Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Following the relative peace being achieved in Yobe State, Governor Mai Mala Buni yesterday lifted the 10 years ban on the use of motorcycles in Yobe North and South of the state. Governor Buni lifted the suspension and restored the use of motorcycles in 10 local government areas. The local government areas are Gashua, Jakuso, Machina, Yusufari, Nguru, Karasuwa, Potiskum, Fune, Nangere and Fika. Buni commended the residents for their resilience and patience during the 10 years of suspension of motorcycles in the state, which came into effect at the height of the Boko Haram Insurgency. He said his administration was satisfied with the current security situation in the state, adding that security forces were still flushing out and arresting remnants of Boko Haram members and their collaborators. According to the governor, the lifting of the ban is meant to ease the hardship of citizens, facilitate easy transportation and cost-effective movement as well as enhance farming activities in the state.  

Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, announced that Nigerians will soon learn about the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) issues and the nation's current state. He also revealed that the government has not invited any world leaders to the country's 63rd independence anniversary celebration, as part of a low-key celebration. The theme is "Nigeria @ 63: Renewed Hope for Unity & Prosperity."

The death of Professor Alex Gboyega, a retired professor of political science at the University of Ibadan, is the latest in a series of deaths of prominent Nigerians that have overshadowed the month of January 2022. Gboyega emerged from the former University of Ife scholar-practitioner framework of engagement, which demanded that there must be serious attention given to recruitment in a way that adds to the functionality of the institute of administration as a complement of the practice of public administration in the public service. His specialization straddled local governance, public administration and indigenous political institutions, telling a coherent and significant story about his research portfolio. The challenge of deploying the federal framework as the most formidable structure within which Nigeria could achieve national integration and development is highlighted by Alex Gboyega's 1981 essay and 2003 inaugural lecture. Contrary to the 1976 local government reform enshrined in the 1979 Constitution, the present state of the local governments and local governance is dismal due to the absence of local governance and its distinctive elements.

The law against open gracing signed by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State has begun to yield results, some stakeholders have said. Although cattle were seeing gracing openly in some obscure locations across the State, the incidence of clashes between farmers and herders that used to characterise their relationship had become less. Community leaders, a farmer and a fulani praised the State government for putting the anti-open gracing law in place, saying that since it was signed into law, there had been no conflict between herders and farmers and it would be difficult to obey the law prohibiting open gracing because ranching is very expensive and impracticable considering the prevailing economic situation in the country.

In order to avoid hiring someone who is unqualified for the position, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to step in during the nomination of a substantive Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).The importance of the agency, according to the Contractors Association of Nigeria, made it necessary to ensure that the proper individual is appointed.An engineer with extensive knowledge of contract and procurement fundamentals has always served as the BPP's executive director. It should come as no surprise that a group that claimed to have the support of the presidency is projecting a director general for BPP who is not an engineer but a business administration graduate.

President Bola Tinubu's administration faces significant challenges, including a high debt stock of over N77 trillion, a debt to GDP ratio of over 23%, an interest rate of over 20%, and a projected economic growth rate of 2.9% next year. Nigeria spends 96% of its revenue servicing debt, with the debt-to-revenue ratio rising from 83.2 percent in 2021 to 96.3 percent by 2022. The 2023 budget only allocates 30% of total expenditure on critical capital projects, and the non-debt recurrent expenditure (NDRE) is over N8 trillion, which accounts for over 60% of the budget. To make meaningful progress, urgent institutional reforms must be undertaken, which were not done by previous administrations. President Tinubu's decision to remove fuel subsidies on his inauguration has become a catalyst for resetting the government and resting the economy. However, Nigerians expect topline politicians and government functionaries to lead by example, making sacrifices and bearing the brunt of the challenges. This will engender trust and confidence in Nigerians and earn their support during this critical period of nation building. Staying politically conscious is no longer acceptable, as Nigerians are more politically conscious than ever before. Sustainable progress requires sacrifices from top leaders, including the Executive, Legislature, and State Governments.

