Here is a roundup of some Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-driven demands for government action in addressing citizens’ concerns.
1. Daily Trust: Jamb Panel: Examination Malpractice Becoming Normal
The Special Committee on Examination Infractions (SCEI), set up by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said that candidates’ parents are behind 80 per cent of infractions.
Our Take: If 8 out of 10 exam cheats are sponsored by parents, maybe JAMB should start setting a ‘Parent Integrity Test’ before selling UTME forms. Still, the real task lies with the Ministry of Education, JAMB, and security agencies to clamp down on complicit schools, tutorial centres, and even faith-based institutions, while parents must learn that true success cannot be outsourced, or smuggled through malpractice.
2. The Guardian: How Japa, Vandals, Investor Fatigue Keep Telecom Services Below Par
Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, the toast of foreign investors at the turn of the century, may be undergoing its toughest time in over a decade, as investor fatigue, macroeconomic headwinds, insecurity, and rising market risks stall investment inflows into the critical industry.
Our Take: To safeguard Nigeria’s $76 billion telecom sector from sliding into decline, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy must urgently engage investors with clear and consistent policies, strengthen protections against vandalism, and create an enabling environment that restores confidence in the industry.
3. Vanguard: Five Percent Fuel Consumption Tax: TUC Issues 14-Day Strike Notice
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to withdraw its proposed five percent tax on petroleum products or face a nationwide strike.
TUC President, Festus Osifo, in a statement on Monday, described the policy as ‘economic wickedness’ that would deepen the suffering of already overburdened Nigerians.
Our Take: The Federal Government must immediately shelve its five percent fuel tax plan and stop treating Nigerians like ATMs with endless withdrawal limits, because unlike machines, people can actually break down. Instead of piling new levies on citizens already crushed by subsidy removal, inflation, and a weakening naira, the government should focus on genuine reforms that reduce waste, cut the cost of governance, and create jobs, or risk a united wave of resistance that no policy spin can petrol-wash away.
