Oluyede meets Oyebanji, declares support for Tinubu

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) standard-bearer in the June 20 Ekiti State governorship election, Dr Wole Oluyede, has declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in the 2027 general election.

He made his position known yesterday when he visited Governor Biodun Oyebanji at the Government House in Ado-Ekiti.

Oluyede informed the governor of his decision to work for Tinubu’s victory in the January 2027 presidential election.

He also discussed with Governor Oyebanji issues relating to the development and progress of Ekiti State, as the governor prepares to begin his second term on October 16.

Receiving Oluyede, Governor Oyebanji praised him for an act of statesmanship and his commitment to the progress of Ekiti State and national development.

Oyebanji expressed appreciation for Oluyede’s decision to support President Tinubu, saying his gesture demonstrated a shared commitment to the development of Ekiti and Nigeria.

Moffi set to switch to Hamburg from Nice

French Ligue 1 club Nice have reached an agreement with Hamburg over the transfer of Super Eagles striker Terem Moffi, according to Nice-Matin.

Nice have accepted an offer from the German club for the 27-year-old Nigerian striker, although the value of the deal has not been disclosed.

Moffi must now agree personal terms with Hamburg before the transfer can be completed.

Hamburg have been monitoring the striker for several weeks and are now close to securing his services.

Nice were keen to reduce their wage bill and create room to pursue another striker, Elye Wahi, who remains a priority target for the French club.

Nice had initially hoped to secure a higher transfer fee for Moffi, close to the pound 8 million purchase option negotiated with FC Porto when the Nigerian spent six months on loan at the Portuguese club last season.

However, the French club has now accepted a lower offer.

Moffi has impressed Nice’s new coach, Olivier Pantaloni, and his staff during pre-season after returning from his loan spell. He has trained consistently since the beginning of the summer.

The striker’s contract with Nice runs until 2027, but he now appears set to continue his career in Germany if personal terms with Hamburg are successfully concluded.

Gold Cup Final: Grassrunners, Abakaliki FC clash in Abeokuta

Grassrunners FC and Abakaliki FC will meet in the final of the 14th Ogunjobi Gold Cup after both teams won their respective semi-final matches yesterday.

Grassrunners defeated Sunshine Stars 3-1, while Abakaliki FC edged Ikorodu City 2-1 to secure their places in Saturday’s final.

The final will take place at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, at 10am on Saturday.

Grassrunners, making their debut in the competition and yet to taste defeat, will be seeking to crown their impressive campaign with the trophy. They will, however, face an Abakaliki FC side that has also shown its strength throughout the tournament.

Sunshine Stars took an early lead in the first semi-final when Onoja Mathew scored in the 15th minute.

Grassrunners responded in the second half, with Agbejoye Papi equalising in the 58th minute from a difficult angle.

Papi struck again in the 86th minute to put Grassrunners ahead before Adeola Fadel added a third goal in the 89th minute to complete the comeback.

The second semi-final also produced an entertaining contest.

Ikorodu City took the lead in the 11th minute through Ayanda Tolulope. Abakaliki FC, however, responded through Moses Amanekwu, who scored his second goal of the tournament.

Amarachukwu Uche then put Abakaliki FC ahead in the 48th minute with a fine finish from a corner to secure the 2-1 victory.

The two teams will now meet in a winner-takes-all final for the 14th Ogunjobi Gold Cup.

FG assures resumption of work on Bida-Lambata road soon, as Niger Rep, stakeholders meet Umahi

The Federal Government has assured that work will soon resume in earnest on the Bida-Lapai-Lambata Road project in Niger State to address the road’s deplorable condition, save lives and property, and tackle the lingering insecurity along the corridor.

The assurance was given during a meeting between the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and a delegation of stakeholders under the aegis of the Coalition of Niger South Development Associations, led by the member representing the Bida/Gbako/Katcha Federal Constituency of Niger State, Hon. Sa’idu Musa Abdullahi, during a courtesy visit to the Minister in Abuja.

The lawmaker reiterated the need for the Federal Government to complete the project, citing its socio-economic importance and the need to address the security challenges affecting communities along the axis.

In his address, the Chairman of Bida Forum, Mallam Muhammad Jameel Muhammad, who spoke on behalf of the coalition, said they had come to appeal for the Minister’s urgent intervention to address the challenges residents had faced on the road for decades.

He said, ‘The first one, sir, is now because of the way the road is. In fact, very close along the stretch, articulated and heavy trucks, so we’re requesting the first one is emergency remedial work on the bad spots, but at least the road will be passable.

‘The second is… all that we want in the next two months: let’s begin to see something on the ground, mobilisation to the site, let the contractors.

‘And the third is that we want to have a monitoring team, community representation. At least, we will be able to interface with the team. We are not saying we are going to interfere with the technical, but we will support that in terms of community relations. What do they need, and what can we do to speed things up?

‘And lastly… it’s important to us. People have said it; we have seen it in the past: that road has been a political campaign tool. So this time around, it shouldn’t be about political approval. We want the job done.

‘We have had governments that have come to do the same. We have even mentioned some. Some will even say that they are doing groundbreaking, but afterwards nothing happened.

‘Honourable Excellency, this is our request, and we will be so much happier, and we’ll be able to calm the frustration of people back home. People will go back today with a certain level of commitment, not promises. Promise and action with a clear timeline.’

In his remark, the Minister of State for Works, Bello Mohammed Goronyo, who received the delegation on behalf of the Minister, commended the lawmaker for his commitment to his constituents.

