₦airaland Forum

Today's Saturday Tribune column looks at the appointment of Joash Amupitan as INEC chairman and locates it in a broader pattern of Tinubu's greater pan-Yoruba project. It advises how the North should react:

New INEC Boss and Tinubu’s Visibilization of Northern Yorubas

By Farooq A. Kperogi

Everyone who is familiar with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s unabashed Yorubacentricism expected him to appoint a Yoruba person to succeed Professor Mahmood Yakubu as INEC chairman. However, because, as I pointed out in my September 20 column, no president, prime minister, or head of state has ever appointed an INEC chairman from his immediate geopolitical region, Tinubu’s Yorubacentric excesses had a restraining order.

Of course, Tinubu really doesn’t care what anybody thinks about his overt project of inaugurating and sustaining Yoruba hegemony in Nigeria’s national sphere. He could easily have appointed the next INEC chairman from the Southwest and watched with satisfied amusement as people from other regions squirmed in impotent rage.

But he had an alternative, which he seized. There are Yoruba people in northern Nigeria. Why risk needless, even if impotent, national outrage by appointing someone from Osun, his native state, or Lagos, his adopted state, when he could achieve the same Yorubacentric state capture by appointing a Yoruba person from the North? Thus, we have Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, a Yoruba man from Kogi State, as the new INEC boss.

To be fair, that was precisely what Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, did. Although Mahmood Yakubu is from the Northeast and Buhari is from the Northwest, their identities are indistinct. They are both “Hausa-Fulani,” a term Buhari said he personally liked because it accurately captures the complexity of his ethnic, cultural, and linguistic identity.

Like Buhari, Yakubu traces patrilineal descent to the Fulani but is linguistically and culturally Hausa. So, the fact that they come from different so-called geopolitical zones doesn’t erase the reality that they are more or less indistinguishable in identity terms.

Just as Buhari and Yakubu are both “Hausa-Fulani” who happen to belong to different “geo-political zones,” Tinubu and Amupitan are both “Yoruba” (although there are people from Kogi West such as Professor Etannibi Alemika and journalist Tunde Asaju who insist they are not Yoruba) but from different regions.

In fact, unlike Buhari and Yakubu, who share not just common ethnic and regional identities but also similar faiths, Tinubu and Amupitan do not share the same faith. Tinubu is a Muslim, while Amupitan is a Christian. Of course, as I’ve pointed out multiple times in past columns, in the South, where Tinubu is from, ethnicity is a more potent instrument of identification than religion.

It’s therefore obvious that while Amupitan is eminently qualified for this job—he is an accomplished professor of law and a revered Senior Advocate of Nigeria who has no known record of partisan political affiliations, even though a few people mistook him for Professor Taiwo Osipitan, a Tinubu lawyer in the 2023 election—the primary reason Tinubu chose him is his Yoruba identity.

However, I want to go beyond the discernible ethnic considerations that informed Tinubu’s choice of Amupitan. No true northerner should take Tinubu’s ethnic bait.

Northern Nigeria (or what some of us like to call “Lugardian northern Nigeria”) is the country’s most complex region. It is home to almost every ethnic group in Nigeria, including the three major ones. (Most people don’t know that there is a minority of Igbo people in Ado, Oju, Obi, and Okpoku local government areas of Benue State who are native to the state and speak the same Igbo dialect as people in Ebonyi State.)

As I pointed out in my February 2, 2019, column titled “Even Ahmadu Bello Would Be Ashamed of Buhari’s Arewacentricity,” being a genuinely northern sub-nationalist draws you close to being a pan-Nigerian nationalist.

I wrote: “A real, Ahmadu Bello-type northerner… would regard Yoruba people from Kwara and Kogi states as his or her ‘regional kin.’ Well, if you can do that, you might as well extend that ‘kinship’ to other Yoruba people in the Southwest in the interest of nation building.

“If you accept Ebira people in Kogi as your regional kin, you might as well extend it to the Igara in Edo State whose language is mutually intelligible with Ebira. If you regard the Idoma of Benue as your regional kin, why not do the same to the Yala in Cross River who are linguistically and culturally similar to the Idoma?

