Top news items in major Nigerian media outlets

The following are highlights of leading Nigerian media outlets on Monday.

-- The Presidency said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will not allow starvation to kill Nigerians.

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said this late Sunday in a reaction to the recent alarm by some aid agencies that starvation would kill one million internally displaced persons in the northeast next year. (Daily Trust)

-- Minister of Health Isaac Adewole has said that too many Nigerians are dying of unhealthy diet even as he cautioned that the economic loss from Non Communicable Diseases such as stroke, High Blood Pressure (hypertension), heart attack, and diabetes among others, could rise to a projected 8 billion U.S. dollars over the next 10 years in the country.

Adewole, who said hypertension is the leading cardiovascular disease in Nigeria and can result in stroke if untreated, remarked that one in five Nigerians is hypertensive and at risk of premature death. (Vanguard)

-- The Federal Government's efforts at diversifying the economy and reducing dependence on importation are being undermined by value-chain operators, farmers and providers of key raw materials who would rather export raw commodities for foreign exchange than sell to local producers at market prices, The Guardian's investigation has revealed.

The hot chase for forex by farmers and other raw material providers outside of government control will lead to higher prices, especially as scarcity and demand from neighboring countries put pressure on local supply. (The Guardian) Endit