Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Wednesday, 1st February, 2023

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Wednesday, 1st February 2023

1. Lai Mohammed Reveals Those Using Fake News To Undermine 2023 Elections

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has alleged that the opposition parties are using fake news to try to undermine the forthcoming elections.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Mohammed claimed that the opposition parties have been spreading fake news, and disinformation on the social media space in the run-up to the general elections.

The minister asserted that the sole aim of the opposition is to destabilize the electoral process and plunge the nation into crisis.

He said that the antics of the opposition parties is to constitute a clear and present danger to next month’s general election.

Mohammed, however, said the federal government has a range of options to checkmate the use of fake news and disinformation, and is looking at the best options to ensure that the agents of destabilization do not thwart the success of the elections.

2. Banks Will Continue To Accept Old Naira Notes After Deadline – Emefiele

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said banks will continue to accept old naira notes after the February 10 deadline.

Emefiele added that the apex bank will also continue to collect the old naira notes from commercial banks after the stipulated deadline.

He made this known during his appearance at an interactive session with the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on the currency redesign and naira swap policy on Tuesday in Abuja.

Emefiele made reference to Section 20, Subsection 3 of the CBN Act 2007 which mandates the apex bank to continue to accept old notes after the expiration of the deadline.

Speaking about the redesign of the naira, he said the CBN’s actions were in line with international best practices and the apex bank has to be in control of the currency in circulation.

Emefiele said in 2015 N1.4 trillion was in circulation, and by last year it had risen to N3.33 trillion.

He explained that the reason for directing banks to ensure only ATM withdrawals was to limit the daily withdrawal of individuals.

The CBN boss decried the trend of the new notes being sighted at parties and stated he was in meetings with commercial banks to mitigate these.

3. I Will Cage It – Tinubu Makes Solemn Promise As He Storms Peter Obi’s State For Presidential Rally

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has promised the people of Anambra that he would tackle the state’s erosion menace the same way he “caged” the Atlantic ocean surge in Lagos State.

Naija News reports that the Eko Atlantic City in Lagos comprises a total of 10 districts, spread across a land area of approximately 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean.

It was a pet project of Tinubu during his time as the governor of the state but his successor, Babatunde Fashola drove the project to the implementation stage.

Tinubu, while speaking during his Presidential campaign rally in Awka, Anambra state capital on Tuesday, said if elected, he would make Anambra the industrial hub of the country.

4. Osun Tribunal: Adeleke Speaks On Forging Certificates

The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has denied claims that he forged any of his certificates.

The governor’s media aide, Olawale Rasheed, in a statement released on Tuesday, said the clarification was necessary following a component of the judgement of the Osun Election Petitions Tribunal purporting forgery against Adeleke.

He said the public should know that Adeleke did not forge his testimonial or any certificate, describing the claim as an attempt to damage the reputation of the governor.

The statement read in part, “We seek to clarify a very sinister component of the Kangaroo judgement on Osun Governorship election. Governor Ademola Adeleke did not forge any certificate or testimonial.

“The issue of forgery has to do with an error on school testimonial which bears Osun instead of Oyo State. Osun State was part of Oyo State when Governor Adeleke completed his high school education in 1981.

“The issuing school testified before the Court of Appeal in 2018 that it was their error, which has nothing to do with Governor Adeleke. The Court of Appeal ruled that there was no forgery and exonerated Governor Adeleke of any forgery.

“The public should know that Governor Adeleke did not forge this testimonial or any certificate. This was an attempt to damage the reputation of Governor Adeleke.

“The tribunal chairman should explain how he arrived at his opinion when the Court of Appeal had cleared Governor Adeleke of any forgery.”

5. LP Campaign Director Reveals Why He Dumped Peter Obi

The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, received a heavy blow in Bauchi state as his campaign director in the state, Alhaji Alhassan Bawu abandoned the party.

On Tuesday, the Campaign Director of Peter Obi in Bauchi admitted that the Labour Party does not have any structure in the state to win any form of election.

