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In delivering the keynote address at the just concluded 2025 National Summit of the Local Government Service Commissions (LGSCs), I was compelled to observe the significance of the Summit coming on the heels of the 2024 reconvened National Council of the Civil Service Commissions of the federation as well as the Biennial Assembly and Conference of the African Association of Public Service Commissions (AAPSCOMMSs) which held in Nairobi, Kenya, also in 2024. These meetings and events signal the possibility that the public administration communities of service and practice in Nigeria might be waking up to their gatekeeping responsibilities in a collective bid to strengthen the profession of public administration in Nigeria and on the continent. This is a very good signal. And it is one that the Federal Civil Service Commission is ever ready to extend and partner with the Association of the LGSCs in concretizing.

This emerging awareness is crucial given that all across the globe, there is consensus regarding the significance of local governance and the strengthening of democratic governance through the devolution of powers to local authorities. This growing awareness is even more important for developing contexts like Nigeria where democratic governance must necessarily constitute the means for activating development. This immediately reveals the ideological dimension of the ongoing discussion in Nigeria around the necessity of reforming the local government as the formidable third-tier of democratic government as well as grant it autonomy to deliver on local and grassroots governance. Successfully reforming the local government is therefore the way to go in placing the grassroots and its potentials at the center of democratic governance in Nigeria. There is no doubt whatsoever that the grassroots, aside its democratic potentials, also possess the natural resources and the requisite capabilities that could be harnessed to lift millions of Nigerians out of crippling multidimensional poverty. The grassroots possess the social capital that enables the people in the various rural communities to organize themselves around the available resources that could facilitate inclusive growth and development. This could therefore enable the government to mobilize local governance as a complement for achieving democratic governance, as well as consolidating, for example, the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The implication of all this, and especially of the government’s reform that grants financial autonomy to local government, is that there is now a larger imperative -involving the LGSCs-that focuses on the significance of local governance and its capability readiness for the national development and democratic projects in Nigeria.

The idea of the civil service commission (CSC) came out of the Northcote-Trevelyan civil service reform of the British civil service in 1885. It was meant to serve as the gatekeeping mechanism for preserving and protecting the merit system, professionalism and the vocation of the civil service. Its responsibility is to ensure that the system only recruit, train and absorb those who have the public spiritedness which insists on deferred gratification in the service of the public. In the Nigerian case, and beyond the emergence of the FCSC and CSCs of States, the LGSC came out of the 1976 local government reforms with the constitutional mandate to standardize the administrative and personnel practices, maintain professional standards conducive for efficiency at the local authority level, as well as overseeing manpower planning, assessment of staffing requirements, career management, training and capacity development, and so on. And the most fundamental criterion for evaluating the efficiency and the capacity of the LGSC to not only manage the affairs of the local government is now to also monitor and guarantee the degree of local autonomy enjoyed by the LGAs.

The Local Autonomy Index, for example, provides a barometer that speaks to the level of autonomy enjoyed by any local authority: Is the leadership of local councils locally and freely elected? Is local revenue available for the use of the local governments? Do LGs generate and implement their own budget? Can LGs seek legal redress if any other tier of government breaches its enabling law? Do LGs enjoy administrative autonomy to control their management systems, in terms of the recruitment and appointment of own staff, etc.?

The autonomy issue intersects the deepening of democratic governance in Nigeria because granting the third tier its governance autonomy implies allowing it to deploy its resources and national revenue accruing to it towards catalysing poverty reduction, wealth creation, and economic development. All these in turn become the bedrock for the transformation of the economic basis of the Nigerian state itself. Indeed, the Ojetunji Aboyade Committee on Revenue Allocation of 1977, by assigning a share of revenue allocation from the Federation Account to local governments and like the other two tiers, had set it in good governance stead to become a focal point of significant development activities that require high-calibre professional personnel to manage. And given the recent Supreme Court judgment on local government fiscal autonomy, there is the serious possibility that an era of robust and vibrant local governance is about to dawn in ways that takes the local governments away from its low fiscal responsibility towards a model of developmental efficiency.

Even putting the autonomy issue in this optimistic frame must anticipate serious issues that intersect with the current problems attending the nature and status of the local government as the third-tier of government in Nigeria. One reality is that many of these local government areas were created not because of any concern for administrative viability, but more importantly to service political patronages and necessities. In coming to terms with the realization of local government autonomy in Nigeria, therefore, the LGSC has to first confront structural, systemic and constitutional issues that complicate the possibility of bringing it to pass. First, there is the acute politicization of the local government autonomy that hinges on the overlordship of the state government. In other words, there is a constitutional and legal conflict arising between, on the one hand, the guarantee of section 7 of the 1999 Constitution legislating the existence of democratically elected local governments, and on the other hand, the legal capacity of the state government to create laws and policies that regulate the local government system. Second, there is a constitutional ambiguity with regard to the status and role of the local government as the third tier of the federal government which has been hitherto exploited to facilitate the politicization mentioned earlier.

