Nigeria Newspaper Headlines Today 21st May 2024 [Tuesday]

1. Student Loan: Students in Federal Government-owned tertiary institutions will be the first beneficiaries of the student loan scheme, according to Akintunde Sawyerr, CEO of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), who outlined the conditions for eligibility on Monday.

2. Nigeria Labour Congress:  Organized Labour has rejoined the tripartite committee discussions on minimum wage after walking out of a Zoom meeting last week when the Federal Government proposed a minimum wage of N48,000. The decision to resume talks was made at a joint meeting of the National Executive Councils of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

3. Rivers Crisis: Former President Goodluck Jonathan warned on Monday that the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State could destabilize the Niger Delta and other parts of the country. He urged Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor and estranged political godfather, Nyesom Wike, to resolve their differences peacefully. Jonathan this during the occasion of the flags off Trans-Kalabari road project in Port Harcourt.

4. State Police: Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele stated on Monday that establishing state police would significantly address the country’s insecurity issues. In a statement from his media office in Abuja, he described the current state of policing in Nigeria as “ailing and dysfunctional.”

5. Tragedy: Two students from Lagos State University were struck by stray bullets late Monday in a popular student residential area called PPL, located outside the campus. The students were hit while purchasing food around 8 pm, though their names and the identity of the shooters remain unknown.

6. Politics: Former Benue State Governor and candidate for the national chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Gabriel Suswam, declared during an expanded caucus meeting at the party’s secretariat on Monday that he does not view the forthcoming party election as a do-or-die affair.

7. Banditry:  In a bold daylight attack, bandits abducted the family of a senior Customs officer in Abuja on Sunday. Eyewitnesses reported that over 10 bandits arrived at the Customs officer’s residence in Shagari Quarters, Dei-Dei, around 11:30 am and proceeded directly to the compound.

8. Gadan Village Mosque Attack:  An Upper Shariah Court in Kano ordered the remand of Shafi’u Abubakar, the principal suspect in an arson attack on a mosque in Gadan village, Gezawa Local Government Area, on Monday. The suspect pleaded guilty, but the case was postponed due to his lack of legal representation.

9. Exchange:  The Naira appreciated in the parallel market on Monday, rising to N1,475 per dollar from N1,480 per dollar over the weekend. Similarly, it appreciated to N1,468.99 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

10. Aviation:  Air Peace dismissed reports of alleged safety breaches in the United Kingdom, stating that any ramp inspection issues were resolved with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The airline’s Lead Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Stanley Olisa, refuted the allegations in a statement issued on Monday in Lagos.