He said, ‘Sa’idu, you have shown a lot of commitment to your people. The Honourable Minister has already said it: you are a lover of your people. Just keep it up, because God is there to continue to support you.

‘Niger South is the home of my brother-in-law. I know a lot of people from Lapai, and I’m sure when we go there, the Minister will really fulfil this very important pledge that he made.’

‘He has been talking about this Niger for a very long time, and he said we should find time to go there and do the groundbreaking. And I want to tell you that my minister is the type of person who will not just come and give you empty promises. If he will do it, he’ll do it. Take it, or you leave it.

‘And we are lucky in this country to have somebody like you. So we commend you, sir, for your leadership, for your resilience, even though there are some bad eggs that are there.’

On his part, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, said the Federal Government was committed to carrying out projects in Niger State because of concerns raised by the condition of the roads, particularly the frequent incidents of trucks falling along the corridor.

He said the pressure from stakeholders, including Hon. Abdullahi, the Niger State governor, the Minister of Information and Senator Musa, had also contributed to the government’s renewed attention to the project.

He added, ‘Because of the pressure, I went to Mr. President. I said, please, you have so much in your hands. Can we allow that? … President said, if we do it, it will help, and the insecurity within that corridor will be eliminated.’

The Minister further disclosed that important road projects were being undertaken in Niger State through tax credits, including two projects recently awarded.

He said, ‘The greatest beneficiary of the NMP’s tax credit is in Niger State. So both Niger State and the entire South-South constitute 51% of the entire tax credit.

‘President Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not, you know, make a political statement, you know, as far as roads and bridges are concerned. When we came on board, we had it in 2068, you know, but it’s totally over 13 trillion Naira, and with the removal of subsidy and with the removal, the floating of Naira, your guess is as good as mine, what the cost of this project will be.

‘At that time, a kilometre of road was costing about N500 million.

‘Today, a kilometre of road, standard average, with no swampy area, or without pits, you know, is costing between 2.5 million. So you can imagine if you multiply, you know, that, you know, 13 trillion, you multiply by six, you know, find out what the cost will be.

‘And the president has been very intentional in helping this country.

‘He’s been very intentional in funding the roads and the bridges. Every part of this country became a construction site.’

JUST IN: FG declares August 25 public holiday for Eid ul Mawlid

The Federal Government has declared Tuesday, August 25, 2026, a public holiday to commemorate this year’s Eid ul Mawlid, marking the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the holiday on behalf of the Federal Government in a statement issued on Friday by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Magdalene Ajani.

Tunji-Ojo congratulated Muslims in Nigeria and across the diaspora on the celebration and urged Nigerians to reflect on the values of compassion, humility and service exemplified in the life of Prophet Muhammad.

‘Every Eid ul Mawlid gives us reason to pause and draw lessons from a life defined by compassion, humility and service to others.

‘These are qualities our nation needs now more than ever, and I encourage every Nigerian, not just our Muslim brothers and sisters, to reflect on them,’ he said.

The minister also called on Nigerians to use the occasion to pray for lasting peace, unity and national cohesion, stressing that preserving harmony remained a shared responsibility.

He urged citizens to celebrate the festival peacefully, with restraint and mutual respect, and to extend warm wishes to the Muslim faithful for a joyous and peaceful Eid ul Mawlid.

Tunji-Ojo further reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property and to sustaining peace and security across the country.

Transcorp Power wins Power Generation Excellence Company of the Year award

Transcorp Power Plc has won the Power Generation Excellence Company of the Year award at the Business Times Awards 2026 for its operational performance and contribution to Nigeria’s power generation sector.

The company received the award at the Grand Gala Award Ceremony on Thursday at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, where it received a golden plaque and an Award Certificate of Recognition.

The Business Times Awards Editorial Board cited Transcorp Power’s leadership, innovation and impact on the power sector as reasons for the recognition.

Speaking on the award, the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ikenga, said the recognition reflected the commitment of the company’s board and employees to maintaining reliable power generation.

‘This award belongs to the board and every member of the Transcorp Power team whose commitment keeps our turbines running and power flowing to homes and businesses across Nigeria,’ he said.

Ikenga said the company would continue to focus on improving generation reliability, strengthening relationships across the power value chain and creating sustainable value for shareholders and the country.

Transcorp Power Plc is a power generation subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group), with investments across the power, hospitality and energy sectors.

Search for Madugu’s successor begins

For a team accustomed to winning, failure can be more instructive than victory.

The Super Falcons arrived at the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco searching for redemption after years of near misses, administrative turbulence, and questions about their dominance in African women’s football. Justine Madugu, appointed permanently after taking charge on an interim basis in September 2024, delivered the answer Nigerians wanted.

Nigeria captured a record-extending 10th WAFCON title, recovering from two goals down to defeat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final. Madugu went from a sceptic’s choice to one of the most celebrated indigenous coaches in Nigerian football history.

A year later, he was gone.

Failure at the 2026 WAFCON, followed by a loss to South Africa in the World Cup qualification playoff, ended Madugu’s tenure. The NFF dismissed the entire technical crew after the Falcons failed to reach the continental semi-finals for the first time, consequently missing out on the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

That turnaround is startling, but it raises a critical question: What exactly does Nigeria want from its next head coach?

Addressing Nigeria’s structural rot

The temptation after a tournament collapse is to place everything on the manager. Nigeria has done this repeatedly: appoint a coach, watch expectations soar, suffer a setback, fire the staff, and reset the cycle.

