Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Tuesday, 16th April, 2024
Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Tuesday, 16th April 2024
1. Tinubu Govt Has Brought Back Fuel Subsidy, And Is Even Paying More But Many Nigerians Don’t Know – El-Rufai
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that President Bola Tinubu has restored the fuel subsidy regime but many Nigerians don’t know.
According to him, the federal government is currently paying more for fuel subsidies than before it was removed by President Tinubu in May 2023.
The former Kaduna State Governor made the submission on Monday while fielding questions from newsmen in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, after delivering a lead paper at the occasion of a capacity-building workshop for top officials of the Borno State government.
He submitted that the restoration of fuel subsidy is what made the price of petrol per litre to be at about N600 to N750, which could have been much higher than the diesel, which is now sold above N1,000 depending on the location.
The former Governor, however, added that many Nigerians are not aware of the situation.
He submitted that as a leader, when you implement a policy and you see it’s not working well, you should have the humility to stand back and say, this is not working.
2. President Tinubu Returns To Abuja
President Bola Tinubu on Monday returned to Abuja after a week of Eid-El-Fitr break in Lagos.
Upon arrival, he was received at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport by top government officials, including his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and others.
While in Lagos, the President played host to several individuals including members of the organized private sector, traditional rulers, National Assembly members and State Governors.
Recall the President departed Abuja for Lagos last week to celebrate the Eid-El-Fitr, which marks the end of the annual Ramadan fast.
Tinubu’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale had in a statement on Saturday, said the President will “observe the moment in prayers for Nigeria and with family in deference to the solemn occasion, which marks the end of Ramadan.”
Ngelale added that the president will continue official duties during and after the Eid-el-Fitr holidays.
3. Inflation Jumps To 33.2% In Nigeria
Nigeria’s inflation rate has increased to 33.2% for the month of March 2024 according to the latest data released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The new figure represents a 1.5% increase from the 32.7% recorded in February 2024.
The NBS data shows that on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.16% points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2023, which was 22.04%. This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of March 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., March 2023).
Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in March 2024 was 3.02%, which was 0.10% lower than the rate recorded in February 2024 (3.12%). This means that in the month of March 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than the rate of increase in the average price level in February 2024.
4. FG Issues Fresh Directive To Oil Producers On Sale Of Crude Oil In Nigeria
The federal government of Nigeria has outlined new regulations that will guide the sale of crude oil to refineries in Nigeria.
The government, through the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said oil producers are to sell crude oil to local refineries in a move to reduce the country’s dependence on imported refined products.
According to the directive, all oil companies operating in Nigeria are required to supply crude oil to domestic refiners who are unable to procure their own supplies within the country.
After fulfilling their domestic supply commitments, producers can then go ahead to export crude oil, as outlined by the measures implemented by the NUPRC.
It added that payments for crude to domestic refiners can be made in dollars, naira, or a combination of both.
The NUPRC will serve as a middleman between local refiners and producers when agreements on crude supply cannot be finalized, helping to arrange a sales purchase agreement based on a willing-buyer, willing-seller model.
Naija News reports the NUPRC plans to implement the Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation initiative in the second half of the year and the specific quantity of crude each refinery is required to procure has not yet been determined.
5. Power Outage: We’ve Successfully Restored National Grid – TCN
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced the full restoration of the national electricity grid following a significant collapse early Monday morning due to a fire outbreak at the Afam power generating station.
Naija News reports that Monday’s collapse marks the sixth occurrence of grid failure in 2024 alone.
TCN General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, announced the development in a statement released Monday afternoon.
According to Mbah, the grid, which had been operating at 2,583.77MW at 2 am, plummeted drastically to just 64.7MW by 3 am following the incident.
The prompt actions taken by TCN helped minimize the wider impact of the grid failure.
“During the incident, the Ibom Power plant was isolated from the grid and was supplying parts of the Port Harcourt Region. This further minimized the effect of the system disturbance,” Mbah noted.
The restoration efforts were successful, and the affected sections of the grid have been stabilized and are now fully operational.
Mbah reassured the public of the company’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the grid’s reliability.
6. Kano APC Counters Ganduje’s Suspension, Sacks Ward Leaders
The Kano State Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has opposed the suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Umar Abdullahi Ganduje.
