Union Bank of Nigeria has announced the completion of its merger with Titan Trust Bank Limited.
The merger followed a final approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to a statement on Monday.
The development comes three years after Titan acquired Union Bank, one of the nation’s longest-standing financial institutions, in 2022.
The consolidation is occurring at a time when Nigerian banks are scrambling for investments to boost their capital in a race to meet the CBN minimum capital requirements deadline of March 2026.
Under the terms of the merger, according to the statement, “Union Bank has fully absorbed Titan Trust Bank’s operations and assets”.
“The combined institution will continue to operate under the Union Bank brand, while Titan Trust Bank ceases to exist as a separate entity,” the statement reads.
“With an expanded footprint of over 293 service centres and 937 ATMs nationwide, supported by strengthened digital channels, Union Bank is poised to deliver enhanced value across retail, SME, and corporate segments.
“The merger combines Union Bank’s trusted heritage with Titan Trust’s agility and innovation, creating a platform for sustainable growth and broader financial inclusion.”
Speaking on the milestone, Olufunmilayo Aluko, Union Bank’s chief brand and marketing officer, said the merger concludes a process that began with the signing of a share sale agreement in 2021.
Aluko said the move positions the bank as a stronger force within Nigeria’s financial services sector.
Yetunde Oni, the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) at Union Bank, described the development as “a pivotal moment in our 108-year journey, and a launchpad for delivering greater value to our customers.
“By blending stability with innovation, we are better positioned to meet the evolving needs of Nigerians and to be their most trusted financial partner,” Oni said.
Also speaking on the transaction, Bayo Adeleke, chairman of the board of directors, said it marked a “new era” of growth, collaboration, and shared prosperity.
According to the chairman, by bringing together the strengths of both institutions, Union Bank is “committed to creating lasting value for our customers, shareholders, and communities while advancing Nigeria’s financial inclusion agenda”.
The financial institution said the “strategic consolidation” strengthens its market position, unlocks operational synergies, and underscores its ambition to deliver a “modern, robust, and inclusive banking experience for all”.
The organisation assured customers that there would be no disruption to existing services.
The company said account details will remain unchanged, promising that customers will continue to access a full suite of products and services seamlessly, “with an accelerated push towards enhanced digital solutions”.
In November 2023, Union Bank announced plans to delist from the stock market.
Plateau: Don’t push government’s finances to the edge
Taraba: No funds available for increment
Implement current wage first – Enugu NLC
This week’s increase in the salary of public servants in Imo and Ebonyi States may have ignited a fresh wave of agitation for more pay in other states, according to feelers, yesterday.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, during a meeting with labour leaders in the state, on Tuesday, announced the approval of a new minimum wage of N104,000, which is N34000 above the national benchmark that came into effect this year.
The minimum wage of medical doctors rose from N215,000 to N503,000, while that of teachers in tertiary institutions went up from N119,000 to N222,000.
Ebonyi State government followed suit 24 hours later, topping its workers’ monthly salary with N20,000 across board.
The decision was taken at Wednesday’s meeting of the State Executive Council (SEC) in Abakaliki, and it takes immediate effect.
The Imo development was good news to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero.
“It is real, and commendable,” Ajaero said on Thursday at the seventh quadrennial delegates’ conference of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW).
Continuing, he said: “If the states have the capacity to pay N100,000 and above, and considering that Imo state is not the highest in terms of revenue, it then means others are encouraged to do more.
“That is the whole essence of minimum wage. Minimum wage is the least; states can do better. I think this is an initiative that other governors are supposed to follow.
Following the development in Imo and Ebonyi, the Edo State chapter of the NLC said, yesterday, that it would positively engage with the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo, with a view to reviewing the minimum wage.
During the last May Day celebration, Governor Okpebholo had increased the minimum wage to N75,000.
Caretaker Committee Chairman of Edo NLC, Prof. Monday Igbafen, said there was nothing achieved for workers that was not a product of struggle.
Prof. Igbafen appealed to Edo workers to be patient and allow the union to engage with the state government.
He expressed optimism that the Governor would listen to them.
Information and Orientation Commissioner Paul Ohonbamu said the Governor has done a lot to improve the welfare of workers, citing the N1bn soft loan and payment of students’ bursary and increment of minimum wage as part of Okpebholo’s demonstration of commitment to workers’ welfare.
We are consulting widely on the issue – Bayelsa NLC
Chairman of the NLC in Bayelsa State, Simon Barnabas Bay, said the union would consult widely with stakeholders before engaging the state government for an upward review of salaries.
Reacting to the development in Imo and Ebonyi, Bay told The Nation that: “We have only just heard in the news what happened in Ebonyi and Imo states, but in Bayelsa, we are yet to start an engagement process with the government. I have not even got across to my colleagues there, the council will consult widely, then we will return to the drawing board.”
The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Duoye Diri, Daniel Alabrah, was noncommittal on what might be the response of the state government to the action of the Imo and Ebonyi State governments, but he claimed that Bayelsa civil servants are amongst the highest paid in the country, next only to Lagos and Akwa Ibom states.
He said, “When the federal government mooted the idea and came out with a template, Bayelsa jacked its minimum wage to N80,000 and even implemented a 25% and 35% increase in salaries and its backlog to university lecturers and civil servants.”
No funds for increased minimum wage- Taraba HoS
The Head of Service (HoS) in Taraba State, Dr Ahmed Kara, said the state is not in a financial position to match the action of the Imo and Ebonyi state governments for now.
The state has no resources to increase salary, he said, in response to an inquiry from The Nation.
“I expected you to find out if the ongoing verification is over, and if there are any savings by the government? Is there a need to employ more?” he said, in a text message to our correspondent.
Kara added: “We implemented N30,000 and N70,000 minimum wages in 2024. Still battling with salaries due to scarce resources, and you are talking of new? If funds permit, why not? But where is the fund? Subvention or revenue?”
Also, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Peter Jediel, confirmed that he was aware of the latest increase in the two states but stated that they “have not done anything yet” about the matter.
No, please – Plateau
The Plateau State government said it does not want to be dragged to the edge on the issue at this time.
The Commissioner for Information, Joyce Ramnap, told The Nation by phone that another salary increase now was out of reach for the state government.
Read Also: Uzodimma raises minimum wage to N104,000 for Imo State workers We want more money, says Abia NLC chairman
The Chairman of the NLC in Abia State, Comrade Okoro Ogbonnaya, said workers in the state have always ranked among the best paid in the southeast but would not mind a review of their present salary in view of the economic situation in the country.
He appealed to Governor Alex Otti to consider improving workers’ monthly salaries.
Some workers in the state described the governor as worker-friendly.
Anambra too
A similar demand came from the Anambra State chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Chris Ogbonna.
He said, while the generality of the workers are happy with what he called Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s magnanimity, they would appreciate more money in their pockets.
“We’re like Oliver Twist, we need more,” he said.
Anambra currently pays N82,000 as minimum wage, and the Head of Service (HoS), Dame Okwy Igwegbe, has assured the workers that Governor Soludo will always do more for the people of the state with the right cooperation and at the right time
She said the labour unions, NLC and TUC, are like Siamese twins in Anambra, adding that the state government had been working closely with them.
We’re still where we were –Kwara NLC boss
The NLC Chairman in Kwara State, Comrade Saheed Olayinka Murtala, said yesterday that there was no signal yet from the state government on whether it was willing to emulate Imo and Ebonyi States.
“We are still where we were,” he told The Nation.
His Trade Union Congress counterpart, Olayinka Onikijipa, said: “I can’t say anything about it now. I just landed now in Ilorin since Monday when I left for Abuja.”
No plan for fresh review in Niger, says official
It appears, however, that the Niger State has no immediate plan to follow the Imo and Ebonyi example.
A top government official told our reporter in Minna that the state government has no plan to add to what it currently pays its workers.
Only a week ago, Governor Umar Bago said on television that the state pays N80,000 as minimum wage, which, according to him, is superior to what some other states pay.
Effect consequential adjustment in minimum wage first – Enugu NLC
For the Enugu State chapter of the NLC, its major wish is for the state government to implement the consequential adjustments of the new minimum wage for higher-grade workers.
Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo, said the union’s priority was not just the new wage figure, but how it reflects across all salary structures.
“What is crucial to us is the consequential adjustment and the domestic servant allowance for deputy directors. These are the ones we’re currently discussing,” Nwigbo said.
“In some states, what they’re doing is to add ₦20,000 to ₦70,000 to make it ₦90,000. But the money will not reflect on what is paid to senior workers because there’s no consequential adjustment on the minimum wage payment.”
Nwigbo described the adjustment as a statutory entitlement, not a privilege.
“We don’t want a situation where it is only an addition that will be made without consequential adjustment. What we think is more attractive to us is the consequential adjustment. We will be okay with the current minimum wage if all these are taken care of,” he added.
The NLC chairman said the union remained open to dialogue and was confident that the state government would consider the concerns of all categories of workers in the final agreement.
Oyo labour leaders hopeful
Labour leaders in Oyo are optimistic that Governor Seyi Makinde will fulfil his promise earlier in the year to positively consider the N80,000 approved minimum wage.
The leaders commended the governor for what they described as ongoing massive employment across various sectors in the state, despite having one of the largest workforces in the country.
The NLC Chairman in Oyo State, Comrade Kayode Martins, commended the governor for his consistency in paying salaries by the 25th of every month.
He said the governor has set a lot of records and standards with the employment of workers, including teachers, non-teachers, medical workers, and even in the mainstream civil service.
He said, “Look at the massive employment across the various sectors, yet he hasn’t failed in payment of monthly salaries and entitlement. He was the one who set a standard by approving above the FG benchmark of the minimum wage.
“Aside from signing the minimum wage, he also promised us back then that he would review and reconsider the amount as soon as revenue improves and things get better. We are only appealing. He’s doing so much in terms of infrastructure, but we know he can still do more for workers, too, and we know he will.”
Speaking in the same tenor, his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Bosun Olabiyi, said as a labour leader, what mattered to him was not just an increase in minimum wage but the implications of the consequential adjustments. He expressed optimism that the governor would not only consider a pay rise for the workers soon, but also allow it to cascade to others across the board.
The Chairman, Joint Negotiations Committee (JNC), Comrade Olanipekun Oluwaseun, said: “After Lagos, we pay the best salaries, not only in the region but in the country. We can only appeal to him (Governor Makinde) to please kindly consider us again, as the cost of items changes daily.
“If you look at the N80,000, everybody is complaining. We are only appealing because people can now see that the minimum wage does not have much purchasing power. We know he is a worker-friendly governor; he must have been considering doing something more for the workers here.”
When contacted, the Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on Labour Matters, Comrade Adebayo Titilola-Soodo, said, the state which just made the recent pronouncement just concluded negotiations, which Oyo had done earlier.
However, he expressed confidence that since some states are already raising the bar, it is expected that Governor Makinde may also consider towing the same path.
Titilola-Soodo said, “Well, I think the states just making the announcement may perhaps be those who have yet to conclude the negotiations, which Governor Seyi Makinde had done a long time ago.
“However, since some states have raised the bar, one would be optimistic that Governor Seyi Makinde, known for who he is and who would not let the workforce be below the bar, may also consider raising the bar; but time will tell.”
The current minimum wage of N70,ooo came into effect last year, following the signing of the bill to that effect on July 29, 2024, by President Bola Tinubu.
Before the signing of the bill, Tinubu told labour leaders, at a meeting, that the minimum wage law would be reviewed every three years.
Revenue allocation to the states has increased astronomically since the removal of oil subsidy in 2023.
The Vice President of the Republic of Colombia, Her Excellency, Francia Márquez, has arrived in Abuja on a 3-day official visit.
She is accompanied by her spouse, Mr Rafael Yerney Pinillo Ocoró.
The Colombian Vice president was recieved on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji; Minister of Women Affairs, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; Minister of State, FCT, Dr. Mariya Mahmud Bunkure, Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar and other senior government officials.
Mrs. Márquez’s official visit to Nigeria is expected to deepen diplomatic and strategic relations between Nigeria and Colombia as well as enhance collaboration in areas of mutual interest, including governance, trade, agriculture, energy, education, and security, among others.
The Colombian Vice President was accompanied on the visit by cabinet ministers, top government officials and business sector leaders who are set to engage their Nigerian counterparts in discussions around key areas aimed at strengthening ties between both countries.
A key highlight of the visit will be the signing of Memoranda of Understanding in strategic areas of the economy, including women empowerment, trade, aviation, manufacturing, agriculture, and culture, among others.
The visit will also feature a plenary session to be graced by both Vice Presidents and the Nigeria-Colombia Business Forum; government to government bilateral meetings; side events, including high-level business sector meetings hosted by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, as well as a summit on Artificial Intelligence.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised concerns over what it described as “statistically implausible” figures released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its first-week report on new Permanent Voter Card (PVC) pre-registrations.
According to the party, the numbers from Osun State alone defy both historical patterns and demographic realities, with nearly 400,000 new registrations reportedly completed in just seven days.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC warned that such suspicious figures, if left unchecked, could undermine confidence in Nigeria’s entire electoral process.
The party therefore called on INEC to explain how it is that in Osun State, one week’s registration exceeded the total number of new voters recorded in the state over the last four years combined, while the South West zone alone accounted for an extraordinary 72 percent of all pre-registrations nationwide.
The full statement reads:
“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has viewed the first set of data released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on new Permanent Voter Card (PVC) pre-registrations with great concern.”
“According to INEC’s figures, Osun State alone recorded 393,269 pre-registrations in just one week. To put this in context, Osun added only 275,815 new voters between 2019 and 2023, a period of four years. In other words, Osun has now supposedly registered more people in seven days than it managed to do in an entire electoral cycle of four years.
