Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Wednesday, 16th August 2023.
1. Seplat Energy Plc has confirmed that one person died following the collapse of its ‘Majestic’ oil rig near Ovhor in Delta State. The oil company disclosed this on Tuesday in a statement on its official X, formerly Twitter handle.
2. The Federal Government, on Tuesday, applied to withdraw the “illegal possession of firearms” case it filed against the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Abubakar, in an oral application, told Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State that the application followed the result of further investigations.
3. The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Tuesday, expressed concern over the economic hardships faced by Nigerians, who the party said were pressured to vote for President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC. The major opposition party highlighted that many of those who supported the APC are now viewing their decision as a miscalculation, leading to feelings of regret.
4. Members of Amakor village in Nanka community of Orumba North Local Government Area, Anambra State, have protested what they described as despicable treatment on them by some influential members of the community. The protesters, who read a letter they submitted to Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, called on him to quickly intervene to stop a breakdown of law and order in the community.
5. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has claimed Nigerians buy the cheapest fuel in West Africa. Aguri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President, who disclosed this on Tuesday, said that the president noted that the fuel pump price will not be adjusted upward.
6. Nigeria’s headline inflation increased to 24.08 per cent in July from 22.99 per cent the previous month. The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this on Tuesday in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for July 2023. The increment represented 1.29 per cent points from the figure obtained in June amid the hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal policy.
7. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, on Tuesday said that corruption has impeded the country’s ability to reach its full potential. Tajudeen spoke at the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Policy Dialogue on Corruption, Social Norms and behaviour change in Nigeria.
8. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra has revealed that perpetrators of criminal activities in the South-East have resorted to using fabricated lies and false narratives to remain relevant. The IPOB lawyer in a statement he signed and made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday affirmed that Nnamdi Kanu’s handwritten note calling for an end to the sit-at-home being imposed in the region has not only exposed and ended Simon Ekpa’s criminality but has rattled him into desperately spreading grievous concoctions and false narratives to remain relevant.
9. Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, has urged Nigerians to prepare themselves for potential “miracles or shocking” outcomes from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT. Expressing concerns over the public’s heightened expectations, Ohanaeze pointed out the disappointment experienced after the 2023 presidential election.
10. The Federal Government says it has no plans to increase taxes or add to the burdens of the country’s tax paying citizens. The Chairperson, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, said this on Tuesday while reacting to unconfirmed reports of government’s plans to increase taxes.
