Good morning! Here is today’s summary of Latest Nigerian News from Nigerian Newspapers of Friday 17th February 2023
1. Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State yesterday dared President Muhammadu Buhari on the naira redesign policy, saying the old notes remain legal tender in the State. In a statewide address on Thursday night, El-Rufai said the notes remain legal tender until the Supreme Court of Nigeria decides otherwise.
2. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has appealed to Nigerians to allow the naira redesign policy work. He said this in an interview with State House Correspondents after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential villa in Abuja.
3. Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said the Naira notes redesign policy brought by President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is beyond a plot against any presidential ambition but targeted at truncating democracy. He accused Buhari of working against the party in the forthcoming election.
4. Twenty-four hours after meeting Governor Nyesom Wike at the Rivers State Government house, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday met with another governor elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
5. The United States and the Federal Government have signed an agreement for the repatriation of $954,000 loot of late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, former Bayelsa State Governor. US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard announced the development at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon in Abuja.
6. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, yesterday, ruled out a last-minute deal between the G5 which he leads and the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar. Speaking at a media chat on Thursday morning, Wike ruled out any further discussion with the PDP leadership.
7. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to compel leaders of his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, to release billions of naira they have amassed for vote buying in order to ease the pains of Nigerians as a result of the current cash crunch. National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, made the appeal in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.
8. The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba has said that the Nigerian authorities are not taking lightly the threat from one Simon Ekpa, who claims to be a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, that there will be no elections in the South-east.
9. President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to intensify collaboration with anti-corruption agencies to check the activities of those bent on frustrating the smooth implementation of the currency redesign policy. He asked the apex bank to ensure the arrest and prosecution of those out to sabotage the policy.
10. The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, has said none of his opponents in the 2023 presidential elections can match his track record. He also noted that during his time as governor, he unveiled a “legacy of technocratic governance which was instituted by enlisting talent from the private sector”.
