Nigerian newspapers review: [NASU, CONUA, NAPTAN to FG] You can’t scrap ‘irrelevant courses’ in varsities

In today’s Nigerian newspapers review programme, Today in the News, Vanguard leads with the Federal Government stirring the hornet’s nest with a declaration to phase out from the university system courses it deems irrelevant to the country’s economic future, an indication that several social science programmes could be on the chopping block.

Another headline features the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) filing a lawsuit against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over “the arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful ‘formal notice’, which threatens to sanction broadcast stations and presenters for allegedly expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality.”

Vanguard also reports that against the backdrop of food insecurity threatening the vast majority of Nigerians, the country’s agricultural trade deficit is estimated at N2.5 trillion, and experts’ position is that the country must urgently shift from raw agricultural exports to value addition and industrial processing as a key strategy to reverse the deficit.

Moving to the next papers, The Guardian leads with the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) intensifying political manoeuvring ahead of the 2027 general elections, making a fresh push to bring two major opposition figures, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, under its platform for a possible joint presidential ticket.

The Punch leads with the factions of the Peoples Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress, Accord Party, and Labour Party rejecting the Ibadan opposition summit, stating it does not represent their official stance and reaffirming plans to field separate candidates against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.

Lastly, The Nation leads with more knocks coming for Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde over his ‘Operation wet e’ statement at the weekend in Ibadan, the state capital, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) saying the remarks were inciting and dangerous.

Vanguard News