Good day, good citizens of Nigeria, here are headlines from Nigerian Newspapers that may interest you today, Thursday, November 25, 2021.
1. Nigeria will survive its challenges, despite escalating grievances, says Fitch [ThisDay Newspaper]
Notwithstanding threats posed by the Islamist insurgency in the north, clashes between Fulani herdsmen and pastoralists in the Middle Belt region as well as growing unrest in the South which have continued to threaten the country’s existence, Nigeria will survive its challenges over the next decade even though they would weigh on its economic growth by deterring investment and impeding private consumption, the Fitch Solutions Group, an affiliate of global ratings agency, Fitch, has stated.
2. FG: Cause of Nembe oil spill yet to be determined [ThisDay Newspaper]
Three weeks after a pipeline explosion in Nembe, Bayelsa State, which led to oil spillage across 45 communities in the state, the federal government, yesterday, said it was yet to establish the cause of the eruption. It frowned on speculations that the explosion might be an act of sabotage.
The federal government also denied reports that the country lost over 200,000 barrels of oil to the spillage, which had not been contained since the explosion on November 1.
3. Court orders Immigration to release Odili’s passport within five days [The Nation Newspaper]
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and its Comptroller General, Idris Isah Jere, to release the international passport of former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili within five days.
Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order yesterday as a condition for the hearing of an application filed by the NIS and its Comptroller General for a stay of the court’s October 18, 2021 judgment which ordered them to release Odili’s passport and publish a written apology to him.
4. Labour rejects proposed petrol price hike by govt [The Nation Newspaper]
Labour yesterday rejected the proposed hike in pump price of fuel to N340 per litre next year.
It warned that an increase in the price of petrol will lead to hyper-inflation and an astronomical rise in the cost of goods and services.
Besides, the trade union said talks over petrol subsidy with the government was inconclusive.
5. PETROL SUBSIDY REMOVAL, N5,000 grant: Senate kicks; NLC, TUC threaten showdown [Vanguard Newspaper]
The Senate, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and experts yesterday disagreed with the Federal Government’s plan to remove fuel subsidy next year and replace it with a N5,000 monthly transport grant to 40 million Nigerians.
While the Senate said there was no provision for such grant in the 2022 budget, TUC expressed shock that government could come up with this when negotiations on subsidy removal between government and the Labour movement is still ongoing, saying it is unacceptable.
The Nigerian Labour Congress on its part, described the development as an open invitation for unrest and revolt.
6. Secession: Clark, Jega canvass restructuring before 2023 polls to avert more agitations [Vanguard Newspaper]
Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, and ex-chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, again, canvassed urgent restructuring of the country to nip in the bud the spate of secessionist agitations in the country.
While Clark noted that what the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and Yoruba Nation agitators were currently doing in their agitations for self-determination would be child’s play, if Nigeria was not restructured, Jega said the country needed to be urgently restructured, even only on short-term basis, before 2023 polls.
7. Pension assets rise 0.8% to N13trn, RSA registration now 9.5m [Vanguard Newspaper]
Total Pension assets of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, increased by 0.8 per cent Month-on-Month, MoM, to N13 trillion in September 2021 from N12.9 trillion recorded in August 2021.
According to the unaudited report on pension funds industry portfolio for the period which ended 30 September 2021 obtained from the National Pension Commission, PenCom, the total Retirement Savings Account (RSA) registration rose marginally by 0.4 per cent to 9.5 million from 9.4 million recorded in August.
8. 5G: Nigerians should expect smart cities, self-driving car facilities, says NCC [Punch Newspaper]
The Nigerian Communications Commission says Nigerians should expect gigabytes per second for smart cities, self-driving cars, robust telemedicine, and others with the deployment of the fifth-generation technology in Nigeria.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, hinted this while responding to questions during a webinar, titled: “Unlocking 5G potential in Africa”, held on StreamYard, on Monday.
