Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. The expectation that queues at filling stations would dissipate after the sudden hike in petrol prices on Tuesday was dashed on Wednesday. Across major cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Ibadan, Warri, Jos and Port Harcourt, motorists spent hours at stations waiting to buy petrol, which was unavailable in most places.
2. The crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) escalated on Wednesday, despite a strident attempt to resolve it. National Chairman, Julius Abure, rejected the 29-member interim committee headed by Senator Esther Nnenadi Usman, former Minister of State for Finance, describing it as illegal.
3. Successful applicants for the Consumer Credit Loan will start getting the cash next week, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) Uzoma Nwagba said on Wednesday. According to him, N100 billion has been released for roll out to the beneficiaries.
4. Some states that are yet to submit their reports on the proposal for the creation of state police have till Monday to do so, the National Economic Council (NEC) said on Wednesday. On February 15, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu agreed with the need to establish state police as recommended by governors to curb rising insecurity across the land.
5. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has alluded to the dwindling state of the country to absence of quality leadership, saying that the country is not difficult to manage. He, however, admitted the complexities of the country, but stressed that the bedrock of the growth of a nation rests on the leadership at the helm of affairs.
6. The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the increase in the pump price of fuel to over N1,000 per litre across the country, describing it as a brutal assault on the sensibility of Nigerians. PDP said the increase, especially at this time, “is a huge recipe for crisis as Nigerians cannot bear its worsening effect”.
7. Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has said tax collection in Nigeria is low. Gates stated this at a Pan-African youth dialogue on nutrition in Abuja, on Wednesday. HE said the low tax collection poses a challenge to adequately financing critical sectors such as health and education.
8. In two separate attacks, gunmen, on Tuesday night and in the wee hours of Wednesday, killed two vigilante members guarding Isiala Mbano Local Government Area headquarters, and a policeman after setting ablaze the Obowo Police Station in Imo State. It was gathered on Wednesday that the gunmen also burnt some vehicles parked at the council premises.
9. The Delta State Police Command has arrested 40 drug dealers at the popular Sweets Spirit Hotel junction in Asaba, Delta State capital. It was gathered that the police, in collaboration with other security stakeholders, conducted an operation along the Asaba/Okpanam Road, near the Midwifery market on Tuesday night.
10. The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a man, Ajegba Joseph, for attempting to kill a rival whom he met at his girlfriend’s house at Ikun-Akoko in Akoko South-West Local Government Area of the state. The suspect, a hunter, allegedly shot the victim, who is also a hunter, in the leg while the latter was having sex with his girlfriend in the woman’s bedroom.