“If you regard the Igala in Kogi as your regional kin, you might as well like the ethnic kin of the Igala known as the Ebu in Oshimili North LGA of Delta State or the Ilushi in Edo State, who are linguistically and culturally indistinguishable from the Igala.

“If your benign northern sub-nationalism causes you to accept Iyiorcha Ayu as your brother because he is Tiv from Benue, why would you not accept his own brothers and sisters in Obanliku in Cross River State who are also, for all practical purposes, linguistically and culturally Tivs?”

The Yoruba people in Kwara and Kogi states have had the disadvantage of being prominent yet invisible. They tend to be distrusted by their regional kith in the North and suspected by their ethnic kin in the Southwest. That is a delicate, unenviable position to be in.

Tinubu’s pan-Yoruba ethnic project is visibilizing northern Yoruba people on the national stage in ways we are not accustomed to. In April this year, he appointed Bashir Bayo Ojulari, a Yoruba Muslim from Kwara State, as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Limited, Nigeria’s ultimate cash cow.

Now, he has appointed Amupitan, a Yoruba Christian from Kogi State, as the head of INEC, Nigeria’s gatekeeper of political power. One controls the flow of money; the other controls the tide of electoral mandates. That is a lot of power. That is a lot of visibilization. It reverses decades of enforced invisibility.

This may be an ethnic project for Tinubu, but if managed well, it can become an unintentional empowerment of the North—or at least the idea of the North that Sir Ahmadu Bello carefully worked to nurture when he was alive. For him, no part of the North was more northern than another.

That was why he appointed Joseph Aderibigbe, a Yoruba Christian who hailed from Erin-Ile, the last town in northern Nigeria before one crosses over to the West, as the Provincial Secretary (equivalent to a state governor) of the Sokoto Province, which comprised what is now Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, and parts of Niger states. Bello was a councilor in Sokoto and used to joke that Aderibigbe was his “boss” in Sokoto but his subordinate in Kaduna.

When northern Nigeria’s Muslim, Hausaphone leaders mishandled Olusegun Obasanjo’s similar preference for previously invisibilized northern ethnic minorities in appointments and caused deep regional disaffection, they were compelled to form the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in 2000 to unite the region and assuage the anxieties of minorities.

Guess who was its inaugural chairman of the board of trustees until his death in 2007? Chief Sunday Bolorunduro Awoniyi, who hailed from the same area as Amupitan.

The mistake the North would make, which would please Tinubu to no end, is to alienate these northern Yoruba appointees by calling them Yoruba while tacitly denying their northern identity.

As Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar suggested in a July 1999 interview in the Weekly Trust when northern Muslim leaders had a conniption because northern Christians were visibilized by Obasanjo, I would advise northern leaders with symbolic and cultural authority to be strategic and embrace Tinubu’s appointment of northern Yorubas to consequential positions as a plus for the region, even if that is not his intention.

The alternative is to be receptive to a redrawing of the political and geographic map of Nigeria that cedes Yoruba-speaking Northern Nigeria to the West.

Perhaps what began as a parochial design might paradoxically fertilize a broader national idea. If the North embraces these appointees as its own rather than as southern implants, Tinubu’s maneuver could, ironically, advance the inclusive regional vision that Sir Ahmadu Bello once imagined. Nigeria’s fate has often turned on such unintended consequences of power.

But if northern leaders fall for the ethnic traps laid in these appointments by rejecting their own sons because of linguistic or cultural labels, they will not only vindicate Tinubu’s divisive calculations but also weaken the North’s moral claim to unity. The region’s future strength will rest on its ability to see through the politics of symbolic baiting and recognize substance where others see difference.

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have attacked a military base in Ngamdu, Kaga local government area of Borno State.

Daily Trust gathered that the incident happened in the wee hours of Friday.


The insurgents, in large numbers, attacked the troops at the camp along Maiduguri-Damaturu highway.


