Top Nigerian Newspapers Headlines For Today, Wednesday, 22nd December, 2021

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspapers headlines in Nigeria for today, Wednesday, 22nd December 2021

Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, have confirmed President Muhammadu Buhari’s rejection of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

Naija News had reported that President Buhari failed to sign the bill into law over some contentious issues in the document.

Both the Speaker and the Senate President read the President’s letter on the floor of both chambers during Tuesday’s plenary.

Reading the letter, Lawan quoted Buhari as saying that his decision to withhold assent to the bill was based on advice from the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA).

The President added that assenting to the bill may open up the electoral system to a series of court issues from party members and stakeholders.

According to Buhari, the adoption of direct primaries violates the spirit of democracy and would fuel corruption as well as encourage over monitorization.

Buhari, therefore, said he declined assent to the bill in line with section 58 (1) of the 1999 constitution.

Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the 2022 budget into law, increasing the estimate to N17.13trillion.

Recall that President Mohammadu Buhari had presented the 2022 budget of N16.39 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly on October 9, 2021.

During plenary, the budget was passed the adoption of a report presented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Muktar Betara.

Presenting his report, Betara said the oil price benchmark for the 2022 budget has been increased from $57 per barrel proposed by the executive to $62 to “reflect the current market values of the oil barrel in the international market”.

He said the budget is of much significance because it would be the last full-year budget to be implemented by the current administration.

Betara noted that other than the oil benchmark, other MTEF parameters were approved as proposed by the executive.

Ater the presentation of the report, the Green chamber increased the budget by N735.8 billion from the proposed N16.39 trillion to N17. 13 trillion.

Nigeria’s First lady, Aisha Buhari has directed all her staff to proceed on leave until further notice.
The announcement was made in a statement released on the official Instagram account of the first lady and signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Office of the First Lady on Health and Development Partners, Mohammed Kamal.

He further stated that official engagements and work will continue virtually.

But in an update, the Office of the First Lady has debunked reports that staff members were asked to go on an indefinite holiday.

Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the First Lady, Aliyu Abdullahi, said the resumption date was inadvertently omitted.

He said the office will resume in the first week of January.

President Muhammadu Buhari was on Tuesday briefed by Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State on the killing of innocent citizens in the state.

The President received the governor and the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Naija News reports that bandit terrorists over the weekend killed 38 people in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

In a statement by Aruwan on Sunday, the terrorists killed the victims during an attack on Kauran Fawa, Marke and Riheya villages in the council area.

Aruwan added that the gunmen destroyed houses, vehicles and set ablaze farm produce stored by the villagers.

Briefing State House Correspondents after meeting with President Buhari, Governor El-rufai called for the total annihilation of bandits and terrorists.

The governor also rejected calls for the rehabilitation of terrorists, calling on security operatives to carry out aggressive operations against the terrorists.

Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen have killed 20 farmers and displaced 5,000 others during an attack on 12 communities in Lafia, Obi, and Awe Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State.

Naija News reports that the President of Tiv Development Association in the state, Peter Ahemba, confirmed this on Monday.

Ahemba asserted that 20 corpses have been recovered with the support of security agencies, adding that many residents are still missing.

He advised both the state and the federal governments to protect the lives and properties of the citizens and ensure that peace returns to the affected communities.

Ahemba disclosed that affected villages include Chabo, Daar, Tse-Udugh, Ayaakeke, Kyor-Chiha, Usual, Hagher, Joor, Angwan, Ayaba, Tyungu and Ugba.

Confirming the incident, Police Spokesman in the state, Ramhan Nansel, said trouble started on Friday when a resident of Gidan Washi Village in Obi LGA was attacked and killed by unknown armed men.

President Muhammadu Buhari has received his booster dose of the Pfizer Biotech vaccine.

Naija News reports that the President received the jab at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

The Director-General of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, made this known while speaking to State House Correspondents.

Shuaib disclosed that the Chief Personal Physician to the President, Dr Suaib Rafindadi, administered the booster dose in the presence of some ministers and aides.

The NPHCDA boss stated that the President was leading by example, assuring Nigerians of the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.

Shuaib disclosed that eight million Nigerians have been vaccinated, adding that there are enough vaccines to cater for eligible Nigerians.

The Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi has commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to reject the Electoral Act Amendment Bill forwarded to him for assent by the National Assembly.

Fayemi said Buhari stood by the people in rejecting the bill and must be commended for his courageous stand despite pressures from many sides.

The Governor said just like him, President Buhari is someone that has tasted both direct and indirect primaries and needs no lecture on the pros and cons of each method.

He stated however that what the President did by withdrawing assent to the bill is to give political parties the freedom to decide how to choose their candidate and not necessarily putting one method over the other.

Fayemi made the submission on Tuesday during a chat with State House correspondents after meeting President Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Tuesday said corps members need to play by all relevant rules even when it involves a romantic entanglement.

The Director-General of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Shuaibu stated this during a press conference while reacting to the viral video of a male NYSC member who proposed to a female soldier at the Kwara State orientation camp.

The NYSC boss stated that the corps encourages the corpers to get married but they’ve never had to deal with a case involving a soldier and a corps member.

He added that in this case, the army has its own rules which must also be respected and obeyed.

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has commended the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to withhold assent to the electoral act amendment bill forwarded to him by the National Assembly.

The Governor noted that Buhari did the right thing by refusing to sign the bill, stating that direct primary is not cost-effective and does not represent the wish of the people.

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday in Makurdi the state capital, Governor Ortom while appreciating the President for rejecting the bill, urged him to also listen to Nigerians and take action on the security and economic challenges facing the citizens.

Ortom went further to commend the recommendation on electronic transmission of results saying “it will engender transparency in the electoral system and also add value to the system”.

Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen has stated that the only condition that won’t make him available for the Super Eagles in the 2021 African Cup of Nations is if the coaching crew doesn’t invite him.

The 22-year-old striker was a doubt for the tournament after he sustained a facial injury in November while playing for his club against Inter Milan in their Serie A clash.

The injury was expected to keep him out of action for three months after surgery but he made a faster recovery which has been ahead of schedule.

The striker surprisingly returned to training two weeks after surgery.

On Tuesday, he told the coaching crew that he expects to be fit and available for selection.

“I will be available for AFCON unless if am not among the players picked to represent NIGERIA,” Osimhen tweeted.

Those are the top Nigerian newspapers headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.

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