“Even at its highest point of political mobilisation in 2022, Osun has never produced more than 823,124 votes cast in the Governorship Election. Now, by some miracle, nearly 20 percent of all eligible adults in the state have rushed to register. This is not just unusual, it is statistically implausible.
“The anomalies become even more glaring when viewed in the context of the overall registration report. Across the six geopolitical zones, the South West alone accounts for 848,359 pre-registrations, an astonishing 67 percent of the national total. By contrast, the entire South East recorded just 1,998 pre-registrations. To further illustrate, three states—Osun, Lagos, and Ogun—make up 54.2 percent of all pre-registrations in Nigeria, while five states combined—Ebonyi, Imo, Enugu, Abia, and Adamawa—barely recorded 4,153, or 0.2 percent, while the entire North East recorded just 6.1 percent.
“These fantastic figures suggest either another technical “glitch” in INEC’s digital registration system, or a more troubling possibility of deliberate manipulation of data to lay the ground for a more sinister agenda in the coming elections. In either case, INEC has some explanations to give.
“We must be clear: the voter register is the foundation upon which the entire electoral process rests. If the foundation is compromised, it brings the integrity of the elections into question. Nigerians still remember the bitter consequences of flawed voter rolls and “technical glitches” in past elections. Our democracy cannot withstand another one.”
The ADC called on INEC to urgently conduct and publish a full forensic audit of the first-week pre-registration data, with a state-by-state breakdown of both physical and online registrations. INEC should also disclose the server logs, bandwidth distribution, and regional access reports for the registration portal during this period.
“History has shown that when questions about the voter register are left unanswered, the consequences go beyond politics; they touch on national stability itself,” the statement read.
Bayo Ojulari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company(NNPC), says international syndicates are involved in crude oil theft.
The NNPC chief spoke on Monday at the 2025 African chiefs of defence staff summit.
Ojulari said security forms a key pillar of the energy business and therefore, plays a very important and strategic role in achieving national, regional, continental, energy and security.
“We have seen the benefits of the collaboration within the security space with significant improvements in our operating environment,” he said.
“The dilapidating impact of crude theft, low pipeline availability, and attacks are issues that are becoming stories of the past for us.
“And this has come from the immense and intentional efforts of our government security and intelligence agencies across the nation and in particular within the Niger Delta.”
The NNPC GCEO said crude theft and its attendant illegal activities “are by no means a purely localised occurrence”.
Rather, Ojulari said these operations involve sophisticated international syndicates that take advantage of gaps within the state’s national, regional, and continental security architecture to conduct their illicit activities.
“It is therefore imperative that forums such as these are encouraged with a view to strengthening strategic, tactical, and operational activities within the continent,” he said.
Ojulari added that Africa must take its destiny into its hands and “chart a collective way forward that meets the goals and aspirations of our people”.
The people of Rivers State appear to have mixed expectations as the six-month suspension imposed on Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly gradually comes to an end.
President Bola Tinubu suspended democratic institutions in the state on the evening of Tuesday, 18 March 2025, amid rising political tension stemming from a face-off between Fubara and his political godfather and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Tinubu also appointed a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), as the state’s sole administrator, who subsequently suspended all political appointees of the embattled governor.
Before his suspension, Fubara’s administration had embarked on major people-oriented projects, including the Trans-Kalabari Link Road, the Port Harcourt Ring Road, the reconstruction of a section of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex that was razed on 30 October 2023, and plans to reinvigorate the Soghai Farm in Tai Local Government Area, among others.
However, following his removal from office, work at most of the project sites either slowed down or stopped entirely, without any official explanation, even though Ibas had given assurance that his administration was discussing with the contractors to resume work.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP about his expectations of Fubara upon his return to office, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Hon. Stephen Deegbara, said that the continuation of abandoned road projects, the promotion of civil servants, and the employment of teachers in primary and secondary schools should be top priorities.
The APC chieftain added that the governor should also focus on governance, mend broken relationships, unite the state, and align Rivers with the federal government.
“and not listen to those who are crisis entrepreneurs—those who benefited from the needless crisis.”
A Port Harcourt-based journalist, Olalekan Ige, spoke in a similar vein.
Ige said: “He should focus on completing several projects he awarded, especially roads – the Elele-Omoku Road, the Trans-Kalabari Road, etc. He needs to immediately look into the Ring Road project abandoned by Julius Berger and resolve all knotty issues.
“The employment issue is so important and needs to be tackled immediately. Many schools, health institutions, and ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are lacking personnel.
“Rehabilitation of primary and secondary schools across the LGAs; bursaries for Rivers State students in higher institutions. The state needs to urgently set up a State Emergency Management Agency to manage natural emergencies like floods, fires, etc.,” he said.
Governance Frozen for the Past Five Months
Also speaking with LEADERSHIP, another APC chieftain, Hon. Darlington Nwauju, urged Fubara to pick up from where he left off in 2023 when he assumed office as governor.
Nwauju said: “I am a bit at a loss for a response because, as a Rivers man, I have completely lost interest in governance issues here, given the fact that governance has been frozen in the past five months.
“And I think Governor Sim Fubara will have to start from where he met the state in 2023. A lot of policy somersaults have occurred, which I even believe are anti-Rivers people. The easiest thing to do in governance—pay salaries—has become herculean under the military administrator. I really do not know where to start because the state has had its development frozen in the last five months.”
Rivers Development Stagnated Under Emergency Rule
On his part, political analyst Dr Obinna Nwodim called on the governor not to allow the recent political crisis in the state to influence his approach to governance.
Nwodim said, “In all fairness, I wouldn’t say that the average Rivers man has seen any tangible result from the government. They truncated what was ongoing because of contracts awarded by the suspended governor. There is a big difference between what is happening now and what would have happened if the democratic structure had remained in place.
The political analyst expressed regret that development had been slow in the state during the period of emergency rule.
No expectation, Governor Fubara has been caged
However, public affairs analyst Obinwa Akanwa does not expect much from Fubara upon his return.
He said the governor had been boxed into a corner and, as such, less development should be expected.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has heard how businessman, Aliko Dangote, escaped being defrauded by some foreigners engaged to provide services for one of his companies, the Dangote Refineries.
The court also heard how one of the truck drivers, engaged by Dangote Cement, identified as Mohammed Tayiru (Tahir) and some others allegedly diverted truckloads of “thick iron pipes” estimated at billions of naira.
These were revealed in court documents filed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), with which he sought arrest warrant against the foreigners and an order freezing five bank accounts in five banks, to which proceeds of the alleged fraud by Tayiru were traced.
The foreigners, who are mostly Asians, are identified as: He Jun,
Sun Yuzhu, Yong Li, Dr. Feng, Jaykumar Sagar and Rajnish Gupta, were said to have been engaged to lay under-sea pipes for the movement of crude oil to the Dangote Refineries in Lagos.
According the court documents, the Asians were said to have failed to perform the task for which they were engaged and allegedly forged a certificate of completion of contract, which they took before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) tribunal, claiming $50million.
Their alleged fraudulent act was said to have been discovered when Dangote Refineries presented evidence before the LCIA that the Asians did not deliver on the task for which they were engaged.
On Friday, while arguing the application for arrest warrant, police’s lawyer, Rimamsomte Ezekiel, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) told the court that the respondents (the five Asians) “are all foreigners who are based in Lagos, Nigeria.”
He said a criminal charge has been filed against them before the HIgh Court of Lagos State, with charge number: 11/26401C/2025.
Ezekiel added that the warrant of arrest was required to enable the police “to effectively secure the productions of the respondents to the court for their trial.”
In a supporting affidavit, it was stated that the foreigners, “sometime in 2021 under false pretense and with intention to defraud their victim, who is Alhaji Dangote, conspired among themselves, forged and submitted a certificate of completion of projects to the London Court of international Arbitration Tribunal to claim sum of $50,000,000.00 (US Dollars).
“When their evil was exposed, the court rejected their submission and called for their arrest and the investigation of the matter.
“Since then, some of the respondents have gone into hiding to avoid police’s investigation and prosecution of the criminal offences, which they committed, while some of them submitted themselves for the investigation.
“The respondents have case to answer on the allegations of those criminal offences which they committed.
“Some of those respondents, who have made statements to the police, freely confessed to the allegations.
“The Nigeria Police Force have done everything to arrest those who are at large but to no avail, as they are not within the Republic of Nigeria.
“The arrest warrant will enable the police authority to apply for the extradition of the respondents back to Nigeria for investigation and prosecution at the court of law, even if they are out of the country and is hiding in any part of the world.
“The Nigeria Police is desirous of prosecuting this case diligently if the respondents can be arrested. The warrant of this honourable court can be executed in any part of the country, and any part of the world if it is granted in this case.
That the granting of the arrest warrant in this case is to enable the Nigeria Police Force invite the respondent for the completion of the investigations and their prosecution at the court of law.”
In granting the application, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered the police to conduct its investigation within 30 days and report back on September 20.
While moving the second application for an order freezing the five bank accounts allegedly owned by Tayiru, Ezekiel told the court that the respondents was currently at large.
The affected accounts are: 1696193289, domiciled in Access Bank, with Mohammed Tahir as account name; 0121946277 in GT Bank, with Mohammed Tayiru as account name; 2113902271 in UBA, with Mohammed Tayiru as account name; 9129948744 in PalmPay Limited, with Mohammed Tayiru as account name, and 8033300443 in Opay Digital Services Limited, with Mohammed Tayiru as account name.
The police states, in a supporting affidavit, that “Mohammed Tayiru (Tahir) and others for converting Dangote thick iron pipes, which were given to them to deliver to locations from Dangote Company.”
The police added that investigation so far revealed “that Mohammed Tayiru (Tahir), who is the principal suspect in this case, was one of the Dangote trailer drivers, who sold all the thick iron pipes from Dangote Company and converted the money into the identified bank accounts.
“Billions of naira belonging to Dangote Company are in the bank accounts, which Mohammed Tayiu (Tahir) fraudulently deposited for himself for his personal use.
“The police investigation revealed that, the suspect has case to answer in this case. The offence in this case happened June/July 2025, Abuja, Lagos, Port-Harcourt, and other parts of the country
“This case is one of the complicated case that the Police is investigating due to the parties that are involved and the multiplicity of the accounts involved,” the police said.
In a ruling, Justice Nwite granted the application, but ordered that the investigation should be carried out within 60 days.
Meanwhile, Dangote, with a net worth of $24.4 billion from his stakes in oil, cement and sugar has been affirmed as Africa’s wealthiest man, according to the latest Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List.
His fellow Nigerians on the list are Abdulsamad Rabiu whose net worth is put at $7.2 billion; Mike Adenuga at $6.3 billion (#592); and Femi Otedola at $1.5 billion (#2424).
Dangote is No.88 in the global ranking by Forbes.
In the rating, South Africa’s luxury goods tycoon, Johann Rupert, is credited with a net worth of $13.2bn, and his compatriot, Nicky Oppenheimer, with $10.4bn.
Others include Koos Bekker with $3.8bn, mining magnate Patrice Motsepe with $3.4bn, banker Michiel le Roux with $2.7bn, Jannie Mouton and family with $1.9bn, and retail investor Christoffel Wiese with $1.7bn.
Egypt’s No.1 billionaire,according to Forbes is Nassef Sawiris ($8.8bn) followed by Naguib Sawiris ($5.0bn),the Mansour brothers, Mohamed ($3.4bn), Youssef ($1.4bn), and Yasseen ($1.2bn).
Others from the continent are Eswatini’s Nathan Kirsh worth $8.0bn;Morocco’s Othman Benjelloun & family ($2.0bn), Aziz Akhannouch ($1.6bn), and Anas Sefrioui & family ($1.6bn) as well as Tanzania’s Mohammed Dewji with t $2.2bn;and Zimbabwe’s Strive Masiyiwa with $1.3bn.
Americans dominate the first eight positions in the global ranking as follows:Elon Musk ($419.1 B);Larry Ellison ($282.2B);Mark Zuckerberg ($260.3B);Jeff Bezes ($240.7B);Larry Page ($173.0B);Sergey Brin ($161.0B);Jense Huang ($154.9B);Steve Ballmer ($153.3B).
In the ninth position are France’s Bernard Arnault & family ($150.9B) while America’s Warren Buffet is 10th with $146.2B).
Dangote has held the position of Africa’s leading billionaire for the 14 consecutive year.
He was first named so in 2008 but was displaced and then reclaimed it in 2011.
FIJ’s Website Attacked From NIMC Headquarters After Multiple Reports on NIN, BVN-Selling Websites
By Timileyin Akinmoyeje
The website of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has suffered multiple coordinated cyberattacks traceable to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) headquarters in Abuja.
The Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks, which briefly knocked FIJ’s website offline, started on Thursday morning.
DDOS attacks happen when attackers flood a website with fake traffic, usually from many hacked computers (a botnet) to overwhelm the server. As a result, the website would be unable to handle real visitors and ultimately shut down after a continuous barrage.
The attacks are coming after FIJ published a series of reports exposing registered companies and private individuals illegally trading Nigerians’ NIN data for cheap on the data black market.
“When I checked, it wasn’t loading either, so I contacted the service provider. In fact, they were the ones who first discovered the issue,” said the head of FIJ’s web team.
According to his technical analysis of the situation, the service provided identified an IP address that had overwhelmed FIJ’s website with over 50,000 requests within an hour. A deeper analysis eventually revealed the scale of the attack.
