Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Saturday, 21st October, 2023

Good morning Nigeria, Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Saturday, 21st, October 2023.

President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, appointed Shaakaa Chira as the substantive Auditor-General of the Federation, as recommended by the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).

The announcement was made in a statement released by Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday.

He said the appointment was done in the exercise of powers vested in him by Section 86 of the 1999 Constitution (Amended).

Ngelale said the president approved Chira’s appointment after the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) conducted a screening exercise that identified him as the most qualified candidate who had also scored the highest in the examination amongst all qualified candidates for the office.

President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, approved the waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order instituted against striking members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on August 1, 2023, following the commencement of their industrial action which began on July 26, 2023.

The decision of the President was disclosed in a statement released by presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, titled ‘President Tinubu Approves Waiver of the ‘No Work No Pay’ Order on Resident Doctors’.

He said the president invoked the principle of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy.

The statement reads, “After several constructive engagements between the Federal Government and NARD, the Resident Doctors called off their strike on August 12, 2023. The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation was directed to withhold all salaries accrued by striking NARD members during the 17 days of their strike action.”

President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, approved the appointment of Adewale Adeniyi as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service.

The appointment was disclosed in a statement released by the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Willie Bassey.

According to the statement, the President tasked Adeniyi with bringing his wealth of experience to bear on his new assignment.

President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, approved the partial waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order instituted against striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities following the commencement of their eight-month strike which began on February 14, 2022, and was terminated on October 17, 2022.

The decision was announced in a statement released by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday.

The statement is titled ‘President Tinubu approves partial waiver of the no work, no pay order on ASUU members; orders release of four months of withheld salary.’

Ngelale revealed that the waiver, “will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union.”

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has filed a case before the Supreme Court seeking to removal of the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma.

Naija News understands that the Supreme Court has fixed the 31st of October, 2023 to hear the application filed by APGA.

The hearing is coming three years after the party filed the application in July 2020.

APGA is contending that there ought to have been a fresh election in the state after the apex court nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Court of Appeal sitting in Kano State has overruled the judgement of a Kano State Federal High Court which sacked Alex Otti as the Governor of Abia State.

The appellate court in a ruling on Friday, dismissed the May 18, judgement given by Justice M.N. Yunusa of the Kano state Federal High Court, regarding Otti’s nomination by the Labour Party (LP).

It added that the federal high court gave its verdict without joining the necessary parties who were the real targets of the claim in the case with suit number FHC/KN/CS/107/2023, filed by one Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim.

Former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and top diplomat, Professor Ibrahim Gambari has revealed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo almost became the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) in 1991.

Speaking at the public presentation of the biography of the first African UN Secretary-General, the late Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who assumed office in 1991 but served only one term till 1996, Gambari revealed that Obasanjo’s military background disqualified him from being selected by the countries with veto power.

Recalling the event leading to the selection of the late Boutros-Ghali as the US Secretary General in 1991, Buhari’s former CoS said some envoy told him back then: “Your candidate (Olusegun Obasanjo) has no chance in hell of becoming secretary.

The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has urged the federal government to consider allowing individuals to legally purchase guns and weapons to defend themselves against bandits.

The Governor lamented that the criminals have perfected illegal ways to have access to weapons and the state governments as well as others concerned also need to be allowed to create institutions that can allow them to defend themselves and their people.

Governor Dikko, during a press conference in Abuja on Friday, decried the situation where state governors don’t have command of the military, police and other security agencies, but are expected to defend their states as chief security officers.

Despite the situation, Dikko highlighted the resolve of his administration to deal with the criminals and other security challenges in Katsina State. According to him, his government would not negotiate with bandits.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has revealed its expectation after the Supreme Court released the date to hear the petition by its 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar on the outcome of the presidential election in the country.

It would be recalled that the Supreme Court has picked Monday, October 23 to hear the appeal filed by the PDP and Atiku challenging the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

The presidential petition panel had affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 election.

But Atiku and the PDP disagreed with the verdict and approached the apex court for a redress

Again, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has been vindicated over the news making the rounds that his ministry plans to demolish a part of the Abuja National Mosque.

In a recent statement made available to newsmen, the Abuja National Mosque Management Board discredited the false reports circulating on social media, urging the Muslim community to ignore the viral reports.

It said the speculations are the result of conflict merchants attempting to stir up religious tensions and tarnish the minister’s reputation. Naija News understands that the board’s visit to the minister on Wednesday was successful, as the former Governor of Rivers State welcomed them warmly and granted approval for their requests.

The Board, led by its Chairman, the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, had visited the minister on Wednesday to seek clarification on the status of its plots, 63 and 99, in the wake of the administration’s drive to recover all ground rents debts.

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