Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Monday, 15th April, 2024

Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Monday, 15th April 2024

The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) has countered plans by the federal government to issue new national ID cards to Nigerians, describing the scheme as a plot to waste public funds.

HURIWA, in a statement on Sunday, said a report showed that 50 per cent of Nigerians were unbanked and unbankable due to terrible poverty, adding that it was of the view that the plan of a new ID card by the government was part of a sinister plot.

Therefore, it urged the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu to abandon the plan and embrace more beneficial public policies.

HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement, questioned how 133 million poor Nigerians suffering “crushing poverty” were expected “to maintain working bank accounts to enable them to collect the so-called single National ID”.

The group said the new national ID card scheme is a plot by the government and those in the corridors of power to use the public funds to “empower their mistresses, friends and cronies”.

HURIWA, therefore, urged the government to rather adopt the International Passport as the most critical ID card.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has clarified that it has not cleared anyone in the ongoing investigation into the alleged financial misappropriation in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, which was under the supervision of the now-suspended Betta Edu.

The EFCC added that N32.7billion and $445,000 have been recovered so far in the ongoing investigation.

This development was made known in a statement on Sunday by the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.

He disclosed that the EFCC has opened other fraudulent dealings involving Covid -19 funds, the World Bank loan, Abacha recovered loot released to the Ministry by the Federal Government to execute its poverty alleviation mandate.

Investigations have also linked several interdicted and suspended officials of the Ministry to the alleged financial malfeasance, the statement added.

According to the EFCC, banks involved in the alleged fraud are being investigated, Managing Directors of the indicted banks have made useful statements to investigators digging into the infractions and those found wanting will be prosecuted accordingly.

The Nigerian Army has refuted a viral report that it recruited repented Boko Haram members.

Naija News reports that the Army made this known in a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Onyema Nwachuckwu.

On Thursday, one Hauwakulu Tabra was reported to have been killed by Adamu Muhammad, a soldier she was in a relationship with, at the army barracks in Enugu.

A report on Saturday said two senior military officers alleged that the soldier was a repented Boko Haram member who joined the Civilian Joint Task Force and was later enlisted into the Nigerian Army in 2021.

But according to the statement, the Army said while it is highly regrettable that the lady was killed, the incident should not be used to propagate the claim that the act was committed by a repentant Boko Haram member recruited into the Nigerian Army.

It also condoled with the family of the deceased and reiterated that at no time did it enlist repentant Boko Haram members into its fold “as mischievously insinuated”.

However, the Army stated that at no point in time, either in the past or present enlisted repentant Boko Haram members to its strength.

The Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has launched an investigation into the boat accident that claimed the lives of Nollywood actor, Paul Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope and four others.

Naija News reports that the boat accident involved a commercial speedboat and a fishing canoe on the Anam River in Anambra State on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

The boat carrying 12 film crew members and a boat operator reportedly crashed into the canoe, resulting in the loss of five lives.

However, in a statement made available on Sunday, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NSIB, Bimbo Oladeji, said the Bureau has dispatched an investigation team to the accident site.

He said examination of the wreckage from both boats involved in the collision, interviews with surviving crew members, and eyewitnesses, and a review of operational procedures for the commercial speed boat would be analysed, among others.

The statement further assured Nigerians that the Bureau would release the preliminary reports of the investigation to the public.

A former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has narrated why the imposition of candidates is common in the party.

In a statement on Sunday, Lukman said candidate imposition is common in the APC because party organs are not meeting.

As a solution, he called for regular meetings of the party’s organs so that duly elected candidates could emerge through due process.

The Federal Government has said it would reinvest savings from electricity subsidy removal in the provision of social services and to improve the power supply in the country.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this on Saturday during an interview programme on Radio Nigeria in Kaduna State.

Idris said the N1 trillion is expected to be saved from the removal of electricity subsidy and will be used to provide vital social services such as health and education.

