Nigerian Newspapers: 10 Things You Need To know This Saturday Morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said he and his team are still consulting widely with those who mean well for the country. The governor spoke at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Ikwerre Local Government Area, shortly after his arrival from London, on Friday.

2. Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, on Friday, ordered the State Urban Development Board to immediately unseal the Maiduguri headquarters of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). The board sealed the headquarters of NNPP on Thursday and arrested a senatorial candidate of the party.

3. A two-storey building under construction has collapsed in the Kubwa area of Abuja, leaving workers trapped. Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) carried out a rescue operation at the scene.

4. The recent surveillance contract awarded to ex-leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo has continued to create tension across the Niger Delta as a group of ex-militants has demanded inclusion. The multi-million naira contract awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and targeted to curb the perennial oil theft is to cover the Niger Delta region.

5. Some groups and associations in the South-East have rejected the so-called order on burial of the dead within three days issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), saying such an order was impracticable. IPOB had, in a statement by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful on Wednesday, attributed the problems facing Igbo in recent times to the long period spent before burying their loved ones.

6. Soothing news came the way of foreign airlines on Friday, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has released $265 million to them to repatriate funds accrued from ticket sales. With Friday’s release, it is expected that operators and travellers will heave huge sighs of relief, as some airlines had threatened to withdraw their services in the face of unremitted funds for outstanding sale of tickets.

7. Presidential flag-bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has dismissed reports of any merger or alliance with any political party in the 2023 presidential election. Adebayo disclosed this at a parley with media executives in Abuja, yesterday.

8. Indication has emerged that the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, is currently under immense pressure from his loyalists following reports that he has yielded to the demand by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, for the removal of the PDP National Chairman, Iyiochia Ayu.

9. The Naira on Friday appreciated against the dollar at the Investors and Exporters window, exchanging at N430.33. The figure represented an increase of 0.08 percent, compared with N430.67 it exchanged for the dollar on Thursday.

10. The Police in Bauchi State have arrested nine kidnap suspects and rescued one victim at Maina Maji Village, in Alkaleri Local Government Area of the State. Police spokesman in the State, SP Ahmed Wakil, stated in Bauchi on Friday that the raid on the kidnappers’ hideout was conducted by police operatives in collaboration with some vigilantes.