Motorists and commercial drivers said as a result of the attack, the military blocked Ngamdu road until around 11:20am.

“I left Damaturu very early with the hope of arriving Maiduguri around 9am for an engagement but on reaching Ngamdu, the road was closed.”

“Some security personnel told us to be patient that there was problem on the road. But residents said the Boko Haram attacked the soldiers and killed some of them,” a traveller who did not want to be quoted said

Sources in the town revealed that terrorists took the soldier unaware.

“The attack lasted for hours before the insurgents retreated, but they killed and wounded soldiers,” he said

A security source told our correspondent that the casualty was not much as reported.


“Well, the terrorists attempted an ambush but our gallant soldiers have repelled them, and we have the a good fight,” he said.

When asked about the casualty, he said, “Yes some soldiers were wounded and taken to hospital, but the many insurgents were also killed.”

The military is yet to react to the development as of the time of filing this report.

Former lawmaker and human rights activist, Senator Shehu Sani, has criticised the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), describing the Bretton Woods institutions as “the witches and wizards” behind Nigeria’s worsening economic hardship following government-implemented reforms.

In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, Sani said, “The World Bank and IMF are the Witches and Wizards who will tell you to remove subsidies and float your currency in the ocean and expect the miracle of wealth and prosperity, and when the results turn out to be poverty and misery, they blame you for taking the wrong dosage.”

Sani’s remarks come amid mounting public discontent over the excruciating hardship Nigerians have been plunged into by the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2023, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira.

The policies have been praised by the World Bank and IMF as bold and necessary steps to stabilise Nigeria’s economy.

Following Tinubu’s inauguration in May 2023, both international financial institutions commended the Nigerian government for eliminating the decades-long fuel subsidy and unifying the country’s multiple exchange rates.

The IMF hailed the reforms as “crucial for restoring macroeconomic stability,” while the World Bank described them as “important measures to enhance fiscal transparency and attract foreign investment.”

However, the immediate aftermath of the policies has been marked by soaring inflation, a sharp depreciation of the naira, and a dramatic rise in living costs.

Fuel prices tripled within months, transportation and food costs spiked, and millions of households were plunged deeper into poverty.

In a reverse negative turn of events, a recent World Bank report released in September 2025 projected that by 2026, over 140 million Nigerians, roughly two-thirds of the country’s population, could be living in extreme poverty, driven by inflation, job losses, and weak social safety nets.

The report warned that Nigeria’s poverty rate would continue to rise unless the government implemented “targeted interventions” to cushion vulnerable groups from the impact of economic reforms.

Senator Sani has frequently criticised the influence of Western financial institutions on Nigeria’s economic policy.

His “witches and wizards” analogy underscores widespread frustration among Nigerians who feel the reforms, though lauded internationally, have deepened domestic suffering.

Sani’s post has since sparked widespread reactions online, with many Nigerians echoing his sentiments that the IMF and World Bank’s economic recommendations have failed to deliver tangible improvements for ordinary citizens.

Reacting to Sani’s remarks, an X user, @Adebanjosanya wrote, “The irony is that the same institutions prescribing “economic freedom” know it leads to dependency, not development.

“They hand you the pois0n, call it reform, and later write reports analyzing how you died.”

Also, @MarvellousIsra3, asked, “They will tell you to put your hand in the fire because you are foolish and lack sense, you will go and put your hand in the fire shey?

“Is there any advice they have been giving to Tinubu that they didn't give to the predecessors before him?”

As Nigeria grapples with inflation and a weakening naira that recently crossed N1,500 to the dollar, debates continue over whether the nation’s economic strategy should follow international advice or pursue a more locally driven recovery path.

Veteran broadcaster and elder statesman Dr Christopher Kolade has died at the age of 92.

The family announced his death in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said the late broadcaster died peacefully on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.


“We are thankful for his incredible life of faith and service, and are grateful for God’s abundant blessings,” the statement read in part.

Born on December 28, 1932, Kolade had a distinguished career as a diplomat, academic, advocate for integrity and corporate governance, among other things.

The Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammad Sanusi II, said he agrees with about 80 percent of President Bola Tinubu’s policy direction but has reservations about certain aspects of fiscal management and food importation.

Speaking in an interview with News Central on Tuesday, Sanusi commended the administration for stabilising the economy through improved fiscal discipline and better monetary policy coordination.

“In terms of monetary policy and stability, I have nothing but commendation for the government. On the fiscal side, we have had an improvement in revenue-to-GDP ratios, improvement in debt service ratios, and a contraction in the deficit. These are positive steps, but we still have a long way to go,” he said.

The former CBN governor, however, noted that while the government had made commendable progress in revenue generation, it must pay closer attention to the quality and efficiency of public spending.

“I would like to see a better look at fiscal expenditure. We’re still spending too much money on government — on the cost of governance, too many political appointees, too many officers,” Sanusi said.

“If we do not improve the quality of spending and put a rein on expenditure, we’re going to continue borrowing.”

He warned that Nigeria could fall back into a debt trap if it failed to manage its post-subsidy savings prudently.

“After saving money from these expensive subsidies, after building up the government balance sheet, you go and spend it, and then you have to borrow again,” he cautioned.

“So we still have some steps to go on the fiscal side, but the first thing was to fix revenue, and I think with the tax reforms and what you’ve seen so far, the fiscal side is on its way.

Sanusi also called for structural reforms in agriculture, describing the government’s policy on food importation as counterproductive.

“I would like to see that we put a stop to the mass importation of food. I know it was driven by a desire to bring down food prices, but it is, in the end, very counterproductive to domestic production and domestic producer prices,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria must focus on strengthening its agricultural value chain to boost local food production and achieve sustainable food security.

“Hopefully, we will get to a point where we go back on track with the reforms in the agricultural sector — fixing the agricultural value chain and relying on domestic production to feed the nation,” he said.

Summing up his assessment, the Emir of Kano said the administration had made significant strides despite the country’s economic challenges.

Tuesday's resignation of Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, has once again brought to light the deep moral crisis at the heart of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. What should ordinarily be a matter of national shame is now being disguised as a “voluntary resignation”, an attempt to whitewash yet another scandal that typifies the forgery-ridden character of this government.

Let the truth be told: Uche Nnaji should not have been allowed the courtesy of resignation. He should have been summarily dismissed and prosecuted for deceit and falsification. By permitting him to quietly exit through the backdoor, the Tinubu administration has once again demonstrated that it is an assembly of forgers, impostors, and morally bankrupt individuals masquerading as public servants.

What makes this even more embarrassing is that the same Department of State Services (DSS) which screened out Mallam Nasir el-Rufai for alleged “security concerns” is the very agency that cleared this same character, Uche Nnaji. The DSS truly deserves our flowers for this national disgrace. Their failure of due diligence has made Nigeria an object of ridicule before the world and raises the question: how many more of such individuals are occupying sensitive positions in this government?

This episode is not isolated. It is a reflection of a pattern, a rot that begins from the very top. The man who occupies the office of President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has for decades been enmeshed in controversies surrounding his identity, age, and academic records. From the Chicago State University saga to multiple contradictory claims under oath, the world has seen ample evidence that Nigeria today is led by a man who himself has been unable to credibly defend the authenticity of his own certificates.

When a man of questionable identity leads a country, deception becomes the standard of governance. Tinubu’s personal history of alleged forgery and perjury has effectively institutionalized falsehood in public service. It is, therefore, unsurprising that his ministers and aides have taken after his example by falsifying documents, inflating records, and desecrating the moral foundation of our nation.

I, therefore, call for an independent, transparent, and comprehensive investigation into the academic and professional credentials of all members of the Federal Executive Council, beginning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself. Nigerians deserve to know the truth about those who preside over their lives and resources.

Until this cleansing is done, Nigeria will continue to sink deeper into moral decay, economic ruin, and global embarrassment. The time has come to rescue our country from the grip of deceit and restore integrity to public life. -AA

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives seeking its approval to raise a total of $2.347 billion from the international capital market to fund part of the 2025 budget deficit and refinance Nigeria’s maturing Eurobonds.

