10 Important Updates for This Saturday Morning

Good morning! Here’s a summary of today’s news from Nigerian newspapers:

1. The organized labor walked out of a scheduled meeting with the Presidential Steering Committee on subsidy palliatives at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, led the delegation to the Chief of Staff’s office, but they left the villa without holding the meeting.
2. Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has submitted a list of commissioner-nominees to the state House of Assembly for screening and confirmation. The list includes a mix of politicians and technocrats, with some returning members from the previous State Executive Council and others not returning.
3. Vice President Kashim Shettima stated that Nigeria is now at a new dawn to chart its destiny for greatness. He cited the measures adopted by the Tinubu administration to diversify the economy and address emerging challenges as reasons for this positive outlook.
4. President Bola Tinubu expressed the Federal Government’s willingness to support global tech giant, Google Incorporated, in creating one million digital jobs in Nigeria. The assurance was given during the visit of Google Global Vice President, Mr. Richard Gingras, to the State House on Friday evening.
5. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged security agencies to take decisive action against those involved in violence and undemocratic activities during elections. These activities include vote buying, attacks on election officials, and disruption of the electoral process. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this appeal during a meeting with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in Abuja on Friday.
6. Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, emphasized that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not yet Nigeria’s President until the courts have concluded their legal processes and officially declared the winner of the February 25 election. In an interview on Friday, the former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) stated that the tribunal holds the final say on the election outcome.
7. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has issued an order to end all sit-at-home activities in the South East, including those scheduled for Mondays and any other proposed day. The announcement was made public through his special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor.
8. The Edo State Police Command has apprehended a former banker, Gift Igbinosun, aged 35, for allegedly defrauding John Nnamdi and Obasogie Osagieduwa of over N14.9 million. According to the state’s police spokesperson, Chidi Nwabuzor, the suspect, who was dismissed from her job at a commercial bank two years ago, deceived the victims by promising to help them obtain new currency notes.
9. Bauchi State Police have arrested a suspect involved in severing the hand of a 25-year-old man and stabbing him in the head. The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, announced in a statement on Friday that the suspect had been on the wanted list of the command for two years due to his involvement in thuggery and causing grievous harm. The suspect committed the crime along with two others who are still at large.
10. The family of Chinyere Awuda, a lady whose body was discovered near an abandoned swimming pool at a hotel in Anambra State, has rejected the autopsy report stating that she died by drowning. Through their lawyer, Eziafa Enwedo, the family requested that the police release the CCTV footage, alleging that it shows a male adult pursuing the deceased toward the pool area.