Good Morning! Here are today’s top highlights from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. There is anxiety in Nigeria over the health condition of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun. He was reported to have suffered a stroke on Sunday. Although the presidency confirmed that he took ill, it dismissed reporters that Edun was flown abroad.
2. The Nigerian Government will implement its ‘No Work, No Pay' policy against striking university lecturers. This was disclosed on Sunday as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), commenced its two weeks warning strike.
3. The operatives of the Lagos Zonal Directorate II of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, are currently investigating two travellers after they were arrested by officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, for allegedly failing to declare large sums of foreign currency in their possession. They were reportedly found with $6,180 and £53,415 in cash, which they did not disclose as required by law.
4. Former federal lawmaker Senator Dino Melaye has lambasted President Bola Tinubu for granting presidential pardon to "70 drug lords". It could be recalled that Tinubu on Thursday, granted clemency to about 175 convicts including drug traffickers. Reacting, Melaye in a post on Facebook on Sunday night wondered why the president granted pardon to such convicts, describing the action as nonsensical.
5. A northern socio-political group, the Northern Patriots, has accused National Assembly members of poor performance. It then called on Nigerians to immediately begin the process of recalling all the members of the National Assembly. The group accused the lawmakers of complicity in what it described as “a grand betrayal of national trust” and the “systematic marginalisation” of the northern region.
6. Minister of Works, David Umahi has re-echoed his stance that it is not yet the turn of the Southeast to produce the next president. Umahi, an ardent supporter of his principal, President Bola Tinubu, urged the region to exercise patience in its quest for Nigeria’s presidency. “No, it is not our time; it is not the time of South-East yet,” he said.
7. Gunmen have abducted a 12-year-old girl at the Ayogwiri community in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State. The victim’s mother, abducted with her, has since been released by the suspected kidnappers. The suspected kidnappers are said to be demanding the sum of N5 million ransom from the family of the abductee.
8. A foundation member of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Osita Okechukwu has declared that Governor Peter Mbah’s defection to the party is an end to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the South-East. Okechukwu, a former Director General of Voice of Nigeria, VON, on Sunday said the Southeast is preparing to say goodbye with the planned exit of Governor Mbah.
9. Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Aloy Ejimakor, has begged Nigerians to join the October 20 protest for Kanu’s release. Ejimakor said the continued detention of the Biafra agitator should be opposed by "all and sundry."
10. Five African countries have confirmed their places at the 2026 World Cup. NATIONAL POST reports that the latest is Ghana which beat Comoros 1-0 at home to finish top of Group I. Other African nations that have qualified for the 2026 edition include Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria.
