Welcome to today’s roundup of Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-focused calls for government action on pressing issues that impact citizens.
1. Vanguard: 139 Million Nigerians Living in Poverty, Despite Reform Gains — World Bank
The World Bank has called on Nigeria to ensure that the positive outcomes from its recent macroeconomic reforms translate into real improvements in citizens’ living standards, as new estimates show that about 139 million Nigerians are living in poverty.
Our Take: While the World Bank applauds Nigeria for finally tightening the bolts of its shaky economic engine, President Tinubu and his team must now remember that citizens can’t eat macroeconomic stability. It is time to turn these ‘textbook reforms’ into real-life relief by tackling food inflation, creating jobs, and strengthening social protection programmes. After all, there’s little joy in being told the economy is stable when your pocket feels like it missed the memo.
2. Daily Trust: Residents kick as FCT council resuscitates TV, radio tax
Daily Trust reports that many residents of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) have rejected the enforcement of television and radio sets tax by the area council authorities, describing it as untimely and accusing the government of not being sensitive to the plight of the masses.
Our Take: AMAC may be constitutionally empowered to collect radio and television licence fees, as outlined in the Fourth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, but such provisions are relics of a bygone era when televisions had pole antennas tuned only to government-owned stations. In today’s digital age of smart TVs, streaming platforms, and internet-based media, enforcing this levy feels like trying to collect tax on transistor radios in a world of smartphones. AMAC should therefore shelve this outdated by-law, consult with residents, and embrace modern, citizen-friendly revenue strategies instead of reviving laws better left in the black-and-white era.
3. The Guardian: 17 LGAs Under Attack, Says Benue Emergency Agency
Executive Secretary of Benue Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA), James Iorpuu, has stated that 17 out of the state’s 23 local governments are facing attacks. He told newsmen yesterday in Makurdi that only Ogbadibo, Ohimini, Konshisha, Gboko, Ushongo and one other were not affected.
Our Take: With 17 of Benue’s 23 local governments under attack, it is clear the state is fast turning into a battlefield rather than the ‘Food Basket of the Nation’. The federal government must stop treating Benue’s crisis like a seasonal headline and take real action, from tackling insecurity to dredging Rivers Benue and Niger to prevent the yearly flood drama. Citizens cannot keep choosing between being displaced by bullets or washed away by floods.