He also sought approval for issuance of a $500 million debut sovereign Sukuk to support critical infrastructure development.

The request was contained in letter read by the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen during plenary on Tuesday.

Tinubu said the request was made pursuant to Sections 21(1) and 27(1) of the Debt Management Office (Establishment, Etc.) Act, 2003.

Tinubu explained that the request was necessary to give effect to the borrowing provisions in the 2025 Appropriation Act, refinance the $1.118 billion Eurobond maturing in November 2025, and expand Nigeria’s access to diversified external funding sources.

The President stated that the 2025 budget provided for N9.28 trillion in new borrowings to bridge the fiscal deficit, out of which N1.84 trillion (equivalent to $1.229 billion) was earmarked as new external borrowing.

“The House of Representatives is kindly invited to issue its resolution allowing the government to raise the amount through any of the following options: issuance of Eurobonds, bridge finance facility from bookrunners, loan syndication, or direct borrowing from international financial institutions,” the President wrote.

According to him, the funds will be deployed to part-finance the 2025 budget deficit in line with the approved fiscal framework.

Tinubu also sought lawmakers’ approval to refinance the $1.118 billion Eurobond issued in 2018, which he said, will mature on November 21, 2025.

He said the move was necessary to “avoid default” and is in line with international best practices in debt capital markets.

“The plan is to refinance the maturing Eurobonds through issuance of Eurobonds, bridge finance facility, loan syndication, or direct borrowing from international financial institutions,” the President noted.

He said the aggregate external capital to be raised comprising $1.229 billion for new borrowing and $1.118 billion for refinancing amounts to $2.347 billion.

Tinubu said while all options would be explored, the government’s primary plan is to issue Eurobonds, leveraging Nigeria’s status as a regular participant in the international capital market.

“The terms and conditions can only be determined at the time of the transactions and will be subject to prevailing market conditions,” he added, noting that the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office (DMO) would collaborate with transaction advisers to secure the most favourable terms.

In a separate but related request, the President asked the House to authorise the issuance of a stand-alone debut Sovereign Sukuk of up to $500 million in the international capital market.

Tinubu said the debut international Sukuk would be modeled after the successful domestic Sukuk issuances that have raised over N1.39 trillion since 2017 for road and infrastructure development.

According to him, the initiative aims to diversify Nigeria’s investor base, open new funding sources, and deepen the sovereign securities market.

Brief remarks by the National Chairman of the ADC, Sen. David Mark at the NWC meeting of the party.

October 7, 2025

1- We begin with a conviction that Nigeria can, and will, work for everyone — and with a commitment to build a party bigger thank any personality , stronger than any moment and positively different from any party in the annals of our country.

2-What makes the ADC different is simple: we will be a party of purpose and determination, not impulses— an institution that champions democratic values and a culture of accountability and responsibility across its organs and in every government it forms. Our leadership standard is non-negotiable: character. Competence. Courage. Discipline. These four pillars will guide our choices, shape our culture, and anchor our performances.

3-We are a Pan-African, people-oriented, problem -solving movement— sensitive to the needs of the poor and the young, women and men, persons with disabilities, workers, peasants entrepreneurs, retirees, civil society, and the vulnerable. We will convert empathy into policy , and policy into results.

4-Other parties revolve around individuals; the ADC will revolve around rules, policies, programs, people and results. We will insist on team spirit , collaboration , and internal democracy. The supremacy we seek is the supremacy of our constitution and institutions— over everything: Personality, improvisation, and idiosyncrasy.

5- From today, we must adopt an integrity and performance compact.

6-First, open party, open books: independent annual audits published; procurement rules enforced; well articulated conflict -of-interest and gift policies.

7- Second, merit before loyalty: all appointments—party and government—benchmarked to the pillar standard of character , competence , courage, and discipline.

8- Third, clean elections, clean governance: digital , verifiable membership and primaries; candidate rigorous screening before nomination; performance scorecards published quarterly.