However, the Super Falcons face systemic issues that extend far beyond the technical area. Past tenures-notably Randy Waldrum’s-were marred by public disputes over contracts, unpaid wages, and poor preparation schedules. Furthermore, an elite manager cannot succeed in a vacuum. The NFF must provide video analysis, modern sports science, dedicated scouting, and adequate preparation windows.

The next coach must be judged on football, but the federation must be judged on the environment it creates.

Nigeria no longer needs a motivator whose primary pitch is understanding the local ethos. African women’s football has evolved dramatically, as demonstrated in 2026 when Cameroon won the title under Valentine Nguele after knocking out Nigeria, Malawi made a shock run to the final to secure their first-ever World Cup berth, and Algeria achieved a historic third-place finish.

Physical dominance and historical pedigree are no longer enough. The next manager must possess a defined tactical identity-capable of mid-game system changes, structured set-piece routines, and midfield control. Furthermore, team selection must be ruthless: based strictly on current form, physical condition, and tactical fit rather than reputation or origin.

Evaluating the domestic candidates

If the NFF looks within Nigeria’s borders, five distinct profiles emerge.

*Christopher Danjuma boasts deep institutional knowledge from his time with the Falconets and Nasarawa Amazons, whom he led to the 2026 President Federation Cup. However, his previous senior stint ended after a disappointing 2015 World Cup run.

*Moses Aduku is a proven winner who secured the 2026 NWFL Premiership title with Edo Queens and took them to the CAF Women’s Champions League. His current role with the Falconets makes him ideally positioned to bridge the youth-to-senior transition.

*Edwin Okon offers extensive senior-level experience from his Rivers Angels and previous Super Falcons tenures, but the NFF must weigh modern tactical fitness against nostalgia.

*Whyte Ogbonda is available after leaving Bayelsa Queens in July 2026. While skilled at club level, managing a national team with European-based stars presents a starkly different challenge.

*Wemimo Matthew represents the most intriguing development candidate. Highly qualified within CAF coaching programs, her appointment would align with FIFA’s 2026 mandate requiring female representation on technical benches while creating a genuine pathway for female coaches in Nigeria.

The foreign connection

Looking abroad brings another set of complex decisions. Former managers Randy Waldrum and Thomas Dennerby both bring familiarity and previous success. Yet, rehiring Waldrum risks reigniting past administrative feuds, while Dennerby’s methods must be evaluated against how rapidly the modern game has accelerated since 2019.

On the global stage, figureheads like Pia Sundhage, Bev Priestman, Desiree Ellis, Nora Häuptle, and Jorge Vilda represent the elite standard. However, contract statuses and practicalities make most unrealistic, and Nigeria must avoid chasing high-profile names simply for prestige.

The ideal Super Falcons coach must meet several key criteria to succeed. First, they need a defined tactical identity that establishes a structured possession and defensive framework. Second, they must understand African football nuance to navigate the unique logistical and physical demands of the continent.

Third, they need a clear youth integration strategy to phase out aging legends and bring in new talent, combined with total selection independence to pick squads without administrative interference. Finally, the role demands modern analytical skills, strong man-management to unite overseas stars with domestic talent, and a long-term vision built toward the 2028 Olympics and the 2029 WAFCON cycle.

The NFF must abandon behind-the-scenes appointments. Instead, it should form an independent technical panel to interview candidates against a clear blueprint. Applicants should present concrete plans for set-piece design, domestic player integration, defensive structure, and camp scheduling.

The ultimate takeaway from Justine Madugu’s tenure is that a coach can be capable of winning a trophy, yet remain ill-equipped to drive a long-term project. Winning the 2025 WAFCON was a triumph, but the collapse that followed exposed a lack of continuity.

Nigeria does not just need a new manager to win the next match-it needs a technical architect to build the future of the Super Falcons.

How I will close Lagos infrastructure gap, by Hamzat

There is the notion that Lagos State is rich. However, it still has a lot to do in terms of infrastructure. What’s your plan in this regard?

As you build infrastructure, so also is the need to maintain that infrastructure. So, for example, now, we have a new Massey Hospital, Lagos Island. We have the new Ojo General Hospital. So those hospitals will require maintenance, those hospitals will have equipment. So, to say that Lagos is rich, well, we are doing well, but it could be better. But, let us look at other cities that we should be comparing ourselves with. The city of New York is eight million people. The state of Lagos is 24 million people – that’s three times. Our budget is N4.4 trillion, it’s about $3.2 billion. But the budget of the city of New York is close to $600 billion. The New York Police Department has a budget in 2025 of about $6 billion – just the police. So, far back as 2011, when I became Commissioner for Works, the first budget that I put together in 2014 was about N260 billion. And in Lagos, when we move people, or cars, we also move water. For example, the drain in Wemco is taller than me. So I went in, people have to pull me out. And it’s because everything coming from Agege is passing through that, all the way to Odo Iya Alaro. So if it’s not that deep, it’s a challenge. So for a lot of the road, the cost of the drainage is about 40 per cent. And so it must be solid. So, when we say we must do this, we must do that, we look at high-traffic roads, we look at roads that lead to market, we look at roads that leads to schools. Our bill was about N260 billion. At the time, the budget of Lagos was about N490 billion, the whole budget. So, the governor asked how do we fund it? So, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure got N68 billion, which was interesting, because the budget of the federal government was N22 billion to do roads in Nigeria. So, Lagos got N68 billion, and it’s not enough. So when we say we are rich, well, we are rich, but we need to be richer. And the way to do that is how do we build our economy. And those are the type of infrastructure on a national scale that Mr President is doing. Imagine Badagry to Sokoto. That’s a 1,000-kilometer road. On that road, we have 64 farm settlements that is today moribund. We have about 46 dams that is totally useless, projects over the years. So building that road is not just to move cars, it’s to lift economic activities across our country. So when those happen, your resources go up. You’re able to have more money and be able to do more.

There was once a clamour for special status for Lagos, before Bola Tinubu became President. That agitation seems to have slowed down…

It has not slowed down. Let us look at it. We are the only subnational in the world, that has done rail infrastructure on her balance sheet. Look at London, look at New York, look at everywhere, Caracas in Venezuela. In fact, in Caracas, it was the Venezuelan government that funded it 100 per cent. So we are the only subnational doing such rail. The rail in the city of New York, the Federal Government put in 48 per cent a few years back. They are building a tunnel that links the city of New York to Long Island, the one that President Trump is saying he’s going to stop because he wants it named. The point is, it’s going to stop because Federal Government is funding it. Both cities are within the state of New York, but enormous amount of people know that Manhattan is the financial capital of the United States. A lot of people live in Long Island, and therefore, moving them on a daily basis is very important. And Federal Government embarked on it. Do we do that here? So, creating a special status of Lagos is an economic necessity for the development of our country. So we are pushing it. But you have to convince everybody across the country to make sure that that is possible.

What is your plan for agricultural development in a state where land availability is an issue? For example, what is happening to the Imota rice mill?

We have to look at our advantages. We have water, so fishing, that economy is something that we need to build. For Imota rice mill, we don’t have the size of land to grow rice. So we must still work with other states. And that’s why we have the N500billion agricultural project that we are doing, to say that if you produce it, we guarantee it. So we have offtakers that will go around. We wanted to buy 2,000 CNG trucks that can load from Lagos to Taraba and come back without refilling, to say that if you produce the paddy. So, we will have people going around to say, as long as you produce to this quality, these are the seeds that you must use. The moment we test it, whatever you produce, we will buy. So we are paying you. So instead of what happens today where farmers supply and it takes three months to get their money because they give it to Mr A. Mr A brings it to Ketu market. He sells, and then after some time, pay people back. This is different. The moment you offload, you get your money, and then we deal with it. That is why we are building the logistic hub that can house rice, that can house everything. It also allows us to track, to say that for example we have 3,000 herds of cattle that comes to Lagos every day. Our veterinary doctors are doing an unbelievable job. But today, if a cow or a cattle is not healthy, they take it out, kill it, and burn it off so that it doesn’t affect others. But the challenge is we are not able to say, this one is from this state, and for the next two months, we are stopping any herd coming from this state because of this issue. We go there to help them solve the problem. With that logistics hub, we will be able to track where they are coming from, track diseases better, and be able to control. And it makes it easier for people to buy. The middlemen will take a share but the ordinary consumer will buy it cheaper. We consume a lot of food but we can’t produce but at least let us manage the supply to make sure that we are able to do the right things.

How do you stem japa syndrome in the health sector?

As someone who also relocated abroad, I look at it from that perspective. What we need to do, which is part of our master plan, is to be the human capital of the world. We should be able to train more doctors, nurses. That is why we say we are building a University of Medicine and Allied Sciences. With the nature of our country, you can’t stop people from going anywhere they want to go to, as long as they are not doing anything illegal. What you can do is to train more. That is why we are talking to the medical council. Today, our Lagos College of Medicine graduates just about 300 every year, that is ridiculously small. If we have the capacity to build a 1,000, then let’s do it, let’s train more. If you recall, who are the doctors that sustained the health system in England? They are the Indians. But they went back home because, at a stage, you will realise that you have to go back home. The reality is we must train more doctors, nurses. And ultimately, after some time, a lot of them will come back. Of course, some will leave. But, how many do you train in a year? So, let us increase that. Lagos can start by saying it wants to increase its own by fivefold. If other states increase theirs, good. There must be that national coalition to increase the number of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical workers generally. It applies to other sectors too. Our banks are squeezing themselves because the IT guys are also leaving. So we must train more. We are a very huge country. We can serve the world. We can do a lot of outsourcing in Nigeria. We just need to change the attitude.

There is also the challenge of housing. Do you consider having the housing scheme of the state tailored to the needs of the poor?

It is important that we start thinking along the line of how we build houses for our vulnerable people. Today, we subsidise our homes by 35 per cent, but is it sustainable? You build this one, how do you build the next one? They say low-cost housing, but there’s no low-cost cement, there’s no low-cost sand, there’s no low-cost steel. The cost is still the same. So, the question is, how do you make sure that you have a revolving fund to be able to do it? We all say that, education should be 15 per cent; health should be this per cent, environment should be this percent. So, what is for housing? And that is the struggle for a state government. As a people, they say that it takes an average of 17 years for a typical African to build a house. And in trying to build a house, they mortgage the children’s education, mortgage their own health, because whatever money he sees, today, he buys block, in the process, everything suffers. This means we cannot continue to build houses the way we buy rice in the market. So, it is mortgage. We must find a way. It is the same way for health insurance. It must be mortgage. Most Europeans, most Americans, the biggest investment in their life is their house. That’s what they refinance to send their children to school. That’s what they refinance to go on vacation. So, for most of them, it’s about their houses. Therefore, we must get into that principle of how to build a sustainable model? And that’s what we started, but it is struggling because our banks must key in, Central Bank of Nigeria must key in, everybody must key in. That is why we started building Lagos State Residents Registration Agency so that I can evaluate you to say that, Mr Adeola borrowed 10 naira to buy shoes and he’s paying me back. He’s not a debtor, therefore, I can give him a mortgage. I said it initially that we need to organise. If you don’t organise, you can’t manage what you can’t measure. So, we need as a people, as a state, as a country, as West Africa to be better organised. We are not organised enough. If we are organized, a lot of things will start to be in place. But it takes all of us to change attitude. And it’s gonna be tough because we are used to disorganisation. So, it will be a challenge to organise. But, we have to do it for the future of our grandchildren.

