Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar accused President Bola Tinubu of causing despair among Nigerians due to his economic policies. Atiku claimed that Tinubu's poor response to the country's challenges set the stage for a deeper economic crisis. Tinubu defended his 2024 budget as a business-as-usual exercise, claiming it lacks concrete ideas for economic transformation. The presidency's Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, urged Atiku to admit his missteps and follow the experts. back on the path of growth and prosperity.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar's Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, has revealed 10 major lies about the President Bola Tinubu administration. He argues that these lies were part of Tinubu's propaganda plan to deceive Nigerians and that the government's apologies were only for being caught. Shaibu advises the media to fact-check government claims to maintain credibility. He criticizes the Central Bank of Nigeria for injecting $10 billion into the foreign exchange market as part of Tinubu's propaganda.

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of appointing individuals suspected of corruption or under investigation by anti-graft agencies into leadership positions. The appointments spread across political party levels, executive, and legislative arms of government. CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Musa Rafsanjani expressed concerns about the impact on anti-corruption agencies' morale. The list of alleged corrupt individuals shows a lack of care for integrity in governance and may turn public outcry on key issues, particularly the fight against corruption. The list also includes an ex-Governor accused of aiding a former military ruler to launder Nigeria's wealth abroad and a politician with a case to answer with the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission. The assemblage of alleged corrupt individuals shows Tinubu's lack of concern for public demand for a sane and responsible government. The corruption scandals have contributed to insecurity, poverty, and the collapse of education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

The financial crisis and allegations of forgery against the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, are escalating in Nigeria. The suspended National Treasurer, Oluchi Oparah, has brought Abure and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to court, urging the court to compel the anti-graft body to investigate the national chairman. She also urged the court to quash her six months suspension by the party as she was not given a fair hearing before being suspended by the party leadership. A former acting national chairman, Maria Lebeke, has corroborated Oparah’s allegations by accusing Abure of forging her signature when she acted as national chairman after then leader, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, died in December 2020. However, the plight of Abure worsened yesterday as chairmen of the party across the 36 states unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in him and asked him to step down with immediate effect.Oparah wrote a letter to the EFCC requesting a formal petition against the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, for several grievous offences bordering on forgery, embezzlement of the 3rd Defendant’s funds, and abuse of office and failure to account for the 3rd Defendant’s funds at his disposal. She stated that the most grievous act of impropriety by the 2nd Defendant pertains to his forgery of the signature of the late Alhaji Abdulsalam, 61 days after Abdulsalam’s death with which he withdrew monies from the account of the defendant.

President Bola Tinubu, yesterday met members-elect of the 10th National assembly across the different political parties and charged them to work together to choose good leaders for both chambers after their inauguration on June 13.

Although Tinubu met the lawmakers behind closed doors, THISDAY gathered that the president also told the gathering to go into the next session of the National assembly with the single resolve of putting the nation ahead of partisanship in the discharge of their duties.  

The Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal upheld the election of Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the March 18 election. Mbah praised the decision, describing it as a victory for democracy and the people of Enugu State. The Labour Party lamented the judgement, stating it was like a horror movie being played out. The tribunal dismissed petitions by the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and the Labour Party (LP) candidates challenging Mbah's victory, stating that he was not qualified to stand for the election, forged his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate, and had alleged cases of over-voting. The tribunal also ruled that Mbah was qualified to contest the election, regardless of whether he submitted any NYSC discharge certificate. Mbah urged the people to hold him accountable and urged them to work together in building a new Enugu State. The judgement reflected the popular wish of the people of Enugu State, with the local government of the Labour Party candidate enjoining Mbah's opponents to accept his fellowship to move the state forward.