The federal government is planning fresh investments of N3.5trillion in the Nigerian housing sector to address the 17 million housing deficit in the country. The investment is to be made within the next four years as part of strategies of government to boost housing delivery and guarantee afordable housing for Nigerians. Details of the four-year plan are contained in the National Economic Development Plan of the federal government lauched by president Muhammadu Buhari. The document shows that the N3.53 trillion investment includes an estimated public investment in the development of urban road of about N1.68 trillion. The blueprint for the sector covering 2021-2025 stated that despite these challenges, the increasing demand for housing is increasing because of rapid urbanisation. This could be leveraged as a considerable engine for growth. "Both federal and state governments will make the construction of affordable housing a priority to bridge any housing deficit, reduce slums and create opportunities for sustainable urban regeneration in Nigeria". The operational efficiency of the Federal Mortgage Bank and the Family Homes in collaboration with the primary Mortgage Banks and the private real estate firms will be a priority.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken office, addressing urgent issues for the country's survival. The Tinubu-led administration began working immediately, introducing a new culture of fuel subsidy removal. This led to fuel stations shutting down and panic purchases. The new administration's planned programs and projections have been widely disseminated by the media, including the "five principles that will guide our administration." President Tinubu also engaged with foreign envoys in bilateral meetings, showcasing his work culture. In his inaugural speech, President Tinubu announced the phased-out subsidy and the need to harmonize foreign exchange rates. Governors Godwin Emefiele and Mele Kyari were waiting to update the President. Vice-President Shettima provided reasons for the subsidy's removal, stating it has benefited the affluent lifestyle.

The manner in which El-Rufai established a region in Kaduna and chose his son's buddy to serve as its rulerLegislators are suspended by the M Zamfara Assembly "for collaborating with bandits."After being held captive for more than a month, students from Kebbi were released. The law establishing metropolitan administrations to oversee Zaria, Kaduna, and Kafanchan as organic cities was approved, it was announced when Bayero's appointment was made. served as the ministry's permanent secretary. Later, he was made managing director of the Kaduna Market Development Agency. In June 2015, he became a Special Assistant for Job Creation in El-Rufai's administration. holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and is an honours graduate of the Eastern Mediterranean University.

The Senate has advised President Bola Tinubu to appoint an Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF) in compliance with Section 86 of the 1999 Constitution. The absence of a substantive AuGF in the last 10 months has left the government susceptible to potential mismanagement, lack of accountability, and transparency. The letter emphasized the importance of appointing a substantive auditor-general to strengthen the Federal Government's commitment to fiscal responsibilities and safeguard public trust. The Contractors Association of Nigeria (CAN) has appealed to Tinubu to stop alleged plans to appoint an unqualified federal civil servant as the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). The contractors argued that the BPP is crucial for governance and that the project to bypass the civil service process of succession is absurd in Nigeria. The BPP has always been headed by an engineer with extensive contract and procurement rudiments.

Chief Ernest Adegunle Shonekan provided the confluence in which two rivers of Nigerian history met. He was a career technocrat in the giant United African Company (UAC) until 1980, when he combined the two most powerful offices of the company as the Chairman and the Chief Executive. He then became the Head of the Interim National Government (ING) at 57 in 1993, an unprecedented experiment in national politics and statesmanship. His widow, Mrs. Margaret Shonekan, was the equally powerful former head of national office of the West African Examination Council (WAEC). Shonekan's brief incursion into the sanctum of national power dominated discourse about his passage. Shonekan was invited to participate in the Newswatch Communications Ltd's first year anniversary, where he was presented with the Journalist of the Year Award. He then became the Head of Interim Government, overseeing the final lap of the ill-fated transition to civil rule programme. His involvement in politics was supposed to end with the successful handover of power to an elected President.

Chukwuma Charles Soludo, Governor-Elect of Anambra State, has done a world of service to perceptions of south-east Nigeria and traditional ideas of politics in the region. His transition committee (ANSG-TC) has been inaugurated to help him calibrate expectations and project a message of constructive identity-building and harnessing of human capacity. Soludo's implicit message is that the destinies of Nd'Igbo are joined inextricably and the job of rebuilding requires all capable hands on deck. Mario Cuomo famously said of successful runs for office that "you campaign in poetry; you govern in prose". Soludo's campaign was forged in blood and his tenure will be defined by crises that defy the constitutional capacities of any governor in Nigeria. These include insecurity and a crisis of human ecology. Soludo's emergence is a tribute to the iron will of Ndi Anambra, who saw off the best efforts of a malevolent political family to render the state hopelessly ante-diluvian.

The governor has similarly approved the payment, from this month, of new hazard and skipping allowances, and 100% CONMESS for consultants and medical doctors under the government’s payroll. The whole essence is to check attrition rate in the health sector, and attract and retain medics and specialists to provide improved, qualitative healthcare services for the people of the state, ” he added. Related News South-West speakers partner on regional development Eid-El-Kabir: Emir of Ilorin warns against idolatry, preaches unity Kwara gov, “In the same vein, religious bodies, market leaders, trade unionists, “The whole idea of these interventions, which gulp billions of naira of public funds, It is not free. Modalities for the handling of these will be made available later. This is to boost farming outputs and food security in the state.