“In the last 72 hours there were about 2 million requests. Each hit is a real request because once you visit the site, 15–20 scripts are loaded, each as a separate request.”
Most of the requests came from undefined devices and browsers, a sign of a coordinated cyberattack.
“The same IP address was behind it, and when I checked the IP, both on Cloudflare and on What’s My IP Address, it showed NIMC,” he added.
FIJ has been documenting instances of black market sites illegally selling the data of Nigerians at cheap prices since 2024. In March 2024, FIJ reported how Xpressverify, an unlicensed website, monetised NIN recovery and printing from Nigeria’s database.
The report generated impact immediately and forced NIMC and other agencies regulating data privacy to launch investigations.
But in July 2025, FIJ again exposed NINPrint, a platform operated by Abbeytech Ventures, for selling NIN records for as low as N180 per request. FIJ tested the platform by purchasing the data of four Nigerians who consented to the process.
In another instance on August 8, FIJ reported how NINCard had been illegally offering ID services since October 2023 without a licence. The report also revealed how NIMC had been aware of the website’s activities for over a year but did not shut it down.
Four days later, on August 12, FIJ also reported how nimcverify.ng was selling Nigerians’ NIN records for N150 to anyone with just a phone number.
FIJ’s most recent story in the series detailed how IloTech, a virtual top-up platform, was secretly selling Nigerians’ NIN records for as low as N180. FIJ was able to obtain the records of a Nigerian minister and a senator through the site.
All of these illegal websites were taken down after FIJ’s story. The speed of the impact ranged from less than 24 hours to seven days.
WHAT IS THE JOB OF NIMC?
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) was created under the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007 to establish, own, operate, maintain and manage Nigeria’s national identity system.
According to Section 5 of the Act, NIMC’s core mandate is to create and maintain the National Identity Database, register all Nigerian citizens and legal residents, and assign each person a National Identification Number (NIN).
It is also responsible for issuing General Multi-Purpose Identity Cards linked to the NIN, ensuring that identity records are kept up to date, and collaborating with other agencies like INEC, Immigration, FRSC, and banks to make the NIN usable across public and private services.
The law also emphasises the protection of personal data. Section 26 makes it clear that all information in the National Identity Database must be kept confidential.
Sections 14 and 27 prohibit the unauthorised use, disclosure or sale of identity information. NIMC is therefore required to manage the system not just for registration but also with strong safeguards for privacy.
The Act sets out clear punishments for those who attempt to compromise the system. For example, Section 29 states that anyone who gives false information during registration can face up to three years in prison or a fine of N100,000, or both.
Under Section 28, using or possessing another person’s NIN or ID card without authorisation carries the same penalty. More serious breaches are addressed in Section 30, which prescribes up to 10 years in prison or a fine of N10 million, or both, for anyone who unlawfully accesses, leaks, sells or misuses identity information stored in the NIMC database.
NO PUNISHMENTS SO FAR
Both the NIMC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, the agency responsible for data privacy regulation in Nigeria, were made aware of the published FIJ reports. But none of the perpetrators has been brought to book.
For instance, FIJ can confirm at press time that Timzytech, the individual who managed nimcverify, has simply switched to a new page to continue selling Nigerians’ data for cheap.
Since 2011, Nigeria has spent about $630 million trying to build a functional national identity system. That year, the federal government under Goodluck Jonathan approved N30.66 billion to provide electronic ID cards to all Nigerians above the age of 18.
By 2019, the country secured a $433 million World Bank-backed grant supported by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union. The project’s goal was to register at least 148 million Nigerians by mid-2024 and strengthen the country’s identity management infrastructure.
A former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 1 Mechanised Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi (rtd), has claimed that powerful individuals linked to terrorism financing and oil smuggling in Nigeria were exposed by security investigations but later shielded from prosecution.
Speaking in an interview on Arise News Channel on Thursday, General Ali-Keffi, who once headed the Operation Service Wing (OSW), tasked with dismantling terrorist financing networks, said painstaking investigations revealed financiers, facilitators, and sponsors of Boko Haram terrorists, including some with political connections.
According to him, the coordinated arrests of Boko Haram leaders and financiers around 2017–2018 significantly weakened the insurgents, leading to mass surrenders and eventually the death of their leader, Abubakar Shekau.
“When you take out the leadership, you decapitate the organisation and render it ineffective. That was what we did, and you saw the massive surrender of Boko Haram fighters and their families,” he said.
Ali-Keffi disclosed that Nigeria’s efforts enjoyed intelligence support from foreign allies, including the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The retired Army General revealed that investigations unearthed shocking connections but were not acted upon thereafter. “We stumbled upon an airline owner who was allegedly moving weapons for Boko Haram. Some of those arrested were linked to cabinet ministers and even retired senior military officers,” he recalled.
He lamented that despite the presence of representatives from the Department of State Services (DSS), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation during the probe, high-profile suspects were quietly released.
“As the commander, I made my concerns known to the President at the time. He assured me I reported to him and him alone. But as the investigations progressed, I began to see hesitation and resistance. Eventually, some of these people were released and never prosecuted,” General Ali-Keffi stated.
The government of Japan on Thursday designated Kisarazu City in Chiba Prefecture as the official hometown for Nigerians, unveiled at the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, with a special visa scheme aimed at attracting skilled workers, students, and professionals from Nigeria.
For those relocating or curious about this city, let’s travel in few minutes to see what makes Kisarazu stand out:
A Coastal City Near Toky[/b]o
It is located roughly 70 km from Tokyo, Kisarazu is connected via the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, a 23.7 km bridge-and-tunnel route—making travel to the capital remarkably convenient.
[b]Olympic Ties With Nigeria
Nigeria’s athletes were trained in Kisarazu during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, laying the groundwork for today’s hometown partnership.
Population and Development
As of 2020, it is home to approximately 136,000 residents, Kisarazu faces the common challenge of an aging population.
The Nigerian exchange programme is poised to significantly bolster the local workforce and community vitality.
Safety and Security
Japan’s reputation as one of the world’s safest countries extends to Kisarazu.
Low levels of violent crime and a strong presence of community policing make for a notably calm, secure environment, especially appealing to newcomers.
According to risky cities, when it comes to specific crime records, Kisarazu has relatively low instances of violent crimes.
However, like any other city, there may be occasional reports of petty crimes such as pickpocketing or theft.
Fashion and Clothing
Everyday attire tends to be modern and casual, think jeans, shirts, jackets.
Traditional wear like kimono and yukata are reserved for festivals and cultural celebrations. Nigerians relocating may blend Western-style fashion with African prints during cultural events.
Local Food
Kisarazu is renowned for its clams harvested at Egawa Beach.
Other local delights include seafood dishes, ramen, udon, and festival snacks like takoyaki and taiyaki.
Businesses and Economy
Nigerians’ official hometown is situated in the Keiyō Industrial Zone, Kisarazu hosts steel, chemical, and electronics industries.
The Mitsui Outlet Park serves as a major retail hub, while Agriculture and fishing remain cornerstones of the local economy.
Festivals and Culture
Events such as the Yassai Mossai dance parade and the Kisarazu Minato Port Festival featuring fireworks and street performances contribute to the city’s cultural vibrancy.
The TV drama Kisarazu Cat’s Eye also shines a spotlight on the city.
Landmarks and Attractions
The Nakanoshima Bridge, the tallest pedestrian bridge in Japan offers sweeping views of Tokyo Bay and, on clear days, Mount Fuji.
Additionally, the historic Kōzō-ji Temple dating back to the 1500s is a local landmark.
The rest includes Kurkku Fields, Nakanoshima Park, Egawa Beach, Aeon Mall Kisarazu, Umihotaru, Mitsui Outlet Park, among others.
Marriage Policy
Marriages must be registered at city hall to be legally recognised. The minimum legal age is 18 for both genders, and polygamy is not permitted under Japanese law.
Nigerian citizens marrying in Japan must present proof of single status at registration.
Currency in Use
Like the rest of Japan, Kisarazu uses the yen (¥), with notes in ¥1,000, ¥5,000, and ¥10,000 denominations and coins ranging from ¥1 to ¥500.
Education Opportunities
Institutions include Seiwa University, Kizarazu National College of Technology, and Gyosei International School, a bilingual (Japanese–English) institution offering education from primary through high school.
Governance
The city operates under Japan’s municipal system, with a directly elected mayor and a city assembly.
Local governance focuses on urban planning, welfare services, and disaster preparedness, working in tandem with Chiba Prefecture and the central government.
Yoshikuni Watanabe leads Kisarazu as its mayor.
He notably participated in the formal designation event for the Nigerian hometown status.
Health Care
Under Japan’s universal healthcare system, residents, including those relocating from Nigeria under the new visa must enroll in National Health Insurance.
Kisarazu has multiple clinics and hospitals, including Kisarazu City Hospital.
Cost of Living
Living expenses here are generally lower than in central Tokyo.
Rent, groceries, and transport are more affordable, making Kisarazu an attractive balance of urban convenience and cost-efficiency.
According to LivingCost.Org, median after-tax salary is $2585, which is enough to cover living expenses for 2.3 months. The city is also ranked 994th in the list of best places to live in the world and 102nd best city to live in Japan.
Religious Life
Shinto are Buddhism top religions in the city. While Christianity and Islam are minority religions in Japan, as small churches and international congregations exist in Kisarazu, and larger places of worship, including Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as mosques are accessible in nearby Chiba and Tokyo.
Nigerians relocating will have opportunities to connect with spiritual communities in the region.
New Visa Opportunities for Nigerians
The “hometown” status introduces a new visa path that simplifies living, working, and studying in Japan, enhancing cultural exchange and Nigeria–Japan relations.
Japanese is the dominant Language
The overwhelmingly dominant language in Kisarazu, and across Japan is, predictably, Japanese.
This includes various regional dialects, but residents primarily use Standard Japanese often based on the Tokyo dialect.
Eight Hours Time Difference With Nigeria
Kisarazu, like the rest of Japan, operates on Japan Standard Time (UTC+9), while Nigeria runs on West Africa Time (UTC+1).
With no daylight saving in either country, Kisarazu is always eight hours ahead of Nigeria.
For example, when it is 12 noon in most parts of Nigeria, it is already 8 pm in Kisarazu
Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, said that a £250,000 loan by his late father and former governor of Lagos state, Michael Otedola, was the turning point that enabled him to build Zenon Petroleum into one of Nigeria’s most prominent oil trading companies.
Otedola disclosed this in his memoir, ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business’, released on August 18 and already ranked number three on Amazon’s ‘Best Sellers in Business Biographies and Memoirs’.
The book, which blends personal narrative with business insights, traces his rise from modest beginnings to becoming a billionaire in his early 40s. It offers candid reflections on triumphs and setbacks, including the 2008 financial crisis, when he lost much of his fortune and how he rebuilt through strategic pivots and decisive leadership.
Beyond oil and gas, the memoir captures Otedola’s investments across multiple industries, including power generation through Geregu Power, finance through First HoldCo Plc, as well as ventures in shipping and real estate.
It also highlights his philanthropic commitments in education, healthcare and community development, which he describes as an essential part of leadership and legacy.
Reflecting on the £250,000 lifeline from his father, Otedola said the support gave him the confidence to seize opportunities in the fuel retail market.
Combining lessons on leadership, resilience and risk-taking, he also recalls how he backed his daughter, Florence Otedola (DJ Cuppy), with N10 million for her first major show at 16, an experience he described as a lesson in perseverance despite its poor turnout.
Otedola noted that mentorship and financial backing, which shaped his journey, remain central to how he supports his children and guides the next generation.
Amid total collapse of the nation’s refineries, the Federal Government has insisted it has the capacity not just to meet local production significantly, but also to expand the supply of petrol to the West African market.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Dr Heineken Lokpobiri, said this yesterday during the opening ceremony of the fourth edition of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Energy and Labour Summit, in Abuja, where he spoke on the theme ‘Building a Resilient Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria: Advancing HSE, ESG, Investment, and Incremental Production.’ Newspaper subscription bundles
Stating that the energy supply in Nigeria was not only about energy security, but also about asserting Nigeria’s position as a regional leader and dependable supplier.
To achieve the target, Lokpobiri said operators must invest in safer and more efficient infrastructure while embracing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles in every facet of their operations.
Despite the challenges in the oil and gas sector and the volatile global oil markets, the Minister insisted Nigeria can overcome them, which, when harnessed, could position the country as an energy powerhouse.Newspaper subscription bundles
“With more investment comes the capacity to upgrade infrastructure, adopt advanced technologies, and expand production. This is the virtuous cycle we are building, one in which PENGASSAN’s commitment to safety, sustainability, and ethics directly fuels national economic growth,” he said.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, lamented that despite abundant reserves, Nigeria’s production output has not matched the country’s potential, urging a change of narrative. Newspaper subscription bundles
For incremental production, he disclosed that the NNPCL was focusing on rigorous field development, improving security in the Niger Delta, reducing leakages, and unlocking stranded assets.
The NNPCL boss said that through partnerships, data-driven decisions, and innovation, the company aims to incrementally grow the nation’s daily production to sustainable levels.
“Every barrel counts. Every molecule of gas counts. Incremental production will not come from one big move, but from many smart, coordinated actions across the value chain,” he said.
Ojulari said the Nigerian energy sector must reinvent itself, not as a symbol of the past, but as a driver of a secure, sustainable, and inclusive future. Newspaper subscription bundles
On the theme, he said the company had initiated an energy transition roadmap to reduce the country’s carbon footprint and is investing in gas as a transition fuel and is also improving transparency.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, who noted that the nation’s crude oil production was now climbing, credited it to the initiative of regulators, operators’ support, and a resilient workforce.
