Good Morning, Welcome to Daily News24 Roundup of Top Nigerian Newspapers Headlines for Monday, Dec. 27th.
- States revive isolation centres, COVID-19 cases soar, vaccination grounded at 3.9%
State governments have intensified preparations of isolation centres in readiness for possible admission of COVID-19 patients as cases of the virus continue to rise in the country.
Officials of states including Ogun, Gombe, Benue, Lagos, Ondo and Sokoto, in separate interviews with our correspondents on Sunday, said they had enough bed spaces to admit COVID-19 patients.
This came to the fore as the number of officially confirmed COVID-19 infections hit 236, 014 while the rate of full vaccination was stalled at 3.9 per cent as of Saturday.
2. Electoral bill: APC chieftain cautions presidency, National Assembly against supremacy battle
A three-time governorship candidate and Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress in Ogun State, Gboyega Isiaka, has cautioned the presidency and the National Assembly against supremacy battle over the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.
Isiaka who is also the chairman of the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone, stated this while speaking with newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Isiaka urged both the presidency and National Assembly to exercise caution and allow better reasoning to prevail in the final determination of the contentious matter
3. It’s Unethical For Doctors To Go On Strike — Minister
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, says it is unethical for medical doctors to embark on strike.
He spoke in Abuja at the induction of six medical graduates of the University of Abuja into the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
He charged newly-inducted medical graduates to desist from participating in incessant strikes by doctors in the country.
4. Troops Arrest Notorious IPOB/ESN Leader In Enugu
Troops of 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu, have arrested Godwin Nnamdi, a leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said in Enugu Sunday that the troops of Operation Golden Dawn arrested Nnamdi on Christmas Day.
Nwachukwu said Nnamdi, a notorious leader of IPOB/ESN, was arrested during a clearance operation in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
5. Tension in foods, drinks sector over expatriate quota abuse
Industrial unrest is looming in the Food and Beverages sector of the nation’s economy over alleged expatriate quota abuse by multi-nationals and other major companies in the industry.
Already, organised labour has petitioned the Federal Government through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, accusing a major multi-national in the sector of flagrant abuse of expatriate quota.
Vanguard’s investigations revealed that there are no fewer than 456 foreigners in 41 companies in the sector doing jobs Nigerians can conveniently do, with four of such companies accounting for 186 expatriates.
6. Okorocha, Imo Govt clash over Nwosu’s arrest
The Imo State Government and the Senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday traded words over the arrest of the 2019 governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) Chief Uche Nwosu.
Nwosu, who is also Okorocha’s son-in-law, was arrested at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Eziama-Obaire in Nkwerre Local Government Area of the state by policemen in connection with “a case that is under investigation.”
The manner of his arrest had triggered rumours that he was kidnapped until the Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Michael Abattam, clarified that he was arrested, following an order from above.
7. NAF Has Shaped War Against Insurgency – COAS
Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya has commended the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for its synergy with the Nigerian Army in routing Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorists in Borno and other parts of the Northeast.
The army chief recalled how the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) used its fighter jets to send dozens of bombs to various enclaves of the insurgents each time he alerted them of the presence of the terrorists in any part of the theatre during his time as theatre commander.
He stated this at the weekend as a special guest at a Christmas lunch with the troops of the Joint Task Force Operation Hadin Kai, organised by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Ishiaka Amao at the Nigerian Air Force Base Maiduguri.
8. Senate To PEF: Account For Interest On N34bn Fixed Deposit
Senate has said that the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) now Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA) must account for the interest that accrued to the N34 billion placed in fixed deposit.
The Senate through its Committee on Public Committee chaired by Senator Mathew Urhoghide, accused the agency of not remitting fully the interest that accrued from the N34 billion in fixed deposit.
But, the agency claimed to have remitted the interest to the Federation Account in a letter to the committee.
9. ‘Nigeria Will Have Enough Warriors To Defend Cyberspace In 2026’
A cybersecurity and consultancy firm, Digital Encode Limited, says in the next five years, Nigeria will have enough cyber warriors to defend its cyberspace and businesses.
The company’s Co-Founder, Dr Peter Obadare, stated this in Lagos at the weekend when the company rewarded winners of the Cyberchain Hackathon programme.
He said: “These are young people that would have become cyber traitors themselves, but they are putting their skills to good use; working to protect the financial ecosystem and Nigeria’s critical digital infrastructure. We’re confident that we’re going to do very well in the future.
10. NIN: Telecom consumers reject January introduction of digital token
Telecom consumers under the aegis of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers have kicked against the plan by the Federal Government to introduce a suite of digital tokens to enhance the verification of the National Identity Number, effective January next year.
According to the Federal Government, the digital token consisting 16 alphabets and numbers will be accepted for third-party verification, instead of the 11-digit NIN.
The development has been greeted with mixed reactions from Nigerians.
