₦airaland Forum

Nigeria’s leading DNA centre, Smart DNA, has released its 2025 Annual DNA Testing Report, highlighting a surge in immigration-related DNA cases amid the country’s ongoing “Japa” wave, while paternity disputes remain a persistent concern.

According to the report, released on Sunday in Lagos, immigration-related DNA testing rose sharply to 13.1 per cent of all cases between July 2024 and June 2025, a trend driven by families seeking documentation for relocation abroad.

“The increase reflects the growing number of dual-citizenship families securing foreign papers for their children, often as ‘second passport’ insurance,” the centre noted.

The report also shows that Nigeria’s paternity exclusion rate remains at 25 per cent, meaning one in four presumed fathers tested are not the biological parents of the children in question. Though slightly lower than the 27 per cent recorded in 2024, the figure underscores the scale of uncertainty in family structures.

Findings further revealed that firstborn children are most affected by paternity discrepancies, with firstborn sons accounting for 64 per cent of negative results.

The study also pointed to a striking gender divide in DNA test initiations: men requested nearly 90 per cent of paternity tests, compared to just 11.8 per cent initiated by women.

Smart DNA’s Operations Manager, Elizabeth Digia, called for urgent interventions through legal reform, healthcare integration, and public education.

“Nigeria lacks specific paternity fraud laws, unlike South Africa, leaving men with little legal recourse after years of financial responsibility for children proven not to be theirs,” she said.

Digia urged that DNA testing be integrated into family health programs and premarital counselling, stressing that misconceptions still fuel mistrust.

“Many believe DNA testing is only for wealthy families or assume physical resemblance guarantees paternity. Our role is to provide certainty through accurate testing while encouraging sensitive handling of this life-changing information,” she added.

The centre concluded that the data paints a troubling picture of family trust, identity, and the socio-economic pressures shaping Nigerian households today.

By Farooq A. Kperogi

If the whispers from the smoke-filled inner rooms of northern political conclaves are to be believed, former President Goodluck Jonathan is being courted to return to the ring for the 2027 presidential bout. He may or may not be persuaded.

It is an irony too rich for fiction: some of the same northern political personages who orchestrated Jonathan’s ouster in 2015 now seek his resurrection for their own self-interested political salvation. Nigerian politics, as I’ve said before, is a theatre of paradoxes, with actors whose alliances are often dictated by the weather vane of self-preservation.

Contrary to popular misconception, which I also was once guilty of, Jonathan is not constitutionally barred from running for president in 2027. The 2017 constitutional amendment, which forbids anyone from taking the presidential oath more than twice, is not retroactive.

Jonathan’s tenure began in 2010 when he completed the remaining two years of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s term, then won election in 2011 before losing his re-election bid in 2015. The amendment came two years after his defeat. In law and logic, it does not apply to him.

Why the North is Wooing Jonathan

Northern political strategists are reading the national mood and seeing a path to reclaim power in 2031 without fracturing Nigeria’s fragile regional equilibrium. The consensus in the political weather forecast is that the South is entitled to eight uninterrupted years after Muhammadu Buhari’s northern presidency ended in 2023.

But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s stewardship has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many northern power brokers. They suspect that, if given a second term, Tinubu will completely erode their political foothold in the federation’s power structures.

Faced with this, the North has two options. The first is to gamble on a formidable northern candidate, likely in alliance with the Southeast.

But Peter Obi remains a towering figure in the Southeast, and the dominant temperament in his political homeland is uncompromising: Obi as president or nothing. The thought of him playing deputy to a northerner is as politically palatable there as vinegar in palm wine.

Even if Obi doesn’t run for president in 2027 (because he seems to have no firm political base at the moment and might not have one even in 2027), it is doubtful that any other politician from the Southeast who is paired with a strong northern politician can produce a powerful counterweight to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The second, and far less risky, option is to back a southerner who is constitutionally shackled to a single term. This would guarantee a northern return to power by 2031.

