Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Wednesday, 31st May, 2023

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Wednesday, 31st May 2023

1. Tinubu Makes Clarification On Fuel Subsidy Removal Comment

President Bola Tinubu has said the announcement of the removal of the fuel subsidy is not a new development nor an action of his administration.

Naija News reports that Tinubu stated this following the long queues at petrol stations nationwide just hours after the news President announced the end of fuel subsidy.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Media Centre said Tinubu was merely communicating the status quo, stating the end to the removal of fuel subsidy will not take immediate effect.

The statement said the development is not a new one, considering that the previous administration’s budget for fuel subsidy was planned and approved to last for only the first half of the year.

It, however, said the panic-buying that has ensued as a result of the announcement is needless.

2. Tinubu Issues Directive To DSS Over Invasion Of EFCC Office

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately vacate the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ikoyi, Lagos State.

According to a statement by the state house, Tinubu said if there were issues between the “two important agencies of government”, they would be resolved amicably.

It would be recalled that officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) barred personnel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from entering their office in Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday morning.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its reaction, described the barricade of its Lagos office by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) as condemnable.

In a statement on Tuesday, the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren said the siege laid by the DSS at its office has left suspects in detention without care with grave implications.

Uwujaren stated that the lockout has affected the Commission’s operations at its largest hub with over 500 personnel, hundreds of critical exhibits, and many suspects in detention.

But the Department of State Services (DSS) rejected claims that its staff barred agents of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) from accessing its Lagos office.

The spokesperson for the DSS, Peter Afunanya affirmed that the agency was merely conducting an operation in “its own facility”.

However, President Tinubu in a statement by his media aide, Tunde Rahman, has ordered the DSS to vacate the disputed premises.

3. Any Attempt To Remove Fuel Subsidy Will Be Rejected – NLC Warns Tinubu

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned President Bola Tinubu against removing fuel subsidy without adequate measures to cushion the effect on workers and Nigerians.

In a statement on Tuesday, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero berated the President for announcing the end of fuel subsidy without consulting relevant stakeholders

Ajaero noted with regret that a few hours after Tinubu’s pronouncement, some marketers shut down their filling states and immediately there was a price hike in some places.

While describing the action as insensitive, the NLC President said it has brought tears and sorrow to millions of Nigerians instead of the renewed hope the administration has promised.

Ajaero, however, said any attempt to remove fuel subsidy will be rejected by Nigerians, and asked the President to immediately withdraw the policy.

4. Peter Obi Presents First Witness Against Tinubu In Court

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi has presented his first witness in court in the suit challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 election.

Naija News reports Obi and his party presented the witness on Tuesday at the resumed hearing of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

A lawyer, Lawrence Uchenna Nwakaeti, from Ihiala, Anambra state, was presented by Obi’s legal team as their first witness.

As Obi and LP commenced their trial today, their suit is hinged on the non-qualification of Tinubu who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a result of the double nomination of his Vice, Kashim Shettima, and the alleged drug trafficking conviction in the United States.

The certified true copy of the US court judgment on drug trafficking and documents from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the double nomination of Shettima were admitted in evidence.

5. Fuel Subsidy Removal: Details Of Tinubu’s Meeting With NNPCL Boss Emerges

The Chief Executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, has disclosed that the federal government is owing the company N2.8 trillion it paid on petrol subsidy.

Kyari on Tuesday told State House correspondents, after his meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, that the fuel subsidy is no longer sustainable, Naija News learnt.

He explained that the subsidy regime has made it difficult for the company to invest money into other important businesses for the government.

Kyari noted that the President’s pronouncement on the removal of the fuel subsidy on Monday was belated, adding that the fuel queues that have resurfaced are understandable because the situation is uncertain.

While making a case for fuel marketers, the NNPCL boss said they would like to understand better what the President means with his pronouncement of the removal of the subsidy.

Kyari, however, assured that government will initiate measures to cushion the effects of the removal of subsidy.

6. Senate Presidency: ‘I Won’t Step Down’, Orji Kalu Insists

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu has insisted that he would not withdraw from the race for the seat of the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.

