The tribunal affirmation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s election and the repatriation of the first batch of returnees from South Africa are the trending stories in Nigerian press on Thursday.
The Punch and many other newspapers reported that the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the February 23, 2019 election.
The Daily Trust said the President Buhari described the verdict of the Tribunal on the February 23, 2019 poll as victory for Nigerians, who trooped out to ‘overwhelmingly’ elect him for a second term in office.
The Guardian reported a fresh twist to the diplomatic row between Nigeria and South Africa is in the offing as South Africa yesterday frustrated the plans to repatriate Nigerians that were fleeing xenophobic attacks.
Channels Television reported the repatriation of 188 Nigerians from South Africa.
The Sun quoted the Controller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Hameed Ali, as saying that the country would not reopen its closed borders until its neighbouring countries agree to cooperate and end illegal smuggling of goods.
ThisDay said that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) took some far-reaching decisions at its maiden weekly meeting on Wednesday, including the increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 percent to 7.2 percent.
The newspaper also reported that President Buhari has charged members of his new cabinet to live up to their responsibilities, warning that “we must not fail”.
The Nation said that only 1.78 percent of the Nigerian workforce is captured in the pension pot of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and have a secured life after retirement, a report obtained by the newspaper has shown.
MM/GIK/APA