Reports on the huge amount of money spent on debt serving by the federal government dominated the cover pages of Nigerian newspapers.
The Punch says electricity distribution companies have quietly increased the tariff payable by power consumers across the country. The newspaper reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has imported additional bimodal voter accreditation system machines that will be deployed nationwide for the elections.
The Nation reports that Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, has expressed confidence that whoever he adopts as his candidate will be victorious at the February 25 presidential poll. The newspaper says the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has defended the sale of 100 percent equity in Polaris Bank to Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL) at N1.355 trillion.
The Guardian says the federal government spent a total of N5.24 trillion on debt serving between January and November 2022, out of the N6.5 trillion retained revenue for the same period. The newspaper says there was excitement in Enugu following the return of Ejike Mbaka, the spiritual director of the Adoration Ministries Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), to the state.
THISDAY reports that the federal government has revealed that the incoming administration would inherit about N77 trillion in debt by the time President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure ends in May 2023. The newspaper says the Department of State Services (DSS) said it arrested a commander of the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) and another suspect, who were masterminds of a recent bomb attack in Kogi state.
