Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Dominic Omokaro is the president and chairman of the Nigerian Library Association (NLA). He is concerned that students have abandoned school libraries and links the increase in the number of half-baked graduates to lack of interest in reading. To address this, the theme for the library week was 'Revitalizing the School Library System: The Way Forward'. The federal government has not employed librarians to run their school libraries in the last 20 or 30 years, leading to the demise of the school system. Professional librarians are needed to help man these libraries and inculcate readership education on students. The author has met with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education to drive home the issue, and they have promised to look into it. If young people channel their minds into reading, it will reduce crime.

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that he does not care who succeeds him in 2023, unlike former President Olusegun Obasanjo who worked to ensure that late President Umaru Musa Yar'adua succeeded him in 2007. On the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, Buhari said he cannot release him because he would not interfere in the judicial process. He also said the government was open to a political solution if he turned a new leaf. Buhari said Kanu should be given an opportunity to defend himself in Nigeria's system  and that there is a possibility of a political solution if he behaves himself. He also expressed no fear for the unity of Nigeria, as he has been in detention for more than three years and believes that Nigeria is better together than separate. On restructuring, he asked promoters to properly define the concept and look at the map of Nigeria to determine what they mean in their own concept of restructuring.

A former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), has cautioned the Federal Government against increasing the pump price of petroleum, saying it would push millions of Nigerians deeper into poverty.

Petrol currently sells for between N162 and N165 per litre. But the National Economic Council had reportedly recommended N302 per litre as part of government’s plan to fully deregulate the sector and eliminate monthly subsidy paymentsSpeaking in Abuja at the Dialogue, Abdulsalami said the proposed fuel price hike would worsen the condition of millions of young people and women, the demographic groups most affected by the country’s sick economic and acute insecurity.

He warned that the worsening economic and security situations during an election year make for a very challenging period for Nigeria that must be carefully managed by all concerned.

Abdulsalami, who chaired the dialogue, said though the country’s economic growth rates and inflation had improved somewhat in the last three months as official figures showed, the impact on the lives and wellbeing of the ordinary Nigerian was suspect. He said: “Insecurity in the country is worsened by our dire economic situation. Unemployment and underemployment remain at the record levels, and over 80 million Nigerians are still caught up in needless poverty.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed the establishment of the Nigerian Diaspora Investment Trust Fund (NDITF), a private sector investment window for Nigerians in the Diaspora to support direct investments in the country. He noted that the foreign exchange remittances by Nigerians in the Diaspora have not only helped families but enhanced the development index of Nigeria. The president described the 327-page compendium as a historical record of the worth of Nigerians globally, and noted that the names of people and the fields they have excelled speak about their resilience and how exceptional Nigerians, both at home and abroad, have become. The Diaspora Commission launched a compendium of excellent Nigerians in the Diaspora to recognise, celebrate and showcase Nigerians who are doing great things in their host countries and contributing to the socio-economic development of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari reminded Nigerians of their duty to celebrate fellow Nigerians who are excelling in different paths and to continue to be of exemplary behaviour and with determination to offer quality services that contribute to the progress of humanity.

Executive Order 11 on National Public Building Maintenance Policy was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari. The agreement was signed at the State House in Abuja's Council Chambers prior to the start of yesterday's Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. Speaking just before signing the document, the president instructed all ministries and departments to follow the guidelines of the new executive order. He claimed that, following FEC approval earlier, the decree gave the nation's national maintenance policy legal support. Buhari noted that the federal secretariat in Abuja and 24 other government buildings across the nation have already begun to receive a facelift thanks to the initiative.

Executive Order 11 on National Public Building Maintenance Policy was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari. The agreement was signed at the State House in Abuja's Council Chambers prior to the start of yesterday's Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. Speaking just before signing the document, the president instructed all ministries and departments to follow the guidelines of the new executive order. He claimed that, following FEC approval earlier, the decree gave the nation's national maintenance policy legal support. Buhari noted that the federal secretariat in Abuja and 24 other government buildings across the nation have already begun to receive a facelift thanks to the initiative.

 

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Muslim Ulamas delegation in the Niger Republic crisis to return to the junta for a tentative commitment. The delegation, led by Ustaz Abdullahi Bala-Lau, aims to avoid force and restore constitutional order. The Ulamas will continue dialogue and understand that war is the last option. The meeting with the Ulamas demonstrates ECOWAS openness to dialogue, with military action being the last option.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ended the fuel subsidy due to resource drying, urging better investment in public infrastructure, education, healthcare, and jobs. He also called for a unified exchange rate to direct funds towards real economy investments. His administration will treat both new and old naira notes as legal tender, reduce interest rates, and target higher GDP growth and reduced unemployment. They will review investor complaints and ensure dividends are repatriated home. Tinubu pledges to work with international partners to end conflicts and make Nigeria a more perfect nation and democracy.

