Nigerian Newspapers on Tuesday, July 25, have focused on the abductors of the six senior secondary school students of Lagos Model College, lgbonla, Epe, threatening to strike again if the Federal Government fails to include them in its Amnesty Programme amongst other top stories.
The Punch reports that the Yoruba Council of Elders, pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, and a youth organisation, Yoruba Socio-Cultural Association have blamed the executive arm of government and the National Assembly for the suspension of work on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Limited, which handles the expansion of Section II of the Lagos-Ibadan highway, in a letter dated June 2, 2017, called the attention of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to the worsening financial obligations to the project.
It stated that the letter was a notice of its intention to suspend work on the project over an N8.9bn debt. The company had since stopped work on the project.
The Federal Government on Sunday said Julius Berger Nigeria Plc had also suspended work on the Section 1 of the road project.
The Punch newspaper for Tuesday, August 1 photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
Vanguard reports that abductors of the six senior secondary school students of Lagos Model College, lgbonla, Epe, yesterday threatened to strike again if the Federal Government fails to include them in its Amnesty Programme.
The threat was contained in a statement issued by the group known as the Niger Delta Forest Army and made available to newsmen in Akure, the Ondo state capital.
The group’s Public Relation Officer, PRO, General Bossman Koniwei said; “We wish to inform the federal government that we are prepared to drop our arms and embrace peace.
“But will be ready to face any force if we are continuously ignored. This is the last chance for permanent peace. We shall return deadlier if nothing is done.’’
Vanguard newspaper for Tuesday, August 1 photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
The Guardian reports that Nigeria lost at least N9.74 billion in 2016 as a result of multiple public holidays observed during the year. The Guardian’s investigation revealed that in 2016 alone, about 15 national public holidays were observed, excluding others declared in some states.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the fourth quarter (Q4 2016) showed that 81,151, 885 workers spent 37.38 million hours during the period to contribute N29.29 trillion to the economy at an average productivity rate of N783.51.
Using the same estimates, with the expectation that workers spend an average of eight hours of productivity daily, 15 days of public holidays at N783.51 productivity value, means N9.74 billion, representing 10 per cent of the budgetary allocation in 19 states in 2016 when assessed on individual basis, was lost to the idle periods.
This same amount could deliver a fully equipped teaching hospital to enhance the epileptic tertiary health care system in the country.
The Guardian newspaper for Tuesday, August 1 photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
The Nation reports that The government came under pressure yesterday to ensure the freedom of the university teachers captured by the terrorist group Boko Haram.
Geo-scientists under the umbrella of Nigerian Mining and Geo-sciences Society (NMGS) urged the government to do everything to get the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) lecturers released.
No fewer than 50 people on an oil exploration team in the Northeast were reportedly killed in a Boko Haram ambush last week.
Nine members of the academic and non-academic staff of the UNIMAID were involved in the incident.
Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the society’s president, Prof Silas Dada, said negotiation rather than force was the antidote to the Boko Haram menace.
The Nation newspaper for Tuesday, August 1 photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
ThisDay reports that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a new petroleum policy, restructuring the Nigerian Petroleum Investment Management Services Limited (NAPIMS) and stripping it of its responsibility of regulating costing of projects.
Projects costing would now be done by an independent regulator, which would emerge from the restructuring of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
NAPIMS would now be a pure asset management agency while cost regulation would reside with the sector regulator.
The content of the new policy christened the National Petroleum Policy, which is awaiting gazetting by the federal government, indicated that the Ministries of Petroleum Resources and Finance had been given the nod to restructure NAPIMS using a competitively procured global level consultant.
ThisDay newspaper for Tuesday, August 1 photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
In the video below, NAIJ.com TV asked some Nigerians what they have to say about President Buhari’s absence away from the country for so long.