The day to you! The headlines from Nigerian newspapers today are as follows.
Following the attack on Nigeria Labour Congress President Joe Ajaero, union leaders called for a nationwide strike on Tuesday, which has been widely criticized by the federal government. Special Assistant to the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Kamarudeen Ogundele said in an appearance on Arise Television on Tuesday that the strike was not in the country’s best interest.
The old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would continue to be legal tender indefinitely, as announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This is because the central bank has said it wants to make old naira notes usable indefinitely. The bank claims it is coordinating with the proper authorities to overturn a previous court verdict on the same topic.
Third, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State claims that the state’s recent governorship election was free, fair, and transparent despite certain shortcomings due to human error. The governor, who won the Saturday election, said this while speaking on Channels Television’s political programme, ‘Politics Today’ on Tuesday.
4. If justice continues to evade the people in the polls and in the courts, the acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb Umar Damagum, has warned that Nigeria could soon descend into chaos. Damagum claimed the off-season polls in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa states were marked by violence, intimidation, and high-handedness as he addressed a press conference at the party headquarters on Tuesday evening.
On Tuesday, the continuous strike action by the organized labor disrupted activities at the National Assembly and the headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Abuja. The National Industrial Court in Abuja had issued an injunction prohibiting the strike, but the labor movement went ahead with it nevertheless, arguing that the government at all levels was sleeping on the job.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole said Tuesday that the ongoing statewide strike proclaimed by organized labor is a misguided priority. Rather of focusing on matters that will make them look political, he thinks the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) should advocate for workers’ rights.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressed concern that Nigeria could become a one-party state yesterday. When he hosted the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) National Executive Committee in Abuja, the ex-vice president sounded the alarm. He called on the parties in the opposition to take on the fight for democracy.
Bayelsa State’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Udengs Eradiri has contested the results of the election held on November 11 by saying that he and his team are currently analyzing the data and discussing their next steps. Eradiri said the election was fraudulent during a press conference on Tuesday.
Several Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems (BVAS) were used for Saturday’s governorship election in Kogi State, and INEC has advised Nigerians to overlook charges of voter data tampering. This was announced on Tuesday by INEC’s National Commissioner and member of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.
The cost to return the body of Nigerian medical student Chibuikem Emmanuel, who was murdered in the Philippines, has been estimated at N35 million by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria. According to a post on the social networking site X by one Michael Ojuola, who identified Emmanuel as a buddy, Emmanuel was murdered in the Philippines on October 23, 2023, allegedly at the hands of several Chinese people.