Peter Obi’s public pledge to serve only one term if elected is seen as an empty promise born out of desperation. Power is intoxicating. Only few people have risen superior to its snares and allures.

Nigerian political history is littered with broken “gentleman’s agreements,” and Obi himself once swore eternal allegiance to APGA before defecting first to the PDP, then to the Labor Party, and most recently, to the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Power has a way of making even the sincerest pledges evaporate in the heat of incumbency and the joys of its perks and privileges. Northern politicians know this better than anyone.

Jonathan, however, is a different proposition. The constitution limits him to just one more term. For the North, he is the perfect political bridge. He is a southern Christian who is familiar with the rigors of the presidency but who is ineligible to seek a second term.

The Ironic Embrace

There is, of course, delightful irony in this potential alliance, as I pointed out before. Many members of the same cabal that hounded Jonathan out of Aso Rock in 2015 now court him for the sake of their own political continuity.

But the history of the Third Republic teaches us that northern political elites rarely sustain cordiality with the southern presidents they help enthrone. Both Olusegun Obasanjo and Bola Ahmed Tinubu can attest to that.

If Jonathan returns on northern wings, the question is not whether there will be turbulence, but how soon it will begin.

Jonathan’s Potential Nostalgia Vote

If Jonathan joins the 2027 race, his most potent asset may be that he’d benefit from what psychologists call rosy retrospection, which is the tendency for people to recall distant memories with undeservedly nostalgic feelings. Nigerians already romanticize the relative economic stability of Jonathan’s era, especially when contrasted with today’s spiraling costs of living.

Of course, this nostalgia ignores the economic reality that commodity prices would likely have risen under any administration, although we must admit that Tinubu’s double whammy of subsidy removal and naira devaluation precipitated the current never-before-seen cost-of-living crisis.

People wistfully recalling Jonathan’s years once similarly pined for Obasanjo’s. But in politics, perception trumps reality and feelings outweigh facts.

That said, there are some genuinely praiseworthy things Jonathan did when he was in power, which many of his critics, including me, acknowledge only with the benefit of hindsight. For instance, his willingness to back down from unpopular policies after sustained outcries and protests, which we took for granted but which none of his successors has replicated, has stood him out.

The Southern Christian Vote

Jonathan’s entry would inevitably erode Peter Obi’s grip on the non-Yoruba southern and northern Christian voters, the very coalition that made Obi the darling of the 2023 race. Both men draw from the same well.

In 2023, Obi’s religious identity became a salient electoral currency in a contest that was more religiously polarized than any since 1999. Obi was the only notable Christian candidate. Should both appear on the ballot, their shared base would most likely split.

Jonathan could also pick up a share of northern Muslim votes, especially if he is backed by influential northern figures.

That advantage, however, is not guaranteed. If Atiku Abubakar contests again, as he seems poised to, Jonathan’s northern Muslim support could evaporate or at least be whittled down significantly.

Meanwhile, Tinubu remains the immovable object in the Southwest. In my August 13, 2022, column titled “Tinubu and Obi Will Either Affirm or Destroy These Two Theories in 2023,” I observed that, “The most time-honored fixity in Nigerian electoral politics since independence is the certitude that the Yoruba electorate will always overwhelmingly vote for a Yoruba candidate in national elective contests in which other candidates are non-Yoruba.”

This proved true in 2023. If the political pulse I feel from the Southwest is a reliable indicator of the potential voting behavior of the electorate of the region in 2027, Tinubu would win even more votes from the region than he did in 2023. Of course, many voters from the region won’t vote for him, but he is likely to have an enormously commanding lead there, nonetheless.

A Likely Runoff

If Tinubu, Jonathan, Atiku, and Obi all contest, 2027 may become an electoral war of ethno-regional echo chambers, decided by razor-thin margins, in more ways than the 2023 election was.