According to him, crude oil output fell from 2.4 million barrels per day to around 800,000 in 2021.
In achieving incremental production, incentivising investment, he said the Executive Orders signed by President Bola Tinubu were a right step in the right direction.
He noted that ESG has taken a firm grip on the global industry.
According to him, it is no longer a tick-box exercise but a lifeline to ethical progress
On Wednesday, Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), said he was not invited to the national executive committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike spoke during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, and maintained that he did not know about the opposition party’s planned national convention, billed to take place on November 15 and 16.
The PDP NEC had, on July 24, approved Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, as the venue for the national convention to elect a new national working committee (NWC).
The NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the PDP, comprising state governors, serving and former presidents, former vice-presidents, the chairman and secretary of the board of trustees (BoT), principal officers of the national assembly, all state chairpersons, members of the NWC, former governors, and founding members, among others.
When asked during the interview if he would attend or hold a parallel convention, Wike said he was not aware of the scheduled November event and was not invited to the NEC meeting where the decision was taken.
“I am not aware that they are going to a convention in Ibadan. As an NEC member, I have not been informed, nor have I been invited to the NEC meeting,” the FCT minister had said.
“If the team members say they are holding NEC, so be it. If no notice of meeting has been served on me as a member of the NEC, I have every right to challenge that, and no one can deny me my rights.”
But an invitation letter seen by TheCable shows that Wike was indeed invited to the NEC meeting.
The letter, dated July 10, 2025, was signed by Samuel Anyanwu, PDP national secretary, and addressed to the minister, inviting him to the 101st NEC meeting of the party.
The letter stated the date, time and venue of the meeting and was received by Wike’s office on July 18, duly acknowledged with a signature and stamp.
Earlier this month, Wike said the internal crisis in the PDP would not be over until the party recognises the outcome of the south-south zonal congress held in Calabar, the capital of Cross River.
The south-south zone of the PDP had, on February 22, re-elected Dan Orbih, an ally of Wike, as its chairman.
In March, the PDP NWC disowned the congress, saying it does not recognise Orbih’s election.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is facing fresh internal divisions as its leaders remain split over whether to field former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, or Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde as its presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
Daily Trust gathered from multiple party sources that some leaders, allegedly aligned with Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, are pushing for Obi, while another bloc is rooting for Jonathan, arguing that he is the only figure within the party capable of giving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a serious challenge. A third group has also thrown Makinde’s name into the mix.
Amid the rift, the party inaugurated a 110-member organising committee on Monday, ahead of its 2025 elective national convention.
The National Executive Committee had earlier fixed the convention for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State, a meeting widely expected to shape the opposition party’s future and determine its flag bearer for the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement on Monday, PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba said the committee would oversee preparations and ensure a smooth exercise.
The committee is chaired by Adamawa State governor Ahmadu Fintiri, with Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke as deputy chairman, former minister Kabir Turaki (SAN) as deputy chairman 2, and Enugu State governor Peter Mbah as secretary. Senator Adolphus Wabara, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, will serve as the BOT representative.
Party insiders say the composition of the committee reflects efforts to balance interests amid intensifying debates over Jonathan, Obi and other aspirants.
Speculation has been rife in recent months that key PDP stakeholders are making moves to woo Jonathan and Obi back to the party ahead of 2027.
However, Ologunagba earlier dismissed such claims, stressing that the party already has sitting governors and other influential figures capable of leading the country.
“In our party today, we have many qualified, performing governors who can be president,” Ologunagba said in a chat with journalists.
“On Jonathan, I don’t speak for him. Ask him yourself. The same with Obi. I don’t know why you are asking me that question; go ask Obi. It’s not for me to speculate.”
One-term calculations
Despite the denials, Daily Trust understands the attraction behind Jonathan and Obi lies in a strategic calculation: both men are widely seen as potential one-term presidents who could hand over power to the North in 2031.
Jonathan, who lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015 after about six years in office, is constitutionally limited to a single four-year term if he returns, which is still debatable by many. Similarly, Obi, who contested the 2023 election on the Labour Party ticket, has repeatedly pledged to serve only one term if elected, saying four years would be enough to turn the country around.
A top PDP chieftain, who asked not to be named, said the push for Jonathan or Obi reflects the personal interests of different party factions.
“Many want Jonathan because he is easy to sell nationwide and has only one term left, which the North will find acceptable,” the source explained. “But Wike’s men are against him. They are pushing Obi instead, to block Jonathan. They know if Jonathan joins, even Obi will realise the game is over.”
Signs of a deeper struggle
Another zonal party leader told Daily Trust that the divisions reflect a deeper battle over control of the party.
“You saw the statement about cracking down on anti-party activities? That’s part of this ongoing struggle,” the leader said. “The party cannot be wooing Jonathan and Obi while allowing one man to dictate everything. They need to prove they are serious; otherwise, these figures won’t take them seriously.”
Former Jigawa governor Sule Lamido, on his part, however, openly endorsed Jonathan as the PDP’s best option, urging the party to woo him back.
“I do not see a better alternative than Jonathan if he comes to the PDP,” Lamido told Channels TV. “He is welcome, competent and very qualified. No other southern PDP member matches his experience.”
PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi echoed that view, saying Jonathan enjoys strong backing in the North.
“Jonathan remains a reference point, a measured statesman respected globally,” Abdullahi said. “Even the North is more determined than the South to get him back. He can influence the outcome of the election, as we saw in 2019 and 2023.”
Abdullahi also described Obi as a valuable political asset who proved his strength in 2023. “He would be an important mileage for the PDP to have back. In any case, he was with us until 2023. Returning to the PDP would simply be coming back home,” he said.
Showunmi: PDP must hold primaries
But another PDP chieftain, Segun Showunmi, argued that regardless of personalities, the party must subject every aspirant to a primary.
“Jonathan may have an edge because he has never left the PDP, unlike Obi, who keeps moving around,” Showunmi said. “But nobody should deceive themselves, the PDP will conduct primaries, and anyone qualified can contest.”
He added that Jonathan’s one-term advantage gives him an upper hand but cautioned that the former president also has limitations. “Every leader has challenges, but Jonathan has experience, and that cannot be ignored,” he said.
Analyst urges reconciliation first
Political analyst Dr Jide Ojo warned that PDP risks looking desperate by chasing Jonathan and Obi while internal divisions persist.
“They should reconcile first. Right now, no matter who they present, they will fail,” Ojo said. “Even if Atiku Abubakar leaves, the PDP house is still leaking.”
Ojo questioned Jonathan’s viability, noting that he has been politically dormant since 2015.
“He hasn’t been attending PDP caucus or NEC meetings. He has been aloof. Elections are not won in Nigeria when you have no political base,” he said.
On Obi, Ojo argued that his momentum from 2023 has waned. “He has no pathway in the North, and even his strongholds in the South-East and South-South are now dominated by APC,” Ojo said. “The Labour Party is in crisis, and if he joins PDP, the infighting may still frustrate him.”
Ojo also pointed to incumbency as a major hurdle. “Towards the end of 2026, this government will scale up social programmes, conditional cash transfers, essentially vote buying. It will be very tough for any opposition to unseat the incumbent,” he said.
• NATCOMs calls for tariff stabilisation on calls, data
• Subscribers decry poor telecom services, accuse NCC of inaction
Some relief may have come the way of telecom subscribers in the country following President Bola Tinubu’s decision to scrap the planned five per cent excise duty on telecommunications services.
The move comes at a time when about 172 million active subscribers have been grappling with poor service quality, including data depletion, dropped calls and failed top-ups, alongside a recently approved 50 per cent tariff hike that has boosted revenues for mobile network operators.
While opinions remain divided on whether the removal will translate into cheaper calls and data, the decision was confirmed yesterday by the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida. Newspaper subscription bundles
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Maida explained that the levy, which had previously been suspended, has now been completely abolished under the new tax laws.
"The excise duty, it was the five per cent or so, that is no longer there,” Maida said. “Before it was suspended, but now the president has been magnanimous to remove it entirely.”
The controversial tax was first introduced under the previous administration as part of the 2020 Finance Act to boost government revenue. However, it faced strong opposition from industry stakeholders and the public, who argued that it would raise the cost of services and impose an additional burden on consumers.
In[b] July 2023, President Tinubu signed an executive order suspending the tax, citing concerns about its impact on businesses and households. This latest development marks a definitive end to the policy.
The decision is seen as a fulfilment of President Tinubu’s pledge to prioritise the welfare of Nigerians and foster a more business-friendly environment. The cancellation of the tax is expected to ease cost pressures on subscribers and support the growth of the telecommunications sector, a key driver of the nation’s digital economy. Newspaper subscription bundles [/b] Reacting to the development, the President of the National Association of Telecom Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMs), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, described the news as soothing. He stressed that if it had been allowed to stand, telecom operators would still have increased tariffs on calls and data despite the 50 per cent hike granted in January 2025.
Confirming to The Guardian that NATCOMs still has a case at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Ogunbanjo said, “The NATCOMs executives will meet to finalise how to withdraw the case from the court. This is a good one for the over 170 million active subscribers in the country.” Newspaper subscription bundles
The NATCOMs boss explained that with the outright removal from the Finance Act, there would now be price stabilisation, meaning no further tariff adjustments by service providers.
“You know, if the Federal Government had allowed the five per cent, it means there will be additional tariff increase on data, calls by the operators anytime soon, despite the fact that they were gifted 50 per cent hike in January this year.
“The subscribers association is still begging the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to still help review downward the 50 per cent to 35 per cent, which was what we initially agreed to earlier in the year. But, as it is, it is a succour to subscribers. We appreciate Mr President for this gesture,” he stated. Newspaper subscription bundles
On his part, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said the industry still awaits the full report to be sure that, “It won’t be that a five per cent was removed from one part but another seven per cent has been added somewhere else.”
Newspaper subscription bundles However, he said the industry will welcome the outright removal and expressed hope that the much-expected succour comes to the teeming subscribers.
In[b] an earlier message at the weekend during the launch of Nigeria’s first Digital Museum in Lagos, Adebayo had said that service providers were banking on President Bola Tinubu’s upcoming tax reforms to ease the sector’s long-standing burden of multiple levies, which have constrained investment and slowed expansion. Newspaper subscription bundles
President Tinubu had signed four major tax reform bills into law on June 26, 2025, with implementation set for January 1, 2026. The legislation, collectively known as the “Reform Acts”, consolidates multiple tax laws, abolishes many minor levies, and raises thresholds to relieve small businesses. [/b] “We eagerly await the commencement of the implementation in January 2026. We are confident that the over 56 taxes and levies currently borne by our members across various jurisdictions will soon become a thing of the past.”
The ALTON Chairman described the reforms as a pivotal step toward streamlining Nigeria’s tax system and eliminating the burden of multiple taxation. He highlighted the positive impact on small and medium-sized businesses, noting that the changes will promote entrepreneurship, attract investment, and foster a more business-friendly environment. Newspaper subscription bundles
Further, at the Abuja interactive meeting, Maida emphasised corporate governance, saying it would be deployed as a tool to strengthen the industry. “Transparent, well-governed companies attract investment and perform better,” he said, adding that the goal was to lay the foundation for a Nigerian telecom company that is wholly owned, well-run and globally competitive.
The EVC pointed to reforms such as the conclusion of the NIN-SIM audit, the settlement of USSD debt disputes, the transition to end-user billing and the launch of a Major Incident Reporting Portal as evidence of progress. Newspaper subscription bundles
He stressed that the telecom policy of 2000, which focused on breaking the monopoly and introducing competition, had achieved its purpose but now required revision.
“In the early 2000s, it was about voice and text. Today, it is about internet connectivity and the emerging technologies that depend on it – artificial intelligence, internet of things, remote sensors, and augmented reality. The policy did not fail, but we must evolve for new realities,” he said.
He argued that competition remained a key factor in keeping call tariffs relatively low, noting that despite recent adjustments, the most expensive call rate in the market today is about N18 or N19 per minute, compared to N50 per minute in the early 2000s.
Subscribers decry poor telecom services, accuse NCC of inaction
Telephone subscribers across the country have raised concerns over the declining quality of service (QoS) from their providers, accusing the Nigerian Communications Commission of failing to act.Newspaper subscription bundles
The complaints were made under the platforms of the Association of Telephone, Cable TV, and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS-Nigeria) and the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria, both of which urged the regulator to compel Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), also known as telcos, to improve service delivery. Newspaper subscription bundles
The MNOs, however, dismissed the allegations, insisting that no formal complaints on poor service delivery had been escalated to them, even as they continue to push for tariff increases.
NATCOM National President, Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the service rendered by the operators had become “so bad” that subscribers now lament openly. He noted that while subscribers are dissatisfied, the telcos continue to complain about constraints limiting their ability to expand capacity.
ATCIS-Nigeria President, Sina Bilesanmi, on his part, accused the NCC of “pretending that all is well” while subscribers are left to endure worsening services.
He said members of his association had repeatedly complained about dropped calls, inability to originate calls, and difficulties accessing their airtime balance after recharging.
Bilesanmi argued that with service quality declining, there was no justification for telcos to demand a tariff hike. His words: “I have been inundated with complaints about low service quality from my members.
“It is worrisome and the NCC is pretending that all is well. This low service quality is coming at a time when the MNOs are asking for a hike in tariff and our members were beginning to show understanding because, quite frankly, the tariff has remained the same for over a decade.
