Here is a roundup of some Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-driven demands for government action in addressing citizens’ concerns.
1. Punch: Dangote vs NUPENG: Union Insists on Strike, Meets Federal Government, Others Today
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers on Sunday declared that it would still embark on strike beginning today (Monday), despite the intervention of the Federal Government to address the grievances of the union.
Our Take: We urge President Bola Tinubu, Minister Heineken Lokpobiri, NNPC boss Bayo Ojulari, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) chief, and our ever-watchful security agencies not to waste time in dousing this brewing fire, because if NUPENG pulls the plug and fuel scarcity bites, Nigerians would not just be trekking to work, they might as well start registering for a national marathon. It is high time those in charge showed leadership beyond press statements and photo ops, and moved decisively to avert yet another round of avoidable hardship.
2. Daily Trust: FG Threatens X over Anti-Tinubu Post, Sowore Vows Resistance
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore said despite recent attempts by security agencies to restrict his social media accounts, he will continue to criticise the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
At the weekend, the federal government gave X a 24-hour ultimatum to pull down Sowore’s anti-Tinubu post, in which he disparaged the president over his claim in Brazil that corruption in Nigeria had ended under his government.
Our Take: President Bola Tinubu must remember that Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution guarantees every Nigerian the right to freedom of expression, including the uncomfortable kind that keeps leaders awake at night. Instead of turning the DSS into an internet complaint desk chasing tweets, his administration should embrace dissent as proof that democracy is alive; after all, if a single post on X can shake the villa, then perhaps the real ‘national security threat’ is not Sowore’s grammar but the government’s intolerance.
3. Daily Trust: How Boko Haram Killed 63 in Borno – Survivors
Survivors have recounted how Boko Haram insurgents killed 63 people in an attack on the Darul Jamal community, Bama local government area of Borno State, as residents said the terrorists stormed the community on Friday night, first engaging the military before proceeding to attack civilians.
Our Take: The federal government and security chiefs must urgently reinforce protection for vulnerable communities like Darul Jamal, because when villagers become their own early warning system while soldiers insist ‘troops are sufficient’, it begins to sound less like a counterinsurgency and more like a tragic comedy. If Boko Haram can still massacre 63 people under ‘adequate deployment’, one shudders to imagine what ‘inadequate security’ looks like.
4. The Guardian: National Grid Faces N5.6 Trillion revenue Loss as Premium Customers Exit
Daily Trust reports that Nigeria’s power sector faces a deepening financial crisis that could push the federal government’s liabilities to about N6.2 trillion by the end of 2025, amid the rapid exit of premium customers from the national grid.
Our Take: Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, must move beyond speeches and endless ‘roadmaps’ to urgently fix the bleeding power sector, because if premium customers keep escaping to solar, the only thing left under his watch might be a national grid fit for history textbooks titled ‘Once Upon a Light’.