The constitutional requirement for victory, which is 25% of the vote in at least 24 states plus the FCT, would be a high hurdle in such a fragmented field. A runoff would be almost inevitable. Note that this prognosis assumes that the election would be free, fair, and transparent, which is never a guarantee.

If Jonathan does run and the election isn’t manipulated, he will redraw its map and force each major contender to recalibrate strategy. His candidacy would transform 2027 from a predictable two- or three-horse race into an unpredictable quadrangular brawl in which the past, the present, and the future of Nigeria’s presidency will all collide.

The Lagos State Police Command has launched a formal investigation into allegations that operatives from the Onikan Police Station Tactical Squad attempted to extort N3 million from a resident at gunpoint.

The complainant, identified on X (formerly Twitter) as Boluwatife (@Tife_badass), alleged that the incident occurred around 1 a.m. on Thursday while he and a friend were driving from Lekki to Victoria Island for an artiste’s event.

In a detailed account on social media, Boluwatife claimed that about five armed officers intercepted him near the Lekki–Ikoyi Link Bridge roundabout.

According to him, the officers cocked their rifles, forcibly removed him from the driver’s seat, and accused him of killing policemen in Lekki.

He alleged that he was handcuffed alongside his friend, placed in a police Hilux van, and taken to the station while officers drove his car separately.

At Onikan Police Station, he said, officers ordered him to remove his shirt, shoes, and socks in preparation for detention. They allegedly searched his car and documents but found nothing incriminating.

“Two hours later, they demanded N3 million,” he wrote. “I refused, and after more pressure, they reduced it to N500,000. They returned my phone, and I quickly contacted my people for help. Thankfully, I was rescued.”

Boluwatife also alleged that the officers threatened to frame him as a fraudster and cultist when he refused to comply, and even threatened to shoot him multiple times.

“I’m not shaken, but what about the common man who has nobody? They said all sorts of things to me. Ten police officers threatening you for no reason is just wild,” he wrote.

Reacting to the allegations on Thursday, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, stated on X that the state’s police leadership had ordered a full investigation.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, has summoned all the officers to the Command Headquarters in Ikeja and directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, to investigate the complaint. The public will be updated on the outcome,” Hundeyin said.

Oil marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have asked the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Bayo Ojulari, to either fix the Port Harcourt Refinery immediately or resign from his position.

The Eastern Zonal Secretary of IPMAN, Comrade Emmanuel Inimgba, in a statement on Wednesday, following the continued shutdown of the refinery.

He expressed concerns over the delayed rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, a project worth $1.5 billion, which he believes is being handled unprofessionally.

Daily Trust recalls that the refinery was shut down on May 24, 2025, for scheduled repairs of 30 days, but IPMAN said it’s now over 80 days without any significant activity.

Inimgba noted that the refinery’s shutdown has resulted in thousands of job losses, affecting tanker drivers, NUPENG members, PETROAN staff, IPMAN workers, and host community members.

He stated that fixing the refinery would create jobs, boost the local economy, improve fuel supply and distribution, increase government revenue, enhance energy security, and improve living standards for host community members.

Inimgba revealed that credible sources indicate contractors have withdrawn from the site due to lack of funds, and the NNPC GCEO has not visited the refinery in four months.

He stated that IPMAN has expressed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda.

He added: “If the GCEO is unable to fix the Port Harcourt Refinery or demonstrate commitment to its rehabilitation, stakeholders and host communities will have no option but to call on President Tinubu to consider replacing him.”

Similarly, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria had also reportedly accused the NNPC GCEO, Bayo Ojulari, of neglecting the revival of the Port Harcourt refinery.

PETROAN’s Zonal Chairman for System 2E (Eastern Zone), Sunny Nkpe, said in a statement that he was alarmed at the slow pace of work at the Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5), which was shut down on May 24, 2025, for a 30-day scheduled repair.

Nkpe said he visited the Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation site last weekend as part of his oversight for fact-finding and was worried to see “the slow pace of activity” at the site. Nkpe was said to have expressed concerns that Ojulari had yet to visit the facility since he assumed office as the GCEO.

The NNPC GCEO, Bayo Ojulari, had, about two weeks ago, at a company-wide town hall meeting, officially ruled out the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to completing high-grade rehabilitation and retention of the plant.

Ojulari had stated that his new position isn’t a shift but informed by ongoing detailed technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries.

He said the ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery prior to full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial, Ojulari said.

While progress is being made on all three, he said the emerging outlook calls for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and high-grade the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, thus selling is highly unlikely as it would lead to further value erosion.

We Run a Non-Partisan Mandate
“ If I am not condemned for investigating both former and serving strong ruling party Governors and Ministers, I should not be condemned for also investigating opposition figures

- EFCC Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede

The African Democratic Congress, ADC’s unprovoked attack on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, concerning its handling of cases involving politically exposed persons from every divide, came as a rude shock and unwarranted blame game.

Every objective and discerning watcher of events in the national political scene, would admit that the Commission has been circumspect and dispassionate in the exercise of its mandate.

The ADC’s claims that “Opposition Coalition have received EFCC summons that are clearly politically motivated. These are not fresh cases arising from new evidence but new files opened in reaction to emergent political affiliations to intimidate key opposition figures”, are clearly self-serving, diversionary, narrow and idle. The question is, what determines “fresh cases” and old cases? Every corruption allegation deserves to be investigated and there is no constraint of time and season in criminal investigations.

Available records in our courts showed that several political figures of all divide are answering charges of alleged economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption. It is also public knowledge that the EFCC is busy investigating some key figures of the ruling party owing to allegations of corrupt practices. Besides, many serving state governors of various political colouration are on the investigative radar of the Commission. The Commission will not be blackmailed into making full disclosures of its discreet investigations of any state or non-state actor, no matter the provocation.

The ADC was right to have admitted that “The EFCC does not belong to the APC. It belongs to the Nigerian people. It is funded by taxpayers, not the ruling party.'' Nothing can be farther from this truth.

The ADC and other political groups should focus on their partisan activities and allow the Commission to carry out her mandate. Nothing will make an innocent person answer any charge from the EFCC. The “opposition figures” the ADC is trying unsuccessfully to white-wash know in their hearts that they have issues that necessitated their invitations by the Commission. The immunity against any investigation by the EFCC is accountability and probity. Fraud is fraud. Corruption is corruption. There is no sacred cow, protected interest or partisan consideration in the investigation and prosecution of corruption.

The EFCC will continue to do its job and all well-meaning Nigerians are enjoined to ignore political statements meant to heat up the polity and divert attention from the pillage of the national treasury.

The Northern Forum of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) says only four out of 19 northern states have complied with the federal government’s directive to pay ₦32,000 minimum monthly pension.

Speaking during the forum’s zonal meeting in Kaduna State, the NUP Chairman, Comrade Mohammed Sali, described the situation as “deeply unfair” to elderly citizens who had dedicated decades of service to the nation.

“Only four states now are paying this minimum of ₦32,000 out of 19. Many states are still paying as little as ₦3,000, ₦4,000, or ₦5,000, which is very wrong,” Sali said.

He stressed that the forum would adopt dialogue rather than confrontation in pushing states to comply.

“We are not confronting any state. Confrontation is beyond our age. We are your fathers; do you want to see your fathers running on the street from tear gas? We will go from one state to another in dialogue,” he stated.

Sali disclosed that Adamawa State is already on the verge of implementing the ₦32,000 minimum pension.

“Our governor has set up a technical committee, and they have finished their work. We are only waiting for his approval to start the payment,” he said.

The forum’s Secretary, Alhassan Balarabe Musa, also condemned the disparity between the pensions of retirees and the benefits enjoyed by politicians.

“If a politician, after just four or eight years, receives huge benefits, what of the pensioner who served for 35 years or more? Some states like Taraba pay ₦3,000, Katsina ₦5,000, Zamfara the same. It is very unfortunate,” Musa lamented.