“The operators should tell us if they have any challenges.” NCC partners CBN, banks to tackle failed telecom transactions. The Nigerian Communications Commission has unveiled fresh collaborative measures with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and financial institutions to tackle the recurring problem of failed telecom transactions and improve service quality across networks. Newspaper subscription bundles
Speaking at an interactive session with the media in Abuja yesterday, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the Commission had revised its Quality of Service (QoS) guidelines and extended accountability beyond mobile network operators to include co-location service providers, commonly known as TowerCos.
On failed recharge and top-up complaints, Maida disclosed that the NCC had constituted a joint task force with the CBN and banks to standardise operations around electronic payments for airtime and data purchases.
“When you recharge, you get debited and don’t necessarily get the credit. The director of consumer affairs with our counterparts in the CBN set up a task force, and there’s now a framework that is undergoing review to standardise the operations around top-ups and recharge,” Maida explained. He said investigations revealed that the absence of a standardised framework was at the root of the problem.
“It was literally up to every player in the ecosystem. That was why we had to bring all parties together,” he added. Beyond transaction failures, the EVC noted that the Commission had strengthened regulatory oversight on service delivery.
“We have revised our Quality of Service guidelines, so no longer do we just hold the mobile network operators accountable. We have brought TowerCos into scope to hold them accountable for quality of service,” he said.
According to him, operators had already submitted service improvement plans which are being reviewed through bi-weekly meetings with the regulator. He added that fresh investments were being made in critical infrastructure, while new equipment to boost network quality was being delivered and installed nationwide.
“We have engaged the operators directly on their rollout plans, and they are expected to deliver measurable improvements. Nigerians will soon begin to see the benefits of the ongoing deployments,” Maida assured.Newspaper subscription bundles
On rising complaints about data depletion, Maida explained that independent system audits carried out by Tier-1 firms such as PwC and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) found no evidence of operators deliberately draining customers’ data. Rather, he said, confusing tariff structures were partly to blame for consumer dissatisfaction.
“What we did was issue a guideline for simplification and gave them a template whereby everybody must disclose their tariffs in a unified format,” he stated.
Maida emphasised that information disclosure and transparency would remain key regulatory strategies for driving competitiveness, improving service delivery, and protecting consumers. He also noted that the NCC was monitoring emerging trends in digital consumption and promised that future regulatory interventions would support innovation while safeguarding users.
“Our role is to ensure that Nigerians not only have access to telecom services but can also rely on them with confidence,” he said. In her remarks, the Director of the Consumer Affairs Bureau at the NCC, Freda Bruce-Bennett, urged Nigerians to adopt smarter habits in managing their data usage. Newspaper subscription bundles
She[b] advised consumers to regularly update mobile applications, limit automatic downloads, and monitor background activities on their devices to reduce unnecessary data consumption. Bruce-Bennett also encouraged the use of data management tools provided by service providers.
“Simple steps like monitoring app permissions, turning off auto-play on videos, and disabling background data for non-essential apps can make a big difference,” Bruce-Bennett noted. [/b] The NCC reiterated its commitment to working with all stakeholders, including banks and mobile operators, to deliver reliable, affordable, and transparent telecom services to Nigerians. Newspaper subscription bundles
Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Femi Soneye, has urged the Federal Government to grant tax incentives and import duty waivers on essential media tools, including newsprint, broadcast equipment, and digital infrastructure, to safeguard the sustainability of the country’s media industry. Newspaper subscription bundles
He also urged the government to establish an independent media development fund to support investigative journalism, community radio, and newsroom innovation.
This, he stated, are models practised in South Africa, the United States, and Canada. Soneye made the appeal in Abuja yesterday after receiving the NUJ FCT Excellence in Corporate Communications Award, conferred on him by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council.Newspaper subscription bundles
According to him, while the Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, it continues to grapple with systemic challenges that weaken its effectiveness. He said: “The Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, but it also faces systemic challenges, financial, political, legal, and technological that weaken its effectiveness.
“The government can play a supportive role by granting tax incentives or relief on import duties for newsprint, broadcast equipment, and digital infrastructure.”
The NUJ Executive, led by its Chairman, Comrade Grace Ike, described Soneye as a consummate professional who has distinguished himself with tact and excellence in the communications field. Ike praised Soneye for consistently supporting the union and advancing the interests of journalists both in Abuja and across the country.
“You have always stood with journalists, not only as a media owner but also as a practitioner who understands our struggles. Your advocacy for welfare, training, and ethical reporting has set you apart as an icon in this profession,” Ike added.
Billionaire Femi Otedola recounts how his struggle with academics pushed him out of the classroom and into the world of business, where he would eventually build his fortune.
by Musikilu Mojeed
He chairs one of Nigeria’s largest financial groups and has built a multi-billion-dollar business empire. But Femi Otedola has now revealed that his rise was achieved without a university degree — or even a complete high school education.
In the newly released 286-page memoir, Making It Big, which hit the shelves on Monday, the energy mogul details how his struggle with academics pushed him out of the classroom and into the world of business, where he would later make his fortune.
Mr Otedola, 62, writes that he began his education at the University of Lagos Staff School in 1968 but consistently performed poorly. “My parents enrolled me at the University of Lagos Staff School in 1968, at the age of six,” he says. “Kola Abiola — the first son of Chief Moshood Abiola, the future business magnate and presidential candidate who was at the time an accountant — sat beside me in class.
“But there was something about academia and me; we were not compatible. I finished primary school in 1974 because I repeated a class. Even when I was allowed to pass, I consistently anchored the bottom rungs of our end-of-term examination results. My interests were definitely not in academia.”
After finishing primary school, the young Mr Otedola proceeded to Methodist Boys’ High School, Lagos. His academic struggles continued there.
“The school had been founded almost a hundred years earlier, in 1878. Alumni include grand names in Nigerian history: Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mobolaji Johnson, Ola Rotimi, Fola Adeola, Olusegun Osoba and Hezekiah Oladipo Davies. When I joined the student body in 1974 the principal was D. A. Famoroti, who’d taken up the post in 1963 and would leave in 1980,” he recalls. “I started Form 1 at age 12 and was there for three years.”
By 1977, after it became clear that his performance was not improving, his parents transferred him to Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, a boarding school founded by Southern Baptist missionaries in 1945.
“My parents’ thinking was that all my siblings were boarders, and they seemed to be doing well,” Mr Otedola writes. “They thought this change would help turn around my attitude towards academia, but nothing changed.”
He continues: “I started in Form 3 at Olivet, and as I rounded off the first year of my A Levels, my father was establishing his printing company, Impact Press, in Surulere, a residential and commercial district in Lagos State. I grew fascinated with the machines and told myself that my future would be inextricably tied to them. I managed to remain in school until the Lower Sixth examination was over. And then, I was finished; I never returned for my Upper Sixth.
“All I wanted to do was get involved in business. My father kept watch over me and drew me close. My sister taught me shorthand. I knew how to type and began typing letters for my dad. I prepared all his business correspondence. I was fascinated by the way printing machines treat paper. The white paper is placed on one end, the ink and plates are fixed, and the printed material comes out of the other end. It was captivating.”
Despite his mother’s protests and tears, Mr Otedola abandoned school to work full-time in his father’s printing business. He rose quickly, becoming managing director of Impact Press in 1987 at the age of 25.
“However, I soon became restless. I had immersed myself in all aspects of the business and learned the ropes at my dad’s right hand. I certainly enjoyed the job more than grappling with the Pythagoras theorem and struggling through homework at Olivet. As time went by, though, I also thought it was time for a measure of independence from my dad.
“I still wanted to work for him — I really enjoyed hearing the rumbling of machines and savouring the smell of freshly printed material — but I also wanted to do things differently. I told him I wanted to become a sales consultant for the press, and he agreed. He said he would pay me a commission of 10–15% on any work I brought in.
“That was a significant break for me. I invested my money in buying cars for sales and marketing outreach and moved on to the next phase in my nascent professional life.”
With his new role, Mr Otedola began bringing in jobs from major companies and advertising agencies, particularly in calendars and diaries.
“We could hardly keep up with the demand. Our unique selling point was quality, thanks to the state-of-the-art machines we owned. We were also always on time with job delivery. We were engaged in healthy competition with Academy Press, a company located in the Ilupeju area of Lagos.
“I served as my dad’s sales exec up until 1991, when he started his Lagos State gubernatorial campaign. It was a run for office — ultimately successful — that I had initiated.”
That break in the family business gave Mr Otedola the confidence and foundation to strike out on his own. In 1994, he founded Centre Force Ltd. with ₦10 million in starting capital. From those beginnings, he built a vast business empire in oil and gas, shipping, real estate, finance and philanthropy. He went on to chair Forte Oil, invested in power through Geregu Power Plc, and today chairs the board of FirstHoldco Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest financial groups.
The businessman’s disclosure of his educational history may come as a surprise to many who long believed he was a university graduate. At one point, his Wikipedia page even suggested he studied at the University of Lagos.
But in “Making It Big”, Mr Otedola insists his true classroom was not a lecture hall but the business floor. His lessons, he says, came from watching his father, trusting his instincts, and learning from both failures and triumphs.
“I never returned for my Upper Sixth. All I wanted was to get involved in business,” he writes. That decision, once a source of his mother’s tears, would lay the foundation for a career that has made him one of Africa’s most influential businesspersons.
In the end, Mr Otedola’s memoir delivers a striking message: formal education may have eluded him, but discipline, persistence, and the hunger to build made him — in his own words — “make it big.”
A viral video has shown the moment armed men believed to be operatives of Operation Udo Ga-Achi — also known as the Agunechemba Vigilante Group — stormed a corps members’ lodge in Anambra State and assaulted a female corps member identified as Jennifer Edema Elohor and some of her colleagues.
The video, which was shared by the Haven 360 Foundation on Facebook on Monday, showed the victim, Elohor being beaten and stripped naked, by men wielding guns.
The foundation said the victims were brutalised and subjected to humiliating and sexually degrading threats.
It noted that the vigilante accused the corps members of being ‘yahoo people’ and still descended on them despite producing their NYSC identity cards.
The foundation wrote in part, “We strongly condemn the brutal assault and violation of rights of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members by operatives of Operation Udo Ga-Achi or ‘Agunechemba Vigilante Group’ in Anambra State.
“On July 23, 2025, these state actors stormed the corpers lodge, accusing the members of being ‘Yahoo people’, despite their prompt production of NYSC identification cards and uniforms.
“The assault was particularly egregious in the case of Jennifer Edema Elohor, who was beaten, stripped naked, and left exposed and covered in blood.
“The victims were subjected to unsavoury, horrible, sexually degrading words and actions, including threats of sexual violation.”
Visa: ‘It’s Tit-for-Tat’, Nigeria To Demand Social Media Disclosure From American Applicants
The Federal Government of Nigeria has said that it will impose reciprocal measures following the United States’ decision to mandate Nigerian visa applicants to disclose their social media accounts and activities from the past five years.
Recall that the US Mission in Nigeria announced that visa applicants must provide all usernames, handles, email addresses, and phone numbers used across different platforms within the stated period. Failure to disclose this information, it warned, could result in visa denial or future ineligibility.
“Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last five years on the DS-160 visa application form. Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit.
“Omitting social media information on your application could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future U.S visas.
“Enter information associated with your online presence, including the types of online providers\platforms, applications and websites that you use to collaborate, share information and interact with others. List the username, handle, screen name and other identifiers associated with your social media profile,” the US Mission had said.
LEADERSHIP reports that the US State Department also revoked 6,000 student visas since Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, took office seven months ago over infractions and security concerns.
But, reacting to the development, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said Nigeria was briefed ahead of the announcement and would respond in kind. He explained that US citizens applying for Nigerian visas will be subjected to the same requirements.
“We are aware of the development. I think it’s part of the new measures they informed us before now that they will implement. Well, they mentioned those issues before.
“So, on things of this nature, the best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures.
‘’I think that’s what the government might do because anything visa is reciprocal. What you are mandating our nationals to do, we will also mandate your citizens applying for our visa to do,’’ he said.
Continuing, he said the Nigerian Government will convene an inter-agency meeting to agree on the best way to respond to the new visa regulation.
He added, “The government will have an inclusive meeting that will involve the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and also our National Intelligence Agency, NIA.
“So, the stakeholders that are involved will have a meeting and agree on our best way to respond to it holistically.”
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, on Monday, said the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, lacks the exclusive right to confer the chieftaincy title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on businessman, Dotun Sanusi.
Alaafin, in a statement by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, in Ibadan, the state capital, said Ooni’s action was a challenge to his authority, saying that the exclusive right to confer titles that extend across Yorubaland rests solely with the Alaafin.
He explained that the Ooni’s instrument of office confines his authority to the Oranmiyan Local Government, which has since been divided into Ife Central, Ife North and Ife South.
Owoade, therefore, demanded the revocation of the title within 48 hours, warning that failure to comply would attract consequences.
The monarch recalled his unity tour across Yorubaland, where he emphasised that the peace and unity of the region remain the foundation for meaningful and sustainable development.
The statement reads, “The attention of the Alaafin of Oyo and the Titan of Yorubaland, Oba Owoade 1, has been drawn to the purported conferment of chieftaincy title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on a business tycoon, Dotun Sanusi, by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi.
“The conferment of chieftaincy title, which bothers on Yorubaland by the Ooni of Ife, is not only an affront to the referred institution of the Alaafin, who is the Titan of Yorubaland and on whom holds the exclusive right to confer any chieftaincy title which covers the entire Yorubaland on anyone.
“The Ooni of Ife is behaving as if there is no authority to check and call him to order and because of that ‘above the law’ syndrome of his, he is in the habit of walking on everybody’s’ back including the apex court in the country, the Supreme Court, which had ruled on the 3xclusive preserve of the Alaafin to confer chieftaincy title that covers the entire Yorubaland on anyone.
