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The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has declared that there is no vacancy in the Presidential Villa for the next four or five years, signalling his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office.

Akiolu spoke during a courtesy visit by the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the Oba Palace, Lagos led by its Director-General, Abdulaziz Yari.

The monarch also urged politicians to ensure that the 2027 general election was peaceful and conducted in a manner that would benefit Nigerians.

‘For the next four or five years, there is no vacancy in Aso Rock,’ he said.

He urged members of the campaign council to be honest in their dealings and avoid actions capable of undermining peace and stability in the country.

The monarch said the forthcoming election should not be approached through the Machiavellian principle that the end justifies the means, stressing the need for responsible political conduct.

Yari said the delegation was at the palace as part of its first outing to seek the monarch’s blessing, prayers and advice ahead of its nationwide campaign activities.

He said the council had earlier visited the Sokoto Caliphate before proceeding to Lagos to pay homage to the Oba.

The DG appealed for continued support for Tinubu, saying members of the council believed the President deserved another term to consolidate what he described as the gains of his administration.

According to him, the council was particularly convinced by the administration’s efforts to address economic challenges, insecurity and infrastructure development.

He acknowledged that Nigerians were still facing economic difficulties but argued that some indicators showed improvement, particularly in the availability of funds and efforts to stabilise the economy.

Yari also defended the administration’s handling of insecurity, saying Tinubu had continued to provide support and equipment for the military and police in the fight against insecurity.

He recalled that Tinubu had previously supported the emergence of former President Muhammadu Buhari because of the security challenges confronting the country at the time.

Yari said the support for Tinubu was not merely a matter of political reciprocity but was based on the belief that the President should be allowed to continue with his plans for the country.

He assured that members of the council from the North would work to ensure that the President’s re-election bid received the necessary support in the region.

Receiving the delegation, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu described the visit as significant, noting that the council had chosen to visit the Oba immediately after its engagement in Sokoto.

Sanwo-Olu said the delegation was seeking the royal blessing of the Oba before commencing its wider political assignment across the country.

He described the members of the council as eminent Nigerians who had served the country in various capacities, including as former governors, a former Senate President, former speakers and serving governors.

The governor said Lagos remained important to the political process, describing the state as both the commercial and economic nerve centre of the country and a major political centre.

He said the presence of the council at the palace reflected the importance attached to the traditional institution and its role in the political process.

Sanwo-Olu also acknowledged the presence of Lagos APC leaders, local government chairmen, members of the National Assembly and state lawmakers at the event.

The visit was attended by other APC leaders and stakeholders in Lagos.

NASD Plc is positioning for its next phase of growth by expanding beyond traditional securities trading into a broader capital-formation ecosystem.

Chairman, NASD Plc, Olayimikah Bolo said the company is creating diversified and recurring revenue streams that will deliver sustainable long-term value to investors.

Bolo said the strategy reflected a growing need for private capital to finance Nigeria’s next phase of economic development across critical sectors including agriculture, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, real estate and the creative economy.

Speaking at the company’s 13th annual general meeting, Bolo said NASD’s 2026 priorities would focus on market deepening, enterprise development, capital formation, digital innovation, increased investor participation and strategic partnerships.

‘The company would continue to strengthen governance, enterprise risk management and operational resilience as it builds the platform for its next stage of development,’ Bolo said.

According to her, the company’s recent market performance provides a strong foundation for this strategy.

During the review period, market capitalisation increased by 105.83 per cent to N2.12 trillion, while trading volume surged 370.81 per cent to 14.03 billion shares. The NASD Securities Index also gained 18.02 per cent to 3,543.74, while admitted securities increased from 44 to 46.

However, revenue remained broadly flat at N1.12 billion, while profit after tax declined by 36 per cent to N263.4 million, reflecting the need to translate the significant expansion in market activity into stronger and more diversified earnings. Fees and commission income declined by 15% to N915.9 million, although interest income rose sharply by 237 per cent to N206.9 million, providing support to overall revenue.