He noted that Kaduna State remains the only state in the Northwest paying ₦30,000 but urged Governor Uba Sani to raise it to ₦32,000 in line with the federal directive.

The forum vowed to intensify consultations until all states in the region comply with the ₦32,000 minimum pension standard.

Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against being demoted from the Europa League and will play in the Conference League this season.

The ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) also means Nottingham Forest's spot in the Europa League is confirmed, having been promoted in Palace's place.

The Eagles qualified for the Europa League after winning the FA Cup last season but were punished by Uefa for breaching multi-club ownership rules.

American businessman John Textor owned a 43% stake in the club until he sold it in June and is the majority owner of Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.

Palace had until 1 March 2025 to show Uefa proof of multi-club ownership restructuring, but the club missed that deadline.

In July, Palace submitted an appeal to Cas against Uefa - which issued the punishment - as well as Lyon and Nottingham Forest.

In the ruling, Cas said:

Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as Palace claimed.

Textor still had decisive influence over both clubs at the time of Uefa's assessment date.

The panel also dismissed Palace's argument that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and Lyon.

Uefa rules state clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European tournament.

Palace argued Textor does not hold any decisive influence at the club, but Uefa did not accept the Premier League side's defence.

Palace will face either Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Midtjylland of Denmark in the Conference League play-off round later this month.

How did we get here?
17 May - Palace beat Manchester City in FA Cup final to secure place in Europa League

10 June - Forest express concerns over Palace's Europa League place and ask Uefa for clarity

23 June - Textor sells 43% stake in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson

30 June - Textor resigns from leadership position on board at Lyon

11 July - Uefa rule Palace should be demoted to Conference League

22 July - Palace submit appeal to Cas against demotion from Europa League

8 August - Cas appeal hearing begins

The management of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library has condemned the invasion of its premises around 2 am on Sunday by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Our correspondent learnt that the stringent operation made a lot of people in a private gathering within the sprawling complex sustain injuries as they scampered for safety

The armed men, said to have been led by one Olapade, were said to have engaged in sporadic shooting and threatened to kill the people met on the premises.

The management of OOPL in a statement on Sunday made available to journalists by its Managing Director, Mr Vitalis Ortese, described this sting operation as claimed by the EFCC as a blatant disrespect to the people’s fundamental rights as well as the rights of the OOPL as a corporate citizen.

The management insisted that it was needless for the anti-graft agency to have behaved in such a primitive way because the organiser of the private event had police officers on the ground, while additional officers were equally sent in from the Kemta Police Station, Abeokuta, with none of the officers having prior knowledge of the EFCC raid.

The management has therefore demanded an explanation for this night raid as well as a due apology to a lot of people whose rights were not only trampled upon but also sustained varying degrees of injuries during the alleged unlawful raid.

The management stated that it will not hesitate to seek legal redress and applicable sanctions against the anti-graft agency if it fails to tender its unreserved apology over this hurtful incident.


The statement partly reads “The invasion, led by one “Olapade’, caused serious panic and chaos, leading to serious injuries among
participants trying to escape the shooting and the carnage that resulted, and causing terror among residents on the site.

“On inquiry by phone, the “Olapade” informed the Managing Director of the OOPL establishment, Mr. Vitalis Ortese, that they were acting on an intelligence about a private event in the amusement facility of the complex.


“They also informed management that the police have been duly informed of the operation.

“It should be noted that the event was a private event that had been widely advertised to members of the public for days prior.

“It should also be noted that both the police officers stationed at the OOPL gates and the additional police sent from the Kemta Police Station, as requested by the organisers of the event and management, stated that they were not informed of any planned operation by the EFCC, and neither did they present any warrant.

“And when the armed men were accosted by OOPL security and assisting police officers, they simply retorted, “We are doing our job”.