Third, and based on the many years of neglect, political patronage and bureaucratic and political corruption, the local government authority has developed a deep-rooted institutional capability and capacity deficit that manifest in the form of poor pay and compensation structure, non-competency-based human resource management standards and procedures, weak or even virtually non-existent internal management control, degraded rating, and more, that together have reduced the local government to the lowest bottom of public perception. Lastly, there is also the conflict of interest and loyalty that result from local government staff who pay allegiance to the state government rather than to the local councils that employ them. This has implications for the possibility of designing and implementing local policies.

The LGSC therefore confronts the urgency of supervising the emergence of Nigeria’s own indigenous model of local governance that will in turn supervise and harness the grassroots and community-based structures of social capital, networks and subsidiarity as the nodal service delivery points in terms of, for example, community policing, waste management, etc. This will require that the LGSC will also be prepared to service the high-end capacity, capability and professional competence that local autonomy will demand in terms of the management of the local government councils. This now brings us full cycle back to the LGSC and its fundamental role in gatekeeping the reform of the local government councils and authorities.

In facilitating its gatekeeping constitutional responsibility, the LGSC first has to manage its own existence and authority placed under the watchful control of the state governments. It is therefore centrally situated at the eye of the storm to mediate the challenge of achieving autonomy.

This situation concretizes the significance of the LGSC as the structural and administrative node for connecting local governance to democratic governance in Nigeria’s political context. This only then means that for the institution to succeed in its gatekeeping mandate, it demands a deep-seated reconceptualization of its objectives, mandates and modus operandi. Reconstituting and reforming the LGSC demands a lot in terms of constitutional enabling and structural capability. This will affect the leadership and stakeholder composition as well as the dynamics of its operations. For instance, the LGSC would have to operate not only with a renewed and redesigned manifest of delegated powers and functions involving local government chairmen and councillors, it will also need new schedules of duties and responsibilities that connect the local government to the citizens as end users.

What then are the key reform requirements that will facilitate this reconceptualization of the LGSC as a key institution in the transformation of local governance in Nigeria? Aside the imperative of restructuring the LGSC to facilitate the emergence of new stakeholder and a robust mandate and modus operandi, the administrative autonomy of the institution must be ensured. This is the crucial first step in the responsibility of enabling it to work towards the re-professionalization of the local government councils in ways that ensure its efficient productivity. This administrative independence allows it to streamline recruitment, appointment and personnel administration without undue and distracting interference from the state and from the local government leadership.

The second most significant reform issue concerns funding. This is where administrative autonomy connects with fiscal responsibility of the LGSC. A crucial dimension of its personnel administrative responsibility is manpower training and development. Without these, then the entire gatekeeping architecture collapses. The imperative, confronted by the LGSC, of gatekeeping personnel and human resource function, managing performance improvement and capacity reprofiling demands that the funding necessity must go beyond the meagre allocation that would hitherto accrue from the erstwhile State-Local Government Joint Account. Without a consistent source of significant funding, then the significance of the LGSC is crippled.

The importance of the LGSC in the public administration dynamics of local government and local governance in Nigeria cannot be underestimated. In constitutional and political terms, it is caught in a dilemma between what the Constitution mandates, and what the reality of state legal capacities demand. It requires a formidable reconceptualization in ways that will enable it give birth to a developmental model of local governance that Nigeria urgently needs to capacitate its democratic governance and national development. A good starting point is for the federal government to revisit the constitutional measures for inter-governmental relationship and partnership that make the state government a key stakeholder in local governance without in any way undermining the crucial local government autonomy as the third tier of government. This constitutional vigilance of the federal government, armed with constitutional safeguard, will ensure that the LGSC become the structural negotiation of a win-win relationship between the state and the local government to facilitate the emergence of the grassroots as a formidable site for progressive development that empowers the citizens and strengthens Nigeria’s democracy.

Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo was on the scoresheet, but it was Harry Maguire’s late goal that secured a 2-1 win for Manchester United over arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield in Sunday’s Premier League clash.

Mbeumo wasted no time in making an impact, doubling his season tally just 63 seconds into the match and putting early pressure on Arne Slot’s Liverpool side.

