Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Saturday morning

Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Saturday morning

1. Three serving senators from Kebbi State, elected on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have formally declared their intention to join the ruling All Progressives Congress following a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja. The lawmakers are Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Senator Yahaya Abubakar Abdullahi (Kebbi North), and Senator Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South).

2. National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, has reacted to the alarm by the opposition leaders that Nigeria is drifting towards a one-party State. While addressing State House Correspondents after meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday, Ganduje said the ruling party cannot quarrel with Nigerians if APC controls virtually all states and the centre.

3. The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said his company is not out to fight the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. He maintained that the two companies are partners in business, pledging to work with the new NNPC management to help secure the country’s energy sector.

4. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially released the results of the 1.951, 811 candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) while withholding 39,834 results. This is even as it revealed that 80 suspects are currently under interrogation for examination fraud.

5. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has pledged to investigate allegations of financial misconduct involving Bello Matawalle, the Minister of State for Defense, following a petition submitted by the All Progressives Congress Young Leaders Alliance (APC-YLA)

6. Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a 25-year-old man, Samson Oghenebreme, in Lagos while transporting human organs from Edo State to a native doctor for use in money-making rituals. The command made this known in a statement by its spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin.

7. Abia State Government has accused the immediate -past Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of building an uninhabitable new Government which he hurriedly inaugurated 24 hours before leaving office. Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, who made the allegation, further said that the bogus structure was never meant to be a residential building.

8. The Senator Nenadi Usman-led Labour Party National Caretaker Committee (LP-NCC) has announced the suspension of former National Chairman and Secretary of the party, Barr. Julius Abure and Alhaji Farouk Umar, for a period of six months. This was contained in a statement signed by Usman and the LP-NCC’s Secretary, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, in Abuja, late on Thursday.

9. Two graduates of the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, have been hacked to death by suspected cultists at the Gbarantoru community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. One of the victims was identified as Ayaokpo Sinclair from the Tombia community, while the identity of the second victim had yet to be confirmed as of the time of filing this report.

10. Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have rescued 25 Ivorian nationals from the hands of a cross-border kidnapping syndicate operating in Ogun State. The police also arrested eight suspects in connection with the crime, following a swift and coordinated operation carried out in collaboration with Interpol. The operation was launched in response to a formal request from the National Central Bureau, Abidjan.