The terrorists who stormed a military post in Kaduna State's Birnin Gwari neighbourhood on Wednesday, according to the federal government, suffered severe casualties when they were beaten back. Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, made this comment in response to a question about security following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was held at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja under the chairmanship of President Muhammadu Buhari. Contrary to popular belief, Mohammed claimed that the administration was not overtaken by anxieties nationwide and emphasised that not all military victories in the fight against terrorism occurred in the media.

The Nigeria Labour Congress on Wednesday the Federal Government to reverse all “anti-poor” and anti-workers policies within seven days or risk a nationwide strike. It listed the policies as including the recent petrol price hike, the increase in school fees and the Value Added Tax increase.

The NLC also demanded release of the eight months withheld salary of university lecturers as well as inauguration of the Presidential Steering Committee as agreed in the earlier consequential dialogues. Joe Ajaero and Emmanuel Ugboaja, the president and the secretary of the NLC respectively stated this in a communique they jointly issued at the end of the congress’ emergency Central Working Committee. They alleged government’s insensitivity to the plights of Nigerians.

Asked if the NLC will go ahead with the threat to go on strike on August 2 if the federal government failed to reverse alleged anti-labour policies, Ajaero said, “Well, protest,? I wouldn’t know, we are going ahead with the protest because we have to be emphatic on what we put in our communique, we said we’re commencing protests from the 2nd.”

The death toll from devastating floods in Libya’s eastern coastal city of Derna yesterday rose to over 6,000, according to local officials. The figure is expected to rise as recovery operations continue in the city pummeled by Storm Daniel. The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration in Libya said over 30,000 people were displaced. This is just as authorities are racing to bury the deceased as bodies pile up in the streets of Derna devastated by flooding after a torrential downpour smashed through two dams, washing homes into the sea. Saadeddin Abdul Wakil, health ministry’s undersecretary of the Unity Government in Tripoli, one of two rival governments operating in the country, confirmed the over 6,000 casualty figure. He said: “Morgues are full in hospitals that remain out of service despite the desperate need to treat survivors of the disaster, according to staff. In Egypt, the government buried 87 Egyptian victims who died in Libya, according to the country’s emigration ministry. “Around 10,000 more are missing, potentially either swept out to sea or buried beneath rubble that’s strewn throughout the city once home to over 100,000 people.”  Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday assured Libya of Nigeria’s unwavering solidarity and goodwill during these trying times. Tinubu, in a statement by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, commiserated with all families who had lost loved ones in what he called “monumental disaster”. Deputy Secretary-General of the council, Prof. Salisu Shehu, in a statement, said the council beseeched the Ummah in Nigeria and all over the world, all global humanitarian agencies, supranational governments, organisations and well-meaning individuals to assist Libya “during this trying period.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will follow its sanctions against the military junta in the Republic of Niger to the letter. But the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) advised President Tinubu, who is also Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, to urgently withdraw all sanctions imposed on Niger Republic to ease negotiation. Nigeria had on August 4 closed all its borders with Niger and cut off electricity supply to the country following the refusal by the junta to reinstate detained President Mohamed Bazoum whose government was toppled on July 26. The military rulers had recently expressed their readiness to dialogue with ECOWAS on the crisis. United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said he still sees a chance for diplomacy to reverse a coup in Niger. Military chiefs from ECOWAS will meet in Ghana this week to discuss possible intervention in Niger. ‘ECOWAS following sanctions to the letter’  President Tinubu said ECOWAS was working to keep the sanctions in place. The president said this yesterday when he received the Special Envoy of President Ali Bongo Ondimba and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Gabon, Mr. Hermann Immongault, at the State House, Abuja. He praised the solidarity of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on the political impasse in the Republic of Niger. The military chiefs from the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet in Ghana’s capital Accra this week to discuss a possible intervention in Niger, a spokesperson for the regional group has confirmed.

Yemi Osinbanjo will declare his presidential ambition on the All Progressive Congress (APC) platform, consulted with governors who are members or directors of federal agencies where the VP is chairman. Others have declared their interest in the election.

Yemi Osinbanjo will declare his presidential ambition on the All Progressive Congress (APC) platform, consulted with governors who are members or directors of federal agencies where the VP is chairman. Others have declared their interest in the election.

The Presidency has dismissed the call by the Northern Elders Forum for President Muhammadu Buhari to resign due to security challenges. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu said the resignation of the president would never be a solution to the nation's security problems. The defense establishment has realigned and reorganized the ongoing operation in the Kaduna and Niger State axis, and the government will remain firm in securing the country's unity and progress.

