Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Sunday, 15th October, 2023

Good morning Nigeria, Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Sunday, 15th, October 2023.

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal filed by the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (PDP), Peter Obi.

Tinubu, who was the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, said this in a response filed by his lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), on Saturday, to Obi’s notice of appeal.

Recall that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, in its judgment on September 6, dismissed the petition filed by Obi challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.

According to the tribunal, the former Governor of Anambra State failed to prove all the averments in his petition, stressing that his petition lacked merit and was dismissed.

However, the LP flagbearer filed an appeal before the Supreme Court on September 18 and asked the apex court to set aside the entire findings and conclusions of the tribunal.

In response to the appeal filed by Obi, President Tinubu told the apex court that the petition of the LP candidate was nothing but a jamboree which was prosecuted more in the media than in the courtroom.

The President said the petition lacked merit, substance, and good faith and should be thrown out because it was a waste of time.

President Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, met Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State and the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Alia said he came to brief the President on the state of affairs in the state.

Alia said the meeting with the president focused on the return of peace in Benue and the return of the internally displaced persons to their ancestral lands.

On his part, the Sports Minister said the visit, which was a maiden one, was to update the President on activities at the ministry.

Enoh said he had initiated a number of innovative ideas to move sports development forward in the country.

A popular Nigerian lawyer, Liborous Oshoma, has accused President Bola Tinubu of nepotism and lopsidedness in his appointments.

The lawyer who spoke in a podcast on Saturday via the X platform (formerly Twitter), said that compared to Tinubu’s current nepotism displayed in the appointment of people into his administration so far, Nigerians may need to apologize to former President Muhammadu Buhari for the accusations of nepotism during his tenure.

He added that he expected a departure from Tinubu in the trend of appointments, but so far, that has not manifested.

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), on Saturday, claimed that President Bola Tinubu has reinstated Adeyemi Adepoju, as the postmaster general of the agency.

The announcement is coming a few days after presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement on Wednesday, announced the sack of Adepoju and his replacement with Tola Odeyemi based on the directive of the President.

However, NIPOST, in a statement on Saturday released via its account on the X platform, claimed Adepoju had been restored to the position of the agency’s postmaster general by the President due to his exceptional leadership and performance.

The presidency is, however, yet to confirm the development of the purported reinstatement of Adepoju as the NIPOST boss.

Corruption is not solely an issue plaguing Africa, but rather a global crisis that affects countries worldwide, including Europe, says the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina.

Dr Adesina made this remark during an interview with the UK Guardian, highlighting that corruption is prevalent in the financial and economic sectors of Europe, while countries like Eritrea in East Africa have successfully achieved a corruption-free environment.

He stressed the need for the African continent to continue to improve accountability in the use of public resources.

Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has asked Biafra agitators to uphold a 40-day ceasefire.

Ohanaeze explained that the ceasefire was aimed at securing the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

The factional Secretary General of Ohanaeze, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said the ceasefire should begin on October 31.

Speaking via a statement, Isiguzoro disclosed that there are ongoing talks behind the scenes on the possibility of Kanu’s release.

He noted that the suspension of all offensive acts would create an enabling environment to negotiate the release of Kanu.

Speaking further, the group urged Ndigbo to exercise patience, adding that they were aware of the hardship endured by the southeast since the incarceration of Kanu.

The Borno State Police Command on Saturday hindered thieves from carting away some train coaches at the Maiduguri Railway Terminus.

A source who spoke with Punch on the development said the officials, acting on a tip-off by Good Samaritans in the area, also apprehended the suspects.

The spokesperson for the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Mahmood Yakubu speaking on Saturday, denied knowledge of the incident.

However, the spokesperson for the police command, Sami Kamilu, confirmed the incident, adding that six suspects had been arrested.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has been appointed as the Chairman of the African Governors’ Forum of the World Bank.

The development was announced on the Ministry of Finance’s X page.

The ministry noted that the appointment makes it the first of such for Nigeria.

Naija News reports that the African Governors’ Forum is a platform for African finance ministers and central bank governors to engage with the World Bank on issues of mutual interest.

The leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Ayo Adebanjo, has reacted to the controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s academic records at the Chicago State University (CSU).

According to him, he thinks the Nigerian people should be the judge of the issue of the President’s academic results.

Ade Banjo, during an interview with The Punch, said the issue was something he didn’t want to discuss, but all he knows is that when one becomes a political figure, their lives no longer remain private.

The Afenifere leader noted that what is happening is not rocket science, and people understand, so therefore, they should be the judge of everything.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday made a U-turn on transmitting the results of the November 11 governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states manually.

The electoral body on Saturday revealed that it will transmit results from the governorship election electronically.

Naija News recalls that the Bayelsa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ofiong Efanga, at a press conference, said INEC would adopt a manual mode of transmission of the governorship election results.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, however, during the monitoring of the mock election in Lokoja, Kogi State, said whatever the Bayelsa REC said must be disregarded.