• Lekki Phase 1 residents seek permanent Okada ban
• El-Rufai seeks to wipe out communities on the Kaduna-Abuja highway
• ‘Most okada riders are criminals’
• Buhari signs national health insurance bill into law
• ‘Nigeria to earn $2bn from advertising by 2025’

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss:

Lekki Phase 1 residents seek permanent Okada ban

The residents, under the Lekki Peninsula Phase One Residents Association (LERA), said the call was due to numerous cases of security breaches and menace in the area.

LERA also called on the Ministry of Physical Planning and NTDA to carry out raids on incomplete buildings to flush out hoodlums and miscreants in the community.

Speaking at a press conference to sensitise residents on the ban, Chairman of LERA, Yomi Idowu, said, “Intelligence reports reaching us is that, following the raid on Okada riders and subsequent seizure of ‘Okadas’ in Lekki Phase One, the riders believe the action was instigated by Lekki residents, who are determined to take away their source of livelihood.
 
“In retaliation, there are plans by these ‘Okada riders’ to invade our inner street, and cause havoc in the immediate future.”

El-Rufai seeks to wipe out communities on the Kaduna-Abuja highway

Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai yesterday proposed the clearance of Katari, Rijana, and Akilibu communities along the Kaduna-Abuja highway, saying they harbour criminals and informants.

The governor received the first quarter 2022 security report, which says 360 persons were killed and 1,389 others kidnapped in the state between January and March.

The governor said, “This presentation has brought out new emerging concerns. The first great concern is the emergence of the Boko Haram terrorist enclave as well as the activities of Ansaru, particularly in Birnin-Gwari and Chikun Local Government.”

El-Rufai decried the high rate of drug abuse in the state, saying it was linked to banditry and must be tackled.

‘Most okada riders are criminals’

Twenty-four hours after Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced a ban on commercial motorcycles in six councils and nine development areas of the state, Commissioner of Police Abiodun Alabi warned that violators of the ban will be prosecuted in mobile courts.

Speaking on Channels Televisions’ Sunrise Daily, Thursday, Alabi said, “We are anticipating a spike in crime. We know that banning Okada will increase the crime rate in the state, and we are not unmindful of that. We are already putting in place strategies to contend with them. We are prepared for that.

“The police have the capacity. And it’s not going to be the police alone that will handle this; there is going to be inter-agency collaboration. We are going to work in synergy to enforce this directive to the letter.

“Most of the Okada riders are criminals. We have arrested a lot of them with locally-made pistols in the course of their operations. And most of them have been charged to court.

“Most of them are using Okada as a kind of disguise and that’s why we have been having discussions with their unions. The best way out is to flush them out of our society. Most of them are masquerading as criminals.”

Buhari signs national health insurance bill into law

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2022 into law.

The new legislation repeals the National Health Insurance Scheme Act 2004.

Speaking during the signing of the bill, Buhari said the new law makes provisions for the setup of a trust fund “to ensure the coverage of 83 million poor Nigerians who cannot afford to pay premiums as recommended by the Lancet Nigeria Commission.

“For the large number of vulnerable individuals who are not able to pay health insurance premiums, a Vulnerable Group Fund will be set up to include a component of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund due to the Authority, Health Insurance Levy, Special Intervention Fund, and any investment proceeds, donations and gifts to the Authority.”

‘Nigeria to earn $2bn from advertising by 2025’

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says Nigeria’s advertising and creative industry could rake in $2 billion by 2025, after ongoing reforms in the sector are concluded.

He said the reform process for the creative and advertising industry was necessary for it to experience significant change.

The minister decried the country’s current advertising earnings of ₦400 million and urged the task team to raise the revenue to $2 billion within three years.