Nigerian Newspaper Headlines & Naija News Today, Monday December 19, 2022

1. Argentina yesterday defeated France 4-2 on penalties after a terrific final on Sunday evening to lift the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The highly contested match had ended 2-2 after regulation time and 3-3 after extra time, forcing the two football giants to go into a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

2. Fresh facts emerged on Sunday on why operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, deployed to work with Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, were removed by the State command of the service. Findings revealed that there was a clash between the police team and the DSS team deployed to work with Adeleke last Thursday.

3. The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria yesterday expressed optimism that the Central Bank of Nigeria will reverse its cash withdrawal limits policy before the new year. The AMMBAN National President, Victor Olojo, disclosed on Sunday that the National Assembly has promised to prevail on the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to revise the policy.

4. The Yoruba World Congress has endorsed the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for the 2023 election, saying that his precedents, qualities, ideals, and dreams for the betterment of Nigeria put him far ahead of other contenders for the county’s exalted seat.

5. Suspected herders have killed three people at Adaka, a suburb of Makurdi, Benue State. The incident happened on Friday when some herders invaded the community and attacked residents on their farm. Some of the locals believed that the attack was a reprisal for the killing of some cows that destroyed their farmland.

6. Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a suspected kidnapper after two members of his syndicate were arrested at Onigbedu forest in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of the State. The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the police combed the forest in search of fleeing members of the gang after the two suspects were arrested.

7. President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Most Reverend Daniel Okoh has advised Nigerians to refrain from being used by politicians for selfish reasons and electoral violence. Speaking at a thanksgiving service in Lagos yesterday, Okoh said Nigeria would fare better when good and credible leaders are at the helm of affairs.

8. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Katsina State said yesterday that the government has declined its request to use the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium for its presidential rally scheduled for tomorrow. Director-General, Katsina PDP Campaign Council, Alhaji Mustapha Muhammed Inuwa said at a press briefing that on two occasions, they applied to use the stadium for the rally but was denied.

9. Few days after the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, released the redesigned naira notes in the denominations of N200, N500 and N1,000, fake copies of the new N1000 naira notes have been released into the economy. A mobile money and bank agent in a video disclosed this, saying that a customer performed a bank transaction through his wife’s Point of Sale (PoS) using the fake copy of the redesigned N1,000.

10. Petty traders on Saturday recorded brisk business as the FCT chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held a mega rally to draw support for its candidates in the forthcoming election, particularly the presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed. The rally, which was organised by the FCT minister of State, Hajia Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, took off from Unity Fountain to Zuba town down to Giri junction, Airport Road.