Against this backdrop, NASD is pursuing initiatives designed to strengthen its earnings base and capture greater value from the expanding market. The Company is also preparing to undertake a Rights Issue, which is expected to provide additional capacity to execute its growth strategy, deepen market liquidity and support the development of a more diversified business model.

In her statement in the 2025 Annual Report, Acting Managing Director Chinwendu Ekeh said, ‘NASD is building additional channels through which that enlarged market can be monetised while the Company is also targeting expansion in Commercial Paper and Digital Securities.’

The Company’s growth agenda is therefore centred on converting market expansion into sustainable commercial opportunities. By broadening its product offering and strengthening its role across different stages of the capital-raising cycle, NASD aims to reduce its reliance on traditional transaction-based income and build a more resilient and scalable earnings model.

Shareholders at the AGM expressed confidence in the ability of the Board and Management to execute the strategy, grow the Company’s revenue base and position NASD for sustainable profitability.

In the course of the meeting NASD also announced the appointment of a Managing Director, who would operate in an acting capacity until the approval of her appointment by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bolo noted that the appointment followed a rigorous and competitive executive search process conducted by PwC, as part of the Board’s commitment to strengthening NASD’s leadership for its next phase of growth.

Following the conclusion of the process, Arese Ugwu was announced as the new Managing Director of NASD Plc, subject to ratification by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ugwu said her immediate focus would be on translating NASD’s significant market growth into stronger commercial performance by attracting quality issuers, deepening liquidity, expanding distribution and increasing investor participation.

‘Nigeria has extraordinary businesses that need capital and investors searching for opportunities to create wealth. NASD has an opportunity to become one of the country’s most important platforms for connecting the two. Our market has grown significantly; our job now is to ensure that the economics of NASD grow with it,’ Ugwu said.

Bolo, who stepped down as Chairman after helping to stabilise the Board during the stipulated transition period, encouraged shareholders to participate in the forthcoming Rights Issue and support the new leadership as NASD enters its next phase of development.

‘I am still on the Board. I only stepped down as the Chairman,’ Bolo said, while announcing Dr. Ore Sofekun as acting Chairman..

Shareholders ratified the appointments of four Non-Executive Directors: Dr Ore Sofekun, Obiageli Chikia-Ijegbulem, Abiola Adedniran and Zahab Zainab Sanusi Monguno, while Fatumaota Soukounao Coker was re-appointed.

‘With a significantly deeper market, strong growth in trading activity and expanding opportunities across new products, NASD is well positioned to evolve beyond its traditional securities-trading role and become a more diversified capital-formation platform. If effectively executed, the strategy has the potential to unlock new and recurring revenue streams, strengthen profitability and create sustainable long-term value for shareholders,’ a Market Analyst said.

Leadership and public policy expert Dr Dakuku Peterside has blamed Nigeria’s inability to translate its vast natural and human resources into broad-based prosperity on weak institutions, poor management, and inconsistent policy implementation.

Peterside said Nigeria’s fundamental development challenge was not a lack of resources but the quality of the institutions and systems that manage them.

He spoke on Monday at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, while delivering the keynote address at the 65th Annual National Management Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).

The former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said Nigeria must urgently move ‘from resource wealth to institutional wealth’ if it hopes to achieve sustainable economic transformation.

In a statement he made available to journalists in Abuja, Peterside said revenues from the country’s natural resources, particularly oil, should be deliberately converted into productive assets, including education, infrastructure, technology, research, manufacturing, agricultural value chains, logistics, and human capital.

‘Development occurs when natural wealth is converted into institutional wealth,’ Peterside said.

He described institutional wealth as the combination of capable people, credible systems, reliable laws, efficient agencies, transparent processes and productive enterprises necessary to drive sustainable development.

Peterside said the contrasting experiences of Nigeria, Botswana and South Korea showed that abundant natural resources were not, by themselves, a guarantee of national prosperity.

He noted that Botswana had successfully leveraged its diamond wealth through strong institutions, political stability, secure property rights and prudent public financial management.

South Korea, on the other hand, he said, achieved remarkable economic transformation through capable institutions, industrial coordination, infrastructure development, export-oriented policies and sustained investment in education.

Peterside also drew attention to historical per-capita income comparisons involving Nigeria, China and Malaysia, noting that although Nigeria was once ahead on the cited measure, the two Asian countries subsequently overtook it through faster and more consistent growth.

‘Potential is not destiny. History does not reward potential; it rewards organised potential’, he said.

The public policy expert warned that Nigeria’s excessive dependence on oil could continue to encourage rent-seeking, fiscal instability and distorted economic incentives unless revenues from the resource were deployed to finance long-term development.

He said the critical question before the country was whether oil wealth would be used to finance national transformation or merely sustain consumption.

Peterside also challenged Nigerian managers and policymakers to place greater emphasis on merit, accountability, measurable performance, institutional memory and professional public management.

‘Institutions become strong not because they occupy impressive buildings, but because they deliver predictable outcomes,’ he said.

He stressed that Nigeria’s transformation would ultimately depend on ‘capable institutions led by competent people’ with the discipline and commitment to translate policies into measurable results.

Also speaking at the conference, the Alara of Ilara Kingdom, Oba Dr Olufolarin Olukayode Ogunsanwo, said Nigeria’s development shortcomings were fundamentally linked to its failure to build strong institutions.

The monarch said the country must deliberately cultivate competent leaders with integrity, stressing that sustained leadership development was indispensable to achieving national transformation

In his remarks, the President and Chairman of Council of NIM, Commodore Abimbola Ayuba, said Nigeria could not make meaningful progress without breaking away from practices that had held the country back.

‘The operating environment must be conducive and peaceful for the nation to excel,’ Ayuba said.

He urged professional managers to become leading lights and agents of change in their respective fields, charging them to contribute actively towards strengthening the country’s institutions, systems and management practices.

The Senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District and Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Yunus Akintunde, has concluded the installation of another 3,000 solar street lights in communities in the 11 local government areas of the senatorial district.

This phase brings to 9,000 the number of solar street lights delivered to communities in Oyo Central, with the earlier interventions covering the 118 wards in the district.

Under the new 3,000-light phase, 150 solar lights are being installed at Police formations and other security facilities across the senatorial district to improve security infrastructure and night-time visibility.

The security component covers the state Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan. In Akinyele, the beneficiaries are Moniya Area Command, Moniya Divisional Headquarters, Iroko Police Outpost, Ijaye Police Outpost, Ojoo Divisional Headquarters and Orogun Police Outpost.

In Lagelu, the facilities are Iyana Offa Divisional Headquarters, Alakia Adelubi Divisional Headquarters, Monatan Divisional Headquarters, Jonku Police Outpost, Kajorepo Divisional Headquarters, Akobo Divisional Headquarters and Olorunda-Aba Divisional Headquarters.

The intervention in Ona-Ara covers Ogberé and Akanran Divisional Headquarters, while Egbeda has Egbeda Divisional Headquarters, Ogungbade Divisional Headquarters, Airport Police Headquarters and Gbagi Area Command.

In Oluyole, the beneficiaries are Idi Ayunre Divisional Headquarters, Toll Gate Divisional Headquarters and Orita Challenge Police Station. Ogo-Oluwa Local Government has Ajaawa Divisional Headquarters, Opete Divisional Headquarters and the Civil Defence facility.

The project also covers Iresaadu Divisional Headquarters, Iresaapa Divisional Headquarters, Okoo Divisional Headquarters and Okin-Apa Divisional Headquarters in Surulere, while Atiba Local Government has Atiba Divisional Headquarters.

In Afijio Local Government, the facilities are Awe, Jobele, Ilora and Fiditi Divisional Headquarters. Oyo East has Durbar Police Station and the Passport Office, while Oyo West has Ojongbodu Divisional Headquarters.

