We’ve Done So Much With So Little, Govt Insists And Other Newspaper Headlines Today

THE GUARDIAN Reports that The Federal Government has scored itself highly ahead of tomorrow’s Democracy Day. At media briefing in Lagos, yesterday, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the administration recorded the most marks in security, economy, infrastructure and anti-corruption. “President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has achieved a lot in the delivery of dividends of democracy and campaign promises despite the challenges it encountered in the last three years”, he said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE and THE NATION reports that Presidency hits Obasanjo over Fayose, Ladoja, Obi. The Presidency yesterday attacked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration, especially under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, for “toppling” elected state governments, using the police and the secret service. In an article to commemorate the third anniversary of the Buhari Presidency last night, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhamadu Buhari on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu recalled how former Governors  Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo) and Peter Obi (Anambra)  were removed for reasons not noble. The statement added that under that dispensation, “it took an insider collaboration to thwart the unseating of Governor (Chris) Ngige (of Anambra State) by a powerful thug sponsored by the PDP administration.”

THE PUNCH still on the drama before between the Presidency and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, reveals the presidency saying Obasanjo govt used police DSS to topple govs. The Presidency again took on the opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday and accused one of its former Presidents of illegal removal of state governors. Though former President Olusegun Obasanjo was not mentioned, all the facts pointed to events that took place under his administration. President Muhammadu Buhari had last week accused Obasanjo’s administration of wasting $16bn on power projects without any visible result. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a document titled “The real price of change-the-change campaign (2)” made available to journalists in Abuja, that the PDP under Obasanjo showed aptitude in the toppling of elected state governments using the police and secret service under their control.

10 Killed, 32 Arrested in Anambra Community Cult War. After few months of respite from cultists in Obosi in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, the community again regained its infamy at the weekend when over 10 cult members lost their lives in a cult fight. DAILY INDEPENDENT learnt that the cult fight was between Baga and Aiye, whose members engaged themselves in a gun battle leading to the death of 10 suspected cultists and arrest of 32 of them. It was learnt that trouble started when a bereaved family of a suspected Baga cultist had concluded arrangement to hold a funeral ceremony for their son who was allegedly shot dead by a rival Aiye group member.

Give hope to youths, Anglican, Methodist bishops task FG. Primate of Anglican Church of Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh, and the Prelate of Methodist Church of Nigeria, Rev Samuel Kalu Uche, yesterday, tasked the Federal Government to address the hunger in the land and give hope to the nation’s youths. While in his presidential address to the Diocese of Abuja Synod held at the Basilica of Grace, Gudu, Okoh asked the government to act fast and arrest the starvation in the land, Rev Uche in his message at the 2018 Democracy Day Interdenominational Church Service at National Christian Centre, Abuja, which was attended by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said many youths of the country were deprived and needed succour.

Finally on the political scene, DAILY SUN reports that Buhari steps into nPDP crisis. As part of efforts to douse the grievances of members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) bloc of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a meeting between the group and President Muhammadu Buhari is billed to hold today. The crucial meeting would, however, be preceded by the one with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Attendees at the meeting are expected to meet the president to intimate him about the outcome of their meeting with Osinbajo. Baraje said the main agenda of the group’s discussion with the vice president is the petition the nPDP wrote to the party leadership.  “After our meeting with the VP, he (VP) will lead us to the president. It is the outcome of our meeting with the president that will form our next line of action,” he disclosed. As part of fence-mending moves, the nPDP group led by former acting chairman of PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje had last week met with the national executives of the party to discuss and possibly resolve their differences.

Moving to the economic sector, Party congresses, foreign investors’ repatriation put pressure on naira. Nigeria’s currency is seeing sell pressure gradually building against it as a result of political activities and foreign portfolio investors repatriating their investment proceeds. The Naira was trading at between N367 and N368 per U.S dollar on Friday “on the street trading market” known as parallel market at the Lagos International Airport, Business Day Investigation revealed.