“The Management wishes to state that this action by the EFCC is a clear case of invasion of private property, infringement of OOPL rights as corporate citizens, and indeed a stark and blatant violation of the rights of the people who so gathered for the event.


“The Management has commenced its Investigations of the invasion and will take up the matter with the highest authorities, including the EFCC, the police, and the Department of State Security.

“In the meantime, management demands an explanation of these impudent actions from the commission and an apology from the EFCC authorities for the infringement of its rights, to all those who gathered, and those who sustained serious injuries from the gangster like induced chaos.

“Failure for which the management will be compelled to seek redress and sanctions as appropriate”.

Many internally displaced persons (IDPs) had initially expressed gratitude for the intervention before the revelations emerged.

Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has expressed outrage over the distribution of rotten and expired food items to residents displaced by recent flooding, vowing to identify and punish all officials or suppliers involved.

On Sunday, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Iliya James, said the governor’s anger was sparked by a viral video showing displaced families holding sacks of pasta and rice emitting foul odours and bearing long-expired dates.

The incident comes just days after the state government distributed relief materials — including food items — to survivors of the flood, which claimed 25 lives and destroyed property worth millions of naira.

Many internally displaced persons (IDPs) had initially expressed gratitude for the intervention before the revelations emerged.

Video file

“This is quite strange because when the food distribution started, I was there personally, I participated in the supervision — I saw very healthy and good food,” James said, expressing disbelief.

“What has happened is shameful and unacceptable. The governor will ensure that no one who played a role in this escapes punishment,” he said.

Investigations are now zeroing in on the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Humanitarian Services, as well as the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA).

The scandal erupted on August 9, 2025, when victims revealed that some relief supplies had expired months — even years — before being handed out.

Health experts warn the tainted food could cause mass food poisoning, severe stomach infections, and other deadly complications.

Humanitarian workers and rights advocates have [quote]condemned the act as “criminal negligence” and “an insult to victims’ dignity,” calling for the prosecution of every official or contractor implicated.

Civil society groups say the fiasco exposes a dangerous rot in Adamawa’s relief supply chain and are pushing for sweeping reforms, including rigorous inspection protocols, transparent procurement processes, and hotlines for aid recipients to report unsafe items.

For victims, the outrage is raw.

“We lost everything to the flood,” one resident said bitterly. “Now they want to kill us with poison in the name of help.”

Adamawa Flood Victims Lament Receiving Expired, Rotten Food As Governor Fintiri Vows Probe, Punishment | Sahara Reporters https://t.co/MurZilLbp6 pic.twitter.com/c0kXJqRts1

— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) August 10, 2025

When we wanted Jonathan out of office, I bought 150 computers and gave them to 150 youths. I also bought 150 chairs and 150 tables and gave it to them to be insulting anybody that attacks Buhari. If you insult Buhari, they will insult your grandfather, great grandfather and so on. If it's now I can also employ about 500 or even 1000 unemployed youths but ....

ABEOKUTA — Human Rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, yesterday lamented that politics in Nigeria is now in the hands of criminals and touts, who care little about investing in the country’s economic prosperity and the well-being of its citizens.

He equally decried what he described as bad governance and sheer infrastructural decay in the Southwest, stressing that governors in the region have not done enough to tackle poverty.

Falana, who stated this while making his submission as a member of the panel at the 2025 National Conference of Egbe Amofin Oodua held in Abeokuta with the theme ‘Regional Justice, Security and Sustainable Development’, said the governors failed to prioritise selfless service over personal aggrandisement.

He said: “During the days of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, politics was in the hands of the intellectuals, but today, politics is in the hands of criminals and touts who are less concerned about investing in the economic prosperity of the country and the well-being of the citizens.”

The legal luminary, who faulted Governor Seyi Makinde’s decision to spend N63bn on the rehabilitation of the Government House, described it as reckless spending of public funds that should have been put into better use to uplift infrastructural development in the state.

Other members of the panel were Dr Wahab Shittu, SAN, Mrs Titilayo Akinlawon, SAN, Chief Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, as well as Mr Kayode Akinremi, Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Abeokuta branch.

