Happy morning! The summary from Nigerian Newspapers for today is as follows:
1. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, has officially released his platform, titled “Obi/Baba-Ahmed Pact with Nigerians.” In order to kickstart the economy and shift the nation from consumption to production, the Manifesto pledges seven major priority areas.
2. To save face, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited is allegedly accused by the Nigerian Navy of not disclosing the exact cause(s) of crude oil theft in the nation and instead providing inflated statistics. Rear Admiral Solomon Agada, the Navy’s chief of training and operations, revealed this information to the Senate Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes during an interactive briefing of the pertinent agencies.
3. Oba Clement Olukotun, the traditional ruler of Oso Ajowa-Akoko, in the Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, has been held captive for 72 hours. His captors have called his family and demanded a N100m ransom for his release.
At around 10.15 p.m. on Thursday, a group of armed men kidnapped Oba Jimoh from his home and carried him somewhere unknown.
4. Three citizens of the communities of Abule-Oko, Agbado, Olaogun, and Ijoko in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State have been shot by unidentified gunmen. According to reports, the shooting started on Friday at around 8:30 when the gunmen invaded the neighbourhoods. The event was reported on Saturday by Soji Ganzallo, the So-Safe Corps commander in Ogun State.
5. Yesterday, Pat Utomi, a past candidate for president, asserted that Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) is supported by two former heads of state. This was said by Utomi on Friday in Abuja at a town hall meeting hosted by the Yell Out Nigeria for Good Governance group.
6. The assertions made by the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, that they were to blame for the country’s rising poverty index have been characterised as surprising by the 36 governors of states that operate under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. They argued that the minister’s assertion that the governors had abandoned the rural population was demonstrably false.
7. The governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, expressed confidence that his first-term performance will help him win the state’s governorship race next year. The governor declared that his record would get him a second term at the official campaign launch event at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, yesterday.
8. The Nigerian military blasted the international news organisation Reuters for what it called “mercenary journalism.” It claimed that Reuters reported that it was working on a number of articles about allegedly unlawful actions taken by the Nigerian military during the 13-year conflict between the government and Islamist insurgents in the nation’s North East.
9. Yesterday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) file including Governor Ademola Adeleke’s secondary school transcript and testimonial was admitted in evidence by the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal. At this point, the respondents are free to present their defence after the petitioners, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC), closed the case.
10. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) leaves Abuja today for high-level bilateral meetings in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. President Nguyn Xuân Phc of Vietnam, Vice President Vo Thi Aah Xuan, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, senior government leaders, and members of the business community will also be in attendance during Osinbajo’s meetings.
