Here is a roundup of some Nigerian newspaper headlines with advocacy calls.
1. ‘Federal government to bar 60,000-litre fuel tankers from roads 01 March’ – Daily Trust
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced a ban on 60,000-litre fuel tankers from operating on Nigerian roads, effective March 1, 2025, to mitigate truck-in-transit incidents, some of which had resulted in infernos and several deaths.
Our Take: If the federal government is truly serious about keeping our roads from turning into barbecue pits, then this ban on 60,000-litre tankers shouldn’t just be another headline, it must be enforced with an iron grip, not a slippery handshake. Regulatory agencies must ensure that from March 01, 2025, no oversized fuel tanker sneaks onto the highways under the cover of ‘Nigerian factors’, and by the fourth quarter, we shouldn’t see a single 45,000-litre-plus tanker belching its way onto the roads.
2. ‘Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) talk tough, caution governors, local government bosses on treason, fraud’ – The Guardian
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, at separate events yesterday, weighed in on autonomy for local government areas (LGAs), issuing warnings to state governors and council chairs.
Our Take: If treason and fraud are truly on the table, then let’s move beyond tough talk and get some real action, because, frankly, Nigerian politicians have mastered the art of ignoring warnings like expired memos. The AGF and EFCC must ensure that any governor or local government council chair who dares to treat Supreme Court rulings like mere suggestions faces immediate legal consequences.
3. ‘Fiscal autonomy: Why Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hasn’t released funds to 774 local government areas’ – Vanguard
The federal government explained on Wednesday why, despite the Supreme Court’s order, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not commenced the direct release of funds to the country’s 774 local government areas (LGAs).
Our Take: If the Supreme Court’s ruling was clear in July, why does it feel like the implementation committee is still searching for a manual on how to obey the law? The CBN and the federal government must stop treating fiscal autonomy like a complex puzzle and conclude the endless profiling and bureaucratic slow dances. If politicians moved this slowly when approving their own benefits, we’d believe the delay was genuine.
