A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dele Momodu, has described the outcome of the Osun State governorship election as a major warning signal for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections. Momodu, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, argued that the election was not merely a defeat for the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, but a setback for President Bola Tinubu, whose name and political influence featured prominently in the party’s campaign. According to him, the result has demonstrated that voters may be increasingly willing to separate their choice of candidates from…
Author: National Update
By Douglas Baye-Osagie The choice of words by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike after the Osun election is disturbing. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the place of power in a democracy. Wike in a press conference said that if President Tinubu had wanted to win Osun “at all costs”, he would have been involved and that Adeleke’s victory showed the Federal Government did not use its influence to manipulate the election. He — and indeed, not even the President — has the power to determine the outcomes of elections. That power resides solely with the people. To suggest otherwise…
The sheer scale of activity inside Nigeria’s National Assembly has been laid bare, with the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, revealing that more than 14,000 personnel work within the complex every day, excluding lawmakers and visitors. The disclosure offers a glimpse into the enormous administrative machinery behind Nigeria’s federal legislature, where 469 lawmakers operate alongside thousands of career civil servants and legislative aides. Ogunlana made the revelation on Tuesday at the final phase of a capacity-building programme for legislative aides to members of the 10th National Assembly. According to the Clerk, the volume of activity at the complex…
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has opened a fresh front in the battle over Nigeria’s soaring cement prices, questioning why a country with vast limestone deposits and enough installed production capacity to meet domestic demand continues to sell cement at significantly higher prices than some African countries. The commission said a three-month cross-border investigation had uncovered preliminary evidence suggesting that prevailing cement prices in Nigeria may not be fully explained by normal market forces. Its findings have now triggered a deeper investigation into possible anti-competitive practices in one of the country’s most critical industries. The FCCPC’s Anticompetitive Practices…
Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has dragged Senate President Godswill Akpabio into the tense aftermath of the Osun State governorship election, alleging that the Senate President ordered a halt to the collation of results. Davido made the claim in a post on his verified X account on Saturday, as results from polling units across the state were being collated. “Senate President Akpabio has called the Collation Centre that they should stop collation,” the singer alleged. The claim immediately added another layer of political tension to an already closely watched election, coming at a time when the Independent…
Governor Monday Okpebholo[/caption]Afrobeats superstar David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has rejected calls to apologise to Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo over his decision to publish what he described as the governor’s WAEC result. Davido, speaking in an exclusive interview with News Central on Tuesday in Osun State, insisted that he had done nothing wrong and was only drawing public attention to the academic record of the Edo governor. “I’m not going to apologise. I didn’t do anything wrong,” the singer said. The controversy erupted after Okpebholo travelled to Osun State during the governorship campaign and took a swipe at…
Fear and grief have deepened across Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State following another deadly attack on Amper community, where more than 20 people, including women and children, are feared dead and several others remain missing. The attack, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday in BWI District, is the third reported violent incident in Mangu within one week, raising fresh concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the area. Residents said the attackers stormed the community while many people were asleep, leaving families devastated and forcing others to flee for safety. The Plateau State Police Command confirmed…
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has raised a question that goes beyond the outcome of the Osun governorship election: when does legitimate political mobilisation become an abuse of political power? His concern is not that political parties campaign, mobilise voters or deploy their structures during elections. Those are normal features of democracy. The alarm is over something potentially more consequential—the growing spectacle of serving governors, senior government officials, party leaders and heavily protected political entourages travelling into states holding off-cycle elections and effectively turning a local contest into a national display of political power. Jonathan believes Nigeria should stop and examine…
Abuja was conceived as a carefully planned capital—a city where residential districts, green areas, roads, drainage systems and natural waterways would function together as parts of an integrated urban system. Yet the latest flooding in Maitama Extension has exposed a disturbing contradiction at the heart of Abuja’s development story: a capital designed to control urban growth is increasingly struggling to control the powerful interests reshaping its landscape. The irony is difficult to miss. The Abuja Master Plan provides designated corridors through which stormwater is expected to flow. Green areas are intended to provide environmental buffers, while drainage networks are supposed…
By Livy-Elcon Emereonye There are men who simply live through their generation, and there are men whose lives become landmarks by which a generation measures itself. There are professionals who practise their professions, and there are those who stretch the boundaries of their professions until their influence touches business, industry, leadership, national development and society. Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, FPSN, FPCPharm, FNAPharm, MON, OFR, NPOM, belongs to that rare category. As he celebrates another birthday, we celebrate much more than the passing of another year. We celebrate a remarkable life of professional excellence, entrepreneurship, leadership, courage, wisdom, integrity and service. Mazi…