She’s a pretty face, pretty paid and pretty qualified too

Sister Betina, Brother Joshua, please retire from the Ministry of Sexual Promotion.

Not every successful woman slept her way to the top. Sometimes, she actually worked her way there.

Because apparently, the moment a woman is pretty, competent and happens to have a good working relationship with a male boss, the office gossip department immediately opens an investigation.

She gets a promotion? ‘Hmm.’

The boss praises her work? ‘Aha!’

They laugh together in the corridor? ‘We knew it!’

She gets assigned an important project?

‘Anabebwa…’

At this point, can people please remember that a woman can be attractive and actually be good at her job? Revolutionary, I know.

She can have a pretty face, a sharp brain, excellent communication skills, discipline, ambition and an impressive work ethic, all in the same smoking-hot body.

There is no law saying beauty and competence must take turns. But somehow, when a beautiful woman is doing well, people struggle to process the possibility that she may simply be qualified.

If she is friendly with her male boss, the rumours begin.

If she is comfortable around him, people start connecting imaginary dots.

If he trusts her with important work, suddenly her entire career history is being investigated by people who have never even worked on the project.

And if she gets promoted?

Congratulations. You have officially activated the Office Conspiracy Department.

The funny thing is that people rarely apply the same suspicion to men. But let a woman have the same professional relationship, and suddenly everybody becomes a relationship expert.

‘They are too close.’

‘Something is going on.’ ‘She knows how to play her cards.’

Maybe she does. Maybe her card is called competence. Maybe she knows her job. Maybe she delivers.

Maybe she brings ideas to the table.

Maybe she has spent years developing skills that people never bothered to notice because they were too busy noticing her face and body.

I know, I know. We have had kina Matipa. We have seen situations where office relationships and power dynamics have crossed professional boundaries.

But not every boss is Jonasi.

And not every woman sitting next to the boss is there because she knows which buttons to press, professionally or otherwise.

Sometimes, she is simply the best person for the job.

Here is the thing… being pretty does not cancel out being hard-working.

A woman does not become less intelligent because she is beautiful.

She does not become less qualified because her boss happens to like working with her.

And she certainly does not owe people an explanation every time her career moves forward.

Of course, workplace favouritism exists. But there is a difference between questioning unfairness and automatically assuming that a successful woman must have slept her way into the room.

That assumption is not only lazy. It is deeply disrespectful.

Because while people are busy whispering about how she supposedly got the job, she might actually be the person doing the job.

And sometimes, ironically, the woman everyone says ‘anabebwa’ is the one carrying the entire project.

Carrying the meetings.

Carrying the team.

And somehow, still carrying the office gossip too.

So, Sister Betina, Brother Joshua, next time you see a pretty woman who is close to her male boss and doing well at work, perhaps pause before writing your own Nollywood screenplay.

Dar es Salaam rugby 7s set to shake up national circuit

Tanzania’s rugby action shifts to the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) on August 29, with more than 10 clubs expected to battle for crucial points in the Tanzania Rugby Saba National 7s Circuit.

The Tanzania Rugby Union (TRU) has confirmed that the Dar Rugby Saba 2026 will be staged at UDSM grounds, Pitch 1, as clubs fight to strengthen their positions in the national circuit. The Dar event is the second leg of the competition following the opening round held in Dodoma in May.

With the circuit operating on a points-based system, clubs will be looking to turn strong performances in Dar es Salaam into valuable points ahead of the Grand Finale in Arusha in December. Tanzania’s rugby action shifts to the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) on August 29, with more than 10 clubs expected to battle for crucial points in the Tanzania Rugby Saba National 7s Circuit.

The Tanzania Rugby Union (TRU) has confirmed that the Dar Rugby Saba 2026 will be staged at UDSM grounds, Pitch 1, as clubs fight to strengthen their positions in the national circuit. The Dar event is the second leg of the competition following the opening round held in Dodoma in May.

With the circuit operating on a points-based system, clubs will be looking to turn strong performances in Dar es Salaam into valuable points ahead of the Grand Finale in Arusha in December.

