Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspapers headlines in Nigeria for today, Friday, 10th September 2021
1. President Buhari Promises To Help Imo State Fight Insecurity
President Muhammadu Buhari has made fresh promises to the people of Imo State.
Buhari had visited the state on Thursday, to commission projects which include Naze-Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze Link Road Phase One, an underground tunnel on D-Tiger Road Owerri, the Egbeada Bye-Pass, and the new State Executive Council Chambers at the Government House, among others, Naija News reports.
Speaking at the colorful event, Buhari assured the state Governor, Hope Uzodinma, that he would help him fight security challenges ravaging the state.
He also promised to assist the governor to deal with infrastructural deficits of the state.
2. Lagos Assembly Passes VAT, Open Grazing Bills
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday passed the State’s Value Added Tax (VAT) bill and the bill that prohibits open cattle grazing in the state.
Naija News reports that the Speaker Mudashiru Obasa directed the Acting Clerk of the House, Mr. Olalekan Onafeko, to transmit a clean copy to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent.
The two bills were passed after unanimous votes by the lawmakers at the sitting where they were read the third time.
Immediately after their passage, Speaker Obasa commended his colleagues for their passion to see that the state continues to grow.
3. Details Of What Igbo Leaders Demanded From Buhari During Imo Meeting Emerge
Details of the discussions between President Muhammadu Buhari and community as well as political leaders of the southeastern people on Thursday have emerged.
Naija News understands the Igo leaders expressed their minds and made some demands from Buhari during the closed-door meeting held during the President’s visit to Imo State.
The President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, George Obiozor told Buhari that Igbos don’t want to be treated as second-class citizens in their own country.
He said if the government addresses the feeling of been left out of governance which gets rubbed in their faces many a time, the agitations coming from the zone to break away from Nigeria will be curbed.
Additionally, the Igbo leaders used the opportunity to give the commitment of the Igbo nation to a united Nigeria.
Obiozor noted that there is no place in Nigeria that you won’t find an Igbo person which is a testament to the fact that Igbo people are travellers who cherish the accommodation of their host communities.
He however demanded that President Buhari shows equity, justice, and fairness in governance which he observed a lack of it is the major factor driving agitations of secession by some people from the region.
4. You Are A Bandit-Lover, Join Them In Zamfara For Shawarma – Femi Adesina Fires Gumi
The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina has submitted that only those who decide not to be reasonably objective are saying the current administration is not doing enough in the fight against insecurity.
This is as he replied to a controversial Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi that the bandits attacking some regions in the country are surely going to hell and he knows this very well.
Adesina made the submission in an opinion article “I like this pampering. Don’t you?” which he posted on his Facebook page on Thursday night.
The article while praising the gallant efforts of the Nigerian military and other security agencies in the fight against insecurity, also countered an earlier submission by Gumi that the bandits are going nowhere.
Naija News recalls Gumi had on Monday claimed that the bandit terrorists in the northern region of Nigeria are going nowhere.
But Adesina in his response said the criminals have missed the chance to repent and the offensive by the military won’t stop until the criminals are destroyed.
5. FG Shuts Down Mobile Networks In Katsina State
The Muhammadu Buhari-led federal and has reportedly ordered the shutting down of mobile networks in Katsina State.
It was gathered that the networks were shut down as the Nigerian military increase offensive against bandit terrorists in the northwest region.
According to DailyTrust, 13 Local Government Areas are affected by the development.
The affected LGAs are Sabuwa, Faskari, Dandume, Batsari, Danmusa, Kankara, Jibia, Safana, Dutsin-Ma and Kurfi that are on the fringes of the Ruggu forest where most of the bandits are hiding.
The other three include Funtua, Bakori and Malumfashi.
6. Nigeria’s 36 States Drag Buhari, AGF Malami To Court
The 36 States in Nigeria through their Attorney General have sued the Muhammadu Buhari federal government and the over the non-remittance of stamp duties fund generated from the states.
Naija News reports that the states are accusing the federal government of failing to remit funds generated from stamp duties into their coffers.
The attorney generals prayed the court to compel the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) to pay N176 billion to states, being the backlog of stamp duties received between 2015 and 2020.
In addition, they sought to declare that Malami had no right to withhold stamp duty transactions from individuals in their states.
They also asked the court to stop the AGF from collecting, administering stamp duties.
7. Nigerian Army Arrest High Profile Boko Haram Terrorist, Recover Explosive Materials
Troops of the Nigerian Military have recorded another major success in the fight against insurgency in the country with the arrest of a high-profile Boko Haram terrorist.
The terrorist, identified as Yawi Modu was arrested by troops of Sector 2 Joint Task Force North East Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) following intelligence tip-off on his activities.
The arrested terrorist has been on the wanted list of security agencies for a long time before he was eventually captured during the operation as confirmed in a statement on Thursday by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu.
After the arrest, the troops also raided Boko Haram Improvised Explosive Devices materials storehouse located in Damboa and Gashua Local Government Areas of Borno and Yobe States respectively.
8. IPOB: Igbos In Charge Of Nigeria’s Economy, Unthinkable To Want Biafra – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has described as unthinkable attempts by some people from the southeast to leave Nigeria and form Biafra.
Naija News reports that Buhari stated this while speaking at a town hall meeting with Igbo leaders on Thursday during his one-day working visit to the southeastern state.
The president’s visit is coming at a time when some southeast leaders and groups are calling for the release of the arrested leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The embattled Nnamdi Kanu has been consistent and vocal with calls for a referendum, amidst a move to establish an independent Biafra Republic.
In a statement titled, ‘I want to be remembered as a president who stabilized Nigeria, President Buhari tells South-East leaders’, by Buhari’s media aide Femi Adesina, the president said Igbo people are relevant in Nigeria.
According to President Buhari, Igbos have successful businesses across the country and they own Nigeria’s Economy.
9. Anambra Guber: Finally, INEC Lists Valentine Ozigbo As PDP Candidate
Nigeria’s electoral agency, INEC has finally listed Valentine Ozigbo as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Anambra governorship poll.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, in a list published on July 16, had excluded the candidate of the PDP from the governorship election.
But in a ruling on July 19, a Federal High Court in Awka ordered INEC to publish the name of Ozigbo as the candidate of the PDP.
Similarly, on September 3, the Court of Appeal in Abuja declared Ozigbo as the validly nominated PDP candidate.
In a statement on Thursday issued by its Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, INEC said it has finally obeyed the court order that recognized Ozigbo ad the PDP candidate.
Okoye added that the commission also published the name of Lilian Enemo as the PDP’s deputy governorship candidate.
10. Farm Estates: Buhari Out With Another Plan To Deceive Nigerians And ‘Collect’ Land For Fulani Herdsmen – Afenifere
The Afenifere group, a pan-Yoruba socio-political organization has stated that it is not convinced that President Muhammadu Buhari has good intentions with the plan to establish farm estates in the country.
The group in its reaction to the directive by the president on the establishment of farm estates in the 108 senatorial districts in Nigeria said the move looks suspicious.
Afenifere alleged that the plan looks like a deceptive move to acquire land for the herdsmen in other parts of the country.
Naija News recalls President Buhari had instructed the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) to fashion out modalities for the setting up of farm estates in each of the 108 senatorial districts in the country.
But Afenifere in a statement on Wednesday through its Secretary-General, Mr Sola Ebiseni, questioned the directive, observing that it looks like a ‘Greek gift’ designed to take ancestral lands from the states and pass ownership to Fulani herdsmen in the future for their own private business.
Those are the top Nigerian newspapers headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.
This article was originally published on Naija News