Good morning! Here are five top headlines from Nigerian Newspapers today;
1. The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has backed the introduction of compulsory and random drug integrity tests for students in tertiary institutions across the country. This decision followed a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig Gen Buba Marwa (retd), where both parties discussed measures to curb substance abuse among students.
2. THe House of Representatives Committee on China-Nigeria Parliamentary Relations has launched an investigation into a viral video showing some Nigerian workers in the Central African Republic, alleging abandonment and ill treatment. In the video, which surfaced last Thursday, the miners claimed they were recruited by a Chinese mining company but were later abandoned, had their passports confiscated, and were subjected to inhumane treatment.
3. Patients in public hospitals across the country were left groaning, stranded, dejected and frustrated on Wednesday as nurses under the umbrella of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives-Federal Health Institutions Sector commenced a nationwide seven-day warning strike.
4. The newly formed African Democratic Congress has clarified that Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have been exempted from defecting from their current political platforms ahead of the 2027 polls. The interim National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, confirmed the development on Wednesday.
5. Three suspected kidnappers were, on Monday, feared killed during a gun duel with security operatives in Oyo State. Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the incident occurred in Otu, the headquarters of the Itesiwaju Local Government Area of the state in midnight.