9- Fourth, citizens first: service charters in every ADC-led government with timelines, public dashboards, and real feedback mechanisms.

10- Fifth, dignity and inclusion: standing councils for special interest group such as workers, women, Youth, farmers, professionals, retired security officers, educators, persons with disabilities, retirees, civil society, and the vulnerable - represented at the table not as tokens, but as architects of policies and programmes.

11- The ADC will defend the separation of powers, restore legislative and judicial independence, and strengthen oversight so that budgets serve the public interest, not private appetites. We will end the culture of parallel budgets and extra-budgetary maneuvers by enforcing strict and transparent planning, timely appropriations, and rigorous auditing.

12– The judiciary must again be a refuge for every citizen. We will back an independent, efficient, and trusted bench-appointments on merit, transparent case management, time-bound rulings, and a bias for justice over empty technicalities.

13- Nigerians are tired of slogans and statistics that do not translate into their welfare: food, power, jobs, and safety. We will focus on what works. We will pursue price stability and productivity through credible, rules-based coordination of fiscal and monetary policy.

14- We will secure our food supply by supporting farmers and agricultural value chains from inputs and storage to processing and markets. We will back small businesses and industry with affordable, performance-tied credit and local content that creates jobs, not rent. And we will shine a bright light on every naira-no parallel budget , no black-box spending, no sacred cows. Judge us by winat Nigerians feel in their daily lives, rhetorics and bland statistics: lower volatility, more reliable power, visible projects, and decent work.

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has declared Adams Oshiomhole, former President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), persona non grata over the recent comment he made on its strike.

NUPENG stated that it was shocked to see Oshiomhole “rationalising the victimisation of workers” for exercising their fundamental rights of association and peaceful action, which he had always advocated in the past.

Daily Trust reports that Oshiomhole, had on Friday criticised the leadership and members of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over their recent action against Dangote Refinery.

He described the recent union’s strike action which was suspended last Wednesday as “ill-considered”, arguing that new private sector investors like Dangote should be given time to stabilise before facing intense labour action.

“In pursuing war, you have to recognise that the tools you deploy must not hurt innocent people, like the tomato sellers who cannot get fuel to move their goods because there is a quarrel between one refinery and one union.

“An employer has to exist, mature and be strong enough to guarantee good-paying jobs. If you cripple a business before it even finds its feet, you are also destroying the jobs you claim to protect,” Oshiomhole had said during an interview on Arise Television.

Reacting via a lengthy statement jointly signed by its President, Williams Akporeha, and the General Secretary, Olawale Afolabi, NUPENG said henceforth, Oshiomhole will not participate in or lend legitimacy to any of its events again.

“The leadership of NUPENG hereby declares Senator Adams Oshiomhole PERSONA NON GRATA within the ranks of Nigerian Oil and Gas Workers for the Undistinguished denunciation of the PENGASSAN strike against the unjustifiable sack of 800 Engineers as punishment for exercising the fundamental right of unionism.

“The practical effect of our declaring Senator Oshiomhole persona non grata within the ranks of oil and gas workers in Nigeria is that henceforth, we will not participate in or lend legitimacy to any event featuring Senator Oshiomhole.

“The NLC, TUC and conscionable civil society organisations should kindly take notice. Oshiomhole’s denunciation and insensitivity to the plight of 800 Engineers and resistance to unionism in the Petroleum and gas sector is a dangerous toxin designed to weaken the resolve of the working class and strengthen the class enemy.

“NUPENG stands unwaveringly with PENGASSAN and the over 800 unjustly dismissed workers. We will continue to deploy every legal and industrial instrument available to us, in full compliance with Nigerian law and global labour standards, to secure justice.

“The Undistinguished position of Adams Oshiomhole on the PENGASSAN strike qualifies him as the JUDAS ISCARIOT of Nigerian Trade Unionism.

“What a monumental betrayal of the cause of the working class! We advise Senator Adams Oshiomhole to retire from commenting on labour matters, as he has irretrievably lost the moral right and legitimacy before Nigerian workers, and particularly oil and gas workers.”

