Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Friday, 15th March 2024.
1. The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Lekan Balogun has passed away. The 42nd Olubadan was 82. Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde announced this in a statement.
2. President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, March 14, transmitted a letter to the House of Representatives seeking the repeal and re-enactment of the Students Loan Bill. The letter was read by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, during plenary.
3. Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (APC – Katsina Central) on Thursday, March 14, emerged as the new chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum, NSF. The ex-chairman of the Forum, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP-Bauchi Central) had on Tuesday resigned from his position following his suspension for three months by the Senate.
4. President Bola Tinubu on Thursday night held Iftar, which is the Ramadan fast-breaking evening meal, with some governors and other government officials. Vice President Kashim Shettima, Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike were also present at the Iftar.
5. President Bola Tinubu has appointed Dr. Dennis Otuaro as Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP. Otuaro will be replacing Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (Rtd), who had served as Interim Administrator of the programme since September 2022.
6. The Senate has berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for calling for the resignation of Godswill Akpabio as Senate President over the N3.7trillion budget padding allegations by the suspended Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central). The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, (APC – Ekiti South), made this assertion in a statement in reaction to PDP’s call on Akpabio to step down over the allegations.
7. Major internet access cuts struck several African countries Thursday because of damage to submarine communications cables, telecom operators said. “Breaks in multiple major undersea cables have affected connectivity services in several West African countries,” the South African operator MTN Group said in a post on X.
8. The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has berated the lack of tracking equipment for security agencies in the nation’s capital, saying his administration will purchase drones for surveillance at border communities. He singled out the FCT commands of the police and the Department of State Services, which he said lacked ordinary tracking devices.
9. The Group Managing Director, GMD, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mele Kyari, has said the Port Harcourt refinery will commence operations in two weeks time. Kyari, who appeared before the Senate ad-hoc committee investigating the various Turn Around Maintenance, TAM Projects of the Nigerian Refineries, said over 450, 000 barrels of oil had been stocked into the Port Harcourt refinery.
10. Bandits, who abducted 287 school children at Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State have demanded a N1 billion ransom to set their captives free. They also threatened to kill the victims if the ransom was not paid in 20 days.
