Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Wednesday morning

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

1. Nigeria’s total debt is set to hit an all-time high of N136 trillion, following a fresh request from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the National Assembly to approve N1.77 trillion (approximately $2.2bn) external borrowing plan in support of the 2024 budget. The president conveyed his request in a letter written to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas on Tuesday.

2. Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, has said two of the agency’s staff members were recently dismissed over allegations of corruption. Olukoyede disclosed this during the opening of the 6th Annual Criminal Law Review Conference organised by the Rule of Law Development Foundation in Abuja.

3. The 2024 Ondo State Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Agboola Ajayi, has rejected the result of the election declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Sunday, and vowed to seek justice at the tribunal. Ajayi, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Ayo Fadaka, said that he kept silent since poll results were announced to enable him to investigate ‘contents of criminality perpetrated by both the victorious All Progressives Congress, APC, and the INEC’.

4. The governor of Edo State, Sen Monday Okpebholo has ordered heads of various security agencies to make the state unsafe for criminal elements, including cultists who have been on a killing spree for the past two weeks.

5. A special squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, on Tuesday, neutralised 59 bandits, who had ambushed them in Kaduna State, shortly after conducting a patrol of the national grid installation in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. Confirming the incident, Corps Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi said seven personnel of the Corps were still “missing in action”.

6. The Naira on Tuesday appreciated to N1,730 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,735 per dollar on Monday. Similarly, the Naira appreciated to N1,678.93 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

7. Two lovers preparing for their wedding, Vershima Mker and Lami Jennifer, have accused Major General G.S. Mohammed and Corporal A. Abubakar, among others of assaulting them during a visit to some relatives in the Gwarinpa area of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The lovers, both university graduates, claimed they were beaten, injured, and unlawfully detained without committing any offence.

8. The Nigeria Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, on Tuesday, commenced a seven-day warning strike across the country, following the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government. In a communiqué at the end of its virtual National Executive Council meeting, the association said it had no option but to embark on the strike, having issued several ultimatums which were disregarded.

9. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has assured that the N1.1 billion compensation for owners of houses on the corridor of the ongoing FCT Highway 105, will be paid. The road which will link the Airport Expressway to Kuje township, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

10. The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued an important advisory to the public regarding an alarming rise in fraudulent claims involving fake SWIFT transfer documents. The CBN Spokesperson, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, in a statement on Tuesday, noted that in recent weeks, the bank has received numerous reports from public and private establishments and individuals alleging that foreign currency transfers sent to their Nigerian bank accounts have not been credited.

Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Wednesday morning