What’s the plan to manage both the issue of modernisation of Lagos and also managing slums? Anytime you try to move people away from slums, there is a lot of outcry, for example, the recent Makoko scenario.

First, the issue of Makoko is a bit different. The issue is that people started expanding it to the high tension. And we went there three times. We all agreed with the residents that we should come and take it off by 24th December 2024. But for some reason, we didn’t go there to take it off at that time. Generally, to your question, we cannot develop on the back of the poor. A society gets better by elevating the poor, not killing them. So, the major question for me is how do we move people out of poverty? I recall in Badia, when we were trying to clean up Badia, years back, some people wrote to the United Nations Ombudsman, and all of a sudden, the governor at the time, Raji Fashola just called me to his office and said, we have this lady from United Nations, we want to go and see Badia. And we were so lucky. When we got there, we saw a heap of waste. And on top of it, somebody said, two bedroom apartment for rent. The woman could not believe it. I said, this is why you came all the way from New York. Will your people live here? Is this a livable environment? She couldn’t believe it. So, it is the responsibility of government to also save people from themselves. Whether you like it or not, if you live in a dump site, your health will suffer. And the implication for health facility is a challenge. And that’s what we are seeing. So, the essence is not to take out. The essence is, how do we elevate people? A lot of our politicians misguide us. A lot of public commentators misguide us, because how do you build a nation where the wealth is not there? So, unless we are able to elevate ourselves, we will keep talking about these problems. So it’s not about emotion. It’s about what we work for this country to stop this cycle of poverty that we put ourselves in.

The word on the street of Lagos is that you are a no-nonsense, very disciplined, and strict leader, and that there would be the need for people living in Lagos to tighten up their belts under an Hamzat government.

The truth of the matter is that we all have one aim. Every decent Nigerian wants Nigeria to be better. And nobody, that is sane, wants to be a chairman of the government or a governor, a president, to go and fail. All of us want to succeed. The challenge is, when the pressure comes, hopefully it will not consume leaders. So, for me, I think, like I said, it’s that let us even organize. So when we build roads and there is a walkway, let’s use it for a walkway. That’s all. That’s what we built it for. So when we say this is a market, let it be a market so that I know that, I want to buy this, this is the way to go. I can plan my life. So if we say this is what we want to use this for, let us use it for that purpose. That’s all. So people say discipline. We have to be disciplined as a people. Even God said it. So we have to be disciplined. So, for me, I think we have the blessing of God, we have everything to be a great country. So we must do whatever it takes to get to that. If not, God will ask all of us.

Before you emerged as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2027 election, you were touted as candidate in the process leading up to the emergence of former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and current Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. If you did not emerge this time, would you have described it as a betrayal of some kind? Did you ever imagine not emerging again this time?

Well, the truth of the matter is that my spiritual belief is that it’s God that chooses leaders. We don’t know God’s plan, so you must try. If you are canvassing to be a candidate and the party says no, it shouldn’t be a fight. I tried; I gave it everything that I have. Of course, you must try. And God made it happen this time. Our leaders agreed. So, I’m grateful for that, but I must justify that confidence. And that’s all. So, if it’s not, it is not. The reality is that, at a time there can only be one governor.

Is there any agreement that you are going to spend one term?

Agreement! No, there’s no agreement.

Lagos also battles recurring incidents of collapsed buildings. How is this to be addressed?

There are two types. There are old buildings. There are very old buildings that can also collapse. I think the way to avoid that is to keep checking. But, Lagos is a big place. We have over 890,000 buildings. So, it becomes difficult.

How many are the civil servants that are checking? So, what we rely on, a lot of the time, is people within the community, and then we go and do structural tests. So, old buildings can collapse. The ones that we are trying to totally eliminate is new constructions. There is no reason in the world why we should allow new constructions to collapse. And that’s why we are doing the Certified Accreditors Programme. And then when we zone the whole of Lagos into 10 zones or 20 zones, and then we have all these registered CAPs. If you want to build, they’ll be there. So, these are the people that will do the certification. So that we know. So, if anything happens, those private companies will be held responsible because you are supposed to be an engineer. So, the challenge also is to make sure that we don’t build the way we build. Like I said earlier, just building block by block here and there, just getting one person in the corner to do your drawing. No. You must be certified so that you don’t build something that will kill you. But as government, we also know that the city is developing at a very high rate. We cannot be using civil servants to monitor everything. Let us even give out a big component to private sector, register them, and that process is almost completed.

Local Government autonomy, despite the Supreme Court judgment of about two years ago, still is yet to be fully implemented in many states, how do we empower local government administrations to be more effective?

