Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Editor News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Tuesday, 26th December 2023.
1. Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Monday, defended the peace deal initiated by President Bola Tinubu between him and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, over the crisis in the state. Fubara, in a broadcast on Monday, said the resolution brokered by the President to resolve the crisis was not a death sentence, adding that it would ensure lasting peace in the state.
2. A broadcast journalist with the Independent Television and Radio, Hillary Nosa Odia, has been shot dead by suspected cultists around 2nd East Circular, Benin City, Edo State capital on Christmas Eve. A colleague of the deceased said the late Odia left the office at about 4pm on Sunday while the news of his death filtered into the ITV premises later in the night.
3. Drivers playing inter-state routes have been implementing a 50 per cent discount on transport fares following President Bola Tinubu’s directives in reference to the renewed hope agenda. This was disclosed in a press release signed by Director of Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Transportation, Olujimi Oyetomi on Monday.
4. No fewer than nine passengers lost their lives following a road accident that occurred along the Ikirun/Offa Expressway, Inisa on Monday, after the truck they were traveling in ran into the bush. The truck, carrying bags of beans and some passengers, was said to be coming from Niger State and heading to Edo State. It was learnt it lost control leading to the crash.
5. Following attacks by assailants on some communities in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of Plateau State between eve of Christmas and Monday morning, the death toll from the incident has risen to 113. The Transition Committee Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Monday Kassah, confirmed that 113 persons were killed in the attacks on the villages.
6. Mathew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, has said that President Bola Tinubu has no excuses if his government fails to address the pressing issues facing Nigeria. Kukah, who stated this while delivering his Christmas message in Sokoto on Monday, noted that neither history nor God would forgive the President if he failed.
7. The Presidency has justified President Tinubu’s intervention in states battling political crises such as Ondo and Rivers. Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said President Bola Tinubu will continue to intervene in political crises in the larger interest of the country.
8. Grieving survivors, relatives and residents of Tudun Biri community, Kaduna, where a military error bombing killed over 100, have found solace in the Church on Christmas day. Both Muslims and Christians of Tudun Biri, Igabi LGA of Kaduna State, on Monday, joined the world to celebrate Christmas with a thanksgiving church service.
9. Two persons were confirmed dead, while one sustained injuries in an accident that occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, opposite AP filling station, on Christmas Day. Mrs Florence Okpe, the spokesperson, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta on Monday.
10. The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama, has said media reports claiming that the Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis, approved blessings for same-sex couples, was untrue. Kaigama made the clarification in his homily during the Christmas Mass he conducted at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Catholic Pro-Cathedral in Abuja.
