Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Wednesday, 11th October, 2023

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Wednesday, 11th October 2023.

The first lady, Oluremi Tinubu has called on Nigerians to come together and end the stigma around mental illness.

She made the call to action in a statement issued on Tuesday to mark the 2023 World Mental Health Day.

Tinubu urged Nigerians to pay more attention to their mental well-being.

She lamented that many are suffering from emotional and psychological burdens which have taken a toll on their mental health

The First Lady subsequently called on Nigerians to ensure they support those affected in one way or the other.

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday spoke on the the discrepancies in his Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) certificate.

One of the aides of the former Vice President, Dele Momodu gave the clarification in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Momodu stated that the clarification was necessary following allegations of forgery against Atiku by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He noted that some members of the ruling party had questioned the name ”Sadiq Abubakar” in Atiku’s WAEC certificate as against his other credentials.

Momodu said he forwarded the accusations to the former Vice President, who also provided an answer for the discrepancy.

Atiku in his response said: “Yes I used Sadiq Abubakar to sit for my WAEC and after passing my exams I went to swear an affidavit to say I am the same person as ATIKU Abubakar.

The leadership of the Labour Party (LP) on Tuesday spoke on the possibility of the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi working with President Bola Tinubu.

According to the party’s leadership, there is no way Obi will be tempted to work with Tinubu’s administration.

The party’s position was stated in two separate interviews with the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh and the National Legal Adviser of LP, Kehinde Edun held with Punch.

The national legal adviser of LP insisted that such a figment of imagination can never come to reality, reiterating that Obi has already made his stance known.

The party’s spokesman also insisted that Obi can’t be distracted by such a notion as he is presently focused on reclaiming his mandate from the apex court.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed reports that its operatives carried out a raid on the residence of Nigerian musician, John Njeng Njeng, better known as Skales.
The EFCC confirmed the raid in a statement released on Tuesday afternoon via its official handle on the micro-blogging site, X.

Naija News recalls Skales had earlier raised an alarm about the midnight raid on his house but the EFCC spokesperson in a chat with a news platform, denied the incident and asked the singer to provide evidence.

However, a few hours later, the antigraft agency confirmed the raid and announced the arrest of two suspected internet fraudsters at the musician’s residence.

It identified the suspects as Udemba Chukwuemeka (a.k.a Jody) and Jamal Jamiu Onasola (a.k.a. Jamal), adding that they have been living with the singer for two years.

The agency said the suspects were arrested for involvement in dating scams and identified Skales as their mentor.

The EFCC added that the suspects would be charged to court after investigations.

The presidency has reacted to reports concerning the name which appears on the secondary school certificate submitted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Naija News reports the result bears “Sadiq Abubakar” instead of the popular Atiku Abubakar which also appears in other credentials of the former Vice President.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi who reacted to the reports on Tuesday questioned why Atiku is bent on seeking Tinubu’s academic background from Chicago State University in America while he himself is not sure of his own name in Nigeria.

The presidential aide said the irony is that Atiku wants Nigerians to accept the affidavit regarding his own Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) certificate but at the same time wants Nigerians to reject Tinubu’s own explanation.

He also carpeted Atiku for the alacrity in explaining himself.

The Minister of Youths and Sports during the first term of ex-President, Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung, on Tuesday said the withdrawal of the ministerial nomination of Maryam Shettima, popularly called Shetty, has shown that cabals still exist in the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Dalung made this claim on Tuesday while speaking on Channels TV.

Naija News recalls that Shetty who is from Kano State saw her name removed from the ministerial nominees’ list submitted to the Senate and replaced with that of Mariya Mahmoud.

According to Dalung, the cabals that worked against his return during the second term of Buhari’s administration worked against Shetty’s nomination.

Timipre Sylva has been disqualified as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State for the November 11 polls.

Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, gave the verdict in a judgement delivered on Monday in the suit filed on June 13, 2023, by a member of the APC, Deme Kolomo against Sylva’s candidacy.

Delivering judgement in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023, Okorowo held that allowing Sylva to contest the November 11 governorship polls would be against the constitution of the country which states that no person should be voted for as a governor more than twice.

The Judge explained that Sylva having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of Bayelsa would breach the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again.

In his view, Sylva is not qualified to run in the November poll because if he wins and is sworn in, he would spend more than eight years in office as governor of the state.

A former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian Army Properties Limited, Major General Umar Mohammed, has been sentenced to prison.

A Nigerian Army Special Court-martial sitting in Abuja found the former top officer guilty of stealing some funds belonging to the organisation.

Naija News had reported earlier how charges were brought against the General pertaining to stealing, forgery, conspiracy, theft, and unauthorised diversion of Army property, among others.

The special court said Mohammed was found guilty of 14 out of 18 charges against him, which include theft and other violations that are contrary to service laws.

The accused had earlier pleaded not guilty to all the charges pressed against him.

However, at the resumed sitting on Tuesday, where the judgment was given, the eight-man panel led by Maj.-Gen. James Myam stated that the convicted senior military officer was found guilty of 14 out of 18 charges.

Myam stated that count one was brought under section 383(1) of the Criminal Code Act Cap c38 law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and punishable under section 390 (7), adding the charge was also brought pursuant to section 114 of the armed forces Act Cap A20 2004.

The panel provided an explanation that the prosecution counsels had summoned 24 witnesses, whereas the defendant had called upon two witnesses.

Subsequently, in its judgement, the panel ordered that the convicted senior officer be sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment for certain offences, while others carried sentences of 7 and 2 years, respectively.

Furthermore, while clarifying that the sentences would be served concurrently, the court also directed the defendant to reimburse certain funds into the account of NAPL.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has written to the Lagos State House of Assembly seeking approval for the reallocation of the amount of N234.669 billion from the 2023 budget total of N1.768 trillion.

The governor, in a letter read by the Clerk of the House, Barrister Olalekan Onafeko, expressed his intention to reorder the budget in order to prioritize capital expenditure and provide relief measures to alleviate the impact of the current economic challenges faced by the residents of the State.

Naija News reports that Sanwo-Olu’s letter addressed to Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and the lawmakers, emphasized the increasing need for his administration to address the demands and aspirations of the people.

He also highlighted that the 2023 budget had been partially implemented, with an overall performance of 76 per cent as of 30 June 2023.

The price of cooking gas per kilogramme now stands between N1,000 and N1,200 across the country.
There are concerns that the price of cooking gas may rise due to the scarcity of the product, which marketers are attributing to supply disruption.

The president of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALGAM), Oladapo Olatunbosun who spoke with Daily Trust on the development called on the federal government to be proactive in checking the price increase.

He blamed the scarcity of gas in some parts of Lagos on supply disruption, saying the vessel that was supposed to offload in the state had not done so.

Olatunbosun warned that the price of 12.5kg of cooking gas might soon hit N18,000 if the federal government failed to check the rising cost.

He said the volume marketers used to buy for N8 million is now sold for N14.5 million.

That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.