In a charged political atmosphere where defections have become a recurring script, one voice is cutting through the noise with a firm reminder of loyalty and legacy. Earl Osaro Onaiwu, respected political strategist and founding Director-General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, has sent a clear and stirring message to Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri: Don’t let history judge you wrongly. Amid growing rumours of a potential move to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Onaiwu has warned that such a step would amount to not just a political misstep, but a personal betrayal of the very platform that nurtured Diri’s…
Author: National Update
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has launched a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme aimed at supporting over 13,000 adolescent girls in secondary school, under the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project. Speaking at the flag-off ceremony held at the Government House in Lokoja, Governor Ododo reaffirmed his administration’s resolve to prioritize education and empowerment, particularly for women and girls. “This project is not just about financial assistance—it is a deliberate investment in our girls, our communities, and our future,” the Governor said. The initiative will see each beneficiary receive ₦40,000 to help ease the cost of…
**Canvasses for collective, strategic interventions in tackling crises By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja Publisher of Premium Times and CEO of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Dapo Olorunyomi, has called for strategic interventions in tackling the current Local Media crisis for sustainability of democratic culture in Nigeria. Olorunyomi made the call in a lecture at the Federal University Lokoja (FUL) 19th Distinguished Public Lecture on the topic: “Local Media In The Making of a Democratic Culture”, in Lokoja Olorunyomi said well governed communities and societies remain the proper province of journalism hence the pivotal premise of the Media in…
By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse The Federal Government has approved the sum of ₦1 billion for the commencement of construction of a Police Training Institute in Kafin Hausa Local Government Area of Jigawa State. This was revealed by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Abdulhamid Ahmed Malam Madori, during the Jigawa State Government Citizen Engagement Programme (JSGCEP) held in Kafin Hausa. Senator Madori, who represents Jigawa Northeast Senatorial District, stated that the amount was included and approved in the 2025 federal budget. He noted that the Senate has already passed the legislation establishing the training institute, and…
By Ehichioya Ezomon When you talk too much, there’s a tendency to talk yourself into trouble! Likewise, when you point one or two fingers at your enemy, the other three or four fingers will point at you! This is a universal truism that’s roped in one of the promoters of the Coalition of Opposition Politicians (COP) and a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation. It’s the second time – if not more – in two months that Amaechi would cut his nose to spite his face – all…
It was a quiet death that nobody celebrated. In 2015, the halls of the College of Medical Sciences at Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU), Anyigba, once filled with the hopeful chatter of future doctors, fell into silence. What began in 2012 with promise and excitement—the accreditation of the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme—was abruptly brought to a halt just three years later. A damning resource verification exercise by the National Universities Commission (NUC) exposed infrastructural and academic inadequacies too grave to ignore. The programme was de-accredited, and medical dreams were put on pause. “It was heartbreaking,” recalls…
At a time when Nigeria grapples with mounting economic pressure, deepening insecurity, and increasing public disillusionment with central governance, a different narrative is quietly unfolding across several states—one of focused, people-driven leadership led by governors under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Earl Osaro Onaiwu, former Director-General of the PDP Governors’ Forum and long-time advocate of subnational governance reform, drew national attention to this emerging contrast in a statement on Sunday, applauding PDP governors for what he described as “transformational and people-centred governance” amidst daunting political and fiscal challenges. “They are not just building roads—they are building hope.…
***Demands N300m Compensation, Public Apology An Abuja-based legal practitioner, Jacob Solomon Agada, has petitioned the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar, over the alleged unlawful arrest, detention, and brutal assault of his client’s workers by personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), in connection with a civil land dispute currently pending before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In the petition dated July 25, 2025, and received at the Office of the Chief of Air Staff the same day, Agada accused Flight Lieutenant Hussein Habib Denja, the Provost Officer at the Nigeria Air Force…
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Sports (NIS), H.E. Comrade Philip Shaibu, has congratulated the Super Falcons for their heroic triumph over Morocco in the final of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). Describing the win as “Mission X accomplished,” Shaibu praised the team’s determination, skill, and fighting spirit, which saw them come from behind to defeat the host nation 3–2 in a breathtaking showdown at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. A passionate supporter of Nigerian sports, Shaibu—who fulfilled his pledge to travel to Morocco and support the team from…
What began as a routine journey to the bustling Saturday market in Zumba turned tragic on Saturday afternoon, as a wooden passenger boat capsized in River Shiroro, Niger State, leaving several feared dead. The boat, which took off from Guni—a riverine community in Munya Local Government Area—was carrying dozens of passengers and goods when disaster struck around 2:30 p.m. Eyewitnesses say the vessel collided with a submerged tree and split in two, plunging its occupants into the river’s depths. The victims, mostly women and children, were on their way to trade and shop at the Zumba market when the incident…