Naija News recalls that the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) had endorsed Godswill Akpabio (Akwa-Ibom) and Jibrin Barau (Kano) as their preferred candidates for the positions of Senate President and deputy respectively.

A development that has stirred a lot of anger from other aspirants for the principal positions of the 10th NASS including Kalu.

In a fresh development, it was gathered that Kalu on Tuesday told pressmen in Abuja that he was not withdrawing from the race for Akpabio.

He revealed that instead he and a former Zamfara governor and a frontline contender for the position, Abdul’aziz Yari, who is also aggrieved about the APC’s zoning arrangement, are forming an alliance which would soon be known.

7. Shettima Reacts To Tinubu’s Decision To Remove Fuel Subsidy

Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has reacted to his principal, President Bola Tinubu‘s decision to remove subsidy from Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), better known as fuel or petrol.

Naija News recalls that former President, Muhammadu Buhari, attempted to remove the subsidy months ago but suspended the plan weeks before his tenure expiration.

However, Tinubu, while delivering his inaugural speech on Monday at the Eagles Square in Abuja, declared an end to fuel subsidy.

Defending his principal while addressing journalists after he resumed office as the number two citizen in Aso Villa on Tuesday, Shettima said Nigeria would eventually suffer in the long run if Tinubu’s administration fails to remove fuel subsidy.

According to him, removing the fuel subsidy would be in the interest of the masses as against the upper class that would protest it because they are the beneficiaries all along.

8. OAU Student’s Murder: Court Sentences Hotel Owner To Death By Hanging

The Chief Judge of the Osun State High Court, Justice Oyebola Ojo, has delivered judgment in the murder case of Timothy Adegoke, a former master’s degree student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Naija News reports that the Judge found the popular hotel owner, Dr. Ramon Adedoyin, guilty of Adegoke’s death, which occurred between November 5 and 7, 2021, at Hilton Honours Hotel, Ile-Ife.

Delivering judgment, Justice Ojo held that the circumstantial evidence available to the court pointed to the killing of Adegoke while being a guest at the hotel owned by Adedoyin.

According to her, Adedoyin’s decision not to enter the witness box did not help him, as the circumstantial evidence had shifted the burden of proof on him.

She also said Adedoyin’s decision not to enter the witness box meant he agreed to the murder charge pressed against him by the prosecution, dismissing the alibi pleaded on his behalf by his counsel, who said the hotel owner was in Abuja for many days around the time the death of the late Adegoke occurred.

She sentenced the hotel’s owner to death by hanging alongside two others who were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

9. Nigeria Police Release Details Of 78 Arrested Allies Of Ex-Oyo State Parks Chairman, Auxiliary

The Oyo State Police Command has taken into custody 78 individuals associated with the Park Management System (PMS) under allegations of planning substantial public disturbances in the state.

Naija News had earlier reported that police during an operation at Diamond Hotel, Alakia, Ibadan, owned by the former PMS chairman, Mukaila Lamidi, also known as Auxiliary, recovered guns, ammunition, and charms.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Command’s spokesperson, SP Osifeso Adewale, confirmed that the police operation was based on intelligence and designed to thwart what he called a “coordinated attempt at destabilising the state through wide-scale civil disturbance.”

He implicated the Park Management Systems and Mukaila Lamidi AKA Auxiliary, particularly in the light of the recent dissolution of the Disciplinary Committee of the PMS.

He added that more firearms were found in hotel rooms and parked vehicles.

10. Reps Back Tinubu On Removal Of Fuel Subsidy

The House of Representatives has commended the move by President Bola Tinubu to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol.

Naija News recalls that Tinubu during his inauguration as President on Monday declared the removal of fuel subsidy, a development which has aroused lots of reactions, both positive and negative.

However, during plenary on Tuesday, the House unanimously adopted a motion of urgent public importance moved by a member of the House, Jimoh Olajide (APC/Lagos).

The lawmaker, therefore, prayed to the House to “Salute his courage and boldness to serve our country Nigeria with honesty and integrity” and to “congratulate him for his readiness for national task ahead and service to humanity.”

He as well urged them “Appeal to Nigerians to remain patient, resilient and prayerful so that the President can deliver on his promises,” after which lawmakers unanimously adopted the motion and the prayer.

Those are the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.