Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has criticised FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over his comment on the Osun governorship election. Wike had said that if President Bola Tinubu really wanted the APC to win Osun “at all costs,” he would have gone to the state and helped make it happen. Dalung said the comment was wrong because politicians cannot control voters. He recalled that Wike supported Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election while he was governor of Rivers State. Tinubu won Rivers with 231,591 votes out of 523,651 valid votes. Peter Obi got 175,071 votes, while Atiku Abubakar…
Author: National Update
Tension erupted at the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Oyetunji, on Wednesday after suspected hoodlums reportedly exchanged gunfire during Governor Ademola Adeleke’s visit to the monarch. The incident happened shortly after Adeleke received his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osogbo. The governor had visited the palace as part of his thank-you tour when gunshots suddenly rang out, sending traders and shop owners around the Oja Oba area running for safety. The governor and members of his entourage were not targeted in the incident. However, his security personnel reportedly responded with…
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan as the new Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. Enitan will resume on August 27, 2026. He will replace Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who is retiring after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60. Enitan is from Osun State and currently serves as Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education. He is also the most senior Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service. He has served as a Permanent Secretary for seven years and seven months. He previously worked at the Ministry of Police Affairs, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs…
Former police chief Abba has promised to improve agriculture, education and healthcare if elected to represent his constituency. He said farmers would have better access to fertiliser, chemicals, tractors and other inputs needed to increase food production. Abba also promised to give attention to education and healthcare, saying these sectors were important to improving the lives of the people. He said his background in history and law had prepared him for legislative duties. “I assure the voters that you will not regret having a representative whose intention is none other than to provide qualitative representation,” he said. On corruption, Abba…
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has questioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s absence from the signing of the National Peace Accord by presidential candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections. Adebayo said the President’s failure to attend the ceremony in Abuja sent the wrong signal about the government’s commitment to peaceful and credible elections. Speaking on Channels Television, the SDP candidate said Tinubu’s absence could create doubts among political actors and security agencies about the seriousness of the administration’s commitment to maintaining peace throughout the electoral process. “President Tinubu not showing up today, he is showing…
There was tension in Abuja on Wednesday as armed police officers and soldiers prevented retired military personnel from accessing the frontage of the Ministry of Defence during a protest over unpaid pension adjustments. The ex-servicemen had converged to demand the implementation of consequential adjustments to their pensions following salary increases approved for serving military personnel. As the retirees attempted to move towards the ministry, security personnel formed a barricade to stop them from assembling at the proposed protest venue. The standoff reportedly escalated into a confrontation between some serving soldiers and the retired personnel, prompting the deployment of additional security…
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…
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…