President Ibrahim Babangida's criteria for the Nigerian leader he would like to emerge post President Muhammadu Buhari should stimulate national debate on the leadership question. He suggested that the next president should be conversant with the country, communicate, and have somebody he knows in every part of the country. His prescription reminds me of the question I once asked the former president in the course of an interview with Newswatch magazine: "Who is IBB?" IBB replied that he was an ordinary Nigerian trying to do extra-ordinary things for his country. I find it curious that Babangida omitted something dear to him, his abiding love for ideas, which drive and build nations and societies. Babangida is pushing for the leadership debate as an intellectual exercise in the hope that the nation will take its flawed leadership recruitment process seriously. He believes that nature abhors a vacuum and that the people must constantly chew on fresh ideas in a genuine search for the ideals of human progress. Godfatherism is an infectious disease in our political system, and ideal leadership is not prescriptive because each one of us has in his head our own ideas.

The most important details in this text are that every mature human person desires to make the world a better place for themselves, their family and their immediate environment, and that the only justifiable reason for getting involved with the politics of public governance should be that of the betterment of the society for everyone in the polity of that particular people. However, with the emergence of large nations with many different peoples of unrelated genes and cultures, the public political necessities evolved political parties for these wider purposes. This has led to the development of autocracies and the culture of war, which do not lead to the desired development and progress of the society as a whole. Nigeria has remained in this category of nations all along. Nigeria has been recognized as an unfortunate geographical entity, created out of British political selfishness. All of Nigeria's "heroes past" have acknowledged this, but have carried on with the false basis for any nation. Despite evidence that Nigeria will never work on the British construction, none of these leaders have done enough to create a nation that all of its citizens can be proud of. This has caused the country to move from one crisis of unhealthy unity to another.

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah is a transcendental and magnetic person who is a paragon of excellence, striving to improve himself and inspire others to excel and to give muscular expression to their God-given talents. He has authored cerebral articles and homilies which address the Nigerian, and by extrapolation, the human condition, and has published books such as Democracy And Civil Society in Nigeria, Witness To Justice: An Insider's Account Of Nigeria's Truth Commission, Whistling In The Dark, and Religion, Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria. He has had a Fellowship at Oxford University and a Senior Fellowship at Harvard University, and has been insistent against injustice, impunity and misrule. He has also deployed his immense goodwill to the service of humanity and democracy. Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah is a statesman, a humanist, an intellectual and a moral lodestar who has helped to pacify the country in 2015 and established the National Peace Committee (NPC). He has also continued to call attention to the failings of governments, particularly the President Muhammadu administration, which has failed to deliver good governance and secure the lives of Nigerians.

Tinubu steps in as president, The 16th president vowed to defend Nigeria from terror as he hammered on peace, Let us develop a shared sense of fairness and equity. “Whether from the winding creeks of the Niger Delta, the bustling capital of Abuja, He pledged to relate to all compatriots. “We intend to accomplish this by taking the following steps: budgetary reform stimulating the economy without engendering inflation. Power generation should nearly double and transmission and distribution networks. “My administration must create meaningful opportunities for our youth. Encourage light industry and provide improved social services for the poor, “Monetary policy needs thorough housecleaning. The Central Bank must work towards a unified exchange rate and foreign policy..

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 United States Mission in Nigeria has taken steps to bolster democracy in Nigeria by defending free and fair elections. Spokesperson Rauf Oyewole said fighting corruption and defending credible elections are central to the U.S. government's action plan. Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has described unserious presidential aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC) running to President Muhammadu Buhari to inform him of their political ambition. APC has refuted reports of its decision to suspend the national convention of the party scheduled for February 27.

Nigerian First Lady Remi Tinubu and other African First Ladies called for global peace at the First Ladies High Level Forum at the 78th sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The forum, titled "Gender Actions for Peace: Ambition for Women Leaders as a Key Players on Global Peace," was championed by Prof Ada Okika, Africana Women Working Group at the UN, Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, and Framazaz Foundation. The event aimed to promote dialogue, engagement, and empowerment of all members of society, particularly women in leadership roles. Adeboye urged the First Ladies not to let their husbands cause trouble or go to war, using Biblical references to highlight the importance of women in peace and development.

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that his administration is determined to hand over a better Nigeria than the one they inherited and urged them to be fair in their assessment of what his government has achieved. He spoke at the palace of the Emir of Jema’a, Alhaji Muhammadu Isa II, in Kafanchan, and urged Nigerians to develop confidence in civil authority to build a system "free of chaos". He also requested permanent bases for the air force and mobile police, as well as the restoration of the rail services for which Kafanchan was known.