The planned upward review of electricity tariffs and the concern raised by the government on the non-compliance with the guidelines on the easing of the lockdown are some of the leading stories in Nigerians newspapers on Tuesday.
The Punch reported that Nigerians will pay much higher tariff for power in 2021, going by the promises made by the Federal Government to the International Monetary Fund while seeking the $3.4 billion emergency financial assistance recently approved for Nigeria.
The Nation newspaper said that the Federal government has warned Nigerians of the likely return to lockdown due to the gross disobedience of the protocols on Monday as Nigerians got some relief after weeks of restrictions. It was the first day after the easing of the shutdown to contain the spread of coronavirus in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states.
THISDAY newspaper reported that the Nigerian government on Monday confirmed the receipt of $311,797,866.11 of the former military leader General Sani Abacha’s assets repatriated from the United States and the Island of Jersey. The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said in a statement in Abuja that the amount increased significantly from over $308 million mentioned in the press release issued in February 2020 to over $311 million because of the interest that accrued from February 3, 2020 to April 28, 2020, when the fund was transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Sun newspaper said that Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday said that about 82.9 million or 40 percent of Nigeria’s estimated 200 million people are living in extreme poverty and are therefore poor. This means that four out of 10 Nigerians have real per capita expenditures below N137.430 per year.
The Vanguard reported that the evacuation of Nigerians stranded in the U.S. due to the novel coronavirus pandemic is to begin on May 10, 2020, according to the Consulate-General of Nigeria in New York.
The Consulate-General said in a notice signed by the Consul-General, Mr. Benaoyagha Okoyen, on behalf of the Nigerian Missions in the U.S., on Sunday that no fewer than 700 Nigerians have registered with the missions in the U.S. for evacuation.
GIK/APA