Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Tuesday, 4th July 2023
1. Details Of Tinubu’s Meeting With Service Chiefs, Ribadu Emerge
President Bola Tinubu, in his first gathering with the recently appointed security chiefs, advocated for a united front to combat the country’s security issues.
The meeting took place on Monday and it was the first time Tinubu engaged with the security chiefs since their appointment on June 19.
Guided by Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), the attendees of this crucial meeting included top security officials.
Among them were Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff; Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff; Emmanuel Ogalla, chief of naval staff; Hassan Abubakar, chief of air staff; and Kayode Egbetokun, the acting inspector general of police.
Following the meeting, Ribadu shared with the press that President Tinubu assured the security chiefs of his full support in their duties.
The President urged the security leaders to stay focused on their mandate of resolving the country’s security challenges, emphasizing unity and cooperation as key components to success.
2. Tinubu Could Have Removed Subsidy Differently – Galadima
Elder statesman and chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima has disagreed with the method employed by President Bola Tinubu in removing fuel subsidy in the country.
According to Galadima, if he was Tinubu, he could have done it differently.
According to Galadima who spoke on Monday during an interview on Arise Television, President Tinubu should have first inquired on why and how this fuel subsidy keeps accumulating and got it got Nigerians to the level it did.
He also took a swipe at the President’s advisers, saying if he was in their shoes, he would have advised him to remove the subsidy in a way that won’t bring hardship on Nigerians which is to put palliative measures in place before removing the fuel subsidy.
3. Peter Obi vs Tinubu: Tribunal Adjourns Hearing As INEC Witnesses Fail To Show Up
The Presidential Election Petition Court on Monday adjourned the hearing in the petition filed by the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Naija News reports that the court adjourned till Tuesday, 4th July 2023 due to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) inability to open its defence as a result of the absence of three witnesses.
When the case was mentioned around 9:30 am, lawyer to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), told the court that although his client plans to call three witnesses within three days, the one slated for today is unavailable because of some family issues.
Mahmoud then applied for an adjournment till Tuesday to enable the witness to attend court.
Ruling, the Presiding Justice, Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned till Tuesday by 9am for hearing.
4. I’m Traumatized — Anambra Pupil Accused Of Forging JAMB Result Speaks Up
A student from Anambra state, Mmesoma Ejikeme who was celebrated as having the highest score in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has disclosed that she’s traumatized following the allegations levelled against her on forged results.
Naija News reported that JAMB on Sunday declared the results of Mmesoma who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as fake.
JAMB in a statement disclosed that her real score is 249 but she used software to manually manipulate her results.
Speaking about the development, Mmesoma in a video shared on Facebook noted that she had printed the result from Jamb portal and her aggregates read 362 and never manipulated.
She further noted that the accusation had traumatized her as she is not capable of performing such as act.
5. Asari Dokubo: Niger Delta Militant Group Threatens To Expose Military Officers Involved In Oil Bunkering
A Niger Delta militant group has given a condition to expose the military officers who are allegedly behind oil bunkering activities in Nigeria.
The group identified as the Supreme Egbesu Freedom Fighters of Niger Delta (SEFFND) said it is ready to expose the names of all military officers involved if the federal government gives assurance that they will be investigated and prosecuted.
The self-styled General Commanding Officer of SEFFND, Agadagba I, aka River Don, made this known in a statement yesterday after a meeting of the militants in Bayelsa State.
He said, “We know those involved, and can mention their names if the federal government can carry out without bias thorough investigations on them.”
“The federal government has to probe how the military officers got their postings to the oil region, property, bank accounts, and luxurious lifestyle.”
The group stated that the allegation by a former militant leader, Asari Dokubo that the military is behind oil theft in the Niger Delta region is the absolute truth though not all military men are involved in the illegal business.
6. Presidential Tribunal: INEC Ends Defense With One Witness, Documents, Tinubu To Commence Defense On Tuesday
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has concluded its defence against the election petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, announced the conclusion after hearing from a single witness and presenting a collection of documents at the Presidential Election Petition Court.
