KEY POINTS
- US lawmaker warns Plateau killings could strain Nigeria-US ties.
- APC poses biggest threat to multiparty democracy, Mark says.
- Tuggar resigns as foreign minister to pursue 2027 politics.
The Palm Sunday killings in Plateau and Kaduna states have drawn attention beyond Nigeria’s borders. US Congressman Riley Moore warned Monday that continued attacks on Christians in Nigeria risk straining diplomatic relations with the United States, a statement that sets the tone for a Nigerian newspapers review dominated by security, politics and the 2027 election clock.
Moore’s warning follows deadly incidents in Jos and parts of Kaduna that left Christian communities shaken over the holiday weekend, adding international pressure to a government already struggling to contain violence in the country’s middle belt.
Politics in the foreground
Sen. David Mark, national chairman of the African Democratic Congress, made headlines of his own Monday, telling reporters that the ruling All Progressives Congress represents the most dangerous threat to multiparty democracy in Nigeria.
Finance Minister Olawale Edun also featured in the morning papers, reiterating that Nigeria is targeting 7 percent annual gross domestic product growth, framing the goal as essential for lifting as many Nigerians as possible out of poverty.
The Guardian, meanwhile, reported a last-minute scramble at Aso Rock ahead of a Tuesday deadline set by President Bola Tinubu requiring all federal officials seeking elective positions to resign by March 31.
Resignations and defense spending
The Nation put Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar at the top of its front page after he became the most prominent official to submit his resignation Monday, stepping down to pursue his political ambitions ahead of next year’s elections. While Tuggar’s departure leaves a vacancy at one of the government’s most sensitive portfolios at a complicated diplomatic moment.
Furthermore, The Punch closed out the morning’s Nigerian newspapers review with a striking figure: military and paramilitary agencies collected a combined N2.3 trillion in special intervention funding between October 2023 and September 2025, a disclosure likely to fuel debate over defense spending and budget transparency.
Together, Monday’s front pages map a country managing a security crisis in the north, a political class positioning hard for 2027 and a government still making the case that the economy is turning.
