Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Sunday, 30th October, 2022

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Sunday, 30th October 2022.

Special Forces Soldiers, Policemen, DSS Operatives Storm Abuja, Arrest Scores Of Suspects

The Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has increased security in the Federal Capital Territory after the terror alerts issued by the United States and the United Kingdom.

The US Embassy had in a statement last Sunday announced that it would offer reduced services until further notice and urged American citizens to avoid non-essential movements.

The statement added that possible targets by the terrorists may include government buildings, places of worship, schools, markets, shopping malls, hotels, bars, restaurants, athletic gatherings, transport terminals, law enforcement facilities, and international organizations.

Also, in an advisory issued on the same Sunday by its Embassy in Abuja, the United Kingdom advised its citizens in Nigeria to stay alert and consider their movements carefully.

The British government also urged its citizens to follow the local news and the advice of security authorities in order not to be victims of a terrorist attack.

On its part, the Australian government on Wednesday advised its citizens to reconsider the need to travel to Nigeria.

The country listed Abuja and surrounding areas as places of possible high threats of terrorist attack and kidnapping, adding that those who have to travel to Nigeria are at risk of terrorist attacks, kidnappings violent civil unrest, and crime.

Sheikh Gumi Rejects Naira Redesign, Says Bandits Can Demand Dollars

Controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has slammed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for moving to redesign the naira at this time.

In a statement titled: “Changing the Naira: This is no time for economic kamikaze!”, the cleric said the plot to resign the naira is ill-timed as it could lead to economic suicide, especially among rural dwellers.

He said most Nigerians depend on cash transactions, adding that any policy that will cause more cash crunch will be a disaster for the nation.

According to Gumi, the policy will not starve kidnappers of cash because they may decide to demand for dollars and other currencies to make life harder for the people.

Police React To Reports Of Bombs Being Planted In Abuja

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has denied social media reports that bombs were being planted in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Naija News reports that the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made the denial in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

Adejobi asked Nigerians and visitors to disregard reports that bombs were being planted in FCT in connection with the terror alert issued by the United States on the possible attack in Abuja.

He warned individuals who have continually spread fearful rumours to further create more panic among citizens and residents of the FCT and Nigeria at large to desist from such action.

Saraki, Dele Momodu, Others To Meet Wike, Aggrieved PDP Govs Over Rift With Atiku

Some presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have concluded plans to meet with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers and other aggrieved governors in the party to end the rift with former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar.

Naija News reports that Wike alongside his Oyo, Enugu, Benue, and Abia states counterparts, Seyi Makinde, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Samuel Ortom, and Okezie Ikpeazu, respectively, had pulled out of the party’s presidential campaign, insisting that the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, must be removed or resign from his position for a southerner to replace him.

They accused Ayu of going back n his promise to resign his position if a northerner emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.

Recall that the Board of Trustees had set up an ad hoc committee to broker peace between both parties. One of the recommendations of the committee was that the chairman should commit to vacating his seat after the elections. Wike and his group, however, rejected the report and insisted that Ayu must resign as the chairman before next year’s election.

It was gathered that some National Executive Committee members of the PDP have also thrown their weight behind the renewed bid by the presidential aspirants to end the ongoing dispute between Wike’s and Atiku’s camp.

APC Crisis Deepens As Gov Mai Mala Buni’s Loyalists Rage Over Adamu’s Comments

The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a new twist as loyalists of the party’s former caretaker committee chairman and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, have lambasted the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, over recent allegations he made against Buni.

Naija News recalls that Adamu had in a press conference accused the former caretaker committee of leaving N7.5 billion debts on legal fees alone when he took over the affairs of the party.

Adamu had said: “There were more than 200 staff on the payroll and during the audit we had to query where these number of people work. They went to the media that we can’t pay salary of staff just to blackmail us.”

It was gathered that the comments made by the APC National Chairman have unsettled governors, senators, and other leaders of the party, who were members of the Buni-led caretaker committee.

Speaking to Saturday Sun, a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) said Adamu’s outburst may further escalate the crisis rocking the party since the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the APC.

Buhari Approved Naira Redesign, CBN Replies Finance Minister

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reacted to the statement of the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, claiming that her ministry has no knowledge about the redesigning of the Naira Notes.