“The instrument of office presented to Oba Ogunwusi, during his installation, specifically limits his traditional area of authority to Oranmiyan Local Government, which has now been split into three Local Governments, viz: Ife Central, Ife North and Ife South.
”The dictum that nobody is above the law of the land is now being put to a crucial test and the reality of our time makes it very obligatory for the Alaafin to call the Ooni of Ife to order and demand revocation of the so-called Okanlomo of Yorubaland chieftaincy title conferred on Sanusi within 48 hours or face the consequences.”
Russia launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv said Saturday, hours after Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held their Alaska talks.
The highly anticipated meeting in the remote US state ended with no breakthrough in halting Russia’s more than three-year-long Ukraine invasion.
Ukraine’s airforce said Moscow had “attacked with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 85 Shahed-type” drones, while also attacking “frontline areas” in four regions.
In its daily report, the airforce said the attacks took place “on the night of August 16” and starting in the evening of August 15 — when Putin and Trump held their negotiations.
Kyiv said its air defences shot down 61 of the drones.
The Trump-Putin summit ended with no ceasefire announcement, despite the West pressing the Kremlin for months to commit to a halt in fighting.
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet publicly reacted to the talks.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched by Putin in February 2022, has killed thousands.
While the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) insists it is not pursuing a one-party state, allegations that it is deploying state apparatus to weaken the opposition have refused to fade. If anything, recent developments have intensified claims that the party is determined to lure strong voices challenging its grip on power — by any means necessary.
On Monday, a leader of the opposition coalition and former Sokoto State governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, was interrogated and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraudulent withdrawals amounting to N189 billion during his tenure. He left office more than two years ago.
The invitation and detention triggered a flurry of reactions, coming shortly after the coalition-led African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused the EFCC of conducting selective investigations “mainly against the opposition,” describing it as a sign of dictatorship.
The coalition alleged the commission was operating like “a political hit squad for the ruling APC” and warned that “this dangerous trend is eroding public trust in the institution and undermining the real fight against corruption.” It claimed the EFCC was re-opening closed cases, digging up files from years past, and targeting opposition members with the ultimate aim of making them vulnerable to overtures from the ruling party.
Sources close to Tambuwal insisted the matter was “100 per cent politics.”
One close associate, who asked not to be named, said the problem began about four months ago when individuals linked to the government approached Tambuwal to join the Tinubu “train.”
“He consulted some of us around him, and we wondered how we could, in good conscience, work with the government given the poverty and insecurity plaguing the country, especially in the North,” the source said.
The source added that nothing more was heard until about three weeks ago, when Tambuwal received a letter from the EFCC requesting details about his time as governor.
“When he asked the commission for specifics, they failed to provide them. Tambuwal then told them to contact the state to check if there were concerns about his administration. Although they didn’t give specifics, we suspect it may be related to World Bank funds disbursed during his tenure. The money was paid through bank accounts, and Tambuwal was actually given a clean bill of health by the World Bank,” he said.
According to the source, Tambuwal later honoured an EFCC invitation. While his associates met the bail conditions that night, the commission still kept him in custody until the next day.
Another source revealed that a similar approach had been made about six months earlier to former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and ex-governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, to join the Tinubu “train.” Ihedioha, the source added, also has an EFCC invitation this week.
Tambuwal also echoed the views of his associates while addressing supporters in Sokoto after his release.
He questioned the timing of the invitation, noting it came just as he and others were finalising the coalition’s agenda to unseat President Bola Tinubu’s government in 2027.
“We have been involved in the process of bringing everyone together, because there are two paradigms in Nigeria today: those in government; and those of the people of Nigeria. My colleagues and I have chosen to stand with the people working against sustaining the current bad situation in Nigeria. Once you join the APC, whatever your sins are will be forgiven. Now, I want to ask you: do you want our sins to be forgiven so that we can join the APC? Or do you want us to continue working for the coalition?
“I am going to say what they don’t want to hear: what they fail to realise is that I cannot be intimidated.”
Another coalition leader, Dr Umar Ardo, who is also the convener of the Northern League of Democrats, confirmed to Weekend Trust that the APC-led government had made overtures to him.
“A minister called me, saying, ‘We know what you’ve done. We know your capacity. You haven’t been approached yet, and we want you to work with us. I’ll arrange for you to meet the president, and if he approves, we’ll work together.’
“I didn’t say yes, and I didn’t say no. When the government approaches you, you don’t reject them outright. The government has the power to do good and the power to do harm. The best thing is to keep quiet and continue with your work,” he said in an exclusive interview.
Like Ardo, several other coalition leaders were said to have been approached by APC government agents or party members. Opposition figures such as former Kano State governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, and former National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) director general, Mohamed Sani Sidi, who recently defected from the PDP to the APC, were reportedly courted by the ruling party.
While attempts to confirm this from Shekarau and Sidi were unsuccessful, sources close to the former Kano governor confirmed he had been approached but declined as he was still playing crucial roles in the PDP. On Wednesday, he was among over 40 party chieftains appointed to its power-sharing committee. He currently leads the PDP in Kano and has an eye on the national chairmanship should the post be zoned to the North and micro-zoned to the North West.
“There’s also the potential of Malam emerging as the running mate to either Jonathan or Peter Obi. As permutations over a Jonathan run gain momentum, he called Malam to consider joining him, and Obi also visited Malam to request they work together,” the source said.
Similarly, sources in Kaduna State said Sani Sidi was approached by the highest echelon of the state government to persuade him to return to the APC, with an undisclosed incentive.
Tinubu’s overtures to Kwankwaso
In the case of another Kano political heavyweight, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and political godfather of the current Kano governor, President Tinubu has not hidden his desire to have him on his side.
As far back as 2023, after Tinubu’s electoral victory, both men met and reportedly agreed to work together, with Kwankwaso said to have been offered a ministerial slot.
While the appointment never materialised, to the surprise of many in Kwankwaso’s camp, Tinubu later instructed then-APC national chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, a sworn foe of Kwankwaso, to initiate moves to bring the Kwankwasiyya leader back to the APC.
Ganduje’s abrupt resignation in June fuelled speculation that Kwankwaso’s return to the APC was imminent. However, his recent public criticism of the Tinubu administration is believed to have stalled those efforts. In the meantime, his ally, Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, has visited the president twice in the past fortnight in what close associates describe as fence-mending moves to revive the alliance talks.
Beyond Kwankwaso and other northern leaders like the Kebbi and Kano senators, opposition figures allege that the defection of PDP’s 2023 vice presidential candidate and former Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, alongside current Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the PDP’s entire Delta structure, is a clear example of the APC’s carrot-and-stick strategy.
Before his defection, Okowa was invited and arrested in November 2024 over the alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion, reportedly the state’s 13% derivation funds from the federation account between 2015 and 2023. According to EFCC sources, Okowa was detained at the commission’s Port Harcourt office.
However, since his April 2025 defection to the APC, little has been heard of the case, prompting speculation that the move was engineered through EFCC pressure.
While the EFCC denies being used as a political tool, particularly in Tambuwal’s case, which many compare to Okowa’s, questions remain about the timing of these investigations.
Dr Ardo, however, cautioned against politicising EFCC actions, noting the agency has also arrested and interrogated high-profile APC members.
In the South South, Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno is believed to have abandoned the PDP’s “aeroplane” for the APC’s, claiming the former could no longer take him to his “destination.” His remarks are widely interpreted as a sign that the APC has assured him a smooth return as governor in 2027.
In the South East, Anambra State Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, up for re-election in November, remains in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) but has been fraternising with the APC. He has even endorsed President Tinubu for 2027 on behalf of his party.
The development mirrors that of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is up for re-election in 2026. Both are rumoured to have secured APC backing in exchange for a clear path to re-election.
Ex-ADC chair’s allegation and presidency’s response
On July 30, former ADC National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, claimed he was offered three ministerial slots by people in government to dissuade him from using the ADC as a platform for the opposition coalition.
“Some people tried to discourage us with promises of automatic ministerial appointments. They wanted to give me three ministerial slots so I could take one and give two to others I chose. But I said no. I chose a democratic future for Nigeria. Nigeria cannot be a one-party state, not after all we did to ensure the military returned to the barracks,” Nwosu said.
“By rejecting the offers, the ADC is now the party with the largest membership. We are now the government in waiting, with 28 senators and more than 60 members of the House of Representatives. ADC grew from a small party to a very large party. Nigerians have shown they detest what the party in government is doing.”
But presidential spokesman, Daniel Bwala, dismissed Nwosu’s account as false and unsubstantiated.
“From his words as reported, you know he lied,” Bwala said. “No government official of whatever rank in our government can promise or grant ministerial slots except the president.”
He added that if such an offer were ever made, it would have come directly from President Tinubu, not from a third party.
Bwala also questioned why Nwosu failed to name those allegedly involved, saying, “The same courage he mustered to claim he was promised slots could have been used to mention their names and positions in this government.”
Earlier in July, prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) figures emerged from a closed-door meeting accusing the APC-led federal government of using threats, blackmail and patronage to force members to abandon the party.
Debo Ologunagba, PDP national publicity secretary, said the APC was more interested in celebrating defections than showcasing achievements. He accused the Tinubu administration of deliberately weakening opposition parties through coercion and inducement.
“When you find the president of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society like Nigeria declaring his preference for a one-party state, it shows they continue to aggressively attack the processes of other political parties,” Ologunagba said.
However, at a joint session of the National Assembly, President Tinubu said it was not his responsibility to patch up the internal affairs of opposition parties.
“Political parties fearful of members leaving may be better served by examining their internal processes and affairs rather than fearfully conjuring up demons that do not exist. For me, I will not say, ‘Try your best to put your house in order.’ I will not help you to do so either. It is indeed a pleasure to witness you in such disarray,” Tinubu stated.
Analysts interpreted the comment as more political than presidential, warning it could reinforce the perception that the presidency and the ruling party were fuelling disarray in the PDP, Labour Party and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). The continued role of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike in the PDP crisis has been cited as evidence supporting this view.
ADC accuses APC of using coercion; ruling party kicks
ADC national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, told Weekend Trust that the APC was using intimidation to discourage potential defectors from joining the coalition-led ADC.
“We know many people, even within government, who want to join the ADC. Some in other parties are willing too. But many are cautious because they know what this government is capable of. It seems once you oppose the government, they suddenly remember you have questions to answer about past positions you’ve held. Yet once you join the APC, all your ‘sins’ are forgiven, as one of their leaders said.
“There is fear the government might use this tactic to coerce people into joining the APC. I have often said the government should stop intimidating people and let them freely exercise their democratic rights. What the government is doing with the EFCC is not fighting corruption, it is fighting the opposition,” he said.
Abdullahi added that the ADC was not concerned about whether defectors join now or later, insisting, “The only truly viable opposition party today is the African Democratic Congress.”
In response, APC national director of publicity, Bala Ibrahim, called the allegation baseless and malicious.
“Let there be facts to show a link between the invitation to Tambuwal, for example. If substantiation is not done, it becomes a malicious allegation aimed at tarnishing the good name of the executive, and by extension, the party that produced the executive. That is the only relationship between the APC and the executive. The APC does not prosecute,” he said.
Ibrahim said the party’s membership drive was about selling its manifesto and policies to democrats, making “democratically permissible” overtures to join its fold.
“But coercion is not part of that invitation,” he added, noting the party offers a level playing field for those who wish to contest elections.
Like APC, like NPN, PDP
The APC’s alleged courting of opposition leaders ahead of 2027 is far from new in Nigerian politics.
From the Second Republic to the PDP’s 16-year dominance in the Fourth Republic, ruling parties have used appointments, patronage and political concessions to weaken rivals and consolidate power.
In the Second Republic (1979–1983), the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) honed the practice. Without an outright majority after the 1979 elections, it wooed the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP), led by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, into the “NPN–NPP Accord,” which gave the NPP ministerial positions, board seats and policy influence in exchange for parliamentary cooperation.
Over time, the accord fractured the NPP’s unity. Disgruntled state politicians were enticed with federal backing, lucrative contracts or influential appointments if they defected. These defections diluted the opposition and helped the NPN tighten its grip on the National Assembly and expand its governorships by 1983.
Fast-forward to the Fourth Republic, the PDP, in power from 1999 to 2015, similarly used a mix of incentives and pressure to poach opposition leaders, especially before major elections.
Under President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999–2007), the PDP regularly reached across party lines, offering defectors ministerial portfolios, ambassadorships and federal agency chairmanships. Late Bola Ige was appointed as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, though a prominent member of the opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD). Some high-profile ANPP and AD figures switched to the PDP after being promised political relevance or protection from probes.
During the Yar’adua and Jonathan years, the strategy deepened. Control of federal resources, from oil allocations to constituency projects and committee appointments, became a lure for governors and lawmakers. The PDP also allegedly used investigative agencies, including the EFCC, to pressure opposition leaders facing corruption allegations. Some saw their cases eased or dropped after crossing over, echoing NPN-era tactics.
This long-running pattern is believed to highlight a constant in Nigerian politics: ruling parties leveraging both the carrot of patronage and the stick of institutional pressure to absorb opposition heavyweights.
For decades, such tactics have reshaped party structures, weakened opposition cohesion, and raised questions about the health of Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
Lawmakers Pay Up To ₦3Million ‘Bribe’ To Present Motions, Bills At National Assembly, Says Jigawa Reps Member
A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ibrahim Usman Auyo, representing Hadejia, Auyo, and Kafin Hausa Federal Constituency of Jigawa State, has alleged that federal lawmakers are required to pay between ₦1 million and ₦3 million before being allowed to present motions, bills, or petitions during plenary sessions.