Motorists, traders, and residents along Isheri-Igando in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State have decried the deplorable condition of a failed section of the road.

Speaking to PUNCH Metro during a visit to the community on Saturday, they also lamented that the road had subjected commuters to daily hardship.

Our correspondent during the visit observed that the damaged stretch, located between Okofilling and Unity Bus Stop, which is a few kilometres from the Igando General Hospital, has become a major bottleneck for motorists.

The section, riddled with deep potholes and eroded surfaces, forces commercial buses, private cars, and tricycles into long queues that stretch for several metres.

A long-time resident who gave his name simply as Mr Samuel said the road had been damaged for years.

He said, “This road has been like this for years. Each time they patch it, the next rainfall washes it away again. The main problem is drainage. Once it rains, this place becomes a river. Even the filling station opposite it was shut because of erosion.”

A trader who identified himself as Okon accused the government of performing cosmetic repairs that failed to address the root cause of the problem.

“They’ll just pour gravel and go. Once rain falls, everything scatters again. The gutter is blocked, and everywhere is flooded. People can’t walk, and cars move slowly. Businesses around here are shutting down due to reduced patronage and flooding,” Okon lamented.

Another trader, who identified himself simply as Charly Boy, said the road had remained in a terrible state with little or no attention.

“Every time it rains, the whole place becomes a pool of dirty water. We sell here because traffic doesn’t move fast, and people buy from us while moving slowly through the traffic,” he said.

While making similar complaints, a civil servant who did not want his name in print and also claimed to have moved into the area four months ago, described the condition as a menace to society.

He said, “Pedestrians can’t walk freely. When it rains, the whole place is filled with filthy water. You’ll be soaked, and you don’t even know the kind of germs in the water. The government should create a proper channel to direct water into a swamp or canal. Pouring gravel on the road is not always a solution.”

According to him, an ambulance going to the General Hospital has to drive against traffic on the other side of the road to get through.

“This road leads to Igando, Iyana Iba, and even connects to Badagry and Cotonou, yet the government keeps ignoring it,” he added.

Commercial drivers plying the road said it had become a nightmare for them, while it also cut their income in half.

A bus driver who identified himself as Tunde and also plied Iyana-Ipaja to Iyana-Iba said, “From Lanre to Oko filling, the bad spots can keep us in traffic for over an hour, starting from Diamond Estate to General. And this is the only road, no alternative. Sometimes, if you want to pass through, inside the street, they will lock their gate; they don’t allow bus drivers to pass. So we don’t have a choice, we have to be on the road.

“Normally, we make five trips daily. Now we barely do three. When it rains, and your bus breaks down in the water. You will have to pay people to push the vehicle out of the flood,” he added.

Another bus operator, Ibrahim, said the waste bin site near the roadside worsens the problem.

He said, “Those LAWMA trucks block the road, and the bins block the gutter. That’s why the water doesn’t flow. And on days when rain falls and it gets flooded, it will affect our vehicle in so many ways. First, the shafts, the ball joints, the kick, and one’s timing, and our transport bus don’t like erosion.”

Despite repeated calls for attention, the road remains in a deplorable condition, turning what was once a busy commercial stretch into a traffic-ridden eyesore that continues to frustrate both motorists and residents.

When contacted on Sunday, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Adeshina Odunuga, said the ministry would take necessary action once a formal request is received.

“I can assure you that if you are complaining about a bad section of a road, a letter should be written to the ministry, and the road will be repaired. That is how it is being done in the ministry,” Odunuga said.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said his comments on the role of President Muhammadu Buhari in Boko Haram crisis was misrepresented.

Jonathan said this while responding to the backlash which trailed his speech at the book launch of former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lucky Irabor.

In a statement signed by Ikechukwu Eze, his spokesman, Jonathan said, “The attention of the Office of Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has been drawn to misleading reports circulating in sections of the media suggesting that Dr. Jonathan alleged that Boko Haram nominated the late President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to represent them in dialogue with the Federal Government, and therefore this made him somehow complicit in the Boko Haram crisis.