Naija News earlier reported that Ganduje was suspended by his ward in DawakinTofa local government area of Kano State, on Monday, over alleged corruption.
Speaking to journalists, the legal adviser of the ward, Haladu Gwanjo, said the former Kano Governor is alleged to have committed gross misconduct and misappropriation of public funds during his administration in Kano.
According to him, the executive members of the ward resolved to suspend Ganduje’s membership after a vote of no confidence passed on him due to his inability to clear his name from a wide range of allegations of corruption, particularly the widely circulated video where he allegedly received dollars as a bribe from a contractor.
However, in a quick counter on Monday afternoon, the party’s local government officials thwarted the suspension of the national chairman and sacked the ward leaders behind the purported suspension.
Speaking with reporters, the APC Dawakin Tofa Local Government Chairman, Inusa Dawanau, said those behind the suspension of Ganduje were caught in anti-party activities, and their records of meetings with the opposition have been exposed.
Adopting the suspension of the APC Ward APC leaders, the state Working Committee of the Party said it had sanctioned the perpetrators for six months and set up a special investigations panel to verify several allegations against them.
Also speaking, the State Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Abbas, said the decision to sack the ward leaders has since been adopted.
7. I Don’t Want To Be A Godfather – El-Rufai Declares
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has expressed his preference not to be referred to as a godfather in Kaduna.
Naija News reports that El-Rufai made this clarification during a Capacity-Enhancement Workshop for Senior Government Officials in Borno State on Monday.
El-Rufai mentioned that he has only made five visits to Kaduna since stepping down from office nearly a year ago.
8. ‘You Can’t Take Up Arms Against Govt’ – Bode George Fumes At Yoruba Nation Agitators
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has expressed anger at Yoruba Nation agitators who invaded the Oyo State Secretariat during the weekend.
Naija News reported that suspected Yoruba Nation agitators invaded the Oyo State Government Secretariat at the Agodi, Ibadan, the capital, and hoisted the flags.
It took the intervention of policemen from the State Command and army personnel from Division 2 to disperse the agitators and restore normalcy to the area.
The Nigerian Army claimed that the agitators shot at soldiers drafted to ensure law and order.
Speaking on Arise News Programme’s Morning Show, on Monday, George accused the agitators of committing treason, stressing that they can’t take up arms against their government.
9. Coroner Concludes Parents’ Negligence Resulted In Sylvester Oromoni’s Death
The Coroner Inquest sitting at Ogba Magistrate Court, which examined the circumstances surrounding the death of Sylvester Junior Oromoni, a 12-year-old Dowen College student, concluded that negligence from both his parents and doctor contributed to his demise.
The Coroner Magistrate, Mikhail Kadiri, determined that Oromoni’s demise was due to ineffective treatment for his enlarged liver.
Oromoni’s death on November 30, 2021, was linked to bullying and the ingestion of an alleged poisonous substance at school.
Before his death, he reportedly stated that he had been assaulted by five senior Dowen College students, identified as Favour Benjamin (16), Edward Begue (16), Ansel Temile (14), Kenneth Inyang, and 16-year-old Michael Kashamu, the son of the late Senator Buruji Kashamu.
However, the Lagos State Government absolved the five students and five staff members of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, who were implicated in the demise of Sylvester Oromoni, on January 5, 2022.
10. ‘You Must Take A Stand Or Take Your Exit’ – Matawalle Tells Tinubu’s Northern Appointees
Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, has charged the appointees of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, from the North to take a stand in defending the current administration or take their exit.
Naija News reports that Matawalle’s comments comes amidst the controversy surrounding the remarks made by the Spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, who publicly regretted the northern region’s support for Tinubu in the 2023 elections.
While addressing the controversy over the weekend, Matawalle dismissed the NEF’s influence, suggesting that the forum holds little sway over the broader political landscape of the region.
But criticizing Matawalle in a post on his X handle, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed wrote, “Scathing criticism of NEF by junior minister of defence, Matawale, is ill-advised. He could have done a better job for this admin if he identified contributions of especially northern ministers and other appointees like me to improving security and reducing poverty in the North.”
In a statement on Monday, Matawalle, in response to Baba-Ahmed, berated him for taking a different position despite being an appointee in the current government.
The former Governor noted that Baba-Ahmed and Tinubu’s appointees owe the government the obligation to advance its good works and commend efforts across all the sectors.
That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.
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