10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Friday morning, November 8, 2019

These 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers will make your Friday morning.

1. MINIMUM WAGE: Labour gives govs Dec. 31 to end negotiations

Nigerian state governors have been given December 31, 2019 as deadline by which negotiations on consequential adjustment occasioned by the new minimum wage must end. The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, which negotiated the consequential adjustment arising from the new minimum wage of N30,000 with the Federal Government, on Thursday said that it had reached out to all state governors in Nigeria to immediately begin negotiations with workers in their states. Read more

2. Nigerian govt attacking the media in furtherance of a third term agenda, Falana alleges

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) on Thursday alleged that the Federal Government is attacking the media because of a third term agenda it is nursing. Falana made the allegation in Lagos at the public presentation of a book, Testimony to Courage, essays in honour of Premium Times publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi. Read more

3. BAYELSA: Dickson must account for ‘wasted’ N100bn —Oshiomhole

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, has stated that Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, was to blame for the flooding of the runway at the state airport. Oshiomhole claimed that the governor had wasted almost N100bn on the construction of the runway for the state airport which has not opened for business. He added that the governor had wasted the state’s scarce resources to put up a shoddy project. The APC chairman, therefore, called on Governor Dickson to account for the money expended on the runway project, describing it as the most expensive in the world. Read more

4. BUSINESS REVIEW: Every business risks losing millions to fire. Here is how to stay aloft, unaffected

The awareness of recent fire outbreaks in major markets is enough to keep every businessman awake, dreading the consequences of an unexpected fire disaster that is capable of wiping out millions-of-naira worth of investment. This becomes more worrisome as it is evident that the firefighting system, as managed and operated, in various states in Nigeria cannot but only pass as a camouflage set of apparatus.

In only 4 months, lives (of people trading) and property have been lost to fire at 3 different locations, one in Onitsha and 2 within Lagos, West Africa’s 5th largest economy. In fact, since August, save for September, there has been a reported fire incident, leading to the wreckage of buildings, structures and outright investment loss –in partial or total. Read more

5. Stop whipping up sentiments, ICPC responds to Obono-Obla’s letter

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has asked the former chairman of the Special Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Okoi Obono-Obla, to stop whipping public sentiments over his indictment for alleged fraud. This was in reaction to a letter written by Obono-Obla where he claimed he has been persecuted by the office of Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo because of his loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari. Read more

Read also:10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Thursday morning, November 7, 2019

6. Orji Kalu reacts to Appeal Court ruling affirming his election victory

The Appeal Court in Owerri, the Imo State capital has affirmed Oji Uzor Kalu’s victory in the February 23 election senatorial election in Abia North. Chairman of the panel, Justice Stephen Adah, who read a unanimous decision, flayed the lower court (election tribunal) for ordering a rerun in some electoral wards in Abia North. The jurist said that the premise on which the Election Petitions Tribunal cancelled Orji’s victory was unknown to law. He contended that the lower court granted the petitioner reliefs it did not seek, saying, “it was unacceptable in law.” Reacting to his victory Kalu said, “With the verdict of the Court of Appeal, it is clear that justice can be delayed but not denied.” Read more

7. Appeal Court validates El-Rufai’s election, says PDP’s appeal lacks merit

The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna on Thursday affirmed the victory of Governor Nasir El-Rufai in the March 9 governorship election in the state. In a judgment delivered by Justice Olumuyiwa Aburu, the appellant court panel unanimously upheld the earlier ruling of the election petition the tribunal, which equally held that el-Rufai was duly returned as governor of Kaduna State on March 9. Read more

8. EFCC secured 890 convictions in 10 months —Magu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured 890 convictions from cases prosecuted between January and October 2019, its acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, said on Thursday. Magu, who disclosed this at a special town hall meeting on the fight against corruption organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Abuja, said the number was one of the highest in the world. “It is not propaganda as it is open to verification by interested persons,” he told the gathering. Read more

9. Court remands two for armed robbery, possession of firearms in Ebonyi

The Ebonyi State Magistrate Court sitting in Abakaliki on Thursday remanded two men, Arinze Nweke, 20 and Uchenna Nwakpa, 24, in a correctional centre for alleged armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms. The accused persons were said to have committed the offences on October 22 at No. 32 Mbam Agbo Street, Abakaliki, Abakaliki Local Government Area of the state. Read more

10. $41.9bn worth of oil stolen from Nigeria – NEITI

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Initiative (NEITI) on Wednesday said crude oil and refined products worth $41.9 billion were stolen from Nigeria in the last 10 years. NEITI, which urged the government to embrace oil fingerprinting technology, comprehensive metering infrastructure of all facilities and other creative strategies to combat the growing menace of theft of Nigeria’s crude oil and refined petroleum products, stated this in a policy brief it released in Abuja. Read more

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