Here is a roundup of some Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-driven demands for government action in addressing citizens’ concerns.
1. The Guardian: NNPCL Vows to Revive Refineries, Shops for N60 Billion Dollars to Expand Capacity
Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari has vowed to revive the country’s refineries despite what it described as sustained attacks on its reform agenda.
Our Take: While NNPCL’s $60 billion shopping spree dream sounds like a blockbuster sequel to decades of failed refinery promises, Nigerians have every right to ask: how many ‘revivals’ can a dead refinery have before it finally resurrects? It is commendable that GCEO Ojulari insists he’s not under presidential pressure for a quick fix, but citizens are more interested in affordable fuel, working refineries, and transparent timelines, not lofty declarations. After all, Nigerians are tired of being extras in a movie where the refineries are always ‘about to start working’.
2. Daily Trust: FG Hikes Passport Fees Second Time in One Year
The federal government increased the fees for Nigerian passports on Thursday, effective September 1, 2025, and the spokesman for the Nigeria Immigration Service, Sheriff Akinlabi says the increment aims to ensure the quality and integrity of the Nigerian Standard Passport.
Our Take: Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Nigerians are already juggling skyrocketing food prices, fuel costs, and electricity tariffs, must getting a passport now feel like buying prime real estate? While the government insists the hike will ‘ensure quality’, citizens deserve passports that don’t just cost like gold but work like it, delivered on time, without endless delays or shady middlemen. We urge you to review this fee structure, ease the burden on struggling households.
3. Punch: FG, ASUU Clash over 2021 Agreement
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday knocked the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, over claims that the government never signed any agreements with the union.
Our Take: If the government insists ASUU’s so-called agreements were merely ‘proposals’, then perhaps Nigeria’s universities have also just been ‘proposals’ all along, given their crumbling state. What students and lecturers need is not another round of semantic gymnastics but a concrete, time-bound plan for funding, salaries, and reforms that will end the cycle of strikes. The Minister of Education must sit with ASUU, sign what needs to be signed, and finally prove that education in Nigeria is more than a perpetual draft still waiting for approval.