For Lagos, the autonomy ruling does not really affect us because we have never touched their resources. We collaborate because of inherent problems that we have had before. Local government pays primary school teachers so at a time, they were owing. But our President, when he was governor, said this must stop, because when the news comes out, it is Lagos State owes primary school teachers. So, we said, let us do this as first line charge. So, the moment your money comes, we take out teachers’ salaries. We collaborate also on different areas like land use charge, ground rent, neighbourhood charge with some to be collected by state and others by local government. So, we decided that rather than an individual receiving three bills from government, we give just one bill and we divide behind the scene. There is a board to do this that includes local government chairmen. We collaborate to make it easier for our citizens. We don’t actually do anything with their money. Now that the resources are higher, we need to make sure that we work together because we are serving the same citizens. And for the state, anything we do is in one local government or the other. Part of what we will be doing is creating a new approach where we will be meeting on a monthly basis to do peer review, do assessment and giving ourselves assignment as a team. And we can see who is achieving what we agreed on or who is not, and we call ourselves to be more responsive to the needs of our people.

What factors led to the choice of your running mate?

The moment I emerged, I know that it is important that the deputy is a Christian, since I am a Muslim; and a lot of our women leaders have been saying they have tolerated us men for eight years, we must have a female. And we agreed that it made sense. And a lot of other people also said that we needed younger minds. Also, I am from the East; the current governor is from Central; so we said let it go to the West. So, all those came together. And Damilola Sonayon-James emerged. She was the Deputy Women Leader of our state. She was a supervisor in Badagry and then we looked at everything she had been doing, and she emerged.

Your party was hit by a calamity of monumental proportion in the 2023 election when President Bola Tinubu lost the presidential election in Lagos, what is your party doing to avert this in the 2027 election?

We did some sort of an autopsy to see what happened, and we saw many things. We saw that we assumed many things. We didn’t take care of a lot of things, as a party. We didn’t move a lot of the pillars that we normally move, in terms of talking to people here and there, and we have tried to correct that so that this time around, it will be better.

There are still grievances from the last primaries of the party, what is your agenda for them?

That is ongoing; if not for this interview, I will be meeting some people now on that issue. So, the Constitution of our country states that you cannot run for election unless you are nominated by a political party. So the political party is supreme because you are representing that brand, and as such, there are many factors that come in in the selection of where the party moves. In some cases, we say the number of females is not enough, let us get more females, and if you settle down on a constituency or an area, the men there will complain. There are so many factors. I was meeting with many aspirants and I said, in 2019, I took my form two days before Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu but the leaders called me and said, ‘You are a Muslim; Asiwaju was a Muslim for eight years; BRF was a Muslim; Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is not coming back; let a Christian go; and I said, fair enough.’ And I did a press conference and stepped down. And they looked at that and took me as deputy. It is because they talked to me and I listened. So, maybe if I didn’t listen then, today would not have arrived. So people must learn from that, because there would be many factors that we would have to consider. Unfortunately, when it comes to the emergence of the king of a community, even siblings have issues, but there can only be one king at that time. So, we tell ourselves that, if it doesn’t happen now, you don’t know tomorrow. So, let’s calm down. That process has started and hopefully we will be able to get everybody to understand that things will get better for all of us.

How is the party also handling the Justice Forum/Mandate Movement blocs amid fears that one group may be sidelined if you become governor?

I have met with the two groups. The truth of the matter is that the mother and the father is the Justice Forum. What happened was that it was a group set up by the leadership then to meet because politics was banned by the military. So, it predates 1999. And I have asked the question, what is the philosophical difference between the two? It is zero. So, let us calm down. Don’t let’s use what doesn’t exist to divide ourselves. People make the argument that even in advanced democracies like the United States, that there is the Black caucus, there is the Freedom caucus in the Republican. But there are philosophical differences. The Freedom caucus believes that even in case of incest and rape, a child should be born. Others say they don’t like abortion but in the case of incest, rape. So, there are philosophical differences. Here, what are the philosophical differences? Nothing. So, we cannot be a political party that runs after crumbs and fight ourselves. No. We must rise above that. And I think that everybody seems to understand that now.

If it comes down to stepping on toes, including party leaders, in the interest of moving Lagos ahead, will you do that?

The reality is, you need the collective will of the people to move a state forward. You can’t fight people and say you are just fighting everybody, you will lose. You can’t fight many battles. You can fight some battles but is it not better when you let people see what you want to do. We are all human beings and we have different opinions. Some people might genuinely believe that that goal is wrong. So, it is not a question of crushing their leg but it is to say that it is for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. As a human being, we will never be perfect but this is what my brain can take and this is the direction that we want to go, and you go. But, as much as possible, I think it is better to convince people to let people see why you want to do something. Remember, human beings are naturally selfish, that thing might not be good for that person personally and he might not see the bigger picture. So, it is the responsibility of the leaders to let people see the bigger picture for their children and grandchildren. Hopefully, you are able to convince nine out of 10 people, and then you move.

Talking about organisation, how do you deal with the issue of louts, touts across the city and clearing the blocked waterways which have structures on it without stepping on toes?

