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Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Friday, 8th March, 2024
Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Friday, 8th March 2024
The Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelalae, has said his principal is working hard to address the socio and economic challenges facing the nation.
Speaking during an interview with media personality, Chude Jideonwo, Ngelale appealed to Nigerians to be patient with President Tinubu as he tries to fix the economy and other sectors.
The presidential spokesman described Tinubu as a workaholic who goes to bed from 2 to 3 a.m. every day, including Sundays.
Ngelale also disclosed that President Tinubu wakes up every morning from 7 to 8, including Sundays, to treat files that will ensure the development of the nation.
The South West Geopolitical Zone Governors emphasised that most Sub-National governments need major adjustments to sustain enhanced employee wages and salaries in various aspects of the national economy.
However, they unanimously agreed that workers in Nigeria are entitled to an improved welfare package because the current national minimum wage has become impractical.
At the South-West Zonal Public Hearing held at LTV Ground, Agindingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, spoke on behalf of his colleagues.
The event was organized by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun.
Adeleke, representing South West Governors in the committee on the proposed New Minimum Wage, highlighted the need for an enhanced welfare package for Nigerian workers due to the current unrealistic minimum wage.
He emphasized the necessity of reviewing the revenue-sharing formula and urged the removal of solid minerals from the exclusive list to bolster states’ financial capacities.
Adeleke encouraged improved worker productivity and expressed Osun State’s support for a new and sustainable minimum wage within available resources, suggesting that individual states negotiate realistic wages with their workers.
Bandits struck at LEA Primary School, Kuriga (1), in Kuriga town, Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna State, triggering chaos and the abduction of numerous pupils.
Residents indicated that approximately 100 individuals were abducted, but the precise number remained unknown at the time of reporting.
According to reports from Daily Trust, the school’s head teacher and several other staff members are among the victims. The incident occurred at 8:20 a.m. on Thursday, right after the assembly.
Naija News learned that the junior and secondary school moved to a new building inside Kuriga town due to security concerns, leaving their former school located outside the town.
The incident was confirmed by resident Shitu, who stated that most pupils fled their classes upon sighting the bandits on the school premises, while Lawal Kuriga, another local resident, informed Daily Trust that the kidnapped victims were taken into the forest.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the indefinite suspension of the Managing Director/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, alongside three executive directors of the agency.
Announcing the suspension in a statement on Thursday, the special adviser to President Tinubu on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, detailed that the President also appointed a new management team for the agency.
Naija News reports that Ngelale in the statement detailed that the newly appointed individuals will be working in acting capacity.
He further disclosed that the President had ordered a wider investigation into the activities of the suspended officials.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has told President Bola Tinubu not to allow the nation to slide into anarchy as bandit and kidnapping attacks continue to rise.
Naija News reports that Obi, in a post on his official X account, expressed worries at the rising spate of insecurity in the nation.
The former Anambra governor in the post suggested that lifting people out of poverty was the best way to end insecurity in the country.
The National Director of Publicity for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bala Ibrahim, has tackled the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, for blaming former President Muhammadu Buhari for the current economic challenges and hardship Nigerians are facing.
Naija News reports that Mutfwang, during Tuesday’s swearing-in of his special advisers and heads of agencies at the Government House in Jos, claimed Buhari’s administration mortgaged the future of the economy.
However, in an interview with PUNCH, Bala Ibrahim frowned at Mutfwang’s utterances, saying it was obvious the Plateau governor was merely playing to the gallery and displaying his ignorance of macro and micro-economies.
While exonerating Buhari from the current economic travails, Ibrahim stated that those who know Buhari, even as a military leader and former petroleum minister, understand that he can’t do anything to jeopardise the economy.
The Federal Government has set March as the definite opening month for the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) portal for eligible students.
Naija News learnt that the Execute Secretary of NELFund, Akintunde Sawyerr, made the disclosure in an interview with Journalists in Abuja on Thursday and urged eligible students to register to access the fund.
Recall that on June 12, 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Bill into law to enable indigent students to access interest-free loans to pursue their education in any Nigerian tertiary institution.
The scheme was slated to commence between September and October 2023, but because of unforeseen circumstances, there was a revised timeline to January.
In the interview on Thursday, Sawyerr explained that the delay in starting the scheme earlier than scheduled was because the process is technically driven, and necessary measures need to be put in place for proper execution.
Sawyerr reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to ensure that lack of finance should not be a reason for any student in Nigeria to halt education at a tertiary level.
According to him, the scheme was designed for indigent Nigerian students in tertiary institutions, and applications would be made online to ensure a fair process.
The trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, took a significant turn on Thursday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
Forensic analyst, Bamaiyi Meriga, testifying on behalf of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), confirmed the forgery of documents used to request the payment of $6.2 million for foreign election observers.
During the proceedings before Justice Hamza Muazu, Meriga provided a detailed account of his forensic examination of the disputed documents.
He identified clear evidence of signature forgery and discrepancies in the seal of execution compared to the originals.
Crucially, Meriga asserted that the signatures did not belong to former President Muhammadu Buhari and the ex-Secretary to the government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
The revelations came to light as two documents, identified as ‘presidential directive on foreign observer election’ and ‘presidential directive on foreign observer election tendered in evidence,’ were submitted to the court.
Justice Muazu admitted these documents as evidence, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing trial.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has officially demanded a new national minimum wage of N794,000 for workers in the South West geopolitical zone.
This significant development was disclosed by the chairperson of the Lagos State chapter of the NLC, Funmi Sessi, during her presentation at the ongoing public hearing of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage in Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday.
According to Sessi, the demand was a collective decision made by all members of the union within the South West, reflecting the consensus on the need for a substantial increase in the minimum wage to meet the economic realities faced by workers in the region.
This call for an increase comes when the cost of living has skyrocketed, pushing many workers into financial hardship.
10. You Are Agents Of Darkness – Matawalle Blasts Coup Mongers, Calls For Arrest
The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has ordered the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) to apprehend those calling for the end of the constitutional government in the country.
Speaking via a statement by his Director of Press and Information, Ministry of Defence, Henshaw Ogubike, he insisted that those making such demands are enemies of democracy and should be brought to justice.
In the statement titled “Democracy is Working in Nigeria, Warns those Calling for Truncation of Constitutional Government”, Matawalle claimed that some mischief makers were sharing viral videos on social media and trying to depict a false situation.
He described those calling for the undemocratic change of government as “agents of darkness.”
