An Israeli embassy worker in Beijing was attacked on Friday, Israel’s foreign ministry said. “An Israeli employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked today,” a foreign ministry statement said, adding that the attack did not take place at the embassy compound in the Chinese capital. “The employee is being treated at hospital and is in stable condition,” the statement said.   “The motive for the assault is being looked into.” The attack comes after Hamas gunmen killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and took about 150 hostages in their surprise attack on Saturday. Israel has retaliated by raining air and artillery strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip for six days, killing over 1,350 people. A statement on the Israeli foreign ministry website warned that Hamas had called on “all of its supporters around the world to hold a ‘Day of Rage’” on Friday to “attack Israelis and Jews”. “It is reasonable to assume that there will be protest events in various countries that are liable to turn violent,” the statement said. The Israeli embassy, located in a diplomatic neighbourhood of northeast Beijing, appeared to be operating normally on Friday afternoon, an AFP journalist saw. Security personnel asked AFP not to film the site, where no additional policing was visible from the outside. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond for comment.

  President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of new Chief Executive Officers of several agencies and parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, including the Industrial Training Fund, Corporate Affairs Commission and Standards Organisation of Nigeria.   This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement on Friday. He said the appointments are in line with Tinubu’s resolve to base Nigeria’s economic revival on the foundation of trade expansion through small, medium and large-scale industry facilitation in the country. The appointments are as follows: Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) — Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN; Industrial Training Fund (ITF) — Afiz Ogun Oluwatoyin; National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) — Kamar Bakrin; Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) — Olufemi Ogunyemi; Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) — Nonye Ayeni; Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) — Aisha Rimi; Oil & Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) — Bamanga Usman Jada. Others are the Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) — Charles Odii; Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) — Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke; Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) — Rabiu Olowo; Nigeria Commodities Exchange (NCE) — Anthony Atuche, CFA; Lagos International Trade Fair Complex (LITFCMB) — Veronica Safiya Ndanusa; Tafawa Balewa Square Management Board (TBSMB) — Lucia Shittu and National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) — Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin. According to Ngelale, President Tinubu expects all new appointees in this critical sector to optimally deliver in accordance with new key performance indicating benchmarks as established by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. He added that by this directive of the President, all of the above-listed appointments take immediate effect.

  A former Accountant General of the Federation unilaterally signed the Federal Government’s 2019 financial statement of N26tn, according to an audit report. The revelation came during the consideration of the audit report by the Senate Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada. In a 2019 report submitted to the National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation said the then Accountant General single-handedly signed the document without counter-signing by the then Minister of Finance, against financial regulation. The office of the Auditor-General quoted provisions of the Financial Regulations to support its claim. Paragraph 103 of the Financial Regulations states that: “The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria assigned to the Minister of Finance the responsibility for all financial business of the government of the federation, while Paragraph 105 of the FR empowers the Minister of Finance to issue, from time to time, financial regulations, which is of general applications to ministries, extra-ministerial offices and other arms of government. “By implication, the Honorable Minister of Finance in Nigeria is the Chief Executive Officer on government financial matters.” Ahmed Idris was the Accountant-General of the Federation at that time. He was suspended from the office over an allegation of financial malfeasance amounting to N109bn. The audit report said, “The Accountant-General of the Federation was the only officer of the Federal Government of Nigeria that signed the consolidated statement of financial position without indicating his FRC of Nigeria registration number, a component that carries the approval of the CFS, contrary to the extant regulation. “There was no signature with FRC of Nigeria registration number of the Honorable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. “The above anomalies could be attributed to weakness in the internal control system in the consolidation process.” Responding to the report, the acting Accountant General of the Federation, Toyin Madein, said she was not the Accountant General at the time of signing the financial statement.

  The Young People’s Party (YPP), has threatened to legal action against the Senator representing Ifeanyi Ubah for defecting from their party. Journalist101 reports that Senator Ubah dumped the YPP for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The party in a statement issued by National Publicity Secretary Comrade Egbeola Wale Martins, faulted Ubah’s claim of irreconcilable differences within the YPP as the reason for his defection and advised him not to cry wolf where there is none. the party also stated that plans by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to opt for a one-party state is not healthy for the growth of democracy in Nigeria. Part of the statement read: “Reality and facts do not magically cease to exist just because the facts offend us; hence, there is no need de-marketing our party at the expense of millions of our followers. “If for anything, the leadership of our great party has been consistent in supporting not just Senator Ifeanyi Ubah but all candidates who ran and won elections on our platform and will continue to do so provided they do not waver in keeping faith with the party.” It condemned what it described as APC’s “penchant for scavenging political parties in an attempt to make Nigeria a one-party state.” YPP advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led APC to concentrate more on solving the nation’s myriad challenges rather than the desperate suffocation of opposition political parties. The party warned Senator Ubah of the legal implications of his action and declared its readiness “to explore all available options within the ambit of the law.”

  Four students of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, abducted by the armed men on Monday night, have regained freedom. The students, all in the 100 level, were abducted at about 10 p.m. from an off-campus residence located in the Angwan Kaare area of the state. The students, including three females and a male, were released after an undisclosed ransom was paid. The commanding officer of the Nigerian Army 117 Battalion, Keffi, Lt. Col. Auwalu Inuwa, however, confirmed to the press that the students were rescued in the surrounding bushes of Angwan Gauta in Keffi LGA after painstaking efforts by the military officers. The commanding officer noted that the proper medical examinations would be conducted on the rescued students before reuniting with their families. Efforts to speak to the state’s police command failed as its spokesperson, Ramhan Nansel, could not be reached. Recall that sources in the institution confirmed to our correspondent on Tuesday, that the kidnappers established contacts with the parents and the school authorities less than 24 hours after the student’s Abduction. The assailants allegedly demanded N20 million for their freedom. The police spokesperson, when asked, said he was unaware of the development as the parents were in the best position to speak on such information.

  Despite the recent altercation with his boss over his ambition, it has been authoritatively gathered that the Deputy Governor of Edo, Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu would soon declare his intention to contest the 2024 governorship election in the state. New Telegraph reports that a close source to Shaibu said the ambition of the deputy governor is now like a movement beyond his control as his followers cut across different political parties in the state. He said arrangements are on top gear, and once everything is set, he would make public his ambition. He said, “Even if Comrade Shaibu wanted to bury his ambition based on his boss’ position, it was too late because so many people and groups across the country and outside the country have keyed into it. “There are groups and individuals who have been consulting and mobilizing on their own for him even before his altercation with his boss that even if he had the intention of dropping his ambition to resolve the issues, we would not have agreed to that. “We believe that Shaibu is the most experienced among those who are angling to take over from Obaseki; he has the street credibility, he is like a bridge between the old and the young, he has been part of Obaseki’s reforms as an insider so he is the best out of those we have seen so far.” He said the deputy governor’s supporters are prominent members in both factions of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state and the opposition All Progressives Congress and the Labour Party.