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Buhari’s Ban: It Is Shiites Today, It May Be Catholic Tomorrow -Onaiyekan

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Catholic’s Cardinal John Onaiyekan said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s proscribing the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, is a step taken too far and it is a bad omen for Catholics living in Nigeria too.

Speaking to Vatican Radio, Cardinal Onaiyekan said the government crackdown is unjust and a move that sets a worrying precedent for religious freedom in the country.

“Nobody is safe: today it’s the Shiites, tomorrow it could be us Catholics too,” he said.

Cardinal Onaiyekan explained that recently, for the government in Nigeria, the question of Shiite Muslims has become an issue.

He said IMN followers have been holding protests to demand the release of their Leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been detained in prison for the last four years.

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Various Tribunals and Courts, he noted, have ordered that he be released, and the government has refused to obey the courts’ order.

Thus, Cardinal Onaiyekan said, the established Sunni majority in Nigeria “doesn’t want to recognize that the Shiites are also Muslims, and because of this the government treats them with serious violence”.

He said the Shiites have been holding almost daily protests in the streets of Abuja for over a month.

“From my own understanding, the protests were always peaceful and we never saw them armed,” he said.

And yet, he noted, the government Soldiers and Policemen have attacked them with arms, rubber bullets, and tear-gas canisters.

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“As for us Catholics”, the cardinal said, “we are deeply concerned about this development: “if the government can influence a Court to declare a religious group proscribed, then nobody is safe – today it is the Shiites, tomorrow it might be us Catholics too.”

He added: “Personally my own position is that we cannot keep quiet and allow this kind of thing to keep going on”.

“If the Shiites break the law of the land they should be held accountable,” the Cardinal said, “but to simply proscribe them, it is going too far.”

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NMDPRA begins clampdown on illegal LPG retail outlets in Akwa Ibom

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The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority says it has commenced a clampdown on illegal LPG retail outlets in Akwa Ibom State.

The state Coordinator, Ikechukwu Eseka, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the state commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Bakshar Hussaini, in his office on a courtesy visit.

He said, “We have started enforcement of LPG retailers embarking on illegal decanting of LPG, filling stations, LPG refilling plants and other illegal downstream operations in the state.

“We are currently working on the illegal proliferation of decanting of LPG in the state, Eseka stated, adding that gas is very volatile, and some of them are using gas that is not meant for the purpose.”

He said he has directed that gas plant owners should not load gas on people who don’t have licenses NMDPRA in the state, warning that “decanting of gas from cylinder to cylinder is an illegal activity which is punishable by law.”

He also called on marketers to register and renew their licenses before operating LPG in the state.

“We used the opportunity to talk on the aspects of the downstream which has to do with our enforcement, sealing of filling stations and those who are using diesel for industrial purposes that are yet to register with NMDPRA.

“We have also commenced engagement with individuals and organisations using storage tanks that are over 500 litres, to come and register with the Authority in the state,” he added.

Eseka thanked the Commandant for coming to re-strategise and collaborate with the Authority in the state.

Earlier, the State Commandant of NSCDC, Hussaini, explained that the purpose of coming was to collaborate with NMDPRA on how to checkmate indiscriminate decanting of LPG in the state.

“I know with the present situation in the country, a lot of them are going to cry and you have to use human face to handle their cases so that we don’t injure the government and the public themselves,” he said.

He lamented that some people used their houses to sell cooking gas which can cause environmental hazards to the public.

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Elections in Nigeria: There’ll be no more need for voter cards – INEC

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INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced plans to phase out the Permanent Voter Cards, PVC.

INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made this known at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs, held at the INEC Conference Room, Abuja on Thursday.

This was part of the identified 142 recommendations released by the Commission which deals with the general state of preparedness, voter management, voter education and public communication, political parties and candidate management.

Other areas of recommendation include electoral operations and logistics management, election officials and personnel, partnership and collaboration, monitoring and supervision, election technology, voting and result management, election security, electoral offences and the electoral legal framework.

The Chairman said there are eight recommendations among the 142 which require legislative action by the National Assembly.

“The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVC, as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.

He, however, said that those who already have the Permanent Voter Cards can still use them to vote.

He added, “But going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation. ”

Yakubu said this new development will save costs and further eliminate the issues around the collection of Permanent Voter Cards.

He also said the practice of buying up the Permanent Voter Cards from voters to disenfranchise them, would be reduced.

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BREAKING: Tinubu to present 2025 budget proposal to National Assembly Tuesday

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President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to present the 2025 proposed budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

The announcement was made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a plenary session, revealing that the President has sent a communication to that effect.

“The president has made his intention known to the National Assembly to present the 2025m budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on the 17th of December, 2024,” he said.

The proposed budget, totalling N47.9 trillion, was earlier announced by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu.

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