Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Friday, 30th September, 2022
Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Friday, 30th September 2022
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on all the presidential candidates to focus on issue-based campaigns and shun activities that could jeopardise the 2023 general elections.
The Nigerian leader advised the flagbearers and their spokesmen to shun propaganda, fake news, misinformation and personal attacks following the start of the campaigns on Wednesday.
Naija News reports that President Buhari said this on Thursday at the 2023 elections peace accord signing organised by the National Peace Committee (NPC) in Abuja.
In a statement released by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, the President said the 2023 election is an opportunity to serve Nigeria, defend Nigeria and uphold her unity and progress.
The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed Ademola Adeleke as the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State.
A governorship aspirant under PDP, Oyedotun Babayemi had dragged Adeleke before a Federal High Court seeking to be declared as the candidate of PDP.
Babayemi had won the primary of the PDP faction held at the Children and Women Development Centre in Osogbo.
Adeleke won the primary held at Osogbo City Stadium, which was backed by the PDP national working committee.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had recognised Adeleke as the duly-elected candidate for the PDP.
The judge of the federal high court, Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel in a judgement delivered on May 18 had ruled that the primary which produced Babayemi is null and void.
Babayemi who was displeased with the ruling filed a suit at the court of appeal, Akure.
The governorship aspirant charged the appeal court to discard the judgement of the lower court.
The Court of Appeal on the 20th of July, 2022, however, upheld the verdict of the high court and consequently dismissed Babayemi’s appeal.
The Supreme court on Thursday in a unanimous judgement by a five-man panel of justices, dismissed an appeal that was lodged against Adeleke by Babayemi.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has ordered the immediate suspension of all activities of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the state.
Naija News reports that Sanwo-Olu gave the order in a statement on Thursday issued by his Special Adviser on Transportation, Sola Giwa.
The statement said the association was suspended following the violence that occurred in Ojo and Lagos Island on Wednesday, which led to multiple injuries.
According to the statement, a 35-man Caretaker Committee has been constituted to take over activities of the RTEAN henceforth.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, was conspicuously missing on Thursday as the presidential candidates signed the now-customary peace pact.
However, the APC vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, represented Tinubu at the occasion.
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) amongst others were present at the signing.
The event, which was organised by the National Peace Committee, took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Thursday.
According to the Chairman of NPC, Abdulsalami Abubakar, the peace accord was to promote peaceful electioneering.
Members of the House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously adopted a motion moved by one of them, Dachung Bagos, on the possibility of another ebola virus outbreak.
Bagos, who urged the Federal Government to start taking preventive measures, noted that the Ebola virus has a high tendency to spread into the country again because other African countries have recorded fresh cases.
The motion according to the Punch Newspaper was titled ‘Motion of Urgent Public Importance on the Need for Federal Government to Activate Response against the Possible Detection of Ebola in Nigeria.’
The lawmaker, in his submission, stated that on September 20, 2022, the Ugandan health authorities, declared an outbreak of ebola disease caused by the Sudan virus, following laboratory confirmation of a patient from a village in Madudu sub-county, Mubende District, Central Uganda.
He further explained that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had expressed concerns that in the absence of licensed vaccines and therapeutics for prevention and treatment of the Sudan virus disease, the risk of potential spread is high.
According to him, the House is worried that the Ebola virus is giving a lot of people concern around the world, as it was the variant that gave a lot of infections and fatalities in some countries.
Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee have returned the sum of N93.6 million paid into their account by the chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu.
There had been reported that Ayu allegedly paid over N100m into the account of NWC members after the primaries of the party.
The report alleged that Ayu transfered the money from the over N10 billion realised by PDP from the sales of nomination forms.
The NWC members that returned the money to the party include, the National Vice Chairman (South-West), Olasoji Adagunodo, the Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja; National Vice Chairman (South), Dan Orbih and National Women Leader, Stella Affah-Attoe.
It was reported that Orbih and Effah-Attoe got N28.8 million each, while Arapaja got N36 million.
Orbih in a letter addressed to Ayu and the party disclosed that he got the notification of the payment from his bank without any description.
The Catholic Diocese of Enugu on Thursday lifted the ban on the Adoration ministry of Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka.
Recall that the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Bishop Calistus Onaga banned the Catholic faithful from attending the Ministry following Mbaka’s comment against the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Mbaka had during his mid-week prayer activities described Obi as a stingy man, adding that he can not be Nigeria’s president.
The Catholic Diocese of Enugu thereafter disassociated themselves from the utterances.
The Diocese noted that Mbaka’s attack on Obi breached Canon 220 of the 1983 Code of the Canon Law that prohibited anyone from illegitimately harming the good name of a person.
Bishop Onaga in a letter which was addressed to ‘All the Clery, Religious and Lay Faithful in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu’ banned worshippers from having anything to do with the Adoration Ministry.
Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka in a statement released on his Facebook account on Thursday disclosed that the ban on his ministry has been lifted.
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has denied reports that the over N90 million returned by six members of the National Working Committee (NWC) were paid as bribes.
Naija News reports that there had been reported that the PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, allegedly paid over N100m into the account of NWC members after the primaries of the party.
The report alleged that Ayu transfered the money from the over N10 billion realised by PDP from the sales of nomination forms.
Four members of the party’s NWC on Thursday returned monies ‘mysteriously’ paid into their accounts.
The NWC members that returned the money to the party include, the National Vice Chairman (South-West), Olasoji Adagunodo, the Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja; National Vice Chairman (South), Dan Orbih and National Women Leader, Stella Affah-Attoe.
It was reported that Orbih, Adagunodo and Effah-Attoe got N28.8 million each, while Arapaja got N36 million.
Reacting to the allegation of bribery on Thursday, the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Debo Ologunagba said the money was meant for ‘Housing Allowance.’
The Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, has sacked tricycle and shuttle bus unions from motor parks in the state.
The state Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu, who announced this in a statement on Thursday in Awka, the state capital, noted that only government-accredited agents are now entitled to collect tolls at the parks.
The ban is coming following the disagreement between the state government and transportation unions over the revenue collection system.
The disagreement resulted in transport operators embarking on strike last week.
The All Progressive Congress (APC), through its spokesperson, Felix Morka, has broken silence over the delay in the inauguration of the party’s presidential campaign council.
According to him, the party is working to accommodate all those who want to serve on the presidential campaign council, hence the delay in its inauguration.
Morka, while speaking on Channels TV, said unlike other parties, the APC has a lot of its members willing to serve and that is the challenge at hand.
He added that there is no tension and so the party doesn’t have a date fixed yet for the inauguration of the campaign council.
“Is a good thing to have people eager to serve unlike the other parties where they have party men and women who are nominated and saying no to serve,” Morka said.
He further explained that the problem at hand is a sweet one and is not in any way a hindrance to the formation of the campaign council.
