Nigerian Newspapers: 10 Things You Need to Know this Thursday, May 18, 2023

1) Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party were outraged by the telephone conversation between United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President-elect Bola Tinubu on Wednesday. During a 20-minute phone call to Tinubu in France, Blinken vowed to strengthen ties between the United States and Nigeria.

2) The leadership of the Labour Party has vowed to do everything in its power to demonstrate that the current Governor-elect of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, was ineligible to run for governor after allegedly presenting a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

3) The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has expressed regret for having led a forum that advocated for Aminu Tambuwal’s election as Speaker of the House in the 7th National Assembly. The Speaker spoke at a meeting of the Joint Task – 10th Assembly on Wednesday evening in Abuja.

4) Bello Matawalle, the governor of Zamfara State, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to invite state governors, officers of the presidency, and members of the Federal Executive Council to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of office. He disclosed this on Wednesday.

5) According to Dr. Emeka Orji, president of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the medical organisation has not been invited to a meeting to resolve the ongoing warning strike. On Wednesday, NARD initiated a five-day warning strike that is expected to last until Monday.

6) The senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has vowed to contest the $800 million loan requested by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. The President had requested Senate approval for a loan of $800 million to fund the National Social Safety Network Programme.

7) The factional National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Lamidi Apapa, has claimed that the mob that surrounded him at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Wednesday was hired to kill him. After being released from protective custody by security personnel, Apapa told reporters that he was in court to assert his position as acting national chairman of the party.

8) The Federal Government revealed yesterday that it is taking immediate action to reduce the prevalence of hypertension in the country. It stated that it has implemented several strategic interventions at the Tertiary, Secondary, and Primary Healthcare levels with the goal of screening at least 80% of the eligible population and providing standard treatment and care to 80% of those with hypertension.

9) As a result of greenhouse gases and El Nino, 2023-2027 will likely be the warmest five-year period ever recorded, according to a warning issued by the United Nations on Wednesday. The eight hottest years ever recorded occurred between 2015 and 2022, but it is anticipated that temperatures will continue to rise as climate change accelerates.

10) Manchester City produced a remarkable performance to advance to the Champions League final, as Bernardo Silva scored twice in a 4-0 rout of Real Madrid that secured a 5-1 aggregate victory for the English champions on Wednesday.