The solitary witness, Dr Lawrence Bayode, an Information Technology (IT) expert and Deputy Director in INEC’s IT Department, testified about the glitches that occurred during the transmission of the presidential election results.
Bayode clarified that despite these glitches and whether the results were transmitted electronically or manually, the integrity of the polling unit result sheets remained unaffected.
Following INEC’s conclusion, Wole Olanipekun, the lawyer representing President Bola Tinubu, informed the court that the second respondent will commence his defence on Tuesday.
7. Details Of Meeting Between Tinubu And Shell Petroleum Officials Emerge
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured the business community of his government’s commitment to policy consistency and a better business climate to attract investment.
The President according to a statement by his Special Adviser, Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake spoke on Monday while receiving the delegation of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) led by the Global Upstream Director, Ms Zoe Yujnovic at the State House, Abuja.
President Tinubu welcomed the SPDC’s offer for more investments in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, adding that such investments are needed now more than ever, to enable Government meet its obligations.
The President recalled that attracting fresh investment was “a promise I made personally to Nigerians. Whatever it takes, I will fulfill that promise to Nigerians.”
President Tinubu reiterated that Nigeria is ready for business, assuring the Shell management and other investors of his administration’s willingness to maintain an open-door policy and address their concerns.
8. Court Nullifies Senator Nnamani’s Expulsion From PDP
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has nullified the expulsion of former Governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over alleged anti-party activities.
In a judgement on Monday, Justice James Omotosho, held that Nnamani was not given fair hearing in accordance with the PDP’s constitution.
Justice Omotosho said that going by the Article 57 of the Constitution of the PDP, it was only the National Executive Council (NEC) that can convene a disciplinary committee as against the National Working Committee (NWC), which took the decision.
He said that the constitution of the party stipulated that it was the NEC that was vested with the power to take disciplinary action against any erring member who is a governor, deputy governor and a serving member of the National Assembly.
Recall that Nnamani, who represented Enugu East Senatorial District in the 9th Senate, lost his re-election bid to a Labour Party candidate, Kelvin Chukwu, in the Feb. 25 poll.
The PDP NWC, at its 566th meeting, had expelled the former senator for allegations bordering on anti-party activities.
He was initially suspended on Jan. 20 before he was subsequently expelled.
9. Presidential Tribunal: They Are Not Ready To Defend This Case – Peter Obi’s Lawyer Slams INEC
The legal team of the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi has slammed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its inability to present witnesses before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Monday.
Speaking with newsmen outside the court premises on Monday, the head of Obi’s legal team, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN) said INEC’s action is further evidence that the electoral body is not ready to defend the outcome of the 2023 presidential election in court.
Naija News recalls INEC, the first respondent in the petition by Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) before the Tribunal, was scheduled to open its defence today. The electoral body was however unable to do so due to the absence of its first witness.
Speaking on the development, Uzoukwu said INEC has demonstrated several contradictions and inconsistencies in the 2023 polls, adding that Nigeria has never had any election like this one.
He however added that he stands to be proven wrong.
The lawyer wondered why no explanation was given by INEC for the two other witnesses after it cited domestic reasons for the absence of the first witness in court.
10. TradeMore Estate Residents Protest FCTA Planned Demolition
Residents of Trademore Estate have trooped out in their numbers today to protest the planned demolition of the Estate by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
Naija News understands that the FCT Administration had announced a plan to demolish the estate situated along the Lugbe-Airport axis following a catastrophic flood incident after heavy rainfall in the early hours of Friday, the 23rd of June.
The administration had declared the Estate a disaster zone, adding that the decision followed the “consistent and persistent” threat of flooding in the Estate and urged residents to evacuate promptly.
The development, however, was not appreciated by residents who came out on Monday morning calling on the FCTA rather provide engineering solutions than demolish houses.
Those are the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.
The post Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Tuesday, 4th July, 2023 appeared first on Naija News.