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: RMFAC Under Fire over Upward Review of Politicians’ Remuneration

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has come against the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in its move to embark on a comprehensive upward review of the remuneration packages of political office holders across the country.

Our Take: We urge RMAFC to shelve this ill-timed ‘remuneration jamboree’ and instead channel its energy into bridging the scandalous pay gap between political elites and the ordinary Nigerian worker who can barely afford garri. If the Commission is truly eager to review anything, let it start with publishing the current pay slips of our politicians, since transparency, not secret salary hikes, is what Nigeria urgently needs.

2. Punch: Sick and Stranded: Presidential Order Fails to Curb Soaring Drug Prices

The Punch reports that despite President Bola Tinubu’s executive order in June 2024 aimed at reducing drug costs by abolishing tariffs, excise duties, and Value Added Tax on pharmaceutical machinery and raw materials, Nigeria continues to battle soaring medication prices.

The intended policy, designed to ease the financial burden on patients, remains largely unenforced, leading to no relief for consumers or manufacturers.

Our Take: If the presidential order on drug prices is not to remain yet another ‘paper prescription’ gathering dust, the Ministries of Health, Finance, and Trade must quickly roll up their sleeves and administer the cure, which is full enforcement. Nigerians do not need more flowery memos; they need affordable medicines, not paracetamol priced like gold dust.

3. Daily Trust: Six Die, Three Missing in Fresh Sokoto Boat Mishap

At least six people have died and three others are missing following a boat mishap in the Garin Faji area of Sabon Birni local government area, Sokoto State, as residents fled an attack by suspected bandits.

Our Take: It is high time Nigeria’s emergency agencies stopped acting like ‘after-party guests’ who only show up when the music is over. We call on the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to invest in safer water transport, enforce strict safety regulations and provide life jackets for boat travels.

We also call on the Sokoto State government, in collaboration with the federal government, to strengthen security so citizens are not forced to choose between bandits’ bullets and drowning. Lives should not keep ending in headlines while agencies perfect the art of condolences.