Naija News had earlier reported that Ahmed stated this on Friday when she appeared before a Senate committee.

Ahmed had faulted the process of the apex bank, which she described as ill-timed.

The spokesman of CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, while reacting to the statement of the Minister said the apex bank remains a very thorough institution.

He said the management of the CBN, in line with provisions of section 2(b), section 18(a), and section 19(a)(b) of the CBN Act 2007, had duly sought and obtained the approval of the President Muhammadu Buhari in writing to redesign, produce, release and circulate new series of N200, N500, and ₦1,000 banknotes.

He called on Nigerians to support the currency redesign project, adding that the process is in the interest of Nigerians.

2023: Peter Obi Holds Campaign Rally In Nasarawa State (Photos)

The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi on Saturday officially flagged off his campaign in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

The spokesman of the Labour Party, Yunusa Tanko in a statement released on his Twitter account on Saturday disclosed that the initial flag-off of the party’s campaign was shifted from the 20th of October due to the rampaging flood across the country.

Tanko wrote, “Our presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi had to visit affected states to empathize with the flood-ravaged communities across the country, as the first call of governance is being responsive to the people.

“However, immediately after the visits of Mr. Peter Obi, our Presidential Candidate, the campaign council of our great party has deemed it necessary to earnestly kick off the campaign from the north-central geo-political zone of Nigeria.”

He called on support groups and supporters to make themselves available for the campaign of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

PDP Crisis: I Have The Power To Stop Ortom, Others From Realising Their Ambition – Ayu

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyorchia Ayu, has said he could stop Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and other party chieftains who calling for his resignation from realizing their ambition.

Naija News reports that Ayu stated this in Tiv dialect on Friday while addressing the crowd that welcomed him back to his country home, Gboko in Benue state.

Recall that Ortom alongside five other PDP governors has called for Ayu’s resignation after the party presidential primary election that produced Abubakar Atiku as the party’s standard-bearer.

According to Ortom and the camp of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, the presidential candidate and the National Chairman cannot come from the same region, hence the call for Ayu to step down.

However, the PDP crisis which has split the party in Benue is threatening the senatorial ambition of the governor with Ayu’s kinsmen in the Jemgbah axis accusing Ortom of teaming up with others to pull down their son from his exalted office.

Speaking with his supporters, Ayu said that he had the power to stop any candidate contesting on the party’s platform, particularly in the state, to avenge the calls for his resignation.

2023: Tinubu To Win, Peter Obi To Split Atiku’s Votes – Report

A leading global rating company in the world, Fitch has predicted that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will emerge winner of the 2023 general elections.

In a report by the global company, Fitch stated that earlier surveys tipping the presidential flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi was ahead of his opponents, Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were mostly based on online responses.

While stating that Obi is unlikely to win next year’s election, the report maintained that Tinubu is the candidate most likely to win the presidential election as a split opposition vote will favour the ruling party’s candidate.

According to the report, since only 36.0% of Nigerians use the internet (World Bank, 2020), “we believe that these results are skewed towards urban, affluent voters who are most likely to support Obi. We also highlight that these polls suggest that a large share of voters remain undecided.

“Even if these surveys were accurate at a national level, Obi’s lack of support in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority North would make it difficult for him to win next year’s election. Indeed, the North is home to the majority of all voters and turnout in this part of the country tends to be relatively high, underscoring the importance of the Northern electorate.

“According to Nigeria’s 1999 constitution, a candidate can only be elected if they both receive the majority of overall votes and over 25.0% of votes in at least 24 of the country’s 36 states. Given that Obi’s Labour Party has limited infrastructure in the North, he will struggle to meet this second voting requirement.”

2023: Wike, Makinde, Others ‘Preferred’ Presidential Candidate Emerge

With the 2023 presidential elec­tion in sight, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, are hoping to take over power which they lost in 2015.

PDP, in its effort to emerge winner in 2023, has commenced its campaign intending to capture the support of Nigerians in 2023.

However, some in-house issues in the party might hinder the main opposition party from emerging victorious in the forthcoming general elections.

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, and his allies in their call for justice in the PDP had called for the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

The aggrieved Governors and other stakeholders had condemned northern dominance in key positions in the party.

The grievances of the Governors saw them pull out of the presidential campaign council of the PDP, insisting that Ayu must resign.

That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.