African volleyball federation pays tribute to late Nigerian referee Timothy

President of the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB), Mrs Bouchra Hajij, has expressed deep sorrow over the death of Nigerian international beach volleyball referee, Samuel Timothy.

Hajij also extended her condolences to Rwandan international referee Fadset following the death of his mother.

The CAVB president conveyed her sympathies to the bereaved families during the ongoing African Beach Volleyball Championship at Abu Hef Beach in Alexandria, Egypt.

Hajij described Timothy’s death as a major loss to the African volleyball family, recalling his commitment and service to beach volleyball across the continent.

According to her, the Nigerian official was a familiar figure at several beach volleyball competitions and made a significant contribution to the growth and development of the sport in Africa.

In honour of Timothy and as a mark of respect for the family of the Rwandan official, the championship’s Organising Committee observed a minute’s silence before the men’s match between Mauritius and Burundi.

The gesture brought players, officials and organisers together in mourning and remembrance, highlighting the sense of solidarity within the African volleyball community.

The African Beach Volleyball Championship, which is currently taking place in Alexandria, is scheduled to end on August 22.

The championship has attracted some of the continent’s leading men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams, with continental honours and qualification opportunities towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games at stake.

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.

It is time to heal, unite, build, Adeleke urges Osun residents

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has called on residents to set aside divisions created by the just-concluded governorship election and work together for the state’s continued development.

Adeleke made the appeal in a statement shared on his X account on Friday, days after securing re-election for a second term.

The governor expressed appreciation to the people of Osun for renewing his mandate, describing the outcome as a victory for every resident of the state.

He thanked traditional rulers, religious and community leaders, civil servants, pensioners, youths, women, artisans, traders, farmers and other citizens for their support and for voting to sustain his administration.

‘It is time to heal, unite and continue building a greater Osun,’ Adeleke said.

He added, ‘My dear people of Osun State, I am deeply humbled and grateful for the confidence you have reposed in me by re-electing me as your Governor.

‘To our traditional rulers, religious and community leaders, civil servants, pensioners, youths, women, artisans, traders, farmers, and every citizen who came out to vote and support our administration; thank you for believing in us and choosing continuity.’

Adeleke said he accepted the renewed mandate with humility and a deep sense of responsibility, stressing that the victory belonged to all residents, regardless of political affiliation.

The governor also sympathised with families who lost loved ones in incidents of electoral violence recorded before the poll.

‘As we celebrate, we also remember the victims of electoral violence before the election. My heartfelt condolences go to their families and loved ones,’ he said.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased and urged residents to move beyond the painful experiences and focus on the state’s collective progress.

‘May Almighty God grant the departed eternal rest and comfort those they left behind. Together, let us heal, unite and continue building a greater Osun,’ he added.

Okorocha asks court to void Uzodimma’s senatorial ticket

A former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has prayed the Federal High Court in Abuja for an order accepting him as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District.

Okorocha, who represented Imo West in the Senate between 2019 and 2023, is challenging the nomination of Governor Hope Uzodimma as the party’s candidate.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, was filed on August 13 for Okocha by a lawyer, O.J. Aboje, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Uzodimma and the APC as defendants.

The former governor faulted INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the winner of the APC senatorial primary conducted in May.

Uzodimma was declared winner of the primary by Williams Kayode, chairman and returning officer of the 2026 Imo APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, with 230,464 votes.

However, Okorocha asked the court to determine whether INEC is bound by reports submitted by its officials who monitored the primary held on May 18.

He is also challenging Uzodimma’s eligibility to contest the election while serving as governor, citing Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which bars a sitting governor from holding another executive office or paid employment.

Uzodimma began his second term as governor in January 2024 and will remain in office until January 2028. The 11th National Assembly is scheduled to be inaugurated in June 2027, when Uzodimma will still be in office.

But Uzodimma, according to officials of his government, will vacate office for the deputy governor to complete his second term.

The election into the 11th Senate will hold along with those of the House of Representatives and the President on January 16, 2027.

Okorocha is asking the court to declare INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name unconstitutional and void, arguing that the governor did not emerge as the valid winner of the APC primary.

He is further seeking an order directing INEC to recognise and publish his name as the APC’s duly nominated candidate for Imo West.

