Welcome to Wednesday’s roundup of Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-focused calls on issues that impact citizens.
1. Vanguard: Alleged Christian Genocide: US Lawmakers Disagree With FG
Vanguard reports that Vicky Hartzler of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged sanctions, visa bans, and aid conditions for Nigerian officials ‘complicit’ in the ‘Christian genocide’. With Washington now poking around Nigeria’s security failures like a mechanic checking a noisy engine, the government may soon find that ignoring the situation comes with more than just bad press.
Our Take: President Bola Tinubu needs to take decisive steps to protect at-risk communities, bring complicit officials to justice, and finally show that Abuja is not waiting for Washington to do its homework for it. The Presidency, security agencies, and state governments must move beyond assurances and deliver concrete, measurable action, because when the U.S. Congress starts examining Nigeria’s security lapses like examiners marking an unprepared student, it is only a matter of time before sanctions and diplomatic side-eyes follow.
2. Daily Trust: IPI Lists IGP, Two Govs in Book of Infamy
The International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria has listed the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, alongside Governors Imo Eno of Akwa Ibom and Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State in its newly unveiled Book of Infamy, launched by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the IPI Annual Conference. Egbetokun’s inclusion follows his failure to stop arbitrary arrests of journalists, Eno made the list for barring Channels TV from covering government activities, and Bago earned his spot after ordering the closure of private radio station Badeggi FM, actions all taken despite IPI’s appeals for reconsideration.
Our Take: IPI Nigeria’s ‘Book of Infamy’ should be a wake-up call to the IGP and the governors of Akwa Ibom and Niger States. Press freedom is not a luxury they can switch off like a generator on a bad day. The clampdowns on journalists and media outlets must end at once, and citizens should demand that these leaders reverse their actions and respect the rights they swore to protect.
3. Punch: FG contractors launch fresh protest over N500bn debt
Local contractors under the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria stormed the Federal Ministry of Finance on Tuesday, blocking both entrances to demand payment of over N500bn allegedly owed for completed government projects. After months of shifting promises and postponed meetings, the contractors say they’ve had enough, returning to the ministry like creditors reminding a forgetful debtor that ‘commissioned’ shouldn’t mean ‘forgotten’.
Our Take: President Bola Tinubu should ensure that these debts are settled transparently and without another cycle of shifting promises by directing Minister of Finance Wale Edun, the Budget and Planning Ministry, the Accountant General’s office, and relevant MDAs to release verified payments owed to contractors who have already delivered completed and commissioned projects.
When contractors start blocking ministry entrances like landlords chasing overdue rent, it is a clear sign that government assurances have expired far past their ‘best before’ date.
