₦airaland Forum

Former Governor of Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba (Engr.) Gbenga Daniel, has commiserated with the Government and people of Delta State over the passing of former Governor of the state, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan.

Dr. Uduaghan reportedly died on Monday, 19 October 2026, at the age of 71. He served as Governor of Delta State from 2007 to 2015.

In a condolence message, Otunba Daniel described the death of the former governor as a painful and irreparable loss to the Uduaghan family, Delta State, and the Nigerian political community.

He extended his heartfelt sympathies to Delta State Governor, His Excellency Sheriff Oborevwori, the Government and people of Delta State, the widow, children, and the entire Uduaghan family.

“Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan was a dedicated public servant who gave his best to the service of Delta State and Nigeria. His years in office reflected his commitment to peace, development, and the welfare of his people,” Otunba Daniel said.

The former Ogun State governor said the late Uduaghan would be remembered for his calm leadership, humility, and contributions to the growth and stability of Delta State during his two terms in office.

“He was an elder statesman whose counsel and service earned him respect beyond his state. His passing leaves a vacuum that will be deeply felt by all who knew him and benefited from his leadership,” he added.

Otunba Daniel prayed for the repose of Dr. Uduaghan’s soul and asked God to grant the bereaved family, Governor Oborevwori, and the people of Delta State the strength to bear the loss.

“May Almighty God grant his gentle soul eternal rest, and may He comfort the Uduaghan family and all Deltans in this moment of grief,” he said.

The governorship ambition of Hon. Abayomi Hunye, an All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant in Ogun State, has taken a more serious turn after his media office alleged that moves are being made to withdraw the security personnel attached to him.

In a strongly worded statement, the Hunye Media Office claimed that pressure was being mounted on security agencies to pull out the personnel assigned to the aspirant. According to the statement, the pressure was allegedly coming from the Office of the Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Security, working in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

The campaign team described the alleged move as a matter of urgent concern. It argued that withdrawing his security personnel at this stage of his political activities could expose Hunye, his family and members of his campaign organisation to serious security risks.

The statement called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Chief of Army Staff and the APC national leadership to intervene. It urged the federal security authorities to resist what it called political pressure and to keep Hunye's protection in place pending a proper assessment of the situation.

Hunye's media office further alleged that the development could amount to an attempt to use security arrangements as a political weapon against an aspirant within the ruling party.

"Politics must never be reduced to state-sponsored intimidation, political vendetta, or weaponised endangerment of human life," the statement said.

The campaign team also warned that any security incident involving Hunye, his family or campaign officials would raise questions about the circumstances surrounding the alleged withdrawal of his security detail.

Despite the development, the statement declared that Hunye would not abandon his governorship ambition. It also appealed to civil society organisations, elder statesmen, political leaders and other stakeholders to pay attention to the allegation and make sure political competition in Ogun State does not degenerate into threats to personal safety.

The allegations could not be independently verified at the time of filing this report. The statement did not contain any response from the Ogun State Government, the Special Adviser on Security, the SSG's office or the security agencies concerned.

The development nonetheless adds another layer to the unfolding political contest ahead of the 2027 Ogun State governorship election, with Hunye positioning himself as one of the APC aspirants seeking the party's ticket.

There is a reason the Senate Committee on Appropriation is called the engine room of the federal budget. Whoever sits in its chair does not merely read the national spending plan. He sits at the table where lines are added, enlarged, merged or quietly dropped. That is the office held by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly called Yayi, the Ogun West lawmaker and governorship candidate under the APC, and it is the office a petition now places under hard scrutiny.

The Pan-African Society for Social and Economic Change (PASSEC) alleges that between 2023 and 2026, the senator used his position to influence budget allocations worth more than ₦1.8 trillion. It lodged its petition with the ICPC on 17 September 2026 and addressed it to the EFCC as well. The figure dwarfs the roughly ₦2 billion annual constituency envelope the petitioners say applies to an individual senator. Even allowing for the collective nature of budget-making, a gap of that size is not a rounding error. For a man asking Ogun voters to trust him with the governor's office, it is a question that demands an answer.

The allegations are grouped around patterns, and the patterns are what make them uncomfortable. PASSEC says over ₦200 billion sits in lines so vague, such as "Provision of Infrastructure in Ogun State", that no one can say what was bought, where, or for whom. It alleges more than ₦50 billion in apparent duplication, citing medical-supply projects in Ogun West that allegedly appear under both the Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, New Bussa, and the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research.

Then there is the question of where the money allegedly went. The petition lists large sums under bodies such as the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, said to have received ₦36.135bn in 2025 alone, and the National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, said to have received ₦15.5bn. Why would a cooperative college or a research institute be asked to carry roads, street lighting and buildings? Whoever chose those agencies as vehicles owes Nigerians an explanation.