The human rights lawyer noted that the South-West region may continue in its journey of retrogression except the political leaders, at the state and the local government levels, are honest to the people and make good governance and service to the people their focus.

He said: “We are always quick to shout about the misappropriation and reckless spending of public funds in Abuja, but in Lagos after spending N45bn to procure Jeeps (utility vehicles) in the first four years, the state House of Assembly is planning to spend another N20bn on purchase of another set of jeeps, yet the people are wallowing in poverty.

“Ikorodu has been submerged in the last three days, if it were to be abroad, they will be using helicopter to drop food for the victims, but what is being done for the people? Nothing.”

“Similarly, the governor of Oyo State, who comes to work from his house, now wants to rehabilitate government house with N63bn, the amount that is enough to provide good roads and electricity for the state.

“Our education is in bad shape, there is no South-West state today that is up to date in accessing the UBEC fund. There are 18.3m out of school children, including children from the South-West.

“Today, the roads in the Southwest are terrible. Infrastructurally, we are not there. Unfortunately, when they now want to flag off road that they will not even complete, you will see them making so much noise, doing ceremony; there is need for a rethink.”

While lamenting that touts have taken over Southwest states due to growing poverty, he said: “Area boys, touts have taken over the Southwest States. The area boys in Ekiti seem to be wild than those in Lagos. They are present from Lagos to Abeokuta and everywhere, including rural areas.

“Our children are no longer going to school. You can’t buy a piece of land now and enjoy peaceful possession. As yTOPou are laying the foundation, you will see them. When you want to roof the building, you will see them again. Go and look at the results of WAEC now, two years ago, Ekiti came 28, one year, Oyo and Osun came 28 and 27 positions respectfully. What is happening to us in the Southwest?

“Our children now run to miracle centres, the children are not going to schools again, only children of the privileged few are going to school because of poverty, yet the commonwealth of our region is being privatised right before our eyes.”

Falana charged lawyers to stand up and make our political leaders accountable to the people, even if they will have to drag them before the Court of law

He said: “For the 2025 budget, Senators and members of House of Representatives inserted 11,000 constituency projects valued at N6.9trn, as lawyers you must do more than sitting and watching, ask these lawmakers where the projects are cited and if they are not giving satisfactory answers, take them to court.”

In his keynote address, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, urged the lawyers to continue to uphold rule of law and advance the course of justice, fairness and equity in the region.

President Bola Tinubu has directed the expedited rollout of the free healthcare access initiative for low-income retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, describing it as a critical component of social protection and dignity in retirement.

This was disclosed in a press statement on Wednesday signed by the Special Adviser to the President, Bayo Onanuga.

Onanuga said the President gave the directives after receiving a briefing from the Director General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran.

Tinubu also called for the prompt implementation of long-overdue pension increases and a minimum pension guarantee, which would provide a safety net for the most vulnerable pensioners under the CPS.

The statement read, “President Tinubu further mandated the PenCom DG to urgently resolve the longstanding police pension issue, emphasising that members of the police force who serve and protect the nation deserve to retire with dignity and peace of mind.

“The DG also briefed the President on ongoing efforts to ensure the value preservation of pension fund assets, especially in the face of inflation and macroeconomic pressures, as well as plans to introduce foreign currency contributions to enable Nigerians in the diaspora to participate in the pension system

“President Tinubu strongly supported the reforms, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to inclusive growth and protection for ordinary Nigerians.

“During the briefing, the DG updated the President on a suite of transformative pension initiatives to enhance retiree welfare and expand the Pension Scheme’s reach.”

Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has described the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a party full of sprinters.


Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Tuesday, Lamido, who was present at the launch of the ADC in July, said he’s still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, saying he can’t leave a big party for a small one.

He, however, advised presidential hopefuls in the ADC to slow down and be more circumspect about how they run for the 2027 presidential race.

