TOP 10 NEWS MAKING THE ROUNDS IN NIGERIA TODAY, FRIDAY 

TOP 10 NEWS MAKING THE ROUNDS IN NIGERIA TODAY, FRIDAY 

1. Nigerians To Pay More For Electricity As Discos Quietly Hike Tariffs

Fresh information has emerged that Nigerians would be paying more for electricity as electricity distribution companies (Discos) have secretly increased tariffs.

The cost payable by power consumers across the country has been reviewed by discos without any announcements.

It was gathered that some consumers who noticed the hike took to the micro-blogging platform Twitter to react to the development, which is alleged to have been secretly executed by the distribution companies.

A Twitter user identified Oyibo Ediri, who accused the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) of secretly increasing tariffs wrote “AEDC has quietly increased the cost of electricity. Cost increased from N57.55 in December to N68.2 for tariff band A non-MD. No official statement from @aedcelectricity or @NERCNG on the increase. These people won’t stop to fleece us.”

However, the AEDC, via its official Twitter handle, @aedcelectricity, explained to Ediri that the tariff hike was based on the order of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

AEDC stated that “Good day, please be informed that the increase in Tariff is in compliance with NERC order,” but AEDC refused to respond further when another user requested the publication of current rates available as ordered by NERC.

2. 2023: Vote For Me If You Want To Be Rich, I’ll Convert The Talents Of Yahoo Boys – Tinubu Tells Nigerians

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu on Thursday declared that he is ready to make wealth for Nigerians.

He said part of his plans if elected as President of Nigeria is to turn around the economic fortunes of the country and its citizens.

Tinubu made the declaration as part of his speech during the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally in Benin, Edo State.

He said a better life must be created for every citizen of the country as “the children of boli and groundnut sellers should become doctors, engineers, nurses etc.”

Also at the rally, Tinubu said the talents and abilities of yahoo boys should be converted to productive ventures and that is part of what his administration would focus on if elected into power.

The former Lagos State Governor stressed that with the right structure and strategy in place, poverty can be defeated in Nigeria.

3. Lies Will Not Revive Your Dead Political Career – Obaseki Fires Oshiomhole

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said that his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole’s last ditch effort and lies will not revive his dead political career.

Obaseki, through his Special Adviser on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, stated this was reacting to Oshiomhole’s statement during a rally held by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Obaseki’s aide accused the former APC chairman of attempting to sell lies and hoodwink Edo people at the party’s presidential rally, adding that Oshiomhole attempted to sell lies in a last ditch effort to revive his dead political career.

He stated that people are no longer swayed by empty rhetoric and concocted lies, which has overtime been the bane of the “poisonous politics that deprive the people of good governance while the political class fed fat from our collective patrimony.”

Osagie stated that Oshiomhole’s political career has ended and no matter how high he jumps on a stage or how low he goes to impassion the scanty crowd, the people see through his facade and recognize his ill-intentioned antics and lies.

He added that the former governor’s political career was effectively truncated at the polls in the 2020 governorship election in Edo State, which was a referendum on his style of politics.

READ ALSO: 8 innocent behaviours that age you twice as fast(MUST READ)

4. Peter Obi: Obasanjo Punished Me – Tinubu Declares

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu on Thursday accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of punishing him during his time as the Lagos State Governor.

He added that it was not a personal punishment but an action taken against Lagos State because he was in the opposition party.

Tinubu spoke with reference to the Enron power project and accused the Obasanjo administration of frustrating his efforts of solving the challenges of electricity supply when he was the Lagos State Governor.

According to him, the Obasanjo administration went ahead to divert and embezzle the huge sum of money meant to address the challenges of the electricity crisis in the country.

He spoke during the APC presidential campaign rally in Benin, Edo State.

5. CUPP Reacts As INEC Chairman Escapes Arrest By DSS, Police

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has commended a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court for refusing to order the arrest of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu.

One Somadina Uzoabaka had approached the court with a suit seeking to sack the electoral commission’s boss ahead of the 2023 general elections over alleged false asset declaration.

Justice M. A. Hassan, however, on Wednesday, refused the application alongside the 14 reliefs brought by the claimants. The judge held that Prof Yakubu’s asset declaration was lawful, valid, and in compliance with the law.

The court judge forbade the Department of States Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force, and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) mentioned in the ruling from arresting Yakubu.

Reacting to the development on Wednesday, CUPP Spokesman, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, commended the decision of the court to stop the security agencies from arresting Yakubu.

