lack of sufficient and stable power. That is equivalent of what our people are supposed to earn."

5. Students in Rivers State protest against e-exams, barricades School gates.

Students of the Ignatius Ignatius Ajuru University of Education has protested against the institution’s insistence on electronic examinations.

The angry students said they blocked the Port Harcourt campus of the institution because their several complaints concerning difficulties it posed fell on deaf ears.

The President of the Student Union Government, Nwagwu Temple, said the protest was the students’ last resort.

Temple said, "The students’ protest today was because of the e-examination; the students are against it because they experienced difficulties accessing the exam portal and even how to manage the process; besides, the site was very slow that all students who participated were complaining."

6. Customs in Kastina State rakes in 3.2billion Naira from seizures.

THE Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Border Drill Operation Sector 4, Katsina, said it seized various goods with Duty Paid Value, DPV, of 3.2 billion Naira, between January and May 2020.

The sector coordinator, Aliyu Mohammed, said the sector which covers the North West Zone, made 801 seizures within the period under review, in addition to the arrest of eight suspects.

Mohammed who made this known in Kaduna, said the seizures comprise 1,713 bales of new textile, 5,400x 25kg bags of parboiled rice, re-bagged in local bags, 385 packs of Indian hemp, 290 bales of used-clothes and pharmaceutical products and injunction.

Others include 9,735 bags of foreign fertilizer: 15-15 NPk without manufacturer’s address and expiring date, and 1.4million litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, and diesel.

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These are some of the breaking News in Nigeria this Morning, Wednesday 17th of June 2020.