Read today's newspaper headlines [Thursday, December 22, 2016]

THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Nigeria’s debt service bill tops N4tr in three years

By the end of 2017, Nigeria would have spent N4.1 trillion on debt servicing. The 2017 budget proposal has N1.7 trillion for debt servicing.

N700 billion trapped in private placement scams

Investors in Nigeria’s capital market say N700 billion have been trapped in private placements by firms. They urged industry regulators to wade into the perceived scam.

Ibori regains freedom in London

After over four and a half years in prison, former Governor James Ibori of Delta State yesterday regained his freedom at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. An appeal judge, Mrs. Justice May, ordered the Home Office to immediately release him.

VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Drama, as Ibori regains freedom 6yrs after

A British High Court, the Royal Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division, Court 1, sitting in London, yesterday, ordered the immediate release of former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori, from prison, saying the move to hold him after serving out his sentence was illegal.

Publish your audited financial reports, NEITI reminds NNPC

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, yesterday, called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to immediately publish its audited financial statements as stipulated by the act setting it up and as promised in its monthly reports.

Corruption: Whistle-blower to receive five percent of looted funds as reward – FG

To effectively wage and win the ongoing war against corruption in Nigeria, the Federal Government has introduced a whistle-blowing policy.

THE NATION NEWSPAPER

Adamant Jammeh: I won’t step down

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has lashed out at regional mediators urging him to step down, saying he will not be intimidated.

AGF: how we found $1.30m at ex-panel member’s home

The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has disclosed how over $1.30million cash was recovered from the Abuja home of a member of the committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces, Air Commodore Umar Mohammed (retd).

Whistle blowers to get 5% of looted fund

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved the payment of 5 per cent of recovered looted fund to the whistle blower behind the recovery.

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

FG okays 5% of recovered loot for whistleblowers

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the Ministry of Finance Whistleblowing Programme that may see individuals, who voluntarily volunteers credible information on stolen or concealed funds, smiling home with between 2.5 per cent and five per cent of the funds when recovered.

Ibori freed, FG begins ex-Delta governor’s extradition process

The Federal Government has commenced the process of extraditing a former governor of Delta State, Mr. James Ibori, from the United Kingdom, The PUNCH can confirm.

Arik passengers in chaotic scene at Lagos airport

Passengers, who were scheduled to travel out of the country with Arik Air on Tuesday but could not do so due to the strike action by aviation unions in solidarity with workers of the carrier, on Wednesday morning created an ugly scene at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos following the resumption of flight operations.

BUSINESSDAY NEWSPAPER

Buhari faces spreading opposition as economy slumps

Yusuf Rabiu went door-to-door urging people in the northern Nigerian city of Kano to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in last year’s elections.

More criticism for proposed Corporate Governance Code

A renown board room expert, Olusegun Osunkeye has criticised some of the provisions of the suspended National Code of Corporate Governance, saying it is capable of affecting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) into Nigeria.

Nigerian inputs meet industrial standards despite low quality claims

Experts say that while the majority of industries in Nigeria are hard pressed to source scarce foreign exchange to import raw materials, a lot of these inputs are locally available and can be sourced and processed at competitive cost.