Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Friday morning

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

1. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday conferred national honours on many Nigerians— both living and deceased, during his inaugural State of the Nation address in honour of this year’s Democracy Day. Tinubu, who reeled the names out while addressing a joint session of the National Assembly, also announced the granting of full pardon to the heroes of the Ogoni Struggle, identified as the Ogoni nine.

2. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Cross River State Command, has seized 2,687 tonnes of cannabis sativa and its seeds in Obereakai community, Akamkpa Local Government Area. The State Commander of NDLEA, Rachael Umebuali, disclosed on Thursday in Calabar that the seizure was made following a tip-off and a four-hour operations.

3. President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said he takes pleasure in seeing opposition parties in disarray and has no plans to help them organise themselves. Tinubu, who said during his State of the Nation address at a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday, told oppositions that “it is, indeed, a pleasure to witness you in such disarray”.

4. As part of activities to mark the 2025 Democracy Day, several Nigerian youths staged protests across the country, demanding end to economic hardship. Police operatives and other security agents were on ground to protect the protesters.

5. Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been driving democracy backward as the system has been in recession since he took over two years ago. He said this on Thursday in a statement titled ‘Democracy in Decline: Reflecting on Two Years of Tinubu’s Governance’.

6. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of pursuing “conquest” not “governance,” alleging that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat from creeping authoritarianism, elite cronyism, and institutional subversion under the current administration.

7. The lawmaker representing Bayelsa West, Senator Seriake Dickson, on Thursday, slammed President Bola Tinubu over his silence on the deepening political crisis in Rivers State — accusing the Federal Government of enabling a creeping “military-style suppression of democracy.”

8. Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday announced that no fewer than 844 legislations have been passed since the inception of the 10th National Assembly. Akpabio disclosed this at the joint session of President Bola Tinubu and lawmakers as part of Democracy Day activities at the National Assembly.

9. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has announced a revenue of N5.89 billion and a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N748 billion for the month of April. The NNPC Ltd. disclosed this in its Monthly Report Summary for April, released on Thursday.

10. A London-bound passenger plane crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday leaving one known survivor from 242 on board, with the jet smashing into buildings housing doctors and their families. Journalists saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner hanging over the edge of a building it hit around lunchtime.