Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Monday, 16th December, 2024

The Nigerian government has released the sum of ₦85 billion (equivalent to $54 million) as a community levy to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, confirmed this payment on Sunday during his introductory remarks at the 66th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, which is taking place at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.

Naija News reports that the released fund represents its levy obligations from January 2023 through July 2024.

He underscored this payment as evidence of the leadership and dedication of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian government, and its citizens towards the ECOWAS community.

Nevertheless, Touray expressed concern regarding the persistent delays in the remittances of the community levy, noting that several member states continue to lag in their payments.

He stressed the importance of reversing this trend to guarantee the community’s financial stability.

The Supreme Court will on Monday, December 16, adjudicate a case that could determine the position of President Bola Tinubu, who is facing a new lawsuit seeking his removal from office as Nigeria’s leader.

The case, designated SC/CV/667/2023, requests the Supreme Court to remove Tinubu based on two primary allegations: his purported disqualification from holding the presidential office and the unlawful usurpation of that position.

Naija News understands that the lawsuit was initiated by Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru, a candidate from the 2019 presidential election representing the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), who filed the case directly with the Supreme Court.

The defendants named in the lawsuit include former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Tinubu, listed as the first through fourth defendants, respectively.

Owuru, a lawyer trained in the United Kingdom and admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1982, asserts that he was the rightful winner of the 2019 presidential election, claiming that Buhari unlawfully usurped his presidency for eight years.

He contends that the Supreme Court dismissed his previous case against Buhari, which aimed to remove him from office, due to a scheduling error in the hearing dates.

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has affirmed that the license issued to Bishop David Oyedepo‘s Living Faith Church, popularly called Winners’ Chapel, will remain intact.

Naija News recalls that in October, the House of Representatives called for the revocation of licenses granted to the church and other private entities and organizations, citing concerns for national security.

Keyamo, however, contended that the church had not breached any regulations and emphasized that it had complied with all legal requirements before the airstrip was approved.

He maintained that it would be discriminatory to single out a person and revoke his licence when the exact right had been given to others.

Naija News reports that Keyamo made these remarks during an appearance on This Morning, an Arise Television-era program.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic are set to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by 2025.

Naija News reports that Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, made the announcement during the 66th Ordinary Session of Heads of States and Governments held on Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

Touray specified that the withdrawal process for the three nations would span from January 29, 2025, to July 29, 2025, providing time for final mediations and potential diplomatic efforts.

A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, says the Tax Reform Bills introduced by President Bola Tinubu are anti-people.

According to him, the Tax Reform Bills may not be bad in their entirety, but they are capable of making ordinary people suffer through the increase in value-added tax (VAT).

Galadima argued that the anti-people nature of the bills is the main reason the North is vehemently opposing the bills.

Speaking during an interview with Vanguard published on Sunday, the elder statesman pointed out that the most painful thing about the bills is that some Nigerians who may be negatively affected by the bills are supporting the President’s decision.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has debunked wooing former President, Goodluck Jonathan, to run the 2027 presidential election on its platform.

Naija News reports that the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, in an interview with BBC Hausa, said the party did not issue its presidential ticket to Jonathan.

Clarifying his earlier interview on the purported invite to the former President, Abdullahi said PDP has done enough for Jonathan and as a party member, there was no way they would woo him.

He also questioned why the opposition party would woo Jonathan, stressing the wife of the former President, Patience Jonathan, had vowed that her husband will not return to the presidential Villa.

Abdullahi, who explained the party leaders were yet to discuss the issue with Jonathan, said they have 12 governors and many other prominent politicians eligible and competent to contest the presidential election.

Leader of the Ijaw nation, Edwin Clark, has sent an open letter of complaint to President Bola Tinubu about the deplorable state of roads in the Niger Delta region.

Clark, in his letter to President Tinubu on Sunday, appealed for urgent and far-reaching repairs on the roads in the region.

According to him, it is questionable that the Niger Delta and South-South region produces the oil resources which serve as the treasure base of the nation, but the roads in the region are in such deplorable states.

The Ijaw leader noted that the bad roads have caused immense hardship to the people living in the region and, therefore, urged President Tinubu to prioritize the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the region’s road network in the 2025 budget.

He therefore appealed to the President to direct the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi and other relevant government agencies to as a matter of urgency, see to the repair of the roads.

Clark who went ahead to list some of the bad road networks in the region, argued that the revenue from a week’s oil production is enough to fix the roads.

Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has urged President Bola Tinubu to call Vice President Kashim Shettima to order over his verbal attacks on the leader of the British Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch.

Naija News reports that Shettima had berated Badenoch for making critical comments on corruption in Nigeria.

In subsequent comments, the British politician, who identifies as Yoruba, had also distanced herself from being grouped with Northern Nigeria.

Speaking via a statement obtained in Osogbo on Sunday, Igboho urged Tinubu to intervene, noting that Badenoch had done no wrong in expressing her views on corruption in the country.

Igboho criticised the Federal Government for its failure to address the challenges plaguing Nigerians, including economic hardship, poverty, kidnapping, and insecurity.

Instead of focusing on these pressing issues, he said, Shettima had chosen to target Badenoch.

A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, has disclosed that he is not a supporter of the idea of zoning in Nigeria’s politics.

The elder statesman argued that zoning has not brought equity and has not impacted governance in Nigeria.

Speaking during an interview with Vanguard, which was published on Sunday, the NNPP chieftain submitted that there’s no form of intimidation that would prevent them from producing an alternative presidential candidate in the 2027 elections.

According to him, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is doing all within its power to compromise opposition parties and ensure they support its candidate or can’t produce an alternative in the 2027 presidential election.

The Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council spokesman in the 2023 general elections, Yunusa Tanko, has stated that Afe Babalola and Dele Farotimi are both members of the Obedient Movement.

According to him, this is why the 2023 LP flag bearer, Peter Obi, is trying to mediate the issues between the duo.

Naija News reports that Farotimi, who has been granted a ₦50 million bail, is in detention over alleged defamation of Babalola.

Obi had visited Babalola to ask the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to forgive Farotimi.

However, some people had berated the former Governor for visiting Babalola.

Speaking on the situation during an interview with Daily Sun, Tanko said those criticising Obi do not know what he stands for.

He argued that the former Governor hates an atmosphere of rancour and chaos.

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