Greetings from Nigeria, Welcome to the compilation of the most important Nigerian newspaper headlines for this Sunday, October 22, 2023.
Nigeria’s federal government plans to start implementing cash transfers in order to reduce poverty there.
According to what Naija News learns, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will handle the direct transfer of funds to the recipients on behalf of the Bola Tinubu-led government, bypassing the middlemen.
For five million homes, the first round of bulk payments would start the next week.
The Conditional Cash Transfer programme is a component of the Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programme, an initiative designed to raise the standard of living and boost the economy for millions of Nigerians living in extreme poverty.
With his recent outburst against Christians and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, a well-known Islamic scholar, has been accused by the Chidi Ibeh-led wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide of inciting a religious war in the nation.
Gumi reportedly stated earlier this week that it was risky to entrust Christians and Southerners with Nigeria’s national security.
While denouncing Wike for hosting the Israeli ambassador to Nigeria in his office and intending to work with Israel on security matters in Abuja, he made this claim.
Gumi further asserted that bearded Muslims in the city would be labelled as Osama Bin Ladin and executed, accusing the FTC Minister of attempting to turn Abuja into an extension of Tel Aviv.
IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, the acting inspector general of police, has harshly denounced the recent armed bank robbery that took place in Otukpo, Benue State, and tragically claimed the lives of both police officers and innocent bystanders.
Three police officers and a few citizens were killed by daring armed robbers who assaulted several banks in Otukpo, Benue State, on Friday, according to Naija News.
The Nigeria Police Force and other security forces work relentlessly to defend the principles of peace, security, and justice.
The killing, according to Police Spokesman ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, is an assault on those values.
He said that the families and loved ones of the victims impacted by this terrible act of violence received the IGP’s sincere sympathies.
Alhaji Tajudeen Baruwa, the president of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), has charged Simon Lalong, the Minister of Labour and Employment, with prejudice in the ongoing reconciliation process.
Baruwa asserted that Lalong is supporting the Union group led by Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede.
He made the accusation in a statement released in Abuja by Comrade Anthony Asogwa Chukwudi, the Union’s general secretary.
According to Baruwa, on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, the Minister met in private with the Agbede faction of the Union and reportedly suggested that they set up a new National Quadrennial Delegates Conference.
According to research, the National Assembly’s proposed N160 million package of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for parliamentarians deviates from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission’s (RMAFC) recommended package for MPs.
Given the nation’s current economic circumstances, it is said that there have been a number of controversies around the proposed car to buy.
Nevertheless, the National Assembly has insisted that it is purchasing “operational vehicles” for each of the 469 members, amid criticism from the political community as well as worried Nigerians.
According to reports, the federal parliamentarians disregarded the RMAFC’s revenue package for themselves and other public office holders by selecting pricey luxury sport utility vehicles (SUVs) over less expensive sedan and salon cars.
On Friday, President Bola Tinubu disclosed that the goals of his administration’s policies and initiatives are to create a society that is more just, moral, and upright.
At the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President made these remarks during an encounter with a group of devout Muslims from the South-West led by Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo.
For the nation to advance, sacrifice is necessary, according to Tinubu.
Tinubu went on to say that if the fuel subsidy hadn’t been eliminated, Nigeria would have imploded.
The federal government has declared that, in the face of an expanding population, it is facing significant difficulties and a financial shortfall.
According to Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and National Planning, the government is having trouble making salary payments.
During a speech in Abuja, the Minister urged non-governmental organisations to assist the government in filling in the gaps that it was unable to cover.
Bagudu bemoaned the rapid growth of Nigeria’s population and added that unemployment is rising in tandem with a high rate of inflation.
He was represented by Dr. Sampson Ebimaro, the ministry’s director of international cooperation.
According to reports, the Israeli government has authorised emergency laws that allow the Al Jazeera news station to close its bureau in Israel.
It has been discovered that these regulations also permit the seizure of any equipment owned by the news outlet.
Concerns that the Al Jazeera office’s reporting endangers Israel’s national security have led to harsh action against it, according to a published on Saturday by Israeli public broadcaster KAN.
An Israeli statement asserting that Al Jazeera broadcasts propaganda in favour of Hamas in both Arabic and English and reaches viewers globally was also cited by the Israeli news website i24.
As of the time this story was filed, Al Jazeera has not responded to the Israeli government’s most recent decision, despite the fact that it had denied these accusations.
Simon Lalong, the Minister of Labour and Employment, has refuted allegations made by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that he is siding with one of the National Union of Road Transport Workers’ factions in the conflict (NURTW).
Recall that the NLC accused the Minister of breaking the agreement on Thursday by endorsing a NURTW group against the Union’s democratically elected leadership, according to a statement released by Comrade Emmanuel Ugbaja, the organization’s general secretary.
The Labour Centre had pledged to oppose any effort to force the NURTW under a new leadership.
Ugboaja bemoaned the breakaway union’s determination to undermine the newly approved accord between the federal government and the labour movement.
The NLC questioned how a Federal Minister of Labour, entrusted with defending the rights and interests of many economic stakeholders, could act in a way that could jeopardise the fundamental principles of cooperation.
On Friday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) promised that there will be no technical difficulties when the results of the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi are uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
It is recalled that INEC blamed technical issues for a significant problem with the results upload during the 2023 elections.
There won’t be a hitch, according to Rotimi Oyekanmi, the chief press secretary of the electoral authority, in an interview on Channels TV.
“We have been utilising the IReV for governorship elections, but this [2023] marked its first implementation for a general election environment,” he stated.
We have now resolved the issue that plagued us for a few hours.
However, I promise that there won’t be any issues this time around.
“Those technical difficulties have been fixed, I can confirm.
We tested these technological devices we were planning to employ last week when we conducted the simulated accreditation, and it went well.
These are today’s top newspaper headlines in Nigeria.
World News