Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Monday, 18th November, 2024

Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naijaonpoint roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Monday, 18th November, 2024

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has criticized former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of promoting “economic fantasies” and engaging in petty politics.

Onanuga’s statement on Sunday comes amid ongoing exchanges between the presidency and Abubakar, who recently offered suggestions to address Nigeria’s economic challenges.

The rift between the two leaders escalated last week when Abubakar declared he could not be envious of Tinubu, alleging that the president’s policies have inflicted pain on Nigerians.

Onanuga dismissed Abubakar’s remarks, reiterating that voters rejected the former vice president’s ideas.

Onanuga said Abubakar’s economic proposals fail to present a viable alternative to Tinubu’s “decisive reforms”, adding that the former vice-president should repair his reputation as a statesman.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State.

According to INEC, Aiyedatiwa secured victory in all 18 local government areas of the state, defeating his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and other candidates.

Professor Olayemi Akinwumi, the returning officer, declared Aiyedatiwa the governorship election’s winner.

With this win, Aiyedatiwa is set to continue steering the affairs of Ondo State, promising to build on his administration’s achievements and deliver on the people’s mandate.

After collating results across all local government areas in the state, Aiyedatiwa gathered 366,781 votes, while his closest rival, Ajayi, polled 117,845 votes.

The presidency, on Sunday, disclosed that Nigeria and India have agreed to reinforce strategic partnership, including boosting economic, defence, health and security ties.

The statement confirmed that during their bilateral discussions at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, agreed to a greater collaboration in counterterrorism, maritime security, and intelligence sharing.

The presidency said Tinubu’s visit to India in 2023 is already yielding results, noting that shortly after the Indian Prime Minister received a formal welcome, including a 21-artillery gun salute at the Presidential Villa, President Tinubu and Prime Minister Modi went into a tete-a-tete, and later jointly presided over an expanded bilateral and political talks.

With growing threats in the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean, the two leaders also agreed to coordinated actions to safeguard maritime trade routes and combat piracy.

The two countries pledged to continue regular naval exercises and joint anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Guinea to safeguard critical maritime routes.

Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s readiness to support Nigeria’s defence modernization efforts, highlighting India’s emergence as a trusted defence manufacturer.

The two leaders also highlighted the vibrant economic relationship between India and Nigeria, with India positioned as Nigeria’s largest trading partner and a significant contributor to its economy.

The two leaders also discussed broader collaboration on food security and agriculture, health, education, and cultural exchanges.

A former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, has predicted that the party may suffer election losses in forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States as long as Umar Damagum remains the Acting National Chairman of the Party.

Ologbondiyan added that the only way to avert the impending losses is for the planned November 28 National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP to be held and a substantive National Chairman from the North Central to emerge from the meeting.

The former PDP spokesperson argued that it is obvious Damagum is not interested in working for the party, and if things continue as they are, he would be the one to extinguish the life of the party.

Speaking on Sunday in Abuja following the PDP’s loss of the Ondo State governorship election, Ologbondiyan argued that the emergence of a National Chairman from the North Central is supported by Section 47 (6) of the party’s Constitution (2017 Amendment).

Ologbondiyan made his mind known while speaking with the G12-Renaissance Group of the PDP in Abuja, said it is important for Damagum to leave so the PDP won’t lose the governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun just as it has lost Kogi, Imo and Ondo States.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has disclosed that the target of the party is to have political control of the entire southwest states.

Ganduje made the declaration on Sunday, shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared the APC as the winner of the 2024 Ondo State governorship election.

The APC National Chairman said the party would do everything possible to ensure all states in the southwest are controlled by the ruling party.

He also declared the conduct of the Ondo governorship election as free and fair.

President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday to participate in the 19th G20 Leaders’ Summit.

Naijaonpoint learnt that the summit will be held from November 18 to 19, and the Nigerian president’s attendance follows an invitation from Brazilian President and current G20 Chair, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

According to a statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the G20 summit will bring together leaders from the world’s 20 largest economies, along with representatives from the European Union, the African Union, and major multilateral financial institutions.

This year’s summit, under the theme “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet,” will focus on discussions regarding hunger and poverty eradication, global governance reform, sustainable development, and energy transitions.

The statement further highlighted Nigeria’s long-standing advocacy for the reform of global governance institutions, particularly its push for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

On the sidelines of the summit, President Tinubu is expected to engage in bilateral talks aimed at advancing Nigeria’s socio-economic reforms.

Former Governor of Jigawa State and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sule Lamido, has taken a swipe at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, describing him as someone willing to be used for specific political purposes.

In an interview with The Sun, Lamido dismissed Wike’s influence within the PDP, asserting that he played no significant role in the party’s rise.

He further argued that Wike’s influence in the political space is tied solely to the platforms and positions he occupies.

Speaking on APC using Wike for crisis in political parties said, “You see that is why they are keeping him. What I am saying is that if they sack him, he is going to be like Ortom.

“They appointed him a Minister of Abuja and he is their resources and that is why he is still visible and relevant. Wike as a person doesn’t exist? To me, very soon , he is going to be a political history!”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the results of the Ondo State governorship election, which saw the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, declared the winner.

Aiyedatiwa won all 18 local government areas, securing 366,781 votes to defeat PDP’s Agboola Ajayi, who garnered 117,845 votes.

The results were announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the election held on Saturday.

In a statement on Sunday, PDP spokesperson Debo Ologunagba described the election as falling “short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair, and credible election.”

The PDP accused the APC of orchestrating widespread “electoral swindle, deceit, and manipulation,” citing allegations of vote buying, monetization of the process, and voter suppression.

The party called on Nigerians and the international community to take “serious action” to address election manipulation and safeguard the country’s democratic integrity.

President Bola Tinubu has conferred Nigeria’s second highest honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), on the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

Modi was honoured with the title on Sunday during his visit to President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

Tinubu also declared the Indian Prime Minister as a friend of Nigeria.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu honours Prime Minister @narendramodi confers him with Nigeria’s second highest honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) declares him friend of Nigeria,” presidential media aide, Dada Olusegun wrote on his X account in confirmation of the development.

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has described the recently concluded governorship election in Ondo State as lacking credibility, citing the absence of key elements required for a free and fair democratic process.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the CUPP spokesman, Comrade Mark Adebayo, alleged that the fundamental principles of a transparent and credible election were “glaringly missing” during the exercise.

The statement reads, “The widespread vote buying, especially by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the bias demonstrated by the security agencies who are supposed to curb such a menace was an eyesore.

“It is evident that the APC at both the national and subnationals has performed woefully on all indices of development and cannot win any fairly contested election. But the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conceptualized a dangerous agenda of state capture via a tendency towards turning Nigeria into a one-party state prior to the 2027 genera elections. Therefore, the Party has set in motion the machinery to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.

That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naijaonpoint. See you again tomorrow.