Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Saturday, 21st May, 2022

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today Saturday, 21st May 2022.

El-Rufai’s Alarm On Boko Haram Migration Vis-à-vis The Obasanjo Revelation

The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai must have sent shivers down the spine of concerned Nigerians when he disclosed on Wednesday that “the problem of insecurity now has moved from the North-East to the North-West” as he decried the emergence of Boko Haram elements and terrorists’ enclave in parts of his state. This calls to mind an earlier disclosure by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed that preliminary investigation into the fatal Abuja-Kaduna train attack revealed the impact of collaboration between bandits and dislodged Boko Haram terrorists from the North-East.

El-Rufai, who spoke during the presentation of the Kaduna State Security Incident Report of the first quarter of 2022, which took place at the Council Chambers of Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, disclosed that instances of insecurity in his state indicate “a movement from banditry to terrorism with expertise in making explosive devices. And again this is because Boko Haram and Ansaru elements have moved into the state’’. The Governor added that the terrorists were making comments like “the forests in Kaduna are even better than that of Sambisa and so they should all relocate here”.

Lalong Shuns Tinubu, Osinbajo, Fayemi, Others, Reveals Who Plateau APC Delegates Will Vote For

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has openly backed the presidential ambition of the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

Lalong stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) delegates in the state will vote for Rotimi Amaechi in the party’s primary election.

The Governor stated this at a meeting with Amaechi and APC delegates at the government house in Jos on Friday.

Lalong revealed that he had invited other APC presidential aspirants to the state to meet delegates but they have all rejected his invite.

Biafra: What Facebook Must Do To Buhari Govt – Nnamdi Kanu’s US Lawyer Writes Mark Zuckerberg

Bruce Fein, a United States lawyer of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has urged Facebook to ban the Muhammadu Buhari-led government from its platform.

Naija News reports that Fein made the plea in a letter addressed to Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, following the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, meeting with Facebook.

Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer accused the federal government of carrying out allege genocide and crimes against humanity on the people of the southeast and members of IPOB.

2023 Presidency: Lists Of Governors Who Use Private Jets For Political Consultations

Some serving Nigerian governors have expressed their intention to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

Naija News reports that the governors are both from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ahead of their presidential primaries in Abuja, 38 presidential hopefuls have been going around the 36 states and FCT in private jets to woo delegates for their votes.

It is understood that the aspirants spend millions of naira to charter private jets to move around and talk to delegates to advance their presidential ambitions.

N80bn Fraud: No Respite For AGF Ahmed Idris As EFCC Gets Fresh Order Against Him

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reportedly got  a court order to detain the embattled Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris.

It was gathered that the EFCC secured the order within 24 hours after Idris was arrested in Kano.

A source in the anti-graft agency told Daily Trust that they have been relying on the court order to keep him in their custody pending the conclusion of their investigation.

“He is still here with us, he has been cooperating. We will get to the root of the matter. The good thing is that our legal department has secured a court order helping us to hold him till we conclude our investigations,” the source said.

Buhari Appoints Semiu Adeniran As New Statistician General

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran as the new Statistician-General of the Federation.

Naija News reports that Sufuyan Ojeifo, spokesman to the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, made this known in a terse statement on Friday.

The statement added that Adeniran has also been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

His appointment follows the death of the former Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr Simon Harry, who died on April 13th, 2022, eight months into his five years tenure.

FG Suspends Resumption Of Abuja-Kaduna Train Service Indefinitely

The Federal Government has suspended the resumption of the Abuja-Kaduna train service indefinitely following pressure from families of victims of the March 28 attack.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had earlier fixed the 23rd of May for the resumption of the train service.

The relatives of the victims had rejected the plan of NRC, stating that it is insensitive to resume operations with their relatives still in captivity.

The NRC in a statement released on Friday apologised for the delay in the resumption of the service.

Deborah Samuel: Tambuwal Lifts Curfew In Sokoto

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State has lifted the curfew imposed on the state last Saturday.

Naija News recalls that Tambuwal had last Saturday imposed curfew in the state metropolis after a protest calling for the release of suspects who killed Deborah Samuel over alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad turned violent.

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has lifted the curfew imposed on Sokoto metropolis with immediate effect.

He explained that the curfew was lifted after due consultation with relevant security agencies and stakeholders.

FCT Minister’s Office Shut Over Extension Of Council Chairmen Tenure

The office of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, has been shut down by protesters over the tenure extension of six area council chairmen and councillors.

The protesters also closed the FCT Administration Secretariat over the extension of the council chairmen and councillors’ term in office.

Naija News learned that the tenure of the chairmen and councillors expired on Thursday and the newly-elected officials were supposed to be sworn in today (Friday) following their election in February.

But the FCT minister cited a court judgement on the matter and announced the suspension of the inauguration of the newly-elected chairman and councillors.

CAN Reacts As IPOB Tells Pastor Kumuyi To Stay Away From South- East

The Christian Association of Nigeria has appealed to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra not to stop the planned crusade of the General Overseer of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, in the Southeast, saying it would be a blessing for the region.

Naija News reports that IPOB through its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, on Thursday urged the cleric not to hold crusade in the southeast region of Nigeria following security concerns.

“The operation of criminals operating as unknown gunmen infiltrating the events is high and they will blame it on IPOB,” he said in a statement.

Speaking to the Punch, the Special Assistant (Media and Communications) to the CAN President, Rev Dr Samson Ayokunle, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, stated that while IPOB has expressed its concerns, it should note that the coming of the cleric will help the southeast region achieve victory over every sad development.

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