He said since the discovery of plans to compel the INEC chairman to stop the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the 2023 elections, some politicians are plotting to order Yakubu’s arrest.

The CUPP spokesman asserted that the judiciary has proven over the months to be the last hope of the common man, and the security agencies have become a disappointment.

IMPORTANT: You can now Click “HERE” to receive More updates directly on your WhatsApp!

6. FG Begins Payment Of Service Allowances To Military Retirees

Nigerian military retirees or next of kin to deceased military officers have begun receipt of Security Debarment Allowance (SDA) from the federal government.

The government initiative to military personnel was aimed at discouraging those who served in the force from using the skills they have acquired while in service to counter the government.

The Military Pensions Board had, however, declared earlier that retirees before 2017 are not entitled to the benefits since they were not in service when the programme was introduced.

Over 90,000 military retirees who retired before 2017 have been deprived of the programme since it was initiated.

According to the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (retd), their exclusion was on purpose because the personnel who retired before the law was signed were not entitled to the allowance.

Affected retired military personnel have embarked on a series of protests in the last two years to demand the payment of their allowance.

7. Why Northern APC Governors Want Tinubu To Be President – Gov Sule

The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule has revealed why Northern Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) want Bola Tinubu as the next president of Nigeria.

He said nobody will respect the northerners if a person from the region takes over from President Muhammadu Buhari after his own eight years in office.

Sule also debunked the report that eleven Northern APC governors are working with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The Nasarawa State Governor stated this during a meeting with the state party officials, and members of his campaign council.

Elected and appointed government officials were also at the meeting held at the Government House in Lafia, the state capital.

Sule claimed that the opposition is propagating the report to paint the governors black in their bid to work for Tinubu.

He further stated that there is no reason for Northern APC governors to meet with Atiku after they insisted that the next president should come from the South.

8. Fresh Details Emerge On Why Atiku Ally Was Removed As Wazirin Bauchi

Details have emerged on why the Bauchi State Government sacked Muhammad Bello Kirfi as the Wazirin Bauchi and a member of the Bauchi Emirate Council.

There had been reports that the council sacked Kirfi over his disrespect to the state Governor, Bala Mohammed.

A source in Kirfi’s family who spoke with Daily Trust however disclosed that the issue was politically motivated.

According to the source, the crisis started in 2022 when the Bauchi State Governor wanted to contest for presidency under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and consulted Kirfi.

The source revealed that Kirfi advised Mohammed to shelve his presidential ambition and support Atiku in the primary.

Bello Kirfi is one of the major gladiators in the PDP in Bauchi State.

It was disclosed that the governor was not happy with Kirfi’s suggestion which led to the crisis between the duo.

READ ALSO: 4 Daily Habits Helped Me Double My Income and Intellectual Growth(HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

9. FG Says Nigeria’s Debt May Hit N77 Trillion Before May 2023, Gives Breakdown

The Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha has predicted a high increase in the country’s debt before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

The director-general made this known in Abuja on Wednesday during the public presentation and breakdown of the highlights of the 2023 Appropriation Act.

According to Oniba, the country’s debt may hit N77tn if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues in its ways and means which has accumulated from 2014 to 2022, and put at about N22.7 trillion is securitized, coupled with the N44.06 tril- lion total debt stock as at third quarter of 2022 (Q3 2022) and the N8 trillion new borrowing

She maintained that securitization was the best option because at the current interest rate charge of 18.5 percent, additional N1.8 trillion to N2 trillion may be incurred as interest if the government fails to securitize the CBN Ways & Means; hence the decision of the executive to work with the National Assembly to bring it into fruition.

IMPORTANT: You can now Click “HERE” to receive More updates directly on your WhatsApp!

10. Why Buhari Couldn’t Remove Fuel Subsidy – Adesina Reveals

Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina has explained why President Muhammadu Buhari could not remove fuel subsidy until now even after describing it as a fraud.

In an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday night, Adesina said his principal’s inability to remove fuel subsidy was due to economic and social factors.

He asserted that removing subsidy on petrol makes a lot of economic sense but does not make any social sense, stressing that the President needed to weigh his options because of the social consequences involved.

The presidential aide said that petrol subsidy had stayed longer than required. He added that almost every Nigerian has now come to the realisation that it must come to a stop.

WATCH THIS: DEAR FARMERS, HERE ARE 5 SECRETS THAT A BILLIONAIRE FARMER TOLD ME ON FARMING SUCCESS