APC Adopts Direct Primary to Pick Presidential Candidate Governors, others face indirect primary Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved direct primary as the mode of
selection of its presidential candidate for the general election slated for February 2019. The decision was made
yesterday at its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where President Muhammadu Buhari delivered a confidence
Buhari mocks defectors
boosting speech and he mocked the defectors from the party, contending that their actions had failed to destabilise the APC and would
have no impact whatsoever on its fortunes at the impending general election. The NEC also decided that all other elective positions shall
be decided by indirect primary, providing, however, that states that preferred direct primary Continued on page 12
House Committee Blames DPR for Loss of $21bn
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Atiku: PDP Presidential Aspirants to Sign Undertaking Not to Defect
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MTN Kicks, Shares Plunge 25%, Banks Call for Calm Obinna Chima and Emma Okonji The shares of the MTN Group took a 25 per cent fall to a
nine-year low of 86.50 rand yesterday, a day after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed a hefty $8.1bn fine on its Nigeria’s subsidiary, MTN
Nigeria, for forex infractions. The shares, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, had fallen by as low as 31 per cent during the day before
recovering to its closing price. The news of the massive shares fall came shortly after its telecom subsidiary denied its indictment by the CBN
that it collaborated with Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Citibank, Stanbic IBTC and Diamond Bank Plc to illegally repatriate
$8.134 billion between 2007 and 2015 from the country. However, three of the four Continued on page 10
Promising to Turn Nigeria Around, Saraki Joins Presidential Race Deji Elumoye in Abuja After months of consultations, Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday declared his interest for the country’s presidency and said he would seek the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he returned to last month from the All Progressives Congress (APC), to bid for the nation’s top job. Saraki made his declaration in Abuja at a dialogue with young aspirants in the PDP, saying he decided to throw his hat into the ring following pressure from the nation's teeming youth who had asked him to run for President. He promised to turn Nigeria around, strengthen the anti-corruption institutions and tackle other challenges facing Nigeria. The Senate president enumerated several problems bedevilling the country to include unemployment, hunger, insecurity, lack Continued on page 10
AN OFFER TO SERVE… Senate President Bukola Saraki during his declaration for presidential run in Abuja… yesterday