NEWS HEADLINES FOR 22nd of FEBRUARY 2021.

7 die as Air Force jet crashes in Abuja

A Nigerian Air Force Intelligence Reconnaissance aircraft crashed, yesterday, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, killing all seven persons on board. The military aircraft, a King Air B350 plane, crash-landed on final approach path of Abuja Runway 22 at 10:48 am, shortly after the pilot complained of engine failure.

• A source at the control tower of the airport, said the pilot complained of engine failure barely moments after take-off.

There had been regular flights from Abuja to Minna since the abduction of the Kangara students last week.

APC extends membership registration by 3 weeks

• The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has extended its ongoing nationwide membership registration by three weeks in order to allow for the capture of more intending members. The registration and update of its membership register began on Tuesday 9th February, 2021 across the 36 states of the federation and was scheduled to last for two weeks.

•  In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, National Secretary of the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC of the party, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe, noted that the feedback across the states had been overwhelming and beyond projected success level; with a massive turnout of intending registrants beyond the expectation of the party

Reps may confirm new service chiefs Tuesday

• THERE are strong indications that the House of Representatives will on Tuesday confirm appointments of the new service chiefs nominated by the President.
•  the ad hoc committee set up by the House to screen the nominees would lay its report on Tuesday.
• Incidentally, the House now holds plenary just once every week – on Tuesday – due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, disclosed the level of preparedness for the report presentation.
• When asked if the report was ready, Benson said the committee was putting some “finishing touches.”
• Responding to another question on when is the committee would lay the report before the House, the chairman said, “Tuesday.
• While the House screened the nominees on Wednesday, the Senate had separately screened them on Thursday.
• They are Maj. Gen. Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea lrabor – Chief of Defence Staff; Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru – Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo – Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Vice Marshal Isiaka O. Amao – Chief of Air staff.

Nigeria has $5.83bn un-disbursed foreign loans – DMO

• Nigeria has more than $5.83bn foreign loans that have been approved but not yet disbursed, the Debt Management Office has said.
• The DMO on its portal on Sunday listed a number of foreign loans that were to be disbursed as of December 31, 2020.
• The disbursement of the loans will take the country’s total foreign debt commitment to more than $37.8bn.
• There are reports that the country’s external debt as of September 30, 2020 stood at $31.99bn.
• howed that a larger percentage of the loans would come from the International Development Association, a member of World Bank Group.
• The outstanding loans from the group stands at about $3.27bn.
• Another $1.25bn is supposed to come from the Export-Import Bank of China. Apart from multilateral agencies, China has remained the nation’s largest creditor.
• Other major sources of the undisbursed funds include Agence Francaise de Development from where the country will get more than 500 million Euros and the European Development Fund from where the country will collect about $425m.
• The DMO also listed the projects and agencies that would benefit from the undisbursed funds.
• These include Nigerian Supply of Rolling Stock and Depot Equipment for Abuja Light Rail Project, the Nigerian Greater Abuja Water Supply Project, Nigerian National Information Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase II Project; Four Airport Terminals Expansion Incremental Project, the Nigerian Four Airport Terminals Expansion Ancillary Project.

Okorocha has been released- Imo police

• The Imo State Police Command, on Monday, said former governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, has been released.
• Spokesperson for the state police command, Orlando Ikeokwu, made this known in an interview.
• There were earlier reports that the ex-governor stormed the estate with his supporters, policemen, soldiers and personnel of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on Sunday morning and ordered the unsealing of the estate.
• Okorocha had alleged that his predecessor, Governor Hope Uzodimma, attacked him with “more than 1,000 thugs” but the state Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba, dismissed Okorocha’s claim, adding that the former governor’s arrest was in line with the report of a White Paper, which indicated that the Royal Palm Estate in the state was built with taxpayers’ money and not Okorocha wife’s property.