The former governor also wants the court to restrain the APC and anyone acting on their behalf from presenting the governor as the party’s candidate.

In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, Amen Rochas, Okorocha’s son, alleged that the APC conducted a direct primary on May 18 in which his father polled 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158 votes.

The suit is therefore seeking a judicial determination of who was validly nominated by the APC to contest the senatorial election in 2027.

Uzodimma is the chairman of Progressives Governors’ Forum and chairman of the Renewed Hope campaign group for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election.

The case as not been assigned.

Historic wins that changed the future of Sri Lankan Sport

Within Sri Lanka’s sporting history, there are a variety of different results that have had an impact upon both the country’s sporting profile and the development of those individual sporting disciplines within the nation. Two of the sports that have experienced both a national and international impact include cricket and athletics. Within these sports, four different results between the years of 1948 and 2014 indicate how the performances of both individual and team sports altered the trajectory of sport within Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s win in the Cricket World Cup final marked the country’s first title in the global competition and the most often mentioned sporting accomplishment of the nation. On March 17, 1996, Sri Lanka defeated Australia by seven wickets in the final held in Lahore. Aravinda de Silva hit an unbeaten 107 in the match and took three wickets to win the player of the match award. Following the Cricket World Cup final, there was an increased interest in other forms of entertainment within the nation. Platforms offering games like Sri Lanka casino games began to receive increasing attention from citizens of the nation. Furthermore, the victory occurred amid the civil war within the nation.

The Cricket World Cup final also helped to reveal the capabilities of Sri Lanka to host international events. The nation co-hosted the Cricket World Cup final along with other nations such as India and Pakistan. Australia and the West Indies forfeited their games in Colombo against Sri Lanka due to security concerns in the nation. Additionally, Sri Lanka changed the way in which teams approached the cricket match with their opening batsman pair of Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana.

Several factors distinguished the 1996 campaign from its predecessor Sri Lankan World Cup appearances:

The aggressive opening of Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana changed the way in which other teams approached the first 15 overs of the innings

Aravinda de Silva topped the score in the final and took three wickets with the ball

Arjuna Ranatunga’s decision to employ the non?? spinners in several of the matches

The conditions across South Asia that allowed Sri Lanka’s spin bowlers to thrive

All of these factors contributed to a template that subsequent Sri Lankan teams would employ in their own cricketing journeys.

Sri Lanka’s first Olympic medal came decades before the 1996 cricket win. Duncan White, competing for Ceylon, won silver in the men’s 400 meters hurdles at the 1948 London Olympics, finishing in 51.8 seconds, seven-tenths of a second behind American gold medalist Roy Cochran. The result, achieved in the same year Ceylon gained independence from Britain, stood as the country’s only Olympic medal for more than five decades.

Susanthika Jayasinghe extended that record at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, finishing third in the women’s 200 meters with a time of 22.28 seconds. She was awarded silver in December 2009, after the International Olympic Committee disqualified gold medalist Marion Jones for doping and reallocated the event’s medals. Jayasinghe remains the only Sri Lankan woman to win an Olympic medal in athletics.

Sri Lanka’s second global cricket title came at the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, held in Bangladesh. On April 6, 2014, the team defeated India by six wickets in the final at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, with Kumar Sangakkara scoring an unbeaten 52 in what was his final Twenty20 international appearance. The win, achieved under the captaincy of Lasith Malinga, followed four consecutive defeats in global finals for Sri Lanka between 2007 and 2012, and it renewed commercial interest in the sport, with betting operators such as Melbet expanding coverage of Sri Lankan cricket fixtures in the years that followed.

The victory also marked a generational shift, as senior players Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene retired from the Twenty20 format immediately afterward. Players who emerged in the following seasons built on the tactical foundations established during that tournament.

These four results are commonly referenced in discussions of Sri Lankan cricket history and represent turning points across two Olympic cycles and two ICC tournaments. The table below summarizes each result.

