The top Nigerian newspaper headlines for Saturday, 23rd March 2024, can be accessed on this platform.
1. The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Political Commission on Friday said that Julius Abure was no longer the National Chairman of the Labour Party, LP. The commission said Abure’s claim that Wednesday’s picketing of the national secretariat of the Party led to the theft of staff salary was “sarcastic and pathetic.”
2. The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, has approved the appointment of Commodore Aiwuyor Augustine Adams-Aliu as the new Director of Naval Information and official spokesperson for the Nigerian Navy. Aiwuyor replaced Rear Admiral Ayo-Vaughan, who has been redeployed to Headquarters Naval Training Command as the Chief Staff Officer.
3. Minister of Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Friday, March 22, expressed sadness over the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama community of Delta State. Wike described the sad incident as barbaric and uncalled for and pledged to support the victims’ families to reduce their pain.
4. The Rivers State House of Assembly has again ruled against Governor Siminalayi Fubara to enact the Rivers State House of Assembly, RSHA Service Commission Law. This makes it the second time the Rivers Assembly will override the governor to pass a law this year.
5. The Senate has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to recover the sum of N1.079 trillion given as loans to farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Loans scheme.
The N1.079 trillion given as loans to farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme was part of the N30 trillion given as an overdraft to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration by the CBN from 2015 to 2023.
6. Thirty percent of candidates who sat for the first-ever Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination, CB- WASSCE for private candidates, 2024–first series, recorded credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This was contained in a statement, Friday, signed by the Acting Head, Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina for Head of National Office, Dr Josiah Dangut.
7. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA has assured air passengers that airfares would drop in the coming days. The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of NCAA, Michael Achimugu attributed the expected drop to the payment of airlines trapped funds, engagement with all the airlines and other relevant stakeholders by the agency.
8. Indications have emerged that President Bola Tinubu may announce the new minimum wage on May 1 in commemoration of the International Labour Day and backdate its implementation to April.
9. The Defence Headquarters has declared that no fewer than 97 persons are wanted. The wanted persons include terrorists and insurgents, among others, who are behind violent crimes in the country. They also include a factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Simon Ekpa.
10. Three students of Medicine and Surgery at the Abia State University, Uturu, have reportedly died in a crash in the Okigwe axis of the Enugu-Umuahia Expressway. It was learnt that the medical students were returning to Aba from the school’s induction when the incident occurred on Thursday evening.
