Good morning Nigeria, Welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Saturday, 9th, December 2023.
1. After 18 months in prison, Rhoda Jatau, a Bauchi woman who condemned the alleged killing of Samuel Deborah in Sokoto State, has regained her freedom. It was gathered that Jatau was released on bail on Friday following interventions by the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council and the Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria.
2. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Friday, said its attention has been drawn to the circulation of counterfeit banknotes. The banking regulator noted that the counterfeit notes were common with higher denominations by some individuals for transactions in food markets and other commercial centres across major cities in the country.
3. The leadership of the Labour Party has confirmed that they are part of the new coalition of concerned political parties that was launched this week. A group of seven opposition political parties on Wednesday formed a new coalition in a bid to strengthen democracy in the country and prepare ahead of the 2027 elections. Although they were not at the meeting, the LP said on Friday that they are part of the movement.
4. The New Nigerian People’s Party has dismissed allegations of a plot by the party and the Kwankwasiyya Movement to occupy the Supreme Court and foreign missions in Nigeria. On Friday, the party described the allegation as a figment of the imagination of a conceived coalition of some civil society organisations.
5. The Sultan of Sokoto, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar has demanded justice for the victims of military airstrikes that killed over 80 people in Tudun Biri village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The Sultan said this at the Silver Anniversary of the 11th Emir of Jama’a, Alhaji (Dr) Muhammad Isa Muhammad (CON) on the throne, at the Emir’s Palace in Kafanchan, Kaduna, on Friday.
6. Ondo State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Rasaq Obe stirred fresh controversy yesterday after telling Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, that he has confirmed the forgery of the signature of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. Governor Akeredolu has been recuperating in Ibadan, Oyo State, since his return from medical vacation.
7. Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani on Friday took exception to a statement by the Defence Headquarters on last Sunday’s army bombing of Tundi Buri, Igabi Local Government Area, which has so far claimed over 80 lives. He was reacting to a statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen. Edward Buba that the army suspected the presence of terrorists in the area after aerial surveillance.
8. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL), on Friday, turned down a proposal by the Senate to increase President Bola Tinubu’s crude oil production benchmark in the 2024 Appropriation Bill from 1.78million barrels per day to 1.8mbpd. The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, told the Senate Committee on Appropriations during an interactive session in Abuja that the benchmark of 1.78 bpd was realistic enough and did not require any upward review.
9. The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has called on African leaders to create quality jobs for their teeming unemployed youths to stem the trend of brain drain bedevilling the continent. Adesina said in Abuja yesterday at the Second Veritas University Digital Innovations Exhibition and 12th Convocation Lecture, that Nigeria was losing its best brains to Japa syndrome.
10. The group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mr Mele Kyari on Friday described oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta region as a calamity, saying there are over 4,800 illegal connections on crude oil pipelines in the area and warned that this could frustrate the projections of the Federal Government.
