Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Friday, 11th September, 2020

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today Friday, 11th September 2020

1. Resident Doctors Suspend Nationwide Strike

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Thursday suspended the nationwide industrial action.

Aliyu Sokumba who is the President of NARD made this known on Thursday evening.

Dr Sokumba said the union will review the progress made in talks with the Federal Government in two weeks.

2. FG Against Reopening of Schools In Nigeria

The Federal Government has stated that it is against the reopening of schools after their closure due to the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This was made known by the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, on Thursday at a meeting of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 with the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee (NTLC) on National Primary Health.

Naija News reports that the meeting was presided over by the Minister of Information and Culture on behalf of the Chairman of PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

The meeting was to seek the support of the traditional rulers towards preventing community spread of COVID-19.

Responding to a question from Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar, on school reopening, Nwajiuba said it has not come to a point where he is convinced that schools should be re-opened for academic exercise.

3. Benue: Nigeria Military Breaks Silence On Soldiers Killing Gana

The Defence headquarters on Thursday refused to take a definite position on the killing of a notorious militia leader in Benue State, Terwase Akwaza, also known as Gana, by the military.

It was gathered that the murder of the Wanted Benue Gang leader came after he surrendered for the amnesty programme in Katsina-Ala township stadium in Katsina-Ala local government area of Benue North senatorial zone on Tuesday, September 8.

Gana was in a convoy to participate in the amnesty programme of the Benue state government when he was reportedly dragged out of a car by soldiers at a checkpoint in Gbitse, near Yandev roundabout in the Gboko Local Government Area of the state.

He was allegedly captured by armed soldiers on his way to present himself to Governor Samuel Ortom.

The Commander of Operation Ayem AKpatuma, Maj. Gen. Ali Gadzama, claimed that Gana was killed in a gun battle with the soldiers.

Speaking on Thursday during the weekly briefing on military operations in Abuja, the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, said he would not take issues with Governor Ortom and other political leaders who had condemned the incident.

Enenche said he would not be drawn into any controversy on the extrajudicial killing of the gang leader.

4. FG To Pay 433,000 Nigerians, Businesses N50,000, N30,00 Each

President Muhammadu Buhari‘s Special Assistant on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Tola Johnson, has revealed that 100,000 small businesses will get N50,000 each.

Naija News understands that the decision is part of COVID-19 economic stimulus.

Johnson stated this at the inauguration of the Implementation of Survival Fund and Guaranteed Off-Take Stimulus Schemes for MSMEs on Thursday in Abuja.

The Presidential aide who happens to be the project coordinator noted that the schemes are part of the Economic Sustainability Plan drafted by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo-led committee and approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

5. Police Rescue 5 Of The Victims Kidnapped By Gunmen In Abuja

The FCT Police Command has rescued some of the victims kidnapped by gunmen in the early hours of Thursday in Tungan Maje, a village bordering Abuja and Niger state.

This was confirmed in a statement made available to Naija News by DSP Anjuguri Manzah, Police Public Relations Officer, FCT Police Command.

The Police noted that five of the ten victims were rescued after a fierce gun battle with the hoodlums who were also heavily armed.

Manzah added that effort has been deployed to rescue the remaining five victims that are still with the hoodlums who escaped into Niger state through a nearby forest that is surrounded by rocky terrain.

He, however, assured members of the public that protection of lives and property remains the core of its policing mandate and it will continue to inject fresh strategies that will place the security of the Federal Capital Territory at its optimum.

6. Bakers Association Threaten To Increase Price Of Bread In Nigeria

The Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria and the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria has threatened to increase bread price should the current high cost of ingredient persist.

The Bakers association revealed their intention during a press conference held in Lagos State on Thursday, September 10, Naija News understands.

According to them, they would be left with no option but to react to price increase in baking ingredients by increasing the prices of bread. Speaking on Thursday, Tosan Jemide, the President, PBAN, lamented that businesses had been stagnant due to the incessant increase in the prices of baking ingredients.

Jemide noted that in the last six months, “the prices of flour, sugar and other baking ingredients had skyrocketed without a corresponding increase in the prices of bread by member bakeries.”

7. Subsidy Removal: Nigeria To Save Over A Trillion Naira Yearly – Sylva Says

The Federal Government has highlighted how much revenue the removal of fuel subsidy will bring to Nigeria.

Minister of state petroleum resources, Timipre Sylva, while speaking to reporters in Abuja, stated that Nigeria would save over N1 trillion annually due to the removal of fuel subsidy. He also noted that with the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil sector, it would be easier to woo investors required to revitalise the nation’s comatose refineries soon.

The minister contended that the sustenance of the fuel subsidy regime was no longer tenable as it had always provided the leeway for rich and unscrupulous Nigerians to steal and enrich themselves at the expense of the masses.

Listing the benefits inherent in the policy, he argued that, “What is deregulation going to do? It is going to free up a lot more money. At least from the very beginning, it will save us up to a trillion and more every year. Already, we have taken up the budgetary provision for subsidy which is about N500 billion in the budget.

8. It Is Wrong For Courts To Decide Elections – Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday noted that it is wrong for courts to decide the outcome of elections rather the outcome should be decided by ballots.

Jonathan stated this while speaking on The Osasu Show Symposium 2020.

The former president further stated that electronic voting is the only way to get to credible elections in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

“For elections to be democratic, that means that the outcome of the elections must depend on the ballot, not any other institution, not even the court.”

“If the ballots don’t decide who wins, then we are not practicing democracy.”

“And if we are now in a situation where people use force of arms and thugs to win elections, then we can’t say we are practicing democracy,” he said.

9. Northern Cyprus Denies Claims Of Killing Hundreds Of Nigerian Students

Claims by the federal government that hundreds of Nigerian students are being killed in Northern Cyprus have been refuted by the country.

Northern Cyprus’ Minister of National Education and Culture, Nazim Cavusoglu, in a statement, described the claims as “unfounded and false.”

Naija News recalls the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had on Monday 24th August, 2020, warned Nigerian parents and guardians to stop sending their children to schools in Northern Cyprus.

She said this on the heels of the recent killing of a Nigerian student, Ibrahim Khaleel who was allegedly murdered in the country.

Dabiri-Erewa added that not less than sixteen Nigerian students have been killed in the country in recent times, while many others are not reported, adding that the country is only recognized by Turkey and not other countries or the United Nations, making diplomatic negotiations in such matters almost impossible.

However, Northern Cyprus has in the statement by its Minister, dismissed the claims.

10. Federal Government To Spend $2.3bn On 1st Phase of Presidential Power Initiative- Goddy Agba

The Federal Government of Nigeria has revealed how much money will be spent on the first phase of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).

Speaking during the Nigerian Energy Forum (NEF 2020) Webinar in Lagos, tagged “Energy Solution for Sustainable Recovery” on Thursday, the Minister of State for Power, Mr Goddy Agba revealed that the Federal Government of Nigeria will spend 2.3 billion dollars aimed at increasing the nation’s power transmission capacity to 7,000MW.

According to Agba, the various interventions are grouped into phases with the near term objective being to increase the transmission capacity from the current level of just over 5,000MW to 7,000MW.

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