Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naijalog News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Friday, 14th July 2023
1. Tinubu Declares State Of Emergency On Food Security
President Bola Tinubu has announced a state of emergency on food security within Nigeria.
This information was conveyed by the Presidential spokesman, Dele Alake during a press briefing at the State House on Thursday.
The President has called for all matters related to the availability and affordability of food and water, which are critical for daily living, to be handled by the National Security Council.
This directive aligns with the Tinubu administration’s commitment to support the most vulnerable citizens.
Alake noted that the President recognizes the impact of the rising cost of food on the financial well-being of the Nigerian people.
To alleviate the effects of the subsidy removal, President Tinubu ordered the prompt release of fertilizers and grains to farmers and households.
2. Senate Confirms Service Chiefs Appointed By Tinubu
The Senate on Thursday confirmed the appointment of the nation’s service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff appointed by President Bola Tinubu.
This follows the conclusion of their screening before the lawmakers at the Senate Chamber.
During the screening which was held behind closed doors, the security chiefs briefed the Senate on their career progression and pledged to meet national expectations of ensuring security and defending the nations’s territorial integrity.
The Service Chiefs Are:
Maj. Gen. C.G Musa, Chief of Defence Staff
Maj. Gen. T. A Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff
Rear Admiral E. A Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff
AVM H.B Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff
It would be recalled that President Tinubu had in a letter on Tuesday to the legislators, urged the Senate to screen and confirm the CDS and Service Chiefs nominees for substantive appointments.
3. Labour Party Demands Immediate Sack Of INEC Chairman, Prof Yakubu, Festus Okoye
The Labour Party (LP) has demanded the immediate sack of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The party also called for the sack of the INEC Federal Commissioner in charge of voter education. Festus Okoye.
A statement released on Thursday by the Labour Party Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation accused the two individuals of leading the commission in the desecration of the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.
It added that INEC wasted the funds given to it by the government as well as international bodies for the execution of the 2023 general elections in the country.
Furthermore, the Labour Party campaign organization said INEC spent billions of tax payer’s money on the pretext of deploying the BVAS and other technological innovations for the 2023 polls but ended up manually manipulating the results to force their own preferred presidential candidate on Nigerians.
It, therefore, called for the immediate sack and prosecution of Yakubu and Okoye for the ‘crimes’ committed.
4. Army Chief Orders Troops To Raid IPOB Enclaves
The Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Taoreed Lagbaja has ordered troops to raid areas where the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) enforce sit-at-home order throughout the South-East states.
The order came after a Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, announced that there would be a two-week sit-at-home in the South-East region from July 31.
Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu declared that the troops of the 82 Division had been given the order to work with other security agencies to ensure citizens go about their businesses freely.
The army spokesman asserted that such an announcement was unlawful and would not be condoned.
The army spokesman called on Nigerians in the South-East region to disregard the sit-at-home order, urging them to support the security forces to defeat IPOB.