Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naijaonpoint roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Thursday, 25th April 2024
President Bola Tinubu has approved the commencement of the Consumer Credit Scheme, which aims to increase access to essential goods and services for Nigerians, enabling them to make pivotal purchases on credit and pay over time.
Naijaonpoint reports that the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, explained in a statement on Wednesday that the initiative is directed at boosting economic activity and supporting social mobility across the country.
The presidential spokesman further revealed that the scheme, which will be administered by the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), is designed to ensure every economically active Nigerian has a reliable credit score, bolstering their access to consumer credit.
Ngelale further disclosed that the scheme will first target civil servants, with plans to expand to the general public.
Dana Air’s operations have been suspended by Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo.
Naijaonpoint reports that the instruction was issued in response to the April 23 incident involving a Dana Air aircraft at Lagos airport, which compelled aviation officials to reroute flights from the local airport to the international one.
The Ministry of Aviation stated that Keyamo’s attention has been raised to the “serious concerns” that followed the incident in a letter dated April 24 and signed by the Ministry of aviation’s permanent secretary Emmanuel Meribole
The event, according to the ministry, has prompted questions about the safety and financial sustainability of Dana Air operations.
Naijaonpoint had earlier reported that an aircraft, belonging to Dana Air on Tuesday, skidded off the runway in Lagos State.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied issuing a fresh directive to Deposit Money Banks, Non-bank Financial Institutions and other Financial Institutions in the country to take action against accounts and customers dealing in cryptocurrencies.
A trending statement, dated April 23, 2024, which purportedly originated from the CBN banking supervision department, had claimed the apex bank warned commercial banks and other financial institutions in the country to desist from dealing in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrencies.
The purported statement claimed such dealings were prohibited and ordered banks to identify accounts within their system related to crypto trading and ensure such accounts are placed on Post No Debit (PND) status for six months.
It claimed the CBN is out to investigate economic problems in the country by identifying and arresting perpetrators working secretly with cryptocurrency platforms such as Bybit, Kucoin, OKX, and Binance.
However, the CBN, in a terse statement on Wednesday, denied issuing such directives.
The apex bank cautioned that the information did not originate from it, labelled the statement as fake, and urged members of the public to disregard it.
It urged members of the public to visit the bank’s website for verified information.
The Federal Government has revoked 924 dormant licences spanning exploration, mining, small-scale mining, and quarrying.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, announced the revocation at a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the minister, the revocation furthers efforts to sanitise Nigeria’s mining sector.
He declared that in line with constitutional provisions, adequate notice was given to all concerned parties through the official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, No. 227, published on December 27, 2023.
Of the 928 dormant licences revoked, 528 were for exploration; 20 mining leases; 101 for quarrying, and 273 Small Scale Mining Licences (SSML).
The minister said owners of the revoked licences have 30 days to redeem them by paying fines.
The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, claims that the current dispute in the party is nothing compared to what is going on in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Naijaonpoint recalls that there has been a faceoff between, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the leadership of the Labour Party as the Labour Union moved to take control of the party over allegations of corruption levelled against the party’s national chairman, Julius Abure.
However, while addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Obi said that the Labour Party’s abnormality was nothing compared to the APC and PDP.
According to Obi. the ongoing dispute in the party is something that can be dealt with.
Community leaders of Okuama-Ewu in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State have rejected reports that 17 military personnel who lost their lives during an ambush attack on March 14 were killed in their community.
The Okuama-Ewu community leaders, however, said the slain soldiers were killed along the Forcados River while returning to their military base in Bomadi, Bomadi Local Government Area.
This position was made known by the Secretary-General of the Okuama-Ewu community, Bernard Esegba, in a supporting affidavit to the N151 billion suit the people filed against the Federal Government, Attorney-General of the Federation, and Armed Forces of the Federation, Chief of Defence Staff, Nigerian Police and Commissioner of Police, Delta State at the Federal High Court in Warri.
He said that the military held a meeting with Okuama community leaders on March 14 and demanded that the community chairman and other leaders follow them to their base at Bomadi in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State immediately.
But Esegba, in the affidavit, said at that point, community leaders politely appealed to the military personnel to kindly permit their leaders to come by themselves to the prime respondent’s base at Bomadi.
He added that it was in the process that some over-zealous personnel of the military began shooting sporadically, during which some community elders and leaders were shot dead, while others were seriously injured.
The affidavit claimed that when the personnel sensed that the atmosphere at the Okuama Town Hall had become very tense, on March 14, 2024, they left the community in a hurry and were not attacked by any member of our community.
According to him, it was after leaving the Okuama community that the military personnel were attacked along the Forcados River, and some of them lost their lives.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the routing of 20% of palliatives through religious organisations and traditional institutions in the country.
Vice President Kashim Shettima made this known on Tuesday while speaking at a high-level dialogue on nutrition at the State House in Abuja.
Shettima said this while responding to concerns raised by the Imam of Bayero University, Kano (BUK) about the exclusion of traditional and religious leaders from the distribution of palliatives.
Shettima also announced that 20% of the funds released for the School Feeding Programme will be channeled through the office of the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning to religious bodies.
The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has responded to critics over his failure to build new schools when he was Governor of Anambra State.
Naijaonpoint reports that former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, had last week slammed Peter Obi during an interview on the Mic On podcast with Nigerian journalist, Seun Okinbaloye.
He challenged the former Anambra State Governor and his followers (Obidients) to show a single school he started and finished from 2007 to 2014 while in office.
Reno also offered to give a $10,000 reward to whoever could come up with a response.
In response, Peter Obi, during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, said those criticising him over failure to build schools in Anambra had failed to read his manifesto.
According to him, when he came to Anambra State, education was in shambles, schools were closed, and the state ranked 26th in the country, but by the time he left, Anambra was number one.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has withdrawn its application at the Court of Appeal against the embattled former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
The EFCC said the notice of withdrawal is predicated on the fact that the application filed has been overtaken by the decision of the Kogi State High Court.
This was made known in a court application filed on Tuesday at the Court of Appeal Abuja judicial division by J. S. Okutepa, SAN and others on behalf of thCommissionon.
ThCommissionon said the subject of the appeal had been determined by the Kogi High Court Judge, Justice Jamil J., on April 17, 2024.
The EFCC, therefore, told the court that the notice of appeal was filed out of time and now prays that the appeal be struck out as incompetent.
The president of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpiabio, has suggested a decisive punishment for judges misusing ex parte orders, especially in addressing political matters.
Naijaonpoint reports that ‘Ex parte’ is a term commonly employed in civil procedure to describe motions seeking orders that can be granted without the need for a response from the opposing party.
Typically, these orders are temporary in nature and remain effective until additional hearings can be conducted, such as in the case of a temporary restraining order.
However, speaking at the National Summit on Justice held in Abuja today, Akpiabio, who spoke on the theme “Repositioning the Justice System, Constitutional, Statutory and Operational Reforms for Access and Efficiency,” said it becomes crucial for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to implement strict supervision to prevent the abuse of ex parte orders.
The proactive approach, as the Senate President mentioned, would aid in the early detection of abuse patterns and the prompt implementation of corrective actions.
Furthermore, Akpabio highlighted the significance of continuous training and education for judges regarding the ethical and responsible utilization of judicial discretion when granting ex parte orders.
Akpabio also advocated for reform in the handling of interlocutory appeals in civil cases, stating that the existing appeals frequently result in unnecessary delays, prolonged litigation, and additional burdens on the courts.