Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Friday morning

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

1. President Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerians to be patient with his administration’s reforms, assuring that “the toughest days are behind us.” Tinubu, who gave the assurance in his message to mark the 2025 Eid-el-Kabir celebration on Thursday, said that though the journey had not been easy, his economic reforms had already started yielding positive results.

2. National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has said Nigeria can defeat terrorism through concerted efforts of the Federal Government and unity of citizenry to control proliferation of illicit arms. Ribadu said this during the public destruction of illicitly acquired decommissioned and unserviceable small arms and light weapons conducted by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, NCCSALW, yesterday, in Abuja.

3. Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings from diaspora remittances may suffer a major blow after the passage of a new bill in the United States that seeks to impose a 3.5 per cent tax on money transfers sent by non-citizens to recipients abroad. The provision is contained in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a sweeping legislative package by US President Donald Trump and recently passed by the US House of Representatives.

4. The Nigerian Air Force said its personnel, in the early hours of June 5, 2025, operating under Operation Hadin Kai, neutralised several terrorists and destroyed gun trucks in Buratai, Borno State. Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, in a statement, said the personnel, while acting on credible intelligence, tracked insurgents attempting to flee with four gun trucks, but NAF air assets swooped in and engaged the convoy with devastating accuracy, neutralising several fighters and destroying two gun trucks loaded with supplies.

5. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said there is no cabal in the government of President Bola Tinubu. Speaking at the 2025 OAU Distinguished Personality Lecture in Ile Ife, Osun State, on Thursday, Wike, who delivered the keynote lecture, said the president is in control.

6. Gaba Community in Lavun Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State has kicked against the unconditional state pardon granted to the 11 persons sentenced to death by the Justice Maimuna A. Abubakar of the State High Court for culpable homicide of seven farmers from the community. Addressing the Press in Minna on Thursday, the Chairman of Gaba Development Association, Mr Paul Gana, said the pardon may trigger another conflict.

7. The Nigeria Police Force, Kaduna Command, has debunked media reports of alleged kidnapping of 150 to 200 individuals along the Abuja to Kaduna Highway. The Command’s Public Relations Officer DSP Mansir Hassan, in a statement described the report as entirely fabricated and without basis in fact.

8.The Christian Association, CAN, in the 19 Northern States and the FCT has urged all Nigerians in positions of authority, particularly the political leadership, “to make a double sacrifice to secure Nigeria just as Muslims offer sacrifices in obedience to God during Sallah”. The Chairman of the association, Rev. John Joseph Hayab, gave the advice in a Sallah message to the Muslim faithful as they join other parts of the world to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir.

9. The World Trade Organisation (WTO), yesterday hailed the outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, describing him as a source of pride for Nigeria and the African continent.
The Director-General (DG) of the World Trade Organisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said this in a statement by the AfDB on Thursday.

10. Russia will host Nigeria’s Super Eagles in an international friendly match at the Luzhniki Stadium in on Friday evening. The game marks the first-ever senior-level meeting between the two nations as both sides are looking to test their mettle ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.