Auyo, popularly known as ‘Kamfani,’ made the revelation in a viral video where he spoke in Hausa while reacting to criticism from constituents.
He denied claims that other lawmakers wrote motions out of their people’s needs but insisted that legislative processes at the National Assembly were financially driven.
“Since I went to the Assembly, it's not true that someone wrote a motion for their need or others to be presented before the House. It's all false. And if at all there is, anybody should come out to challenge me,” he said.
“Even the bills and petitions are paid for. You have to pay ₦3 million, ₦2 million, or ₦1 million for it to be read on the floor of the House. After you read the bill, you have to lobby over 360 lawmakers to support that the bill be considered.”
The lawmaker also dismissed accusations that he had neglected youth empowerment in his constituency, insisting that the majority of his projects had directly benefited young people.
“Whoever said the youths were not supported, that person only expressed their personal opinion, as it's not true. Those who benefited know. You are not God, so you cannot satisfy everybody or be just to all. Of course, it is not everybody that will get or benefit from the distribution. I singlehandedly do the distributions. 80% of the distribution goes to the youths,” Auyo stated.
“Talk about the motorcycle, water pumps, and cars I shared, the youths benefited from it. And the moment you distribute these things to them, they sell something you bought at ₦300,000 for ₦120,000 or ₦150,000.”
On how he handles motions and community requests, Auyo said he had a standard process in place.
He explained: “On bills, I have made it a principle that any community or local government that has any motion should sit down and put it into writing.
“They should take it to my legislative aides for onward delivery to me and await to see whether we will act on it or not. If it is something I can address instantly, we do it, and if it is something I will appeal to be placed for the next year appropriation, I will plead that it be done that way.”
President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive review of all deductions and revenue retention practices by major revenue-generating agencies.
These agencies include the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
The directive, given at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, is aimed at optimising public savings, enhancing spending efficiency, and freeing up more resources to finance growth.
Tinubu specifically called for a reassessment of NNPC’s 30% management fee and 30% frontier exploration deduction provided under the Petroleum Industry Act.
The President expressed appreciation for members of the Council for their commitment and hard work in implementing bold and difficult reforms that have dismantled longstanding economic distortions, restored policy credibility, enhanced resilience, and bolstered investor confidence.
He said these reforms had created a transparent, competitive business environment that now positions Nigeria to attract more domestic and foreign investment in critical sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, health, and manufactured exports.
Reaffirming his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Tinubu said the target remains to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. To achieve this, he stressed that the economy must grow by at least 7% annually from 2027.
He described the growth target as “not just an economic target but a moral imperative,” noting that higher growth is the only sustainable path to tackling poverty.
Tinubu also cited the July 2025 IMF Article IV report, which he said affirms Nigeria’s economic trajectory and underlines the importance of investment-led growth.
The President highlighted the launch of the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, a ward-based initiative covering all 8,809 wards across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
The programme is designed to empower economically active individuals at the grassroots through a micro-level poverty reduction approach.
Tinubu said the initiative would involve subnational governments and private sector partners to ensure efficient and impactful implementation.
Tinubu emphasised that public investment currently accounts for only 5% of GDP due to low public savings, noting that optimising every available naira was critical to sustaining momentum and financing growth, especially in a period of global liquidity constraints.
Accordingly, he directed the Economic Management Team, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to review all deductions from the Federation Account, including cost of collection by FIRS, Customs, NUPRC, and NIMASA, as well as NNPC’s charges.
The team is to present actionable recommendations to FEC for the optimal way forward.
Speaking after the meeting, Edun said macroeconomic stability indicators are improving, with exchange rates stabilising, inflation coming down, revenues rising, and debt-to-GDP ratios coming within range.
He added that Nigeria is now seen as an attractive investment destination across multiple sectors, aided by a competitive exchange rate.
Edun reiterated that savings are the foundation for investment, whether from domestic sources or foreign inflows, and that the President’s charge is to urgently raise public sector savings.
This, he said, will involve reviewing deductions and revenue retention practices to make more funds available for investment.
Edun said he also presented two memos for $125 million Islamic Development Bank financing for infrastructure in Abia State, covering about 35 kilometres of roads in Umuahia and 126 kilometres in Aba, and another on refinancing ₦4 trillion in outstanding electricity sector obligations.
According to him, the electricity sector debt resolution will be implemented in phases under the expert management of the Debt Management Office and other relevant agencies with the first is expected to be completed within three to four weeks.
An Ibom Air passenger who was recently released from custody, Comfort Emmanson, has taken to social media to thank her supporters and describe her post-release condition.
In a statement posted on her Instagram page on Wednesday, Emmanson (#soft_commy), said she is still “in pains due to how I was treated” and requires medical attention before she can share her full account of the incident.
She also maintained that she needed some rest and medical treatment before she could give out her side of the story.
The statement comes after a widely publicised dispute between Emmanson and the airline, which reportedly led to her arrest and detention.
While details of the original altercation remain a subject of debate, the passenger’s latest post focuses on the physical and emotional toll of her time in custody.
The full statement from her Instagram page reads, “Thank you so much for the prayers, love and support. I’ve been released from the prison, but I’m still in pains due to how I was treated.
“I just need some rest and medical treatment before I give out my own version of the event. Thank you so much, my lovely friends and supporters. I really appreciate y’all from the bottom of my heart. God bless you all. Thank you, my great God!!!”
The airline has not yet issued a public response to Emmanson’s latest post, but earlier statements from Ibom Air confirmed a customer service incident had taken place and was being handled internally.
The airline’s management has previously maintained that the well-being of all passengers and staff is a top priority.
Emmanson’s post has garnered thousands of likes and comments, with supporters offering words of encouragement and demanding an official investigation into her treatment while in custody. The public now awaits her full account of the events that led to the dispute and her subsequent arrest.
Emmanuel Ehioma, a Catholic priest, has asked repeated viewers of the now-viral Ibom Air passenger footage to head for confession.
Ehioma warned that rewatching the footage crosses a moral line.
On Sunday, videos shared on X showed Comfort Emmanson, a passenger, hitting a flight attendant on an Ibom Air plane and confronting airport security officials.
Ibom Air imposed a travel restriction on the passenger for her conduct.
In the initial videos shared, Emmanson’s shirt was noticeably torn amid the kerfuffle.
Afterwards, more videos surfaced showing the passenger being forcefully dragged off the aircraft, with her clothes torn and her breasts fully exposed as she made to conceal them.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called for the prosecution of those who captured and published the “unedited” video of the passenger.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Ehioma acknowledged that viewers of the video did not sin initially because they did not expect what was coming.
“But if you went back to watch it again, you have to go for confession,” he said.
“This post doesn’t need to make you feel good,” he added, equating watching the video to viewing adult videos and obscene pictures.
“The second, third, fourth and other times you went back to watch that video were because of your hunger to see her nude and feel good about it, just the same way you act towards porns,” the reverend father said.
“It is really regrettable to see husbands, fathers and even wives and mothers, describing a lady’s breasts. It felt so terrible.
“Kindly meet your Priest and confess to the Lord.”
The NBA said it would provide Emmanson with pro bono legal support to ensure her rights are protected and that she obtains redress for the violations suffered.
Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State has turned to faith in addressing the prolonged absence of his deputy, Alhaji Aminu Alkali, declaring in a statewide broadcast that “this is not a political matter but a human one” and urging residents to “lift him in prayers” for a quick recovery.
Speaking publicly on the issue for the first time on Monday, Kefas acknowledged growing concern over the fact that the state has been without an active deputy governor for several months.
“I understand the concerns and questions, and I want to speak to you directly—not just as your governor, but as a fellow human being guided by faith, morality, and conscience,” he said.
Drawing from his military background, the governor recalled the spirit of esprit de corps—standing together in service without regard to religion, ethnicity, or background. He urged residents to pray for Alkali, who fell ill while on official duty.
Quoting from both Christian and Islamic scripture, Kefas appealed for unity: “In the Bible, Galatians 6:2 teaches us to ‘bear one another’s burdens.’ In the Qur’an, Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:32) reminds us that ‘whoever saves one life, it is as though he has saved all mankind.’”
While noting that the constitution outlines the proper legal process, he said laws alone were insufficient without morality and conscience.
“Now, in his moment of need, it is our turn to stand by him. Let us lift him in prayer, support his family, and show that in Taraba State, leadership is about humanity before politics. I have no hidden agenda in the way we are handling this matter. If the need arises to act according to the constitution regarding his position, I will not hesitate to do so in the right way. For now, our duty is clear—to care, to support, and to let compassion lead us,” Kefas stated.
Lawyer warns against setting dangerous precedent
Reacting to the governor’s remarks, Jalingo-based human rights lawyer Barrister Bilyaminu Maihanci cautioned that while compassion was vital, governance must still operate within the law.
“This is not about replacing the deputy governor out of malice; it is about ensuring the machinery of governance functions within the law,” he said.
Maihanci warned that leaving the state without a functioning deputy and taking no formal action could undermine constitutional democracy.
“We therefore call on the governor, the State Executive Council, and the House of Assembly to act now in line with Sections 189 and 191 of the Constitution. The conscience of leaders should align with the constitution, not stand in place of it,” he added.
‘Criminally smart’ — Olukoyede says politicians now declaring assets before acquiring them
by Jesupemi Are
Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has raised the alarm over a new tactic by some politicians to evade anti-graft scrutiny by declaring assets they do not yet own before assuming office.
Speaking at the launch of the virtual tool on the code of conduct for public officers in Abuja on Tuesday, Olukoye described the practice as “anticipatory looting” of government funds by public office holders.
According to Daily Trust, the event was organised by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in collaboration with the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR).
The EFCC chairman said investigations have revealed cases where politicians falsify their asset declaration forms by listing properties they intend to acquire while in office.
“There was an investigation we carried out, and we discovered something not too strange, but it proves the ingenuity and the criminally smart way that some of our politically exposed persons carried out some of the nefarious activities we investigated them for,” he said.
He recounted a case where a public officer declared ownership of a multi-billion-naira property before it was built.
“There was a matter we investigated. I told my guys, ‘Just get the CCB form and look at it.” There’s something I’m not comfortable with in this report,” Olukoyede said.
“So, they got the CCB form. We looked at it. We discovered one of the very big properties valued well over N3 billion the person declared in the CCB form.
“We saw that the address that was in the CCB form was different from the one that the person put down, from the particular address where that particular property was located. So, I felt something was amiss.”
The EFCC chairman said further checks showed that the individual had listed a property at No. 39 while the actual mansion was at No. 44.
“So, while we were asking questions, eventually, we discovered what we call anticipatory declaration of assets. And that is the smart way that some of these leaders have resorted to now,” he said.
“Now, they declare what they intend to acquire by the time they are in the office before they are sworn in to the office. It is terrible. We saw that, and we felt, “No, this is pretty bad.”
Olukoyede added that the politician had even registered the property in the land registry before owning it and had designed the mansion he planned to build there.
“Before he was sworn in, he had started thinking about the money to steal and what to do with the money,” he said.
BREAKING: Federal Gov’t Orders Fresh Probe Of Civil Service Recruitments Amid Job Racketeering Scandal
By Nafisat Abdulrahman
The federal government has ordered a fresh verification of thousands of federal civil servants recruited between 2013 and 2020, following mounting allegations of job racketeering and the sale of employment slots to desperate Nigerians.
The directive, contained in an August 4, 2025 circular signed by Ndiomu Ebiogeh Philip, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), warned that any worker who fails to appear for the exercise will be presumed to possess a fake appointment letter and face immediate removal.
The re-verification targets officers who failed to participate in the 2021 verification exercise. “No further extension will be granted,” the circular stated, accusing some civil servants of “deliberately staying away to avoid detection.”
The move followed revelations by whistleblower Martins Oghenerhoro Richard Atijegbe, a staff member in the Ministry of Works’ Human Resource Management Department, who alleged that senior ministry officials had been selling federal jobs for up to N2.5 million.
“My petition to both chambers of the National Assembly has to do with employment racketeering involving the Minister of Works,” Martins said.
According to him, ministry directors “would collect the sum of N2.5 million from people, sell a job to them, and within a month, they would issue fake documents and enrol them into IPPIS.”
Martins claimed that his decision to expose the alleged fraud has made him a target. “I discovered it and made it public, and I am being persecuted for doing so. I am on the verge of losing my job,” he said.
His petition, filed by lawyer Liberty Semper Fidelis, accuses the Ministry of Works of fraud, abuse of power, conspiracy, and attempts to cover up the scandal. The ministry has dismissed the allegations as “incredibly fictitious.”
On Monday, Martins said the new verification order was directly linked to his petition. “Due to my petition, the Federal Civil Service Commission is verifying all appointment letters made from 2013 to 2020, to ascertain the level of fake letters in the system,” he said.
According to the FCSC circular, affected officers must check their names on the Commission’s website (www.fedcivilservice.gov.ng), the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation’s website (www.ohcsf.gov.ng), and notice boards of their ministries.
They are required to present original and photocopies of key documents, including their letters of appointment, regularisation, promotion, gazette confirmation, and July 2025 IPPIS payslip.
The re-verification exercise will run from Monday, August 18 to Thursday, August 28, 2025, covering ministries and agencies such as Agriculture, Defence, Education, Justice, Works, Information, Science and Technology, Aviation, Finance, Interior, and the State House.
The Commission’s circular emphasised that, Officers on posting, secondment, transfer, or study leave must still appear, those who have recently completed the exercise need not appear again, and any officer who fails to show up will be deemed to have presented a fake appointment letter.
