Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Monday, 6th January, 2025

Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naijaonpoint roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Monday, 6th January, 2025

President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Monday, January 6, for Accra, the capital of the Republic of Ghana, to attend the inauguration of President-elect John Dramani Mahama on January 7.

This was made known in a statement on Sunday by the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Onanuga told Naijaonpoint in the statement that President Tinubu’s trip is at the invitation of the Ghana President-elect, Mahama.

The presidential spokesperson added that the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and other senior government officials will accompany President Tinubu on the trip which would also have other African leaders in attendance.

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed confidence that the party will reclaim governance at the federal level and produce more state governors in the 2027 elections.

This was disclosed during a visit by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri at his country home in Sampou, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area, on Sunday.

Speaking on behalf of the NWC, the National Treasurer, Alhaji Ahmed Yayare, attributed the optimism to widespread dissatisfaction across the country, driven by lingering economic hardship under the current administration.

He added that the PDP remains the only viable opposition party capable of rescuing the country, warning that failure to take over power in 2027 could spell doom for democracy in Nigeria.

Yayare emphasized the need for PDP governors to close ranks and work together towards actualizing the party’s vision.

He also stated that the NWC would embark on a nationwide campaign to canvass support ahead of the 2027 elections.

Two of the suspects arrested alongside Simon Ekpa, a factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have reportedly been released by the Finnish government.

Ekpa, who was apprehended on November 21, 2024, alongside four others, faces allegations of involvement in terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and funding terrorism in Nigeria.

Naijaonpoint reports that after his arrest, the Päijät-Häme district court ordered his detention, accusing him of “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media.”

The group of five has been held in custody since November 2024. However, sources have disclosed to The Nation that Finnish authorities have released two of Ekpa’s alleged co-conspirators.

Details about the identities of those released or the reasons for their release remain unknown at the time of this report.

Government representatives confirmed Ekpa is still in custody but declined to provide additional information.

This development comes after Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, announced that the Nigerian government had formally requested Ekpa’s extradition.

The secretary of the Eminent Elders Forum, Dr. Akin Fapohunda, has accused some few northern elites of holding Nigeria to ransom for over forty years based on tribalism and selfish interests.

Speaking on Sunday on Arise News while discussing the northern opposition to the tax reform bills proposed by President Bola Tinubu, Fapohunda submitted that the north has taken Nigeria for a ride for too long and it is time to call their bluff.

According to him, the North has forced policies such as federal character and quota system on the southern region while Nigerians from the south have been laid back in making demands.

Fapohuna argued that such policies have favoured the North over the South and only a few elite people in the North are benefitting from the federal policies at the expense of other citizens of the country.

He submitted that it is time for Nigeria to wake up and realize the interests of the South and the North are not in an alliance.

Speaking specifically on the Tax Reform Bills, the Secretary of the Eminent Elders Forum was of the opinion that the proposals can never work because Nigeria is not a unified country and “cannot be unified at all” by a unitary tax system.

A former National Secretary of the defunct Action Congress (AC), Usman Bugaje, has expressed disappointment in President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of losing the progressive ideals that once defined his political career.

Bugaje, in an interview with Vanguard published on Sunday, said Tinubu, who was once admired for his dynamism and innovative thinking, now appears to lack ideas and is drifting away from his progressive roots.

According to Bugaje, Tinubu, who played a pivotal role in the formation of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and later the All Progressives Congress (APC), is showing signs of turning into a “monarch.”

When asked if his opinion is that Tinubu is a man of ideas and surrounded by very incompetent people, the ex-AC official said, “Well, if this is a session to assess the presidency of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I think we will need more time to do that. But for all I know, and for all that many Nigerians remember, President Tinubu is associated with the suffering they have faced since he assumed office. Yes, I used to know him to be a man of ideas because we used to engage.”

A former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai on Sunday debunked the claim that he has joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A close aide to El-Rufai debunked the report in a chat with Channels Television.

According to the aide, the rumour is the handiwork of mischief makers, adding that the former governor couldn’t have dumped APC for PDP without announcing it.

Also reacting to the rumour on his verified X handle, El-Rufai asked the public to disregard the rumour and patent lies about his political affiliation.

He also said that he has referred the lead peddlers of the fake news to his lawyers for legal action.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refuted a claim published in the media suggesting that it had finalized plans to dispose of more than six million uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

In a statement released on its X handle on Sunday, INEC asserted that the report was inaccurate.

The commission encouraged Nigerians to disregard the rumours, emphasizing that it has never made such a decision.

“Our attention has been drawn to a newspaper report that the Commission is contemplating the destruction of over six million uncollected Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) going back to the 2015 voter registration.

“The report is incorrect. At no time did the Commission contemplate the destruction of uncollected PVCs. The public is advised to discountenance the story,” the commission stated on its official X handle.

A former National Secretary of the defunct Action Congress (AC), Usman Bugaje, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over what he described as the improper presentation of the tax reform bills to the National Assembly.

In an interview with Vanguard, Bugaje expressed concerns about the manner in which the tax bills were introduced and questioned the President’s insistence on the sacrosanct nature of the bills.

Bugaje noted that the legislative process demands thorough consultation and debate, adding that the President’s approach appears to undermine the principles of democratic governance.

Bugaje lamented that insecurity in the country has escalated, adding that it has affected grain in the country.

A petrol tanker, on Sunday afternoon, explosed in the Agbor Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Naijaonpoint learnt that some people lost their lives after the tanker laden with petrol lost control and burst into flames.

According to Punch, not less than five people have lost their lives to the accident, while two banks and several properties were destroyed.

Properties worth millions of Naira were lost in the fire incident.

Sources who spoke with the platform claimed that the explosion was triggered when a petrol tanker overturned while navigating a turn near First Bank in Agbor.

Former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has described as false and mischievous reports that he made comments about the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Obaseki denied the report in a statement to Naijaonpoint on Sunday by his Media Adviser, Crusoe Osagie.

Obaseki urged the public to disregard this report and all claims made in the very erroneous publication.

According to the statement, Obaseki has never considered Nyesom Wike as his master or godfather, adding that at best, they were fellow governors around the same time.

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