Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know this Wednesday morning

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

1. President Bola Tinubu has directed an immediate review of the N8,000 conditional cash transfer programme initially proposed to ease the harsh effects of the fuel subsidy removal. The President’s directives were contained in a statement issued Tuesday evening by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication, and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake.

2. Barring any last minute changes, Senate President Godswill Akpabio will on Wednesday read the letter containing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s nominees for ministerial positions. A source close to the leadership of the Senate disclosed this on Tuesday.

3. The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, has rejected the new pump price of petroleum products and plans by the Federal Government to distribute N8,000 to 12 million Nigerians. NLC president, Mr. Joe Ajaero said in a statement on Tuesday that the new pump price was anti-people.

4. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reduced the number of Bureau de Change dealers to 2,991. The CBN on Tuesday published a list of approved operators in a document entitled: ‘Approved BDCs’. The document revealed that the licenses of 2,698 BDCs have been revoked.

5. The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has attributed the increase in petrol pump price from N540 to N617 per litre to market forces. He spoke with State House reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

6. The House of Representatives is set to probe the appointments made under the former president Muhammadu Buhari. The House has asked the Federal Character Commission to submit a report of appointments in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies between 2015 and 2023.

7. The All Progressives Congress, APC, has said the contention by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, that President Bola Tinubu ought not to have been declared winner of the February 25 election on account of not polling at least 25 per cent of valid votes cast in the FCT is pedestrian and preposterous. This was contained in APC’s final written addresses filed in response to the petitions by Atiku and Obi before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC.

8. A group, Northern Alliance for Citizens Freedom has demanded the immediate release of the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa. President General of the Alliance, Lawal Ibrahim Jamaare, in a statement, on Tuesday, termed Bawa’s detention as ‘unconstitutional and a breach of his fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution’.

9. The House of Representatives on Tuesday, urged security agencies to desist from setting ablaze vessels laden with stolen crude oil. It also resolved to empanel an ad hoc committee to investigate the whereabouts of the 150,000 metric tonnes of stolen crude oil in the recently burnt vessel, MT TURA, in Escravos River, Warri, Delta State.

10. The Theatre Commander, Joint Task Force North-East Operation, codenamed, Hadin Kai, Major General G.U. Chibuisi has charged the air component of the military to sustain the tempo of the operation, to decimate the terrorists in the entire North-East. Chibiusi gave the charge on Tuesday when he visited the Air Command Component in Maiduguri, Borno State in continuation of his familiarisation visit to formations and units under the theatre command.

Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know this Wednesday morning