Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Tuesday morning

‎Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. Federal Executive Council on Monday approved the first comprehensive reform of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC since the scheme was established 53 years ago. The reforms include the full digitalisation of the scheme’s operations, enhanced security and welfare measures for corps members, and improved attention to their special needs.

2. Troops of Operation Hadin Kai, OPHK, have rescued 10 National Examination Council, NECO, candidates and teachers abducted during a terrorist attack on a secondary school in Lassa community, Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State. Similarly, the Oyo State Police Command separately rescued two abducted children and smashed a kidnapping syndicate in the Ibarapa axis.

3. The Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, to ensure petroleum marketers do not exploit Nigerians through excessive pricing under the deregulated downstream petroleum market. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, gave the directive in Abuja yesterday while delivering the keynote address at the NMDPRA General Counsel and Legal Advisers Forum.

4. The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to register the All Democratic Alliance, ADA, as a political party. The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, equally ordered the electoral body to release its access code to the Akin Ricketts-led leadership of the association within 72 hours.

5. Households across parts of the country are beginning to experience relief as retail prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly known as cooking gas, decline following improved product supply and softer depot prices. The latest market update from gas marketers showed that retail LPG prices have started easing in major cities after weeks of elevated prices.

6. A commercial bus conductor allegedly stabbed an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority with a screwdriver during a traffic enforcement operation at Ile-Epo, inward Abule-Egba, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. The spokesperson for LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

7. Two siblings, Mekalachi Gogochuri, 25, and his younger sister, Rejoice Gogochuri, 23, have died after a boat conveying them and five other passengers capsized in Ahoada Town, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State. It was learnt that the incident occurred around 7:45 p.m. on Saturday while the victims

8. The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Benin Zone, has given the governments of Edo, Delta and Ondo states until the end of July to implement the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU Agreement or face industrial action. The Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Monday Igbafen, gave the ultimatum at a news briefing in Benin, on Monday, saying that the union would embark on an indefinite strike in seven state-owned universities in the states, if its demands were not met.

9. Niger State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Hadiza Kuta, has confirmed the arrest of a police officer serving with the Niger Police Command for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl. Hajiya Kuta disclosed this in an interview NAN in her office in Minna on Monday. She said two other suspects were also arrested for allegedly raping the same girl.

10. WhatsApp says it has started rolling out username reservations, a new privacy feature that will allow users to connect without sharing their phone numbers. WhatsApp made this known in a statement on Monday. The messaging platform said username reservations commenced on Monday, June 29, ahead of the full launch of the feature later this year, with users to be notified in the app once the option becomes available to them.