Lamido made this statement amid the ongoing political debate about Peter Obi’s pledge to serve for four years if given the opportunity to lead the country.

Recall that barely 24 hours after the launch of the party, former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, declared his ambition for the 2027 presidential election.

Although former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has not officially announced his interest in the 2027 presidential contest, it is speculated that the former PDP chieftain is prepping for the 2027 race.

While conversations about the ADC have largely been reduced to the ambitions of some party leaders, Lamido advised the presidential hopefuls to ‘slow down’ and focus on a strategy that will help them defeat the ruling APC in 2027.

“Let them look inward and keep connecting with people quietly so that by the time they come out in full force the energy will be there. I think there are too much rushing, there are too many sprinters there, they should slow down and look at issues in a deeper way…so that they will be able to remove this cancer called APC,” he said.

Petroleum product marketers and retailers are trading blame as the premium motor spirit pump price nears N1,000 per litre in Nigeria.

On Monday, DAILY POST reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets across the country increased fuel prices.

In Abuja, Nasarawa, and Kogi states, the NNPCL petrol pump price jumped by N65 per litre to N955 per litre on Monday from N890 dispensed at the weekend. This means that in the last 48 hours, Nigerians have had to spend more to purchase fuel nationwide.

The development comes after DAILY POST exclusively announced that filling stations such as Ranoil, AA Rano, Shema, Empire Energy, Optima, and other petroleum product marketers adjusted their fuel pump price at the weekend to between N950 and N971 per litre in Abuja.

DAILY POST reports that Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped to $68.70 and $66.24 per barrel as of the time of filing the report.

IPMAN, PETROAN give reasons for fuel price increase

The latest fuel price hike in Nigeria has been blamed on several reasons, including the fall in global crude oil price, the exchange rate, the Dangote Refinery, and the Depot Owners petrol ex-depot price increase.

While the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria blamed the exchange rate for the latest fuel price hike, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria blamed Dangote Refinery’s pricing system.

The spokesman of IPMAN and the National President of PETROAN, Chinedu Ukadike and Billy Gillis-Harry, respectively, made these perspectives known in separate interviews on Monday.

Ukadike partly attributed the recent fuel price hike to forces of demand and supply in a deregulated downstream oil industry.

He noted that the latest price adjustment is not unconnected to price reviews at petrol depots and the Dangote Refinery.

“Fuel prices went up due to forces of demand and supply.

“Supplying Depots and Dangote Refinery have increased their ex-depot petrol prices.

“The cost of the Dollar is the reason for the price hike for depot owners.

“For Dangote Refinery, I can’t say categorically, but it may not be unconnected to the price of crude oil; you know the plant imports the bulk of its crude oil.

“As of Friday, Dangote Refinery is N858 per litre, NIPCO (N870), Aiteo (855), and Ranoil (N865),” he told DAILY POST.

On his part, Gillis-Harry blamed the Dangote Refinery pricing mechanism for the latest fuel price hike.

“We should be looking at proper fuel pricing because what the Dangote Refinery is doing is not proper pricing,” he told DAILY POST.

Some ex-soldiers of the Nigerian Army who voluntarily disengaged in the third and fourth quarters of 2023 staged a peaceful protest on Monday in front of the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja, demanding the immediate payment of their outstanding entitlements.

The aggrieved ex-servicemen, who officially left the military on July 1, 2024, carried banners listing their demands, which include: complete payment of gratuity and Salary Deductions Allowance (SDA) based on the new national minimum wage, payment of housing scheme contributions, payment of NAWIS/BenFund, and settlement of their packing allowance.

The protesters, many of whom said they had served the country diligently for years, expressed frustration over the delay, describing it as unfair treatment after years of service.

“We have fulfilled our part by serving this country faithfully. Now, it is the government’s duty to honour its promise and pay what is due to us,” one of the protesters said.

As of the time of filing this report, officials at the Ministry of Finance had yet to address the protesters.