CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele to Resign

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Good morning, this is Mdundo Newspaper Review 1-16-2023. Here’s a review of what the front pages of Nigerian newspapers are saying today.

CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele will be allowed into the country this week to resign as CBN governor. Emefiele left the country in December 2022 as part of President Buhari’s entourage to the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit but delayed his return following news that the DSS had made a court application seeking permission to arrest and detain him. The CBN governor has been accused of sponsoring terrorism. [BusinessDay]

The Federal Government has not followed through with their promise of six weeks as many Nigerians are still facing a long wait for their passports. According to BussinessDay findings, Passport renewals and new applications take an average of three to six months. Getting a biometric appointment alone for capturing takes around five to eight weeks while applicants have to wait for another four months for their passports to be ready for collection. [BusinessDay]
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Early Sunday morning, bandits killed and burnt the corpse of the Reverend Father of St. Peters Catholic Church in Kafin Koro, Paikoro local government of Niger state. His colleague, Father Collins was also shot while trying to escape from the bandits. [Vanguard]

Update on Edo Train Attack: a special force comprising of the Army, Police, DSS, local vigilantes, hunters and other security agencies has rescued twelve more victims. Speaking to journalists shortly after visiting the victims at the Police Cottage Hospital in Benin City, Governor Obaseki said no ransom was paid to the kidnappers and also confirmed that two victims who are said to be staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation are still being held by the kidnappers. [Vanguard]

The CBN-designed domestic credit card is now set to go into use with plans put in place to make it available. According to the CBN, the introduction of the National Domestic Card comes as a result of its belief that Nigeria has achieved significant transformation in its payments system over the past decade. [The Nation]

The office of the Auditor-General for the Federation is yet to publish the Audited Accounts of the Federal Government (AuGF) for 2020 and 2021. This goes against Section 85(5) of the 1999 Constitution which mandates agencies of the government to submit their audited reports to the Office of the AuGF not later than May 31 every year. [The Nation]

A group of medical practitioners under the umbrella of Biafra Medical Practitioners has called for the release of the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu over worsening health conditions. The group claims that a recent medical report revealed that Nnamdi Kanu has a pre-existing heart condition which has worsened by his continued imprisonment. [The Guardian]

The Federal Government has ruled out fresh COVID-19 restrictions following 42 new infections in two weeks. The Coordinator and Technical Head of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Dr Muktar Muhammad, stated this in an interview with The Punch in Abuja on Sunday. He, however, said the government has raised the surveillance level in the country. [The Punch]