He said the disproportionate amount of electricity subsidy (approximately 40 per cent) benefits only about 15 per cent of the consumers, comprising affluent individuals and industrial clusters, which enjoy about 20 hours of power supply.

Idris said 85 percent of the population under the different categorisations of the new electricity supply regime still enjoy the subsidy.

He said the new Electricity Act, signed by Tinubu, has strengthened the governance structure of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The minister said the act also empowers NERC to severely sanction electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for infractions relating to billings and power supply.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives have apprehended three suspects in possession of N3.2 million in counterfeit cash at Jabi Park in Abuja as it intensifies its crackdown on drug trafficking and counterfeit operations across Nigeria.

In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, explained that the suspects, including an eight-month pregnant woman, Favour Peter, 24, alongside Esther Adukwu, 27, and Ochigbo Michael, 39, were apprehended at Jabi Park in Abuja following initial discoveries in Lokoja, Kogi State.

Naija News reports that the operation, which was carried out in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy, also led to the apprehension of one Aliyu Lawal, 37, who was alleged to be in possession of 310kg of cannabis.

This operation was part of a broader sweep that saw additional seizures along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway, where 98kg of cannabis was recovered from Jama Obodo, 44, aboard a commercial bus.

Highlighting other significant enforcement actions, Babafemi reported the arrest of Theodora Ita in Cross River State, a 40-year-old widow caught producing a lethal new substance known as ‘Combine’, comprising cannabis and opioids soaked in gin.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has called on Nigerians to report any instances of arbitrary price hikes by businesses.

Naija News reports that the Commission made the call in a statement released on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Sunday, amid rising concerns over the impact of escalating prices on consumer welfare and economic stability.

The FCCPC emphasized that while it does not have the authority to control prices directly, it remains committed to enforcing fair market practices and ensuring that consumers are not exploited by unscrupulous business tactics such as price gouging or conspiracies to manipulate supply.

“Arbitrary price increases stemming from untoward practices like price gouging and conspiracy to manipulate supply violate existing laws,” the commission stated.

Further detailing their readiness to combat these violations, the FCCPC declared, “The commission will not hesitate to invoke Section 17(s) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 against any perpetrator of such acts.”

This section of the law specifically prohibits obnoxious trade practices and the unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.

In addition to their warning, the FCCPC encouraged Nigerians to remain vigilant and proactive in reporting any unfair trade practices they encounter.

Organised Labour has demanded ₦615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the country.

An executive of the organized labour, requesting anonymity as he lacked authorization to speak on the issue, disclosed to Sunday PUNCH that the consensus on the new monthly wage of ₦615,000 was reached through consultations facilitated by the NLC and TUC.

The source said, “We (NLC and TUC) have given our figures to the government (on the minimum wage), and it is ₦615,000. That is the position of the NLC and TUC on the matter. The government has been informed as well.”

Recall that the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, had said in an interview that rising inflation in the country might push organised labour to demand ₦1 million as the minimum wage.

As a result, various controversies emerged, with experts expressing doubts about the feasibility or long-term viability of the proposed wage.

However, in an interview with Punch correspondent, another labour leader emphasized that the NLC and TUC had tentatively agreed on setting the new wage at ₦615,000.

A former National Vice Chairman, (North West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has called for reforms in the party ahead of the 2027 general elections in Nigeria.

Lukman said if the APC is not reformed, then the party risks suffering the same fate that befell the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which led to its defeat in the 2015 elections.

He made the call in a statement titled, “Wither Nigerian Democracy: Urgency of Rebuilding Political Parties” in Abuja on Sunday, April 14.

He lamented that the APC has drifted away from the ideals and policies of its founding fathers and the reform is necessary not only for the party, but for Nigeria’s democracy.

The former member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) added that there was no reason why the ruling party could not operate a National Annual Budget of over N100 Billion.

He argued that the national budget should cover the operations of all party organs, from National to States, Local Governments and Wards.

That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.

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