Top Nigerian Newspaper Reviews & Naija News Today, Saturday 3rd December 2022

1. An office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been set ablaze in Imo State. The development comes days after an office of the commission was torched in Ebonyi State, with electoral materials, including ballot boxes destroyed.

2. Ahead of the 2023 general elections, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and some aggrieved leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have adopted the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

3. Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, yesterday, withdrew the case against Aminu Adamu Mohammed, a final year student of Jigawa State Federal University, Dutse, who was earlier remanded over a tweet against her. The prosecution counsel, Fidelis Ogbobe, on Friday, said following the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians, the First Lady, as the mother of the nation, decided to withdraw the case.

4. The Labour Party, LP, yesterday declared the purported suspension of its Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) Director-General, Doyin Okupe, by the Ogun State chapter null and void. This was disclosed in Abuja on Friday by the National Secretary of the party, Mr Umar-Farouk Ibrahim.

5. Three worshippers at a mosque in Ughelli, Delta State were on Friday abducted when some suspected herdsmen reportedly invaded the mosque, located along Okoroda Street in the town. It was gathered that the incident, which happened at about 6.45am, left about 11 other worshippers injured.

6. Some unknown armed men have reportedly kidnapped the traditional ruler of Oso Ajowa-Akoko, Oba Clement Olukotun, in the Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State. According to reports, the monarch was abducted on Thursday at about 10.15pm, at his residence and was taken to an unknown destination.

7. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed between December 12 this year and January 22 next year as dates for the distribution and collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) for next year’s general elections. It also disclosed that the collection will take place in all its 774 Local Government Offices throughout the country, adding that it has also devolved PVC collection to the 8,809 Registration Areas/Wards from Friday January 6 to Sunday 15.

8. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday in Abuja, inaugurated Omeife, Africa’s first humanoid to boost Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technological development in Nigeria and the continent.

9. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has distanced himself from those President Muhammadu Buhari accused of looting local government allocation. Speaking in Asaba through his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, Okowa, who is the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said it was unfortunate for the president to have made such an accusation.

10. The naira on Friday exchanged at 445.33 to the dollar at the Investors and Exporters window, an appreciation of 0.11 per cent, compared with the 445.83 it exchanged on Thursday. The open indicative rate closed at N444.75 to the dollar on Friday.