Good morning, Nigeria. Welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Thursday, 16th November 2023.
1. The national executive councils of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress on Wednesday night suspended their nationwide strike over an alleged assault on the President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero. The unions said the suspension followed the intervention of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
2. The Federal Government has reduced to six counts the fraud charges it filed against the immediate-past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. The charges, bordering on alleged procurement, were originally 20. In the original charge, the Federal Government alleged that the procurement fraud was to the tune of N6.5bn.
3. The Labour Party has described the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar’s merger proposal as a good proposal that should be considered. But the New Nigeria People’s Party said it could only accept the proposal if Atiku would support a former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027.
4. Nigeria’s headline inflation rate for October 2023 has increased to 27.33 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed. The NBS in a report released on Wednesday said, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.24 points higher compared to the rate recorded in October.
5. The Appeal Court in Lagos, on Wednesday, affirmed the judgement of the tribunal confirming the election of Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Obafemi Hamzat as the Governor and the Deputy Governor of Lagos State. The court dismissed the suit filed by Olajide Adediran, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), against the election of Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
6. The ongoing reforms by the Tinubu administration may come with pain but are inevitable, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun, has said. Edun, who made a virtual presentation to the 19th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) 2023 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom on Wednesday, said the administration had put measures in place to boost the confidence of domestic and international investors.
7. Air Peace on Wednesday faulted the Saudi Arabian authorities over the cancellation of visas of 264 passengers airlifted by the company from Nigeria on the grounds of incorrect information.
In a statement published earlier today, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia defended the visa cancellation, saying the passengers did not meet the Arab nation’s rules and regulations.
8. Newly-deployed Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu, has tasked policemen posted to the troubled Ahoada area of the state to track down and arrest those involved in the killing of the Divisional Police Officer of Ahoada Police Division, SP Bako Angbashim. Disu said he would not tolerate the killing of policemen in the state, urging the officers to give him success in the task.
9. Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday, identified education and skills development as panacea for addressing poverty and hunger in the country. Shettima stated this at a meeting with a delegation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
10. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has claimed that the country is sliding into totalitarianism and anarchy under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration. The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, alleged that attempts by a cabal within the presidency to emasculate institutions of democracy in the country, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary.
