Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Wednesday morning
Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, has resigned. His resignation on Tuesday followed allegations of certificate forgery leveled against him.
2. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has stepped down from his position, marking the beginning of a transition to a new administration within the electoral body. Yakubu, who was sworn in for a second five-year term on December 9, 2020, announced his decision during a meeting with the commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs on Tuesday.
3. Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan attended plenary for the first time on Tuesday after the expiration of her six-month suspension for misconduct. On September 23, the Sergeant-at-Arms, Alabi Adedeji, unsealed her office to pave the way for her return after the suspension. During the plenary, the Senator was sitting on her designated seat in the minority aisle without any fuss.
4. Leaders of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, met on Tuesday. Speaking during the meeting, David Mark, Chairman of the party, accused the political class of often putting in place a government that only serves them, promising the coalition, “must change this outdated pattern. We must model a new attitude to leadership across every sphere-public, private, and civic.”
5. Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have raided Zhibi, a community neighbouring Dei-Dei town in the Federal Capital Territory but located in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State. It was learnt that the attackers abducted a businessman, Muhammad Shuaibu, along with his two daughters — a 200-level university student and her younger sister.
6. President Bola Tinubu has requested the approval of the House of Representatives for new external borrowing and debt refinancing totalling $2.3 billion. The request comes with another for the issuance of a $500 million debut sovereign Sukuk in the international capital market.
7. The Senate disclosed, Tuesday, that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited, has responded to the 19 queries raised against it in the audit reports of 2017 to 2023. However, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Account, Senator Aliyu Wadada, explained that the responses were yet to be critically looked into.
8. Retired police officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme have vowed to resume their protests on October 14 at the National Assembly, despite recent interventions by the Inspector General of Police and President Bola Tinubu. The retirees have for years demanded their removal from the CPS and the creation of a dedicated Police Pension Board, similar to those enjoyed by the military and the Department of State Services.
9. The Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Tuesday said it arrested 54 suspects with 1,506.57kg of various narcotic drugs in September. In a statement by the Commander, Mitchell Ofoyeju, on Tuesday, he said that the command also destroyed 66,078.57kg of skunk cannabis.
10. The Nigerian Army 2 Brigade in Akwa Ibom State has condemned the killing of Lieutenant Samson Haruna, the Regimental Medical Officer of 6 Battalion, who passed on after his wife allegedly set him ablaze during a domestic dispute at the Willington Bassey Barracks.