What separates us from the so-called developed nations are the rule of law and technology. Part of what you talk about is the rule of law. The organisation is this is where you should be, but you are here. And the rule of law is to say this is where you should be and that is where you would be. You must think about the common good. I recall when we were building the Okota main road. It would have been a lagoon today. But today, the place is clear. When we go there to campaign, I will tell them, it will be unGodly not to vote for our party in that place because those who know what it was and what we went through on that project. We were in court for nine months. We were building the road, we expanded it, we were building massive drains. We have the drain about 1.2 kilometres beyond the road because we can’t go further. It will be too destructive. As we were building, a house was obstructing the road construction. We promised compensation, the building owner declined. He went to court. We were to pay N60 million as agreement but the court said N12 million. Then we demolished and paid him N12 million. Even the neighbours said they told him. Today, they are driving freely in Okota, without issue of flooding. It is about the common good. That road connects many communities. So, because of one building, we must still go ahead and do what we have to do.

In a number of states, there have been cases of successor/predecessor rift. Do you rule out such crisis happening in Lagos State?

Our own is a bit different because the governor is my principal. If we didn’t fight all these years we have been working together, why would we disagree when we are handing over? If the goal is to run a state, then what is the problem? The responsibility is so huge that you can’t do it alone, that is why you have Commissioners, Special Advisers, Special Assistants. Even with that, there are still gaps. So, what is the fight about? That doesn’t mean we don’t have disagreements about issues. And it is about, we want to do this, should we do it this way? At the executive council meeting, we argue, fight, abuse each other. But at the end of the day, we conclude and move on. Governor Sanwo-Olu and I have been friends for years. When I came back, became Commissioner, Governor Sanwo-Olu was already a Commissioner. The current CBN Governor left the administration as Commissioner for Economic Planning. So Governor Sanwo-Olu was the acting Commissioner for economic planning when I joined the cabinet. For some reason, the day I was to be sworn in, it was Governor Sanwo-Olu that was taking me round and showing me the offices and MDAs in the Secretariat before I went to my own Ministry of Science and Technology. And that was the first time I would meet him, and we have been friends since then. Thankfully, we don’t have that crisis in Lagos.

Deputy Governors have this tag of being ‘spare tyres’ and only function at the mercy of their principal. Would you canvass for Constitutional roles for Deputy Governors?

You can’t legislate common sense. So, even if you say legislation gives roles, it doesn’t prevent crisis. You cannot legislate simple good behaviour. If you have people who are jointly on a ticket, it is clear that you must work together. But, thankfully in Lagos, Deputy Governors have various responsibilities in ministries. I think Senator Oluranti Adebule was in charge of Ministry of Education, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire was in charge of Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Adebisi Sosan was also in charge of Education, I am in charge of Works, and Science and Technology. So, for Works, Science and Technology, before the governor approves their memo, it must be signed by me. So, I’m certainly not a spare tyre and I will not treat my deputy as a spare tyre because she is not. She is an intelligent woman that establishes herself well. And the component that we really need to work on is our youth. How do we develop their future? We have issues of youth engagement, development, employment creation. Can a governor do all these by himself? One of the books I love reading is ‘Ego is the enemy.’ Ego is the problem. Wars were started by ego. Great companies collapse because of ego. If you are able to manage your ego in life, all the crisis will not happen. We have a job to do. It is a lot of work. So, if you have someone supporting you to do the job, what should be the problem? You must even encourage that person to help you do more.

What is your plan for the three terminals at Oshodi? At the outset, it was organised but it has now become a shadow of what former Governor Akinkunmi Ambode did.

Interestingly, as Commissioner for Works, I designed that place. I did it with Prof Olusanya of the University of Lagos. The essence is to develop similar things across different parts of Lagos. For example, in London, when you want to go to New York, you go to 34 Street. So, why is it that we have about 260 locations where you can take buses to get out of Lagos? It is disorganisation. Again, let us organise. It is for safety. If everybody queues in Oshodi, and there are manifests, Mr A is going to Osogbo, he takes this bus. If something happens, we know whom to ask. It’s being used but we need to better organise it. And it’s being used not just for buses going outside Lagos, but also intra transportation. That’s the decision we need to make. Do we totally separate intra from inter transportation? Those are the discussions that will have to happen. And we need to have, maybe nothing as big as that, in other areas of the state, like hubs. This is so that, if I am coming from Epe, I should be able to go somewhere, park my car and move and come back and meet my car, even if I have to pay.

There remains the issue of voter apathy. In the interest of democracy, what must be done to improve voter turnout in the next election?

It’s a really bad situation. In most local governments in Lagos State, the highest turnout in the last election was about 18 per cent, which I think was Ikorodu LGA. It is horrible and we need to improve on it. People have given all sorts of reasons for voter apathy, like lack of trust, people don’t see the benefit of democracy. In the United States, most people don’t pay attention to election until maybe three, four weeks. If you are in New York City, and gather 100 people who are New Yorkers and ask them who their governor is, 80 per cent don’t know their governor, because they don’t see it as their business. A lot of them are one issue voter. One is voting only because a candidate is pro-life, the other is voting a candidate because of Israel. You therefore realise that democracy, in itself, has limitations, as a wise man’s vote is the same as a not-so-wiseman’s vote. Therefore, we must get to everybody to convince them on the need to vote. A lot of people aggrieved won’t do anything that is why it is important you let people feel part of the process. But, of course, I will encourage people to vote for me and my party. If we can raise it from 18 per cent to 35 per cent, I’m sure that our votes will be very high.

Why do you think Nigerians should re-elect President Bola Tinubu?

