Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know this Saturday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, sent a high-level delegation, made up of heads of the nation’s intelligence and security services, to Sokoto and Katsina States in response to the recent spike in bandits’ activities. His spokesman, Garba Shehu stated this in a statement on Friday.

2. Following the Federal Government’s restriction of its flights, Emirates Airlines has suspended all its flights to Nigeria indefinitely. Emirates in an update on its website said all its flights to Nigeria would be suspended until the issues between UAE and Nigeria are resolved.

3. President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians and the international community of a free and fair election as well peaceful transfer of power in 2023. The president gave the assurance in his remark at a Virtual Summit for Democracy organised by President Joe Biden of the United States.

4. The National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, says the new National Working Committee (NWC) of the party will be guided by consultation, teamwork, internal democracy and national interest. Ayu stated this in his address at the inauguration of the NWC in Abuja on Friday, assuring that the new team would strengthen the party’s internal democratic processes.

5. The people of Atta Community in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State, woke up Friday morning to behold the remains of their traditional ruler, Eze Edwin Azike. The monarch was said to have been abducted by unidentified gunmen on Thursday in the community.

6. A group of Northern youths has revealed that following the security challenge that has engulf Nigeria, most especially Northern Nigeria which is now the epicentre of kidnapping-for-ransom, the best option for President Muhammadu Buhari is to humbly resign. Isah Abubakar, President of Northern Youth Council of Nigeria said this in a statement on Friday.

7. Telecom sector professionals are crying that the rising spending on tech-related foreign contents will undermine the gains so far made, and eventually cripple the sector, if something is not done urgently to stem the tide. According to the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, the annual outflow of foreign exchange for the telecommunications sector is approximately $2.16 billion.

8. Members of ASUU around the Yola zone, Adamawa State, have said they will not accept any plea from Nigerians to shelve an impending strike. In a press conference at the NUJ secretariat in Yola on Friday, the Yola Zone said Nigerians should blame the Federal Government for its failure to comply with the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.

9. The Islamic Movement in Nigeria has once again called for justice for hundreds of its members allegedly killed by the Nigerian military in December 2015 following a clash with soldiers in the convoy of the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), in Zaria, Kaduna State. This was contained in an editorial issued by Prof. I.M. Mshelgaru.

10. The crisis in the Edo State Practicing Butchers Association, yesterday, degenerated to shooting between rival factions of the association with the President of National Butchers Association, Chief Osamede Adun calling on the state Commissioner of Police and the government to invite the parties before things get out of hand.