The contractor claims are the most troubling. PASSEC alleges that more than 17 companies shared three addresses in Abuja and Ogun State and trace back to one man, Augustine John Abah. It says five firms operate from a single suite in Garki, and six from one plot in Asokoro. The petitioners even ask whether Abah exists at all, or whether his name is a convenient mask. These claims are unverified, but one does not need a forensic accountant to see why a cluster of near-identical firms feeding on public contracts alarms investigators.

Here the story turns to those who can settle it. The senator's office, through his Chief of Staff, Chief Kayode Odunaro, calls the petition "frivolous" and says it betrays ignorance of the budget process. Yayi himself told Peoples Gazette he has nothing to say and invited the ICPC to investigate and prosecute him if it finds him wanting. That is a challenge, not an answer. A man who chaired the committee that shaped these lines, and who now seeks higher office, could end the speculation tomorrow by publishing the documents: who proposed each disputed line, which MDA implemented it, who won the contracts, and what was delivered.

The agencies have been equally quiet. Neither the EFCC nor the ICPC has said whether it has opened a file. The affected MDAs have not told the public whether the projects exist, were procured competitively or were paid for against certified work. In a country where "ongoing" projects can outlive their contractors, silence is itself part of the story.

To be clear about the record, no court has found wrongdoing, no agency has charged the senator, and the claims rest on a petition not yet tested in public. But the questions are specific, the paper trail is checkable, and the person best placed to explain it holds the very office at issue while courting the votes of the state he hopes to govern. Who inserted these lines? Who approved them? Who was paid? What stands on the ground today?

Until those questions get documentary answers, the shadow over the chair of the Senate Appropriation Committee will not lift, and it will follow him onto the campaign trail. Country Times will keep asking.

The pilot of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday has reportedly been identified as Squadron Leader Ahamefule Aham Man-Ugwueje. The military has not confirmed the identification.
SaharaReporters reported that Man-Ugwueje was among the personnel on board the aircraft, NAF 931, and that he was the pilot. According to the same reports, he married a Flight Lieutenant on 20 September 2026 at a wedding ceremony in Abuja, about two weeks before the crash.

The Nigerian Air Force said the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when it crashed in a swampy area around Igbokoda. It disappeared from radar at about 9:13am.

Authorities later confirmed that 32 people were on board, made up of 25 passengers and seven crew members. Who was on the flight became a central question as the search operation continued.

When the first reports emerged, rescue teams were still recovering victims and investigators were working to establish what happened. The police urged the public not to share unverified information. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) said it could provide technical support if the Air Force formally invites it.

Families of those on board are waiting for official confirmation of the identities of the victims and for details of the cause of the crash. The Air Force has yet to publish a full list of those on the aircraft.

The disclosure that supporters and associates of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, have provided more than 100 buses and other vehicles for his 2027 Ogun State governorship campaign has triggered questions over political spending, campaign financing and the priorities of those seeking public office.

Adeola, the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Ogun State, disclosed on September 28 that individuals, groups and businesses had donated vehicles to support his campaign and grassroots mobilisation. Reports of the donations put the total at 125 vehicles, although some accounts have broken down the fleet differently.

The list released by Adeola included 26 buses from Akintunde Armstrong, seven buses and an ambulance from Alhaji IBD Dende, and 10 buses each from Zacobass Oil & Gas, Stonebridge Engineering Services, Elele Ijebu, Amazon Luxury Apartments, Mr Osho and Polanco, among others. Adeola described the donations as sacrifices by supporters and said they would strengthen campaign mobilisation across the state.

However, the scale of the mobilisation has prompted questions about the sources, value and political implications of such contributions. Earlier in the year, a political support group had also announced a ₦1 billion contribution and 27 branded buses for Adeola’s campaign.

The latest controversy has also moved beyond social media debate. A petition reported on September 30 asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to examine the ownership, valuation and funding sources of 119 campaign vehicles, as well as whether the donations complied with relevant campaign-finance and money-laundering laws. The allegations remain allegations and have not been established by an investigation or court.

For some Ogun residents, the central question is not simply how many vehicles have been donated, but what such expenditure says about political priorities in a state where citizens continue to raise concerns about roads, healthcare, schools and other public services.

A resident who doesn’t want to be named, shared his opinion.
“I would like to know what is behind such a huge campaign fleet. Before supporting any politician, I want to see clear answers about how campaign resources are raised and what commitments are being made to ordinary residents.

“The campaign should explain why so many expensive vehicles are necessary when communities are still asking for better roads, healthcare facilities and other basic services. We should be discussing policies, not only campaign machinery Femi

“For me, trust comes from transparency and accountability. If businessmen and companies are contributing heavily to a political campaign, residents will naturally want to know whether there are expectations attached to those contributions.”

The controversy places renewed attention on campaign-finance transparency as political parties and candidates prepare for the 2027 elections. It also raises a broader question for Ogun voters: whether campaign mobilization should be judged primarily by the size of its machinery or by the policies, funding disclosures and accountability commitments presented to the electorate.