10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Saturday morning, January 4, 2020

These 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers will interest you this Saturday morning, January 4,  2020.

1. Withdrawal of troops from volatile areas will be gradual —Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday his government was not in a hurry to withdraw military personnel from hot spots across the country. In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President said the withdrawal of the military from areas where peace had been restored would be gradual in order not to expose the communities to more attacks. President Buhari said the troops’ withdrawal would be carefully planned in order not to jeopardise the success already recorded by the military. Read more

2. Buhari says Nigerians must stop going abroad for medical treatment. Will he lead by example?

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday insisted that Nigerians can no longer afford to be going abroad for medical treatment. The President made the declaration at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, during the inauguration and handover of completed projects to the management of the hospital. “Nigerians have suffered so much going abroad for medical treatment. This is not good for us and it must stop, because we can’t afford it again,” Buhari stated. Read more

3. Bode George to vie for presidency in 2023

A former Deputy National Chairman, South West, for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed his desire to contest the 2023 presidential election, one of his aides said on Friday. Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu, George’s special adviser, said in a statement issued in Lagos the group would soon unveil the former Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Board as the right man to chart a new beginning for the country. However, Shodipe-Dosunmu, who leads a group called the Pathfinder Consortium, did not disclose under which platform the ex-PDP chieftain would pursue his presidential bid. Read more

4. KWARA: Gbemisola Saraki chooses family over party, attacks Gov Abdulrazaq over demolition of property

The Minister of State for Transportation, Mrs Gbemisola Saraki, on Friday attacked the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, accusing him of using security agencies to settle family political disagreements. The minister was reacting to the demolition on Thursday of a property belonging to her late father, Dr. Olusola Saraki, popularly called ‘Ile Arugbo’ The state government had claimed that the land upon which the house was built was illegally acquired by the last senior Saraki, adding that it was originally meant for a government secretariat and parking space for the Civil Service Clinic. Read more

5. Gunmen kill 23 in Kogi community

The Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Ede Ayuba Ekpeji has confirmed Friday’s attacks on the Tawari community in the Kogi local government area of the state. At least 23 persons reportedly killed after suspected herdsmen invaded the community in the early hours of Friday. However, the local government sole administrator, Musa Tanko Mohammed, said 19 persons died in the midnight invasion. Read more

Read also: 10 top stories from Nigerian newspapers Friday morning, January 3, 2020

6. No justification for killing innocent people, Buhari reacts to Kogi massacre

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday reacted to the killing of no fewer than 19 people in Tawari community of Kogi Local Government Area of Kogi State by suspected Fulani herdsmen, saying there is no justification for the killing of innocent people. The president stated this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Friday, advising communities involved in the conflict to avoid revenge killings and taking the law into their hands so as to restore sanity in the affected areas. Read more

7. Kwankwasiyya member behind Buhari’s phantom marriage —DSS

The Department of State Services (DSS) on Friday paraded the brain behind the phantom marriage between President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Humanitarian Services, Sadiya Farouq, before journalists in Abuja. According to the DSS, 32-year-old man, Kabiru Mohammed, who is a member of the Kwankwasiyya movement, was behind the creation and sharing of fake videos depicting President Buhari’s wedding to the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed and her Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development counterpart, Sadiya Farouq. The spokesman for the DSS, Dr. Peter Afunanya, who paraded the suspect, said the agency moved to fish out the mastermind following formal complaints by the two ministers on separate occasions after the fake videos had gone viral between August and October 2019. Read more

8. Why they’re fighting me —Obaseki

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has hinted at the cause behind the rift between him and his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole. The unending crisis in the governing party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Edo State has continuously been blamed on the rift between Obaseki and Oshiomhole, who is the APC national chairman and immediate past governor of Edo. The governor explained the cause of the crisis in the state at a meeting in Benin City with Benin Elders Forum. Read more

9. IMO: Gov Ihedioha inaugurates 9 Judges, charges them to ensure justice to all

Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha on Friday inaugurated nine judges in the state and charged them to ensure fairness, as well as make sure they deliver justice to all manner of people without fear or favour. The judges, who were recommended for appointment by the National Judicial Council (NJC), were sworn in at the Sam Mbakwe Expanded Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Owerri, the state capital. The nine inaugurated judges included seven judges of the State High Court and two others who will serve as Customary Court of Appeal judges. Read more

10. CRIME FIGHTING: IGP promotes 66 in Ogun

66 police officers have been promoted to their next ranks by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu in recognition of their dedication to fighting crime. The Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command, Kenneth Ebrimson, disclosed this on Friday at the state police headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta while decorating the promoted officers with their new ranks. According to Ebrimson, the IGP promoted 18 Superintendents of Police to Chief Superintendents of Police, while eight Chief Superintendents of Police were promoted to the rank of the Assistant Commissioners of Police. 40 Assistant Superintendent of Police were also promoted. Read more

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now