Year Event Athlete/Team Achievement

1948 London Olympics, 400m hurdles Duncan White First Olympic medal for Ceylon (silver)

1996 Cricket World Cup final Sri Lanka national cricket team First ICC World Cup title, defeated Australia by 7 wickets

2000 Sydney Olympics, women’s 200m Susanthika Jayasinghe Second Olympic medal for Sri Lanka (bronze, upgraded to silver in 2009)

2014 ICC World Twenty20 final Sri Lanka national cricket team Second global T20 title, defeated India by 6 wickets

The growth in fan engagement with these results has also translated into other sectors of the economy. The interest in sports betting online has increased along with the number of television and streaming channels that cover cricket on television within the region.

Sri Lanka is also set to host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2026 along with India once again. The results that the nation has achieved in the years 1948, 1996, 2000, and 2014 continue to define the potential of the athletes that represent the nation on the international stage.

Metro Manila getting 13 more pumping stations

The government will add 13 pumping stations to the 73 currently managed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to address flooding in Metro Manila.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday that the additional pumping stations should be operational by the end of the year or early 2027.

Of the 13, four will be brand new while the rest will be upgrades to existing facilities, according to MMDA Chair Don Artes.

Work has already started on the four new stations – Doña Imelda, Tatalon, Roxas I and Roxas II – which are all located in Quezon City.

Artes said that all 73 pumping stations were operational at the height of the recent torrential rains resulting from the enhanced southwest monsoon or ‘habagat’ that left many parts of Metro Manila, including portions of Luzon and the Visayas, underwater.

‘Because of climate change, because of the increase in volume of rainfall that has been coming to the Philippines and in the future, we are installing additional pumping stations,’ Marcos said after his inspection of the Tripa de Gallina pumping station in Pasay City.

He added that the additional 13 pumping stations are meant to improve the government’s capacity to drain floodwaters in NCR.

DPWH project

Funding will be under the Metro Manila Flood Management Project with the Department of Public Works and Highways – Unified Project Management Office (DPWH-UPMO) serving as the implementing agency.

Approved in 2017, the project was supposed to end last year, although it was extended until this year.

According to the DPWH, the four new pumping stations are targeted for completion within the year. When finished, they will be turned over to the MMDA for supervision, operation, and maintenance.

During his inspection of the Tripa de Gallina pumping station, the largest pumping station in NCR built in the 1970s, Mr. Marcos said all of its pumps were operating properly.

However, he pointed to garbage as a continuing problem that reduces the station’s efficiency in draining floodwaters in the low-lying areas of Pasay and Makati.

‘We really need to address our problem with garbage disposal. Even if we have a good pumping station and powerful pumps, if garbage continues to enter the system, its efficiency will decline and it will not operate as effectively,’ the P=president said.

According to him, the government is looking for ways to manage the waste in ‘a more environmentally friendly way,’ including turning organic waste into compost to reduce the volume being dumped in landfills.

Another possible solution is pursuing a waste-to-energy program, Marcos said.

‘Some people even joke that if you collected all the garbage coming out, you could build a house because there are kitchen sinks, mattresses, and all sorts of things being thrown into our waterways,’ he noted.

The new pumping stations are on top of the MMDA’s plan to build 39 large rain-catchment structures throughout Metro Manila to ease flooding.

Marcos earlier said the government had identified the sites for the structures, some of which are expected to be operational before the start of next year’s rainy season.

Rain basin sites

The potential sites are the NHA 4PH Property (Bagong Silang) and University of Caloocan City in Caloocan; Camella 3D basketball court and Daang Hari Road in Las Piñas; Malabon People’s Park and Malabon Sports Complex (oval) in Malabon; Chino Roces Avenue underpass and Estero de Tripa de Gallina in Makati;

Baseco Lagoon, Freedom Triangle Plaza, Remedios Circle and Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila;

Buhangin Creek and Maytunas Creek (upstream) in Mandaluyong; Hardin ng Bayan and Marikina River Floodplains (Bagong Sibol) in Marikina; Jamboree Lake (near New Bilibid Prison) and Open area beside Muntinlupa Sports Complex in Muntinlupa;

Navotas Coastal Dike and Tanza Marine Tree Park in Navotas; Open area in Barangay Moonwalk and Open space behind Avida Towers in Parañaque; Cultural Center of the Philippines and Pasay City Linear Ecopark in Pasay;

Bukuhan Agricultural Area and Bukuhan parking lot in Pateros; New Township/Development Area and Rizal High School Track and Field Oval in Pasig; Camp Aguinaldo, Damar Village Park, Miriam College Open Field, Tierra Verde II Park and UP Sunken Garden in Quezon City;

Ermitaño Creek and Maytunas Creek (downstream) in San Juan; Pinagsama Creek Daylighting, and Maya and Maysapang Creek pumping station in Taguig; Polo Riverwalk (right bank) and Wawang Pulo Pumping Station in Valenzuela.