Cody Gakpo pulled the hosts level in the 78th minute with a well-taken finish, but Manchester United regained the lead six minutes later as Harry Maguire struck in the 84th minute to seal all three points for the visitors.

The result marks Liverpool’s fourth straight defeat, extending their recent poor run of form.

Bayelsa is the latest state in the Southsouth geopolitical zone inching closer to joining the All Progressives Congress (APC). In fact, the defection is concluded. The state Governor, Senator Douye Diri and almost his entire Peoples Democratic Party’s political family will soon hoist the APC’s flag at the Creek Haven, sobriquet for the Government House located at the Onopa area of Yenagoa, the state capital.

They have already taken the first step. Governor Diri translated the process from a dream to a reality when he formally announced his resignation from the PDP during the recent state executive council’s meeting. It was a bold move. All his cabinet members aligned immediately with the decision. The entire eight local government chairmen of the state joined him in dumping the party.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, who has been leading the second arm of the government since June 6, 2023, as the seventh Speaker in the Assembly’s history, was in attendance when Diri announced his resignation.

Ingobere and 13 other members of the House toed a similar path and immediately abandoned the PDP. In fact, 14 members of the PDP and two members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the House of Assembly also resigned the membership of their parties. The Bayelsa House of Assembly already has five members of the APC, who also accepted the decision of the governor.

Therefore, out of the 17 PDP lawmakers in the House, only three persons, identified as Godbless Oyinke, Ted Elemoforo and Wisdom Fafi, reportedly refused to follow the body language of the governor. They are said to be staunch loyalists of Diri’s predecessor, Henry Seriake Dickson, who is also the incumbent Senator representing the Bayelsa West Senatorial District.

Of course, as expected, Dickson and Senator Benson Agadaga, who represents Bayelsa East Senatorial District, where the former President Goodluck Jonathan hails from, held tight to the PDP. But Kombowei Benson, who represents the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District of Diri, took his action a step further. He did not just resign his membership of the PDP; he also immediately announced his defection to the APC, and his letter was read on the floor of the Senate.

Indeed, there is no need to doubt the political destination of Diri and his intimidating number of followers. They are heading for the APC, internal harmonisation to fully admit them in the party, which is currently conquering unbelievable territories, is ongoing. Before his resignation, it was gathered that Diri was asked by the national APC to inform Dr Samuel Ogbuku of his plan to join the party.

Unknown to many, Ogbuku, who is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is seen by Villa as the leader of the APC in the state. He currently holds the yam and the knife. The pioneer leader of the party and former Governor Timipre Sylva has since been displaced from his roles as the Bayelsa party leader following his failures to resolve his differences with the Presidency and the national party.

Sylva was reportedly caught pants down working against the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Sylva, who was the Minister of State for Petroleum as at the time Tinubu was the candidate of the APC was accused of joining the failed grand plot and conspiracy to frustrate the chances of the party at the poll by among other actions creating artificial petroleum scarcity the same way the former Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor, Emefiele enabled nationwide naira scarcity through his naira redesign policy.

Therefore, Ogbuku, who has warmed himself into the hearts of the Presidency and the national party, was said to have assumed the leadership of the party in Bayelsa. Everything coming from the APC to Bayelsa reportedly passes through him. He earned the ears of the President through his performance and his unique political engagements. While Sylva has never had direct contact with the President since he assumed office, Ogbuku has maintained constant touch with Tinubu and the leadership echelon of the APC.

Without mincing words, Ogbuku holds the key to Diri’s move to the APC, and with the door already opened for him by the NDDC boss, the governor and his entourage will soon take their rightful place in the broom party. It was gathered that while Sylva has played no part in the ongoing major political event in his party, Ogbuku is said to be harmonising positions of leadership in Bayelsa APC with the governor.

After the ongoing internal harmonisation, the national APC is expected to dissolve the already factionalised Bayelsa APC and set up a technical committee which will midwife a fresh APC Congress in the state. Diri is expected to announce his defection to the APC after the dissolution, which sources said was a matter of days.

Why will Diri abandon the PDP? While some persons, especially the critics of the governor, keep asking the question, others choose to ask: why won’t he dump the PDP? In fact, there are compelling reasons the governor should follow his colleagues in the geopolitical zone, such as Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State and Pastor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, to jump ship.

PDP is currently a sinking ship. It has been torn apart by a prolonged internal crisis, and its leaders do not seem to have a solution to the imbroglio. The leaders of the PDP, out of selfish interest, egoism and lack of personal sacrifices