Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.), has stirred nationwide debate after awarding the administration of President Bola Tinubu a 65 to 70 per cent performance score on security, despite persistent attacks, kidnappings and banditry across parts of the country. Musa gave the assessment during an interview on ARISE News on Friday while reflecting on the administration’s three years in office.
2. The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has described President Bola Tinubu’s “30 percent approval rating after three years in office as proof that Nigerians have rejected his administration over worsening economic hardship, unemployment, and insecurity”. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC said the latest survey showing that nearly 70 percent of Nigerians are dissatisfied with the direction of the country reflects the daily realities.
3. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has asked former President Goodluck Jonathan to publicly dissociate himself from reports linking him to the party’s presidential candidate. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, advised the former President to take this step to protect his integrity and reputation.
4. The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has directed owners of event centres and hotels in Abuja to refuse access to any political party faction not recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, warning that title documents of non-compliant properties will be revoked. The instruction effectively empowers venue owners — and by extension the FCTA — to determine which political tendencies may lawfully assemble in the nation’s capital.
5. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday defended his administration’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, declaring that the move saved Nigeria from imminent bankruptcy and set the nation on the path to economic recovery. The President spoke in Lagos while hosting governors who paid him a Sallah homage and joined him in commemorating the third anniversary of his administration.
6. Defence Minister Christopher Musa has said the officers who plotted to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government had so little support that ordinary Nigerians would have taken them down without the military’s intervention. He described the plotters as a band of confused individuals who recklessly dragged clueless junior officers into a doomed enterprise.
7. Bandits in Zamfara State have killed a councilor, representing Jangebe Ward, Habibu Jangebe, and the Director of Planning of Talata-Mafara Local Government, Alhaji Jamilu Sani, over alleged alignment with Lakurawa terrorists. The two officials of Talata-Mafara Local Government Area were reportedly murdered by bandits for allegedly paying Lakurawa group on a monthly basis.
8. Katsina State Police Command has arrested six suspects in connection with a violent attack on villagers in Keku Village, Musawa Local Government Area of the state. This was contained in a statement by the Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq and made available to newsmen on Friday in Katsina.
9. The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party for the 2027 general election, Adewole Adebayo, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of worsening economic hardship in the country, saying Nigerians are struggling with rising living costs, unemployment and insecurity. In a statement he issued on Friday as the Tinubu administration marked its third anniversary in office, Adebayo said many Nigerians were finding it increasingly difficult to afford food, healthcare and education.
10. Anambra State Government, through the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency, has announced permit fees for political parties and candidates seeking to deploy campaign materials and conduct outdoor campaign activities ahead of the 2027 general elections. Under the new guidelines, presidential candidates are expected to pay N50 million for outdoor campaign permits, while senatorial candidates will pay N20 million.