There are a lot of reasons. But you must also look at the people he’s contesting against. Mr Peter Obi has been governor, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has been Vice President, Rabiu Kwankwaso has been governor. The question is what have these people done? What has Peter Obi done as a governor that you think he will do well as a President? The President was building his political party. Even in the last election, Tinubu fought his party, and didn’t leave. I recall during campaign in Abeokuta when Tinubu said, ‘They may choose to money, food scarce, we’ll still go for the election and win.’ Compare that to a man who will be a member of a party in the morning and another at night. He will be catastrophic as a President. If you can’t fight for something, you will fall for anything. You want to rule a nation of 200 million people and you can’t stand for something! APGA in the morning, PDP at night! Look at other nations. President Donald Trump fought in the primaries. Where will you run to, as President, when you have challenges? Will you run away or you will confront it just like the President is confronting it today? When it comes to saving the state, what are you willing to do? The President confronted the issue. He said, let’s remove subsidy. Do we remember why our refineries don’t work? Was it not because we said let’s introduce subsidy in 1992? And all our refineries were dead. It was supposed to be short term, but look at what we did to ourselves. I have been talking to young men in the private sector and what they tell me is that, because the macro has improved, their businesses are doing extremely well. One of them told me that, the company was started 15 years ago, and they were about 48, but within the last two years, they are now 400 employees. I challenged him for not speaking out and he said they are businessmen out to make profit and they are not politicians. They all promised then that subsidy will go. I recall then that former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar said subsidy will go; Mr Peter Obi said subsidy is a scam. And when implementation started, we started hearing something different. You can’t do that, as a leader. Our oil production is going up. We are said to have had the highest production in 74 months of about 1.7 million barrels a day. When President Tinubu took over, it was about 800,000 barrels. It is now almost double. There is Technical and Vocational Education and Training. If you go to London, you see plumbers, and other artisans, they don’t have shops, they just have trucks, with their phone numbers asking you to call them for their services. That is how they built their country. The President is building the fundamentals. Nobody says it will be easy. If you have malaria, most medications are bitter. If you’re injured, you go for surgery, it is painful. There must be rehabilitation. Before now, we all heard of airlines shut down, Emirates did not come to our country for two years because they couldn’t get their money. The N23 trillion Ways and Means has been cleared. So, what will these people do different? They can’t even manage a political party. How will they manage this country? For me, it is a very easy choice. I also meet him, discuss with him and I can see his vision. You may say I am biased but we can all see what he is doing. The President is embarking on an enormous amount of infrastructure, across our country: Sokoto-Badagry road; Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. I remember in 2023, they asked me this same question and I said, how can you compare a goat to a lion? Comparing them is a no-brainer. I am sure Nigerians will vote for him. There are many distractions and political liars all over the place but when people actually see what is happening, I am confident that President Tinubu will come back again, and the country will be better for it.

ASUU applauds OOU for improved Webometrics ranking, urges unity to sustain gains

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) Branch, has congratulated the university administration on the institution’s improved performance in the July 2026 Webometrics Global Ranking.

In a statement signed by the ASUU-OOU Chairperson, Yinusa Olumuyiwa Ganiyu, the union commended the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayodeji Johnson Agboola, and his management team for what it described as an impressive achievement, reflecting the university’s growing academic productivity, research output, digital visibility and global recognition.

ASUU-OOU said the latest ranking was a testament to the collective efforts of the university’s management, staff and students over the past four years to reposition the institution.

The union particularly praised Prof. Agboola’s leadership, noting that the progress recorded in recent years demonstrated the capacity of members of the university community to provide purposeful leadership and move OOU to greater heights.

‘Purposeful leadership, commitment, cooperation and a shared vision’ were identified by the union as key drivers of the university’s recent progress.

While celebrating the achievement, ASUU-OOU called on members of the university community and other stakeholders to continue supporting the administration to consolidate and further improve the gains recorded.

The union also cautioned against distractions or actions that could undermine the progress achieved or return the institution to what it described as its ‘difficult past.’

According to ASUU-OOU, the interests of Olabisi Onabanjo University must remain paramount, with management, academic and non-academic staff, students, unions and other stakeholders working collectively to sustain the institution’s development.

The union urged the university community to ‘protect the gains,’ ‘consolidate the progress,’ ‘avoid distractions’ and ‘move OOU forward together.’

ASUU-OOU reiterated its congratulations to Prof. Agboola, the university management and the entire OOU community, expressing optimism that continued cooperation would help build and sustain an institution of which all stakeholders would be proud.

FCMB-backed agritech startups target expansion into East Africa

Nigerian agritech startups supported by First City Monument Bank are preparing to expand into other African markets as part of a broader push to scale homegrown agricultural technology solutions across the continent.

FCMB noted in its AgriTech Alumni Impact Report that ventures such as AgroCist and Crop2Cash have demonstrated the potential to scale their solutions beyond Nigeria into other African markets.

The report traces the evolution of the bank’s agritech programme from its 2018 launch to what it described as an ‘Impact Era’ focused on commercially viable, investment-ready agricultural businesses.

Crop2Cash emerged as the inaugural winner of the programme with a USSD-based platform designed to improve access to financial tools for unbanked farmers. Since then, the initiative has expanded through collaborations with innovation hubs, development finance institutions and startup enablers.

FCMB said its approach increasingly considers opportunities beyond traditional lending, including the use of weather data, soil information and other digital tools to support better decision-making, manage risk and enhance agricultural productivity.

The bank also highlighted growing interest in climate-conscious agriculture, regenerative farming practices and ecosystem partnerships designed to improve food security and rural livelihoods. Development partners supporting the programme include FMO, the Mastercard Foundation and UNDP.

The report added that the bank intends to continue investing in user-centred agricultural innovation that can scale beyond Nigeria.