“We wish to make it abundantly clear that the former President’s comments were grossly misrepresented. At no time did Dr. Jonathan suggest, imply, or insinuate that President Buhari had any connection with Boko Haram or that he supported the group in any form.

“Dr. Jonathan’s remarks, made in the course of a broader discussion on Nigeria’s security challenges, were meant to illustrate the deviousness and manipulative strategies employed by Boko Haram in their early years.

“His reference was to a well-documented episode when various individuals and factions falsely claimed to represent the terrorist group and purported to name prominent Nigerians as possible mediators: without those individuals’ knowledge or consent.

“The point Dr. Jonathan sought to make was that Boko Haram, in its characteristic deceit, often invoked the names of respected public figures to sow confusion, exploit political divisions, and undermine public confidence in government. His comments were therefore an illustration of the group’s duplicity, not an accusation against the late former president or any individual for that matter.

“The former president’s position was that if indeed Buhari was their choice negotiator, why didn’t Boko Haram expeditiously bring their evil terrorist agenda to an end when the retired General became president?

“For the avoidance of doubt, Dr. Jonathan recognizes that President Muhammadu Buhari, like every patriotic Nigerian, stood firmly against terrorism and was himself a target of Boko Haram violence. Both men, during their respective tenures, shared a common commitment to restoring peace and stability to Nigeria.

“The Office of the Former President therefore urges the public to disregard any misinterpretation of his remarks. Dr. Jonathan remains committed to peace, unity, and the strengthening of democratic values in Nigeria. He believes that the nation’s progress depends on a truthful understanding of its challenges, not on the distortion of facts for political or sensational purposes.”

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has warned that millions of citizens are still grappling with hunger, insecurity, and joblessness despite ongoing reforms, stressing that true progress must go beyond economic statistics to tangible relief in households across the country.

In a statement signed by Archbishop Daniel Okoh, President of CAN, to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary, the apex Christian body congratulated the nation on its milestone but urged leaders to prioritise policies that deliver food security, protection of lives, and opportunities for young people.

“True progress must be measured not only by statistics but by the food on every table, the security of every community, and the opportunities available to every child,” Archbishop Okoh said.

CAN acknowledged that Nigeria has recorded notable growth in education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, and telecommunications since independence.

It recalled that from a handful of schools and institutions in 1960, the country now boasts thousands, producing generations of young men and women shaping the nation’s future.

However, the association stressed that the ‘unfinished’ business of nation-building is being undermined by rising costs of living, food insecurity, unemployment, and inflation.

“We pray that God will grant our leaders the wisdom, courage, and strength to drive the reforms to a point where Nigerians will rejoice, and may He protect them from sycophants who do not mean well for our nation,” Archbishop Okoh added.

On security, CAN lamented that terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal conflicts have inflicted deep pain on citizens and displaced families across the country.

“While strides have been made in restoring safety, more still needs to be done to guarantee the protection of lives and property,” CAN said, urging sustained collaboration between security agencies, communities, and faith-based organisations to consolidate peace.

Turning to the role of young people, CAN described them as Nigeria’s greatest asset but warned against the persistent brain drain that robs the country of its brightest minds.


“Nigeria must create the enabling environment that encourages its citizens, especially the youth, to stay, thrive, and contribute meaningfully to national development,” the association said, calling for sustained investment in education, innovation, and youth empowerment.

The body also appealed to leaders and citizens to rise above ethnic, religious, and political divides, insisting that national challenges can be overcome through collective sacrifice, patriotism, and trust in God.

“On this anniversary, let us renew our commitment to justice, equity, and good governance. Let us embrace hard work, pay our taxes faithfully, support local production, and show love to one another as one people under God,” Archbishop Okoh said.

CAN expressed optimism that with God’s help and the determination of citizens, the country can achieve unity and prosperity.

“The dawn of a new Nigeria is possible. With God’s help and our shared determination, we shall build a nation where peace, prosperity, and unity flourish for generations to come,” Archbishop Okoh added.