Index to Nigerian Newspapers

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his vacation, which is "open-ended" as his return can be anytime. The President, who was expected to return from his vacation and routine medical examinations in the UK after 10 days, left the country on January 19. A statement by the Special Adviser to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, stated that Buhari had written to the National Assembly informing them of his desire to extend his leave to complete and receive the results of a series of tests recommended by his doctors. The notice has been dispatched to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. The President is not in the hospital but is at the residence of the Nigerian High Commission in London. The leave extension letter has been received by Senate President Bukola Saraki's office. The president's wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia to perform the Lesser Hajj and pray.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has warned religious leaders against incendiary messages that could cause religious war in the country. The government deemed allegations of Islamization of Nigeria and persecution of Christians as fallacies and emphasized that conflicts between Muslims and Christians are often fueled by political motivation, ethnic differences, extremism, intolerance, and terrorism. The government also dismissed the accusation that the military was arming Fulani herdsmen to kill Christians as ridiculous. Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed stated that the government was concerned about the incendiary messages sent by religious, political, and opinion leaders. He criticized the media for insinuating that the government was either out to Islamize Nigeria or persecute Christians. The government believes that some comments by religious leaders had political connotations and that conflicts between Muslims and Christians are often fuelled by political motivations, ethnic differences, extremism, intolerance, and terrorism.