Marcos urges Filipinos: Draw courage, conviction from Ninoy’s legacy

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday commemorated Ninoy Aquino Day by encouraging the Filipinos to draw from the legacy of the late senator in fighting for the country’s freedom and pushing for a progressive nation.

Marcos said that Aquino’s legacy is a reminder of the Filipinos’ courage to uphold convictions and contribute to the country’s democratic process. He also underscored that this day reaffirms the nation’s collective duty to live with honor and dignity.

‘Ninoy Aquino Day, therefore, invites us to acknowledge the past and draw from it the resolve needed to safeguard freedom, strengthen our institutions, and deepen national unity,’ Marcos said in a post.

Aquino, a staunch critic of the dictatorship of Marcos’ late father and namesake, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was assassinated on August 21, 1983 at the then Manila International Airport as he returned to the country from exile in the United States of America.

His death triggered outrage among many Filipinos against the Marcos Sr.’s administration, which eventually became one of the reasons for the historic 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the dictatorship.

Marcos then pointed out the evolving challenges that our democracy faces, citing disinformation, distrust, and civic indifference. Despite these, he said that such obstacles show the importance of active engagement in the nation’s affairs.

‘Ninoy’s legacy encourages us to meet these challenges with vigilance and faith in the Filipino people as we work together to deliver meaningful progress for all,’ Marcos added.

The President then committed that his administration will continue to protect the country’s sovereignty and ensure that the Filipinos are provided with equal opportunities.

‘Together, let us carry forward the lessons of our history as we continue to nurture a more peaceful and prosperous Bagong Pilipinas,’ he concluded.

Fair weather with chances of rains across PH on Friday

Fair weather conditions with chances of rainshowers are forecast across the country on Friday as the southwest monsoon or habagat weakens, according to the state weather bureau.

In the 5 a.m. weather forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, weather specialist Obet Badrina said that while southwest monsoon continues to affect Luzon, its weakening will prevail until Saturday.

‘Sa Luzon, inaasahan ang maulap na kalangitan na may kalat-kalat na pag-ulan, pagkidlat, at pagkulog sa may Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Apayao, Batanes (In Luzon, we expect cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers over Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Apayao, Batanes),’ Badrina said.

He said that the rest of Luzon will experience localized thunderstorms due to the southwest monsoon. Meanwhile, Visayas and Mindanao will also see generally fair weather with chances of localized rainshowers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.

He also shared that no gale warning is raised in any seaboards of the country.

Temperature forecast in the following areas:

Metro Manila: 25°C to 30°C

Laoag: 26°C to 31°C

Baguio: 17°C to 20°C

Tagaytay: 22°C to 29°C

Tuguegarao: 26°C to 34°C

Legazpi: 26°C to 33°C

Kalayaan Islands: 26°C to 32°C

Puerto Princesa: 25°C to 32°C

Iloilo: 25°C to 31°C

Cebu: 28°C to 35°C

Tacloban: 28°C to 34°C

Cagayan de Oro: 26°C to 33°C

Zamboanga: 25°C to 34°C

Davao: 25°C to 32°C

Weather disturbances outside the country

Badrina said that Tropical Storm Saudel outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) was last estimated 2,735 kilometers east of Southeastern Luzon. It may enter the country between Sunday and Monday and may enhance once again the southwest monsoon.

Meanwhile, a low pressure area (LPA) outside the PAR has a ‘medium’ chance of developing into a tropical depression. It was last located 1,700 kilometers east of Northeastern Mindanao.

He added that the LPA will not enter the PAR and will not affect the country once it strengthens into a tropical depression.