Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today Wednesday, 7th July 2021
1. Buhari Speaks On Nnamdi Kanu, Sunday Igboho Arrests, Hails DSS, NIA
President Muhammadu Buhari has praised Nigeria’s security agencies over the operations that led to the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu and allies of Sunday Igboho.
Buhari commended security agencies for their collaboration in arresting individuals who had inflicted pain and hardships on fellow citizens.
President Buhari stated this in a statement to newsmen by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
In the statement, Shehu noted that Kanu and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leaders are known for murderous actions and virulent messaging.
2. Lawmakers Okay Bill To Create State Police, Security Outfits
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow the creation of state police and legalize regional security outfits.
Naija News reports that the bill will decentralize the current police system by moving police from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List.
Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Onofiok Luke, who sponsored the bill, said in the explanatory note that the bill seeks to alter the Constitution “to provide for state police and other state government security services to enhance security and preservation of lives and properties in Nigeria”.
The bill especially proposes an amendment to Section 197(1) by inserting new Paragraphs ‘e’ and ‘f’ to provide for ‘State Police Council’ and ‘State Police Service Commission,’ respectively.
3. Petrol Subsidy: ‘Wealthy People Currently Benefiting From Subsidy’ – Minister
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, has said only the rich are currently enjoying fuel subsidies in Nigeria.
Naija News understands that the minister stated this while speaking during the leadership and governors’ discourse on open government partnership held in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Agba insists on the need to deregulate the downstream petroleum through the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit.
4. Alleged N5.2b Fraud: Court Remands Ex-JAMB Registrar Ojerinde
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that a former Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Adedibu Ojerinde be remanded in prison custody.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a ruling on Tuesday, ordered that Ojerinde be kept in a correctional facility pending the hearing of his bail application, scheduled for July 8.
Justice Egwuatu gave the ruling after Ojerinde, dressed in white native attire, was arraigned on an 18-count charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/97/2021, in which he was accused, among others, of complicity in the diversion of public funds estimated at over N5.2billion.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) said Ojerinde committed the alleged offences, contained in the charge, from 2003 when he served as the Registrar of the National Examination Council (NECO) till 2021.
Ojerinde pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.
5. Dollar Videos: Court Orders Ganduje To Pay N.8m To Ja’afar Ja’afar
A Kano State High Court on Tuesday fined the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje N800,000 after he discontinued his defamation suit against the publisher of Daily Nigerian, Ja’afar Ja’afar.
Ganduje had dragged Ja’afar to court over a story and videos where he was purportedly seen stuffing foreign currencies in his pocket.
The court presided over by Justice Suleiman Danmallan, who granted the application to discontinued the case, however, directed the governor to pay N400,000 each to Ja’afar and the parent company of the newspaper, both defendants in the suit.
6. 2023: Zone Presidency To South East, Ohanaeze Tells Southern Governors
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has urged the Southern Governors Forum to zone the 2023 presidency to the South-East in the interest of fair play and justice.
Recall that the Southern governors at the end of their meeting in Lagos on Monday demanded that the presidency should return to the south after President Muhammadu Buhari concludes his tenure in 2023.
In an interview on Tuesday, Ohanaeze spokesman, Alex Ogbonna, said the group backed the southern governors’ position that the region should produce the president in 2023.
Ogbonna, however, urged the governors to be magnanimous in conceding the presidency to the South-East region.
7. 2023: Northern Elders Disagree With Southern Governors On Returning Presidency To The South
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) says the Southern Governors Forum (SGF) can’t force their region into conceding the 2023 presidency to them.
This is as NEF argued that the presidency is a democratic office and not a rotational office.
The NEF position comes after Naija News reported that the Southern Governors at the end of their meeting in Lagos on Monday demanded that the presidency should return to the south after President Muhammadu Buhari concludes his tenure in 2023.
But reacting to the position of the Governors, NEF in a statement by its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said the North would not be threatened, intimidated, or blackmailed into giving up its right to a democratic office.
The NEF argued further that the governors can’t decide Nigeria’s next president based on their own sentiments as only voters have the right to determine who they want to lead them.
8. Four PDP Federal Lawmakers Defect To APC
Four National Assembly members representing various constituencies in Zamfara State have dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers, all from the House of Representatives blamed the crisis in the PDP for their defection to the APC.
The House of Rep members are Bello Hassan Shinkafi, Ahmed Bakura, Ahmed Shehu, and Suleiman Gumi.
Their letter of defection was read during the House plenary on Tuesday.
9. Kaduna: Bethel Kidnappers Calls School, Reveal Number Of Students Abducted
Bandits who attacked and kidnapped students of Bethel Baptist Church High School Kaduna have called the school management.
It was gathered that the kidnappers also disclosed that they have 121 students in their custody.
They however assured the school that the abducted students are in good health and not to worry.
Recall that bandits on Monday morning invaded Bethel Secondary School in Maramara Chickun LGA of Kaduna State and abducted scores of students.
Speaking to newsmen on Tuesday, the Proprietor of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna Rev. Yahaya Adamu Jangado, revealed that the bandits have contacted the school.
He stated that they also spoke with the students in captivity who themselves confirmed that number given by the bandits.
10. Bandits/IPOB: Buhari Issues Fresh Directive To Nigerian Army
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the Nigerian Army to develop new strategies in tackling insurgency and other security threats in the country.
Naija News reports that Buhari gave the directives while speaking at the 2021 Nigerian Army Day celebration (NADCEL) lecture series through his Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (Retd).
He also said government services and private businesses have resumed in many areas that were previously being controlled by terrorists in Borno State and other places in the Northeast.
That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News