Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Sunday, 17th November, 2024

Good morning, Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Sunday, 17th November, 2024.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a State Visit at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Sunday.

This was disclosed in a statement on Saturday by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Naija News understands that Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to arrive on Saturday.

His visit to Nigeria will be the first by an Indian prime minister since Dr Manmohan Singh’s state visit in 2007, when the two nations established a strategic partnership.

The statement disclosed that “President Tinubu and Prime Minister Modi will seek to strengthen Nigeria’s and India’s ties further during their bilateral discussions.

“Both leaders will exchange signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to enhance collaboration in critical sectors.”

The Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, said he would accept defeat if the governorship election did not favour him.

Lucky Aiyedatiwa said that he would accept the outcome as long as the voting process remains peaceful.

The Ondo State Governor, who is seeking his re-election under the All Progressives Congress (APC) stated this while speaking to journalists immediately after casting his vote on Saturday (today).

He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff, the security agents and the people for the peaceful process of the election.

“I’ve just cast my vote. The assessment so far, the area has been peaceful, from the information at my disposal, but judging from what is happening here it is peaceful. People are generally exercising franchise by casting their votes peacefully and I want to believe that this is what is happening in other parts of the state.

“For INEC, they’ve been very transparent with the whole process. I went through the process myself, accreditation, given the ballot paper and I casted my vote, and that is what they have been doing for every voter. So I think that it is the process. So they are adhering to the process.

“But for the security, they are also on ground. And so far, we have not recorded any issue, any crisis. Anyway, I’ve not heard of any. I can only be at one polling unit at a time, that is where I am.

“But information gathered from other locations. We have not heard about any incident of any violence, as it were. So, I want to believe that the election will be peaceful.

“Even during elections, different elections, different times. Apart from 1983 when we have a major crisis, since then, we still have been peaceful. We’ve learned our lessons. We comport ourselves. I want to also salute the youth, very, very obedient. I want to believe the whole exercise will be peaceful, transparent, credible and conclusive,” the Governor said.

Human rights lawyer, Effiong Inibehe, has advised the General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to withdraw from defending the government of President Bola Tinubu.

Effiong Inibehe said this while reacting to Pastor Adeboye’s statement that God’s intervention through his prayers saved naira from falling to ₦10,000 per US dollar.

Adeboye also praised President Tinubu for removing fuel subsidy which he said was the root of the country’s financial problem.

In his reaction to the RCCG Pastor’s words, Inibehe advised him to “retire and go home“.

He accused Adeboye of deceiving Nigerians by stating the government stopped paying for subsidy.

Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has stated that his principal will not dignify some hustlers masquerading as activists with any response.

Naija News reports that Olayinka made this known following the recent attack on Wike by Human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju.

However, Spokesperson to the FCT Minister, in a statement on Saturday, said Wike would not respond to those jumping from one social media platform to another to speak against him.

Olayinka stated that Wike knows the antics through which the activists have sustained themselves and will not yield to it.

The Nigeria Police Force has explained that Nnamdi Emeh, the whistleblower on the alleged organ trafficking ring in Anambra station, is still incarcerated because due process are been followed and he has not yet to met certain bail conditions.

While the force stated categorically that it does not influence the judiciary on the process involved in granting the suspect bail, it mentioned that all charges preferred against the individual were duly filed.

Naija News recalls that Emeh’s relative, who spoke to journalists earlier, asserted that the suspect had met his bail conditions following his arrest and detention, an aftermath of his supposed revelations about alleged happenings at a police station in Anambra.

The police were said to have filed 12 charges against Emeh, which included possession of firearms, money laundering, defamation of character, and the unlawful transfer of N47 million from one account to another.

However, the relative who spoke to SaharaReporters earlier lamented that Emeh is yet to regain his freedom as he is being imprisoned at the Nigeria Correctional Centre due to some forces allegedly frustrating his freedom.

In a swift reaction to the claims, the police force, in a press release obtained by Naija News on Saturday (today), said the court retains the exclusive prerogative to evaluate the evidence presented, determine bail conditions, and take any further necessary actions against the suspect as guided by the law.

The former majority leader of the Senate, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Daniel Bwala as special adviser to public communications and media.

Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District—the constituency of Bwala—hailed Tinubu’s decision as a demonstration of his inclusive leadership and magnanimity.

Daniel Bwala, a prominent legal practitioner and media strategist, served as the spokesperson for the presidential campaign of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Speaking on the appointment, Ndume said, “I wish to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Daniel Bwala as his special adviser to the President on public communication and media.

“This gesture deserves serious applause, particularly in view of the roles played by Bwala in the recent past.

“Bwala’s appointment is a rare demonstration of large-heartedness in leadership, a quality that is difficult to find in many leaders today.”

In a scathing critique of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described Nigeria’s deteriorating state as “confirmed and glaringly indicated and manifested for every honest person to see.”

Obasanjo made the remark while delivering the keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

In a statement by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Saturday, Obasanjo reflects on his growing concerns about Nigeria’s governance under Tinubu.

“As the world can see and understand, Nigeria’s situation is bad,” Obasanjo stated during his address, emphasizing the severity of the nation’s challenges.

The former president did not mince words as he referred to Tinubu as “Baba-go-slow” and “Emilokan,” phrases that have become synonymous with criticism of Tinubu’s leadership style and perceived sense of entitlement to the presidency.

Sixty-eight political associates of former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, have secured an interim injunction from the Edo State High Court, restraining the Nigerian Police from arresting them over a petition filed by the Acting State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in July.

The associates, who include political appointees, local government area chairmen, aides, and other allies of the former governor, filed the suit marked B/266M/2024.

The Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in Edo State, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Force CID Abuja), and the Police Service Commission (PSC) were listed as respondents in the case.

Represented by their counsel, Olayiwola Afolabi SAN, the applicants sought protection from arrest pending the determination of the case.

The court granted their request, issuing an interim injunction that restrains the police from taking any action against them based on the petition.

The Southwest Coordinator of Elders’ Forum of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Moshood Ajao, has dismissed report that Appeal Court nullified the election of Musiliu Akinsanya , known as MC Olumo, as the union’s national president.

Moshood Ajao said MC Oluomo remains the NURTW president, stressing that reports concerning him was misleading.

Ajao, in a statement on Saturday, explained that Akinsanya was elected at the Zonal Delegates Conference of NURTW in Osogbo on November 9, 2024 and was never a party to any court proceedings.

According to him, “Akinsanya neither filed nor was part of the appeal that was described as devoid of merit”.

He noted that the Appeal Court judgment was delivered in Abuja on November 8, 2024 while the Zonal Delegates Conference in Osogbo was conducted on November 9, 2024.

Nollywood actress, Iyabo Ojo, has revealed that some people accused her of killing the late Nigerian singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as Mohbad.

Naija News reports that the thespian made this known on the ‘Glass House’ podcast with Nigerian comedian AY.

Iyabo Ojo said she was also accused of using Mohbad’s death to chase clout, whereas she was genuinely interested in getting justice for the late music star.

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