“No further extension will be granted any officer who fails to turn up for the exercise,” the statement warned.
The management of Ibom Air on Monday said the airline did not release the widely circulated video showing a passenger stripped naked while being dragged off an aeroplane.
The Group Manager, Marketing and Communications at Ibom Air, Aniekan Essienette, made this known in response to the controversy that has gripped social media over the incident.
In an interview with TVC News on Monday, Ms Essienette said while the video was recorded onboard the plane, it was neither filmed nor shared by Ibom Air staff.
“The video was recorded on the plane, but there were several people on board who were not Ibom Air employees. Anyone could have taken it,” she said.
“I can tell you categorically that Ibom Air did not release the video. We do not condone such indecent exposure, and it is unfortunate that the video has gone viral.”
The incident took place on 10 August after the passenger allegedly refused to switch off her electronic device in defiance of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) safety regulations mandating total device shutdown during flight.
The Ibom Air official said the pilot-in-command was compelled to call security after the passenger resisted disembarking, which led to the crew restraining her to ensure a safe removal.
“Our crew had to restrain her to ensure security could escort her off the plane,” she explained.
The intervention came amid a rising wave of public outrage over the incident, which has sparked debate about passenger rights, airline conduct, and aviation security in Nigeria.
The video’s widespread circulation has drawn condemnation from many Nigerians, who described the passenger’s treatment as humiliating and degrading.
Despite the backlash, Ms Essienette defended the airline’s position, underscoring Ibom Air’s commitment to customer service and safety.
“Ibom Air values our customers and prides itself on reliability and excellent service. We remain committed to these principles,” she said.
She urged passengers to respect aviation regulations, emphasising that “most people obey the rule to switch off devices. The airline environment is controlled, and safety must come first.”
However, Ibom Air has yet to confirm if it will investigate the source of the video leak or take disciplinary action against those responsible
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has condemned the release of a video showing the indecent exposure of an unruly passenger during an Ibom Airline incident, describing it as “totally unacceptable” and ordering sanctions against the staff responsible.
The passenger, identified as Miss Comfort Emmanson, also known as Comfort Bob, allegedly assaulted both flight crew and ground staff during an Ibom Airline flight from Uyo to Lagos on August 10, 2025.
In a statement on his official X account on Monday, Keyamo said while the filming of her behaviour was necessary for prosecution, the public release of the indecent content was deplorable.
Keyamo said, “Whilst we support the filming of her recalcitrant behaviour as evidence to prosecute her, what is deplorable is to release such evidence containing indecent exposure to the public to ridicule her.
“That is totally unacceptable to us. We will not fold our arms and tolerate the debasing of womanhood.
“I have therefore directed that whoever released that part of the video containing the indecent exposure amongst the staff should be singled out and adequately sanctioned.”
The minister also directed airlines to train and retrain their staff in public relations and handling of volatile situations, adding that a joint security meeting between relevant agencies would be held next week for better coordination of aviation security.
Ibom Air passenger’s arrest sparks debate over crew’s conduct, public decorum He noted that the incident occurred at about 2:54 p.m. on Ibom Airline Flight Q153 from Uyo to Lagos after the passenger refused to switch off her phone during takeoff, in violation of International Civil Aviation Regulations.
According to him, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has imposed an indefinite ban on the passenger, covering both local and international flights.
“Consequently, in the last few hours, I have been speaking with the Commissioner of Police of the Airport Police Command, the DG of the NCAA and his team, the MD of FAAN and her team, the COO of Ibom Air and his team about the incident,” he said.
She was arraigned on Monday before the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, where she was remanded at Kirikiri Prison for failing to provide sureties.
Keyamo urged passengers with grievances to use the NCAA’s Consumer Protection Directorate rather than resort to disruptive behaviour, warning that erring passengers would face flight bans and possible criminal prosecution.
“We will continue to apply equal sanctions available to us in Aviation on any such erring passengers, that is lengthy flight bans and report the matters to other law enforcement agencies to do their bit within their powers,” the statement concluded.
By Andrew Agbese (Abuja) & Ibrahim Musa Giginyu (Kano)
It is now more than a month after former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, “resigned” as national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but the dust over the manner by which he left office has not settled with many wondering how he “fell out” with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other power brokers in the party.
Also, following his resignation, many thought that he would be offered another position of similar weight or something close to that, but that has not happened.
Recall that in January 2025, President Tinubu appointed Ganduje as the chairman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), but was only inaugurated in July, a few days after he seized to be the national chairman of the ruling party.
There were insinuations in some quarters that after his exit as chairman of the APC, and despite the claim that he wanted to go and attend to his health, Ganduje would swap position with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume but that did not materialise.
Even though some sources close to Ganduje in separate interviews with the Weekend Trust insisted that he left the coveted seat on his own volition, other sources said he was forced out of the equation in order to negotiate with the leaders of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), notably the former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the governor, Abba Yusuf, to join the APC due to the cult followership the latter enjoys in Kano State and the relationship between him and President Tinubu which started since both were governors between 1999 and 2003.
Our correspondent was reliably informed that the plan could not pull through as APC stakeholders in Kano are not forthcoming in working with the NNPP leaders due to past experiences.
Sources said the case of Kano is different from that of other states because once the NNPP stalwarts are allowed into the party, most of the current APC leaders in the state would abandon the party due to the irreconcilable differences between them and the NNPP leaders.
“Many of them can’t possibly work together and that is the dilemma the party has found itself in because once you give opportunity to Kwankwaso and his group to migrate to the APC, the likes of Ganduje and others would either remain placid or move out of the party because they can’t work together,” one of the source said.
The situation, another source indicate, has made it difficult to complement the initial plan of wooing the NNPP leaders in a bid to win Kano in the 2027 elections as it can neither move ahead with the plan or go back since a new national chairman from the North Central has been appointed.
When Ganduje resigned on June 27, he stated that it was on grounds of ill health but few days after that, he was seen at the inauguration of the board of FAAN and shortly after, he visited the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s family in London.
Observers noted that seeing that he appeared strong enough on the two occasions, it was obvious that health condition did not prevent him from moving about, hence insinuations that his resignation had little or nothing to do with ill health.
It is believed that Ganduje vacated the position of national chairman of the APC for three reasons;
The first reason, according to sources, was that he was asked to step aside with a promise for a bigger position in order to pave way for Kwankwaso to join the party.
Secondly, there are allegations that he had fallen out with the presidency and was asked to go and thirdly, that it was to placate the North Central region which agitation for retention of the seat after the exit of Abdullahi Adamu became a heated issue.
More than one month after the former chairman left the position, however, Ganduje has neither been compensated with a bigger position nor has Kwankwaso joined the APC.
Truce with Kwankwaso
Weekend Trust learnt from a very reliable source close to the former national chairman that his travail began when on assuming office, he was told point-blank to go and reconcile with his former boss and political ally, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The source said this was a very had pill for Ganduje to swallow as he had not only parted ways with Kwankwaso, but had also drawn the battle line with him.
He was, however, said to have managed that situation, even though he was not happy about it thinking that he would be able to win the president over in due course.
“It was a tough moment for him when they said he should go and reconcile with Kwankwaso and thought that the pressure will fizzle out with time.
“But the call on him to act quickly persisted from the powers that be. Unfortunately, Ganduje was a bit reluctant in his approach to the matter which also sounded somehow to the Kwankwaso camp,” the source said.
He also cited the manner in which Ganduje spoke during a certain occasion on the rumoured return of Kwankwaso and went ahead to quote what the former chairman said.
The source said, “Let me take you back to when Dr Ganduje received in audience, the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Ata, at the APC national headquarters in Abuja. The then chairman said: ‘The APC is deepening and widening democracy in the country. Kwankwaso is a fish out of water, trying to find its way back into the waters. We cannot say we can’t accommodate him, because a friend in need is a friend indeed. We don’t want to leave him completely abandoned. We can still have him in, if he wants to join us. When you see your son running to where he would get shelter and you are a big brother in a big home, I think it is morally right to accommodate him. So, we cannot say we cannot accommodate him,”’ the source recalled, alleging that the words do not sound reconciliatory.
Another source said that even though Ganduje did very well as chairman by getting more members including governors into the party, the earlier thinking of the president about having Kwankwaso was not forgotten.
The last straw, Weekend Trust gathered was his inability to balance the chairmanship tickets of the party in the six area council of the FCT as requested by someone very close to the president on a 50-50 basis between the two major faiths in the country.
Unfortunately, the source said the choice of a lady for one of the tickets could not pull through, thereby altering the earlier instructions of having three each for the two faiths as against the 4-2 that emerged.
This was said to have angered the president’s close ally, who made the request and therefore persuaded Tinubu to ease him (Ganduje) off.
There are also indications that the presidency believes Kwankwaso controls the chunk of the votes in Kano and as such, a better option to work with in 2027, it was gathered.
There are observations that since the time he left the APC, Ganduje has not strayed close to the party or the presidency.
This has been interpreted as a confirmation that the former chairman did not voluntarily resign and maybe harbouring some grudges.
Party members who spoke with our correspondents in Kano on condition of anonymity said on three occasions that the former chairman was supposed to be in Kano to show his solidary to the president, the vice president and the APC, he was nowhere near the state.
“The excuse is that he travelled out of the country but the question you should ask yourself is whether Ganduje would have missed such opportunities were he to be in the position of national chairman no matter where he was,” the source said.
Ganduje’s aides and associates, however, do not see the situation in that light and have attributed his absence in the country to his resolve to rest after serving the party.
Chief of Staff to Ganduje, Malam Mohammed Garba, when contacted, said there is no problem between Ganduje and President Tinubu.
He said, “They remain bosom friends and have been in constant touch with the president who is the leader of the party. My principal was not removed as national chairman of the APC; he voluntarily resigned in the best interest of the party and to attend to some personal matters. He is currently in sound health and taking a well-deserved rest in London.
“Again, it is important to reiterate that he was not removed from office. His present stay outside the country is purely for rest, and no political party is in talks with him. Dr. Ganduje remains a committed member and leader of the APC, working tirelessly for the re-election of President Tinubu and to ensure the APC regains full control of Kano State.
“His associates are solidly working with him towards these goals, and together, they are focused on strengthening the party’s structures and ensuring electoral success at all levels.”
Another associate of Ganduje, Salihu Tanko Yakassai, explained that while Ganduje has remained loyal to the party, his associates are not happy with the way he was treated.
He said, “I’m a member of the APC, and I am aggrieved. So, if I feel that way, it’s safe to ask whether others do too.”
As the presidency keeps the blocs in Kano guessing, most of the leaders have decided to keep their fingers crossed until a concrete step is taken concerning the former national chairman.
Yakasai said: “The APC in Kano State remains strong and united. Dr. Ganduje, as the leader of the party in the state, will continue to bring his wealth of political experience to bear in ensuring the party’s victory in the 2027 elections.”
Since his exit, our correspondents learnt that though Ganduje has been trying to keep calm and has travelled outside the country to allow things simmer, it has not been easy for him to regain his composure.
Sources said that was why he did not rush back as he was wont to when the president and vice president visited Kano on condolence visits.
He was also not in hand to present the views of the government at the Kaduna summit, being the immediate past chairman of the ruling party.
The most glaring was during the stakeholders meeting held in Kano, where he was absent though some persons said he monitored the event via Skype.
But many are of the view that whatever decision is finally taken on the position of Ganduje would redefine the power configurations within the party.
At one end is the deputy president of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, who is already making efforts to increase his structure by wooing members of the NNPP to the APC. There are also speculations that Murtala Sule Garo, given his control structures at the grassroots, is bound to play a role in how things shape up for the party in Kano.
Analysts say if Ganduje remains within the party, it is not likely that Kwankwaso would be willing to join the APC given the no love lost relationship between them and if Kwankwaso finally joins the APC, there will be the battle of who should be the leader of the party in the state as the latter is not likely to take instructions from Ganduje given his position as his former boss.
2027: Jonathan Offers Obi Ministerial Slot To Drop Presidential Ambition, Says Kachikwu
By Chibuzo Ukaibe
Former presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu has claimed that former President Goodluck Jonathan offered ex-Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, a slot of Coordinating Minister of the Economy, if he withdraws from the 2027 race to support him.
Kachikwu made the claim at a press conference in Abuja on Friday.
He alleged that the Northern political interests have drafted the former president into the presidential race to weaken the South.
Kachikwu added that Obi was also told that he cannot get Northern votes because he is an Ibo man.
He said, “In order to weaken the South, they have now drafted in former President Jonathan into the race who is alleged to be offering Peter Obi the position of Coordinating Minister of the Economy for him to support his ambition.”
He accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a few northern elites of holding political power for decades without nothing to alleviate the illiteracy and poverty in the region.
The former presidential candidate accused the elites from northern Nigeria of using the “weapons of region, religion, tongue, tribe and poverty as they convince millions of poor Northerners that a southern President Tinubu hates them and is the cause of their poverty.”
He continued, “On a daily basis they are spreading deliberate falsehoods against not only President Tinubu but against all potential southern aspirants for the Office of President. A Peter Obi has been told in very clear terms that he will never get northern votes as an Ibo man and as such he should accept to be Atiku’s running mate.”
He called on all Nigerians “to resist former vice president Atiku and his co-travellers who don’t believe in an equitable Nigeria. We must all come to equity with clean hands and sincerity of purpose.
“We don’t burn our houses because we want to kill rats and cockroaches; sometimes we just need to make our houses clean so that rats and cockroaches leave on their own.
“My earnest prayer is that Nigeria will soon work for every one of us,” he said.
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