Nigerian Newspaper Review: Top Stories For Friday, August 1, 2025

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. The Akure Division of the Court of Appeal in Ondo State on Thursday upheld the election of the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the November 16, 2024, governorship election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The three-member panel of the Appeal court led by Justice Yargata Nimpar unanimously ruled in Aiyedatiwa’s favour.

2. The Federal Government has approved the promotion of 51 Corps Commanders and 49 Deputy Corps Commanders in the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). FRSC spokesman, Assistant Corps Marshal, Olusegun Ogungbemide, announced this in a statement on Thursday.

3. The Federal Executive Council has approved two major electrification projects worth a combined N213.7 billion to improve energy access in universities, teaching hospitals, and rural communities across Nigeria. The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, announced the approvals while briefing journalists at the State House, Abuja, after the 7th FEC meeting.

4. Former Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, has formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party, citing the party’s inability to provide credible leadership and deliver good governance to Nigerians. In a resignation letter addressed to the chairman of the PDP in Ward 1, Aiyetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Melaye announced his immediate withdrawal from all party activities.

5. The police have confirmed the death of a 51-year-old woman, Mrs Emmanuel Love Onuora, who reportedly died while onboard a commercial tricycle in Aba, Abia State. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, came to public attention after her photograph circulated on Facebook, with some commenters identifying her as “Aunty Love,” a teacher at a popular school in Aba.

6. The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has confirmed the death of five people in two separate accidents that occurred along the Lekki-Epe Expressway on Thursday. This is just as five other passengers sustained varying degrees of injuries in the crashes.

7. No fewer than 10 thousand members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency of Ondo State, on Thursday, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress. Earlier, the member of the House of Representatives from the Federal Constituency, Mr Festus Akingbaso, announced his defection to the ruling party.

8. A former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Nicolas Felix, has dismissed the newly formed opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress as no threat to President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid. Speaking in Suleja on Thursday during the distribution of thousands of litres of fuel to Nigerians, Felix expressed confidence that Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election with no less than 15 million votes.

9. A founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, has claimed that if Peter Obi returns to the PDP, he will defeat any candidate from the North in the 2027 presidential election. Gana made the claim during an interview on Arise TV amid ongoing speculations about Obi’s potential return to the PDP.

10. The Nigerian Army says its troops, on Thursday, neutralised scores of terrorists, apprehended 15 suspects, and recovered arms and military kits in ongoing operations across theatres of operation nationwide. A credible source at the Army Headquarters told NAN that troops had sustained the tempo of onslaught against terrorists and other criminal elements across the country.