Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said the suspension of the newly introduced examination fees should mark a turning point in government’s approach to education, urging policymakers to prioritise access to learning over revenue generation. Reacting to the policy reversal on Monday, Obi described the suspension as a welcome development but insisted that the charges ought not to have been introduced at a time when millions of Nigerians are battling severe economic hardship. He argued that government should be concentrating on reducing the country’s out-of-school population instead of introducing financial obligations that could discourage children…
Author: National Update
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed a Federal High Court judgment restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or participating in state congresses conducted by committees constituted by the Senator David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). In a split decision delivered on Monday, the appellate court upheld the earlier ruling of the Federal High Court, holding that the authority to conduct state congresses resides with duly elected state executive committees and not the party’s national caretaker leadership. The majority judgment, delivered by Justice Okon Abang and concurred in by Justice Donatus Okorowo,…
The Labour Party has described the 2026 Arthur Svensson International Prize awarded to Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Comrade Joe Ajaero as global recognition of the resilience of Nigeria’s labour movement and its long-running campaign for workers’ rights and social justice. In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ken Eluma Asogwa, the party said Ajaero’s honour in Oslo, Norway, extends beyond personal achievement, symbolising international acknowledgement of the sacrifices made by Nigerian workers and organised labour. According to the party, Ajaero’s emergence as the first Nigerian labour leader to receive the prestigious award highlights more than…
The Nigerian Army has laid to rest Lieutenant F.A. Isaac, the officer who was killed during the operation that secured the freedom of abducted pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. Lt. Isaac died in the line of duty while participating in the military-led rescue mission that brought an end to weeks of uncertainty for the kidnapped victims. His burial coincided with the successful rescue of the pupils and teachers, underscoring the heavy price paid by security personnel in protecting lives. The operation, carried out in collaboration with other security agencies, resulted in the safe release…
The arrest of a South African woman travelling with her three-year-old son and a Lagos commercial motorcycle rider has exposed what security officials describe as the changing face of international drug trafficking, with criminal syndicates increasingly recruiting unsuspecting-looking couriers to move illicit narcotics across continents. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said the two arrests formed part of a series of intelligence-led operations that also resulted in the seizure of illicit drugs worth more than ₦10.3 billion, underscoring the expanding reach of transnational trafficking networks operating through Nigeria. At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, operatives arrested 38-year-old South…
By Our Correspondent, Minna A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State, Jonathan Vatsa, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to retain Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election, warning that Christians would reject another Muslim-Muslim ticket at the polls. Reacting barely 24 hours after the President unveiled Shettima as his running mate, the former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism described the decision as “a direct insult” to Nigeria’s Christian community and a politically costly miscalculation. In a statement issued in Minna on Saturday, Vatsa argued that the…
Weeks after sparking widespread criticism with her suggestion that Nigerians could embrace small businesses such as selling akara to earn a living, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu has again returned to the subject, this time citing the success story of a university graduate whose akara business now employs more than 12 workers. The First Lady’s earlier remarks, made under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s economic empowerment programme, had triggered an uproar across social media and among critics, who argued that encouraging graduates to sell roadside snacks reflected the country’s worsening unemployment crisis rather than a sustainable economic policy. Despite the backlash,…
Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has argued that Africa’s persistent poverty is not the result of a shortage of natural or human resources but the consequence of decades of poor leadership, urging Africans in the diaspora to become a powerful force for governance reforms across the continent. Speaking during a keynote address at Mandela Hall, the African Union Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York, Obi said Africa possesses virtually everything required to become a global economic powerhouse but has failed to translate its vast wealth into prosperity because of what he described as…
The unresolved assassination of former Lagos State governorship hopeful, Engr. Funsho Williams, has returned to the centre of national political discourse, with the Obidient Movement urging the Federal Government to reopen the 20-year-old murder investigation, saying Nigeria cannot afford to ignore the lessons of its violent political past. The statement which was signed by the Media and Communications Directorate of the Obidient Movement linked its demand to recent comments by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, who reportedly expressed fears about his personal safety ahead of the 2027 presidential election. It warned that such concerns…
Suspected gunmen attacked a funeral convoy along the Ososo–Ajaokuta Road in Kogi State, abducting several mourners who were escorting the remains of late FRSC Deputy Corps Commander Augustine O. Ikwue (Etume Zero) to Benue State. The kidnappers later abandoned the deceased’s body, which was recovered near Ejule, Kogi State, but the mourners remain in captivity. The abductors are reportedly demanding ₦50 million for their release.