Read today's newspaper headlines [Friday, February 5, 2016]

Find out what is making headlines all over the country from the covers of The Punch, Vanguard, The Guardian and more.

For today, Friday, February 5, 2016:

ABUJA—The Presidency has directed an oil firm to remit to the account of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, unremitted funds amounting to N81.6 billion ($408m). This came on a day the Federal Government called on operators in the oil sector to shelve plans to lay off workers to avoid throwing the nation into a huge social upheaval.

LAGOS—Media aide to former Delta State governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, Mr Tony Eluemunor, has denied recent media reports on the release of the former governor. He also said Ibori was not re-arrested. Eluemunor in a statement, yesterday, said: “The news had set off a frenzy of activities in the entire South-South geo-political zone, as many people took off from their respective towns and villages to storm Ibori’s home town of Oghara. Many kept vigil at his gate; but the vigil was in vain as Ibori has not finished serving his term. READ MORE:

Nigerians’ll starve to death by 2050, if… —Presidency

ABUJA— THE Presidency, yesterday, raised alarm that Nigerians would starve to death by 2050 if nothing was done to ensure an all year round farming. It also said with the rate the country was going, the population would by 2050 rise to 509 million. According to the Federal Government, the present mode of farming will not sustain the increasing population in the country.

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THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

Supreme Court rules on Saraki CCT trial today

The Supreme Court will on Friday (today) determine whether or not to stop the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on charges of false asset declaration before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. A seven-man bench, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, had on December 4, 2015, fixed Friday for judgment after entertaining arguments on an appeal by Saraki, with the Federal Government urging the apex court to dismiss the Senate President’s case and allow the trial before the CCT to continue. READ MORE:

Buhari under pressure to stop anti-graft war, says Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said President Muhammadu Buhari is currently under intense pressure to stop his administration’s ongoing anti-corruption war. Although he said the pressure was being mounted by the Nigerian elite, he did not name those behind the campaign. According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, on Thursday, the Vice-President spoke while granting audience to a delegation from the Muslim Congress of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Salary scam: FG to probe 23,306 civil servants, banks

The Federal Government is concluding plans to probe no fewer than 23,306 federal civil servants, who have been accused by a panel of defrauding the government of millions of naira every month through an organised salary fraud. The preliminary report of an investigative committee, set up to probe the alleged fraudulent payment of salaries to either ‘ghost’ workers or payments to multiple accounts, indicated that some banks would also be called to answer questions on the huge scam.

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THE GUARDIAN

Govt’s import bill on petroleum products hits N1.8tr in nine months

The Federal Government spent N1.82 trillion on importation of petroleum products between January and September last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). NBS disclosed in its petroleum products import statistics 2010 to 2015 released recently that the country imported N1.4 trillion worth of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) during the period under review.

NCAA suspends Bristow’s ditched chopper brand

CONSIDERING the frequency of air crashes involving Bristow Helicopter, two in less than six months, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday suspended the use of the brand of the ditched aircraft by the airline. According to NCAA, the suspension will enable the authority to carry out a full-scale audit on the airline’s operations with particular emphasis on its Sikorsky S-76C++ type. READ MORE:

Auditor General queries FIRS over ‘missing N400b’

For failing to account for how it has expended about N400 billion, representing four per cent cost of non- oil tax collection between 2010 and 2015, the nation’s tax agency- the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has earned the ire of the Auditor -General of the Federation (AuGF) Mr. Samuel Ukura.

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THE NATION NEWSPAPER

Buhari under pressure to stop anti-graft battle

President Muhammadu Buhari is under pressure from some highly-placed Nigerians to slow down his anti-graft war, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday. But the government will not pull the brakes because fighting corruption is what Nigerians want, the Vice President said. Prof. Osinbajo spoke during a meeting with a delegation from the Moslem Congress of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Supreme Court okays Ikpeazu’s, Emmanuel’s elections

The Supreme Court last night upheld the elections of Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel and Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. A seven-man bench presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, unanimously allowed the nine appeals filed by parties in the two cases. The court will give its reasons for the judgment in the Akwa-Ibom State on February 15. It will do the same on February 26 in the Abia case.

BVN exposes 23,306 ‘ghost workers’ on Fed Govt payroll

No fewer than 23,306 names are to be deleted from the Federal Government’s payroll. A team probing multiple salary payments recommended 23,306 civil servants and some banks for thorough investigations. The government has started deleting the indicted civil servants from its payroll, The Nation learnt yesterday.

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Business Day

Nigerians pay more for bread on 14% increase in price of flour

The price of bread, a staple food for most Nigerians will likely shoot up in the days and weeks to come, following a 14 percent increase in the price of flour, its major component, BusinessDay investigations show. The price of sugar, another ingredient for bread, has likewise increased by about 50 percent.

FG told to emulate Korea, Indonesia to transform economy

Nigeria should pursue the path of Korea and Indonesia as it seeks to wean its economy off the volatile influence of an overbearing dependence on oil exports, say economists and researchers. South Korea and oil producer, Indonesia have made giant strides in transforming their economies by co-ordinating a wide range of policies on education, exporting…

PenCom worried only 0.27% of pension investments in Private Equity

The Nigeria’s Pension Commission (Pencom) says it is concerned that just about N14.8 billion, representing barely 0.27 percent of the country’s over N5trillion Pension fund Assets is today invested in Private Equity, as against the maximum allowable limit of five percent of pension assets under management.