The Oyo State Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan, is also among the beneficiaries.

According to the lawmaker, the installation is expected to improve visibility around the facilities at night, enhance the security environment, and provide reliable lighting for personnel, particularly in areas affected by inadequate electricity supply.

Beyond the security facilities, the remaining lights under the new 3,000-light phase are being installed across selected communities, roads and strategic public spaces in the eleven local government areas.

With 9,000 lights already delivered and another 3,000 now being installed, the intervention brings the total number of solar street lights under Senator Akintunde’s light-up Oyo Central initiative to 12,000.

The lawmaker said the initiative is aimed at improving visibility, creating safer surroundings and supporting social and economic activities in communities across Oyo Central.

He however said focus on Police and other security facilities reflected his legislative responsibility as Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, with the intervention providing additional lighting support to security formations across the senatorial district.

As part of its ongoing effort to foster deeper technical exchange among engineering leaders in the Financial Technology (fintech) industry, Moniepoint has hosted the inaugural ‘Off-the-Record Engineering Mixer for Africa’s Fintech Builders.’

The Moniepoint Off the Record Engineering Mixer was created as an open forum for practitioners to move beyond conventional technical presentations and examine the failures, trade-offs and engineering decisions behind the systems powering financial services.

The engineers had candid conversations around ‘Building for Scale, The Trade-offs of Distributed Systems in Fintech’ and ‘Building Distributed Systems for POS at Scale.’

Held at Moniepoint Headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, the mixer convened senior engineering practitioners from across Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, including Flutterwave, Cowrywise and Nomba.

Discussions examined the realities of operating financial technology infrastructure at scale, including system failures, network dependencies, architectural trade-offs, observability, security and designing for failure.

Moniepoint said convening senior engineering practitioners to examine operational realities reflects its view that the challenges of building at scale in African fintech are shared rather than proprietary, and that the industry improves when the people running these systems compare notes directly.

Moniepoint also used the platform to highlight its approach to building more resilient card payment systems and protecting customers from false debits, guided by a principle that customers should never be left carrying the cost of uncertainty created inside a system they rely on but cannot see into.

Speaking on the engineering philosophy behind this approach, Engineering Manager, Card Payments, Moniepoint, Ayomide Kolawole, said: ‘Building reliable payment infrastructure is about understanding every point at which a transaction can fail, determining what the system knows at each stage and designing the right response when things go wrong.

‘Our responsibility is to ensure that customers are not left carrying the consequences of uncertainty created within a system they rely on.’

Kolawole added that for Moniepoint, the goal is not simply to process transactions quickly, but to make sure that when something goes wrong, the customer experience does not become the cost of that failure.

Moniepoint’s card payments infrastructure processes more than 20 million transactions daily and is built around a deliberate approach to failure. When the system is sufficiently certain that a transaction is unlikely to succeed, it fails fast.

Where the outcome remains uncertain, the system continues to establish what actually happened before presenting a definitive response to the customer.

A key component of this infrastructure continuously evaluates the health of individual issuing banks across individual processors, monitoring success rates and response times in real time.

When a destination crosses a configured threshold, the system automatically stops routing transactions there, reducing prolonged waits and limiting the risk of transactions piling up behind the scenes.

Kolawole explained that the principles behind this approach also connected with the wider discussions at the Mixer.

The sessions, he said, examined the trade-offs that accompany architectural decisions such as sharding, asynchronous processing and service decomposition, with speakers highlighting how solutions designed to address one challenge can introduce new operational and maintenance considerations elsewhere.

Participants agreed that observability and security were similarly essential to understanding system behaviour, identifying emerging risks, and building resilience into financial technology infrastructure.

The sessions reinforced a central principle of engineering at scale. Reliability is not simply about building systems that work. It is about understanding how they fail, designing for uncertainty and ensuring that when failures occur, customers are protected from consequences they should never have to bear.