A group of influential Nigerian businessmen and corporate executives have come together under the Circle of Friends Forum to promote friendship, fellowship and philanthropy. The group brings together successful men from different sectors, including banking, oil and gas, power, maritime, real estate, hospitality, engineering and automobile businesses. Coordinated by Earl Osaro Onaiwu, the Forum comprises business leaders who have built successful careers and companies in their respective industries. Among its members are Gabriel Ogbechie, founder of Rainoil Limited; Dr. Leemon Ikpea, founder and chairman of Lee Engineering Group; Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group; and Chief Julius…
Author: National Update
*””Security agencies say operations continue to find the remaining captives Three of six Islamic clerics kidnapped in Zamfara State have been rescued, security agencies said, while three others remain in the hands of their abductors. The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force carried out the operation. A senior security operative in Gusau said the clerics were recovered unhurt after an intelligence-led operation. The six men were abducted on September 12, 2026, at about 11:30 a.m. on the Dakko-Damri feeder road near Sububu Forest in Bakura Local Government Area,…
By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse The North has declared its readiness to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, with a senior APC campaign official arguing that the President’s second-term ambition is tied to an earlier political understanding between the North and South-West. Chief of Staff to the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Hon. Magaji Da’u Aliyu, said the North-West and the wider Arewa region were prepared to reciprocate the South-West’s support for former President Muhammadu Buhari by backing Tinubu for a second term. Aliyu, who is also Deputy Director, North-West, Tinubu Support Group (TSG), made the declaration while…
African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has escalated pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publicly identify officials responsible for the inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated images in Nigeria’s voter register. Speaking through Phrank Shaibu, ADC’s Director of Strategic Communication, Atiku described INEC’s admission that registration officers introduced irregularities—including AI-created photographs—into the voter database as a serious breach of public trust. He called the situation a “catastrophic failure” that undermines the foundation of Nigeria’s electoral process. Atiku highlighted the gravity of the issue by comparing INEC’s compromised database to the relatively more secure…
Enugu has declared its readiness to host the nation as the 23rd National Sports Festival, tagged Enugu 2026, prepares to kick off on November 28, following a positive assessment of venues, facilities and logistics by technical officials. Athletes and officials from across the country are expected to arrive on November 26, ahead of the opening ceremony scheduled for November 28 at the main bowl of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu. Director-General of the National Sports Commission and Chairman of the Main Organising Committee, Hon. Bukola Olopade, announced the schedule during a joint technical meeting involving state directors of sports, federation…
Barely 48 hours after leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Jonathan Vatsa has been handed two key roles in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship campaign in Niger State. The party’s candidate, Mohammed Ndarani Mohammed (SAN), has named the former commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism as Spokesperson and Director, Contacts and Mobilisation of his 2027 campaign council. The appointment takes effect immediately, according to a letter signed by Ndarani. A copy was made available to newsmen in Minna on Friday. Vatsa, the APC’s pioneer publicity secretary in the state, defected on Wednesday with more than 200 supporters, two…
By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko For decades, Nigeria has had a peculiar economic problem: it has had enormous opportunities but has struggled to mobilise the capital required to convert those opportunities into sustain entrepreneurial class, a growing technology ecosystem and businesses with ambitions beyond its borders. Yet the financing of these opportunities has remained heavily dependent on government revenue, bank lending and external borrowing. That is why the transformation of Nigeria’s capital market deserves to be viewed as an economic development story rather than simply a financial-sector story. At the centre of this transformation has been the Senate Committee on Capital…
Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu, spokesperson for NDC Kano governorship candidate Aminu Gwarzo, says the dispute over his principal’s name on INEC’s list has backfired on opponents and increased the party’s support base. In response to INEC’s decision to reinstate Gwarzo ahead of the 2027 governorship election, Shuaibu expressed confidence in the party’s adherence to electoral procedures, dismissing initial concerns over the omission as a temporary setback that was expected to be resolved. “We were not frightened because we followed all the laid-down procedures from party membership to the nomination process and submission of our candidate’s details,” he noted, emphasizing the party’s…
The Indepebdent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has admitted that some of its own registration officers planted suspected AI-generated photographs in the preliminary voter register, but admits it does not know why they did it. The commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, made the claim on Friday on Arise Television, after days of public anger over duplicate entries, suspected AI-generated photographs and the names of dead people on the register. He said the officers, who had login details to enrol eligible voters, abused that access to upload irregular records Social media users found duplicate entries, photographs that looked AI-generated…
More than 300 leaders and officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Albasu Local Government Area of Kano State have petitioned Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf. They accuse the council chairman and their lawmaker at the state assembly of backing a rival senatorial candidate ahead of the 2027 elections. The petitioners want the governor and the APC State Working Committee to investigate the local government chairman, Garba Aliyu Hungu, and Musa Tahir Hungu, who represents Albasu Constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly. At the centre of the dispute is Kasim Ibrahim Bataiya, the New Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate…