Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Henzodaily roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Friday, 7th February, 2025
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has submitted that the policies and programmes of the current administration are yielding positive results.
Bwala urged Nigerians to ignore the naysayers and believe in the process introduced by President Tinubu, which focuses on the agenda of rebuilding Nigeria.
Henzodaily reports the presidential media aide gave the submission on Thursday via his account on the X platform, where he gave a recap of what he said in a TV interview earlier in the day.
He listed some of the policies that have started yielding positive results to include the student loan initiative, which ensures access to tertiary education; conversion of vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which is a cheaper fuel alternative; food security strategies; and investment in major infrastructural projects such as roads and railway.
Bwala insisted that President Tinubu is busy working for the citizens and the county is on the right path of economic recovery.
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has reportedly ordered all police officers affected by the recent retirement directive from the Police Service Commission (PSC) to remain in office.
Henzodaily understands Egbetokun told the affected officers to maintain status quo and await further directives.
It would be recalled that the Police Service Commission (PSC) had mandated the immediate retirement of all senior police officers who have exceeded 35 years of service or are over 60 years of age.
This directive comes amid debates surrounding the tenure of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who recently turned 60.
In a statement issued on Friday, PSC’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, revealed that the commission reviewed its 2017 policy, which previously allowed officers to use their enlistment date instead of their initial appointment date.
The PSC has now reversed this decision, aligning with Public Service Rule No. 020908 (i & ii), which mandates retirement once an officer reaches either 35 years of service or 60 years of age.
He further explained that the commission reconsidered its 2017 stance after determining it was inconsistent with public service regulations regarding length of service and retirement.
However, according to Vanguard, a wireless message from the office of the Force Secretary, stated that the IGP has issued a counter-directive.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced significant leadership changes at several federal universities, including the University of Abuja, now known as Yakubu Gowon University.
Henzodaily reports that the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Thursday, disclosed that these changes are effective immediately.
At Yakubu Gowon University, President Tinubu dissolved the entire governing council and relieved Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi of her duties as Vice-Chancellor.
Senator Lanre Tejuoso, currently Pro-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, has been appointed Pro-Chancellor of the Yakubu Gowon University. He will be succeeded in Makurdi by Senator Joy Emordi, now pro-chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University of Education.
To succeed Maikudi, President Tinubu appointed Professor Lar Patricia Manko as Acting Vice Chancellor at the Yakubu Gowon University for a six-month term.
She will not be eligible to apply for the substantive Vice Chancellor position when it becomes available.
In addition, President Tinubu has removed Professor Polycarp Emeka Chigbu from his position as Acting Vice-Chancellor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), before his tenure ends on February 14.
Professor Oguejiofu T. Ujam has been appointed as his successor for six months and will not be eligible to apply for the permanent position.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has announced a 15% increase in tariffs, marking the first adjustment in over three decades.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos on Thursday, NPA Managing Director Abubakar Dantsoho, represented by Executive Director of Marine and Operations Olalekan Badmus, confirmed the increment.
Dantsoho explained that the agency had kept tariffs unchanged for 32 years despite major economic shifts, including fluctuations in exchange rates, rising wages, increased fuel and lubricant costs, and persistent inflation.
He noted that the decision was driven by the urgent need to rehabilitate decaying port infrastructure, modernize obsolete equipment, and expand capacity to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
Dantsoho emphasized that globally, port authorities rely on revenue generated from operations to maintain infrastructure, dredge channels, procure modern marine vessels, digitize transactions, and ensure port security.
He added that the new rates would enable the NPA to invest in automation and workforce training while facilitating the adoption of the Port Community System (PCS) and the National Single Window (NSW) initiative.
The House of Representatives received proposals for the creation of 31 new states across the six geo-political zones of the country.
Henzodaily reports that the Chairman of the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, read the letter in the Green Chamber during plenary.
Deputy Speaker Kalu also read a letter from the committee during plenary, outlining the conditions that must be met before any state creation requests can be approved.
According to the Committee, the proposals include 5 from the North Central region, 4 from the North East region, 5 from the North West region, 5 from the South East region, 4 from the South South region, and 7 from the South West region.
Armed bandits have reportedly kidnapped Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga (retd.), former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Henzodaily reports that Tsiga’s abduction was carried out during an attack in Tsiga village, Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State, in the early hours of Thursday.
The assailants also killed one person and abducted at least nine others, while ransacking several homes and carting away valuables.
According to The PUNCH, eyewitness reports indicate that the bandits stormed the community around 12:30 a.m., firing gunshots indiscriminately to instill fear and prevent resistance from residents.
Efforts to confirm the incident from the Katsina State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, were unsuccessful, as he responded via SMS, stating that he “can’t talk now.”
An order reportedly issued by President Bola Tinubu for Mudashiru Obasa to be reinstated at the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly has been rejected by a member of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, Muraina Akanbi Taiwo.
Taiwo submitted that democracy must be allowed to take its course as only God has the absolute authority to give and take power.
Henzodaily understands that as part of the submissions of the GAC member, he emphasized how Obasa had frustrated his colleagues in the House and drained their motivation to perform as lawmakers.
While pledging continued loyalty to President Tinubu and the party, he insisted that the impeachment was not a hasty decision as it was long overdue.
It is understood that President Tinubu had pushed for Obasa to be reinstated as the Speaker of the Lagos Assembly.
However, Taiwo was quoted by Peoples Gazette to have said in a statement on Wednesday that the impeached speaker remains rejected.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to exercise his prerogative of mercy and order the release of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, from detention.
Kalu made the plea on Wednesday while addressing journalists after the inaugural meeting of the House of Representatives Committee on the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
The Deputy Speaker argued that the legal approach to Kanu’s case should be reconsidered in favor of a political resolution, adding that Kanu’s release would enhance security in the South-East and spur economic growth in the region.
He argued that insecurity in the region would be drastically reduced once Kanu is freed, as criminal elements using his detention as a pretext for violence would be stripped of their justification.
A former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, has warned that the party may face a fresh crisis in the nearest future over the position of its National Chairman.
According to Ologbondiyan, the PDP must zone its national chairmanship position to the North Central region if it wants to avoid the looming crisis ahead of the 2027 election.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Channels TV, he recalled the crisis which befell the party over the outcome of its presidential primaries for the 2023 election in which Atiku Abubakar was declared the winner.
The development led to some party chieftains led by Nyesom Wike to work against the PDP in the 2023 elections.
Ologbondiyan warned that if the circumstances surrounding the PDP national chairmanship position are not carefully managed, then the party would be in for another round of crisis.
Henzodaily reports the observation comes at a time the PDP is divided over its National Secretary position as Sunday Ude-Okoye and Samuel Anyanwu, who are both laying claim to the position are locked in a legal battle.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has said the President has comfort that Nigerians will vote for him in 2027.
Henzodaily reports that Bwala stated this on Thursday in an interview with TVC.
He stressed that Nigerians already knew the President was tackling all challenges and addressing their concerns.
The former spokesman to Atiku Abubakar‘s presidential campaign council explained that if not for President Tinubu, he would not have risen to the position he occupied currently having come from a minority group in the North.
Bwala added that only the opposition political parties have kept blind eyes the the gains being made across the sectors of education and economy.
According to him, the opposition decided to amplify the hardship in the country ignoring the interventions.