The Presidency has dismissed the call by the Northern Elders Forum for President Muhammadu Buhari to resign due to security challenges. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu said the resignation of the president would never be a solution to the nation's security problems. The defense establishment has realigned and reorganized the ongoing operation in the Kaduna and Niger State axis, and the government will remain firm in securing the country's unity and progress.

The renewed illegal importation of rice is threatening local production of the commodity in the country, thus placing the massive investment by the federal government and other stakeholders on edge, Daily Trust investigation revealed. Our correspondents gathered that smugglers have stockpiled tons of rice in neighbouring Benin and Niger republics, some of which have found their way to the Nigerian markets. The federal government had at the twilight of the Buhari administration reopened some of the closed borders, with sources saying foreign rice is now finding its way into the country apart from what is being brought in through hundreds of illegal entry points. Efforts to talk to the presidency to know its policy direction on land borders and rice importation through such channels were not successful. 

The Nigerian government has been facing a surge in illegal rice importation, threatening local production and putting significant investment in the country. The government has closed many of Nigeria's official borders, reducing importation of some commodities, including foreign rice. This has led to an increase in paddy production from 2.8 million tons in 2010 to 8 million tons now, with processed rice quantities averaging 5.3 million tons. However, this has left between 1.5 and 2 million ton demand shortfall, even as average yield has increased. The federal government has reopened some of the closed borders, with foreign rice now finding its way into the country. The average annual consumption of rice in Nigeria is estimated to be between 6.7 and 7 million metric tons per annum, leaving a gap of over 1.7 million tons. To close this gap, experts suggest reducing post-harvest losses incurred by smallholder farmers and supporting traditional processors to meet urban demand. The revelation of increased imports into Benin raises concerns among farmers and processors in the region.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said what Nigeria needs from the rest of the world now are mutually beneficial partnerships and not handouts.  He said this on Monday while speaking at the UN World Food Systems Financing Model meeting in Rome, Italy. He participated in a panel where he discussed about the level President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s intervention in agriculture and food security at the financing food systems transformation summit.

He said President Bola Tinubu was poised to redefine the meaning and concept of modern leadership in Nigeria, adding that the giant of Africa which had woken up from its slumber was now poised to move the world. Senator Shettima in a post on his verified twitter handle @officialSKSM stated that “Napoleon Bonaparte once said, ‘China is a Sleeping Giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.’

“President Bola Tinubu is poised to redefine the meaning and concept of modern leadership in Nigeria, the Giant of Africa, which had woken up from its slumber and is now poised to move the world.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has pledged that the federal government will soon address the challenge of incessant flooding facing Jigawa State because of its negative impact on agriculture and food production. He made the promise on Wednesday when a delegation of the Hadeija Emirate Council led by the Emir of Hadeija and Chairman of Jigawa State Traditional Council, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Maje paid him a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“I want to convey to you the message from President Bola Tinubu that the challenges of the place will be adequately captured in the next budget,” he stated.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has told heads of security and intelligence agencies that they have to deliver on their mandates as there are tasks for them to execute to secure lives and properties. The National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, briefed State House reporters after the president had his maiden meeting with new service chiefs and the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja. Speaking after the meeting, Ribadu said the president also told them to work as a team for effective performance and delivery. President Tinubu had approved their appointments on June 19, 2023. 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima Tuesday resumed at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Tinubu’s vehicle arrived the Presidential Villa at 2.30pm. The president inspected the Guards of Honour. Earlier when he resumed at the Presidential Villa, Vice President Shettima had interacted with the Permanent Secretary, Shettima was accompanied to the office by his personal aides.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has called for Nigerians to endure "baby steps of pain" following economic reforms his administration implemented. During a private visit to the palace of Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, Tinubu urged unity, focus, and no distractions to achieve positive changes for the country. He urged Nigerians to maintain an open door policy and let freedom flow, as the country is the only one with such a spirit. Tinubu also expressed gratitude for the support during the campaign and urged prayers and support to help the country. He emphasized the importance of resolving differences and recharging hope for a positive future.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has said some “big and important economic decisions” being taken by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration in Nigeria are being noticed around the world. He said this on Wednesday while responding to questions from State House reporters after meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Montgomery, who said subsidy removal and exchange rate reform would improve the business environment, revealed that his meeting with the vice president focused on issues ranging from trade, security, defence to economic relations.

We discussed our long standing partnership between the UK and Nigeria; we have many areas of shared interest; including a good history of development cooperation. Some excellent trade and investment arrangements and we have also have some good cooperation on security and defence. On the decision of the British government to ban foreign students including Nigerians from bringing family members to the country as a part of the new plan to cut immigration numbers, Montgomery said the issue was not part of his discussion with the vice president.