Good morning,
Welcome to the Channels Morning Brief. We are bringing you more updates from the building collapse in Lagos, the US warning on the Anambra election, and the 2022 budget defence before the House of Representatives committees.
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Sanwo-Olu speaks on collapsed building
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was at the site of the collapsed building in Ikoyi on Wednesday, where rescue operations are still ongoing.
“This is an event that could be described clearly as a national disaster. Mistakes were made from all angles,” the governor said, adding that such an event “really should not be happening in a modern-day city like Lagos.”
He extended his condolences to those who had lost loved ones in the crash and said a panel of inquiry had been set up to determine the cause and punish those found culpable.
The governor has already suspended, indefinitely, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki.
He also named the survivors of the crash and suggested the building’s developer may also have been trapped in the rubble. One of the survivors narrates how he escaped the crash here.
The death toll from the incident rose to 21 on Wednesday.
Authorities say they can still hear sounds from people trapped beneath the rubble.
Here are the latest details from a Channels Television correspondent at the scene of the building collapse.
Another angle: This report looks at the state of other high-rises in the upscale neighborhood of Ikoyi, Lagos.
Related: A mini-panic hit parts of the Lagos capital, Ikeja, on Wednesday after it emerged that a gas pipeline(s) had been damaged.
US threatens visa ban for Anambra election
The United States has threatened sanctions, including visa restrictions on anyone who interferes with the democratic process or instigates violence against civilian populations before, during, or after the Anambra governorship election.
The election is scheduled for this Saturday.
The Americans also say they are looking forward to a free and fair election.
Meanwhile, political parties have continued their campaign for votes across the South-East states. APGA recently completed its campaign in Akwa North, South and Idemili LGAs while the APC visited Ogbaru LGA.
Watch: Analysts assess the quality of voter participation amid security threats ahead of the Anambra election.
Reps hold budget defence sessions
Echoing promises made by President Muhammadu Buhari, The Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, on Wednesday, told lawmakers that the Abuja-Kano road will be ready by 2023, while the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and the second Niger bridge will be completed in 2022.
He said this while defending his ministry’s budget before the House Committee on Works.
At another budget defense session, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Buba Marwa, said the agency needs more funding.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Shuaibu Ibrahim, said the NYSC was ramping up its revenue generation drive.
The House Committee on Youth Development said it will look into the NYSC DG’s request to increase the feeding allowance of corps members, in line with current economic realities.
Watch: Three Federal Ministers briefed reporters at the State House on Wednesday after a Federal Executive Council meeting.
What else is happening?
Investment fraud: A court in Lagos is threatening to jail bank executives over their reluctance to disclose relevant details ina suspected fraud case involving Bamise and Elizabeth Ajetunmobi. The couple are alleged to have defrauded investors to the tune of N11.795bn.
Security: The Kaduna state government says troops of the Nigerian Air Force have neutralised several bandits during an airstrike in some locations in Chikun LGA.
IPOB: The army says it has arrested two suspected ring leaders of the military arm of the proscribed group, Eastern Security Network, in Enugu.
Plateau State: Amid the recent crisis in the House of Assembly, a new commissioner of police has been deployed to the central state.
Ethiopia: The United Nations is seeking more investigations into allegations of genocide in the Tigray conflict as separatists close in on the capital, Addis Ababa.
Pentagon: The US says China is expanding its nuclear arsenal much more quickly than anticipated, narrowing the gap between both countries.
Champions League: Liverpool and Ajax both won on Wednesday to book their place in the knockout phase with two games to spare.
And that’s it for this morning. Join me again tomorrow. For more updates, visit www.channelstv.com. And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/2Hb8hjx
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