Hence, Bawu decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which is seen as the major rival of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former LP chieftain defected from the Obi’s party to the PDP alongside some officials of the Labour Party in the Northeast.

While announcing his defection to reporters earlier today, Bawu said all LP’s chairmen, state and zonal officers, as well as national officers from the region, had defected to the PDP to support the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar.

6. Nigeria Drop Points In Latest Corruption Ranking

The latest corruption ranking data released by Transparency International has shown Nigeria dropped to 150 in rank against 180 countries.

The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), as seen on the global movement’s official website on Tuesday, shows that most countries of the world are failing to stop corruption, Naija News reports.

A total of 180 countries and territories worldwide were ranked by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, and Nigeria, under President Muhammadu Buhari‘s leadership, seemed to have failed again.

Naija News recalls that Transparency International (TI) in its 2020 CPI, ranked Nigeria as the second most corrupt country in West Africa.

The report also rates only 12 countries as more corrupt than Nigeria in the whole of Africa, with Nigeria occupying 149th position out of 180 countries of the world at the time.

However, in its latest report, Nigeria scored 24 out of 100 points, falling off to 150th out of 180 countries. The CPI is TI’s tool for measuring the levels of corruption in the systems of various countries around the world.

Based on the CTI measurement tool, a country can score maximum points 100 points, and the least is zero. Zero signifies the worst-performing government, and 100 is the best-ranked.

7. New Naira Notes: ‘Emefiele Is An Enemy Of Democracy’ – Fani-Kayode

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Fani-Kayode, has described the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, as an enemy of democracy.

The former Minister of Aviation claimed that Emefiele has weaponized the apex bank and wants to derail the country’s democracy by provoking an uprising.

Fani-Kayode opined that the CBN policy of phasing out the old notes must be totally canceled until the general election was held and then done lawfully.

In a post via his verified Twitter handle on Tuesday, the former minister claimed Emefiele wants to cause a crisis, provoke a people’s uprising, and pave the way for an Interim Government.

He also alleged that the CBN governor has no plan to release enough new naira notes and intends to starve the people of cash and drive them to rage out of frustration.

8. If You Are A Man, Name Your Preferred Presidential Candidate Now – Wike Dared

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr Dakuku Peterside has called on Governor Nyesom Wike to publicly name his preferred presidential candidate without further delay.

Speaking at the APC rally in Opobo-Nkoro, Peterside accused the Rivers State Governor of placing personal interest above public interests.

He added that Wike is not a man of courage as he ought to have publicly revealed his preferred presidential candidate for the February 25 polls.

9. Naira Redesign: Lagos Assembly Says Nigerians Are Suffering, Economy In Danger

The Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has brought mass suffering on the citizens of the country while the economy is in danger, the Lagos State House of Assembly has lamented.

The lawmakers further noted that even though the policy was a good one, its timing was wrong as it had further thrown the country into economic chaos which could become difficult to resolve if urgent steps are not taken.

The CBN had announced a 10-day extension of the deadline for currency swap at the weekend, but at a sitting presided over by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa on Tuesday, the lawmakers urged the CBN to extend the deadline for currency swap as the policy had not helped the country.

Dr. Obasa noted that the concern of the lawmakers had to do with the pains, anguish and anger spreading among Nigerians over their inability to access the new currency.

The Speaker said the CBN should have engaged stakeholders while citizens should have been adequately carried along rather than an ‘over-night’ policy by the CBN.

10. ‘I Will Reply You One Day’ – Udom Emmanuel Fires Tinubu

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel has condemned the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu over his comment during the APC presidential campaign on Monday.

Emmanuel in his reaction to Tinubu’s statement at the rally, said he won’t join issues with Tinubu, but rather focus on installing good governance to rescue Nigeria.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor said if someone had insulted Tinubu in Lagos State or his state of the indigene, they won’t have returned home safely.

He, however, noted that he is not like that, adding that he provided Tinubu with government facilities, security and several things and he was still insulted.

Emmanuel said Tinubu does not have anything to bring to the table for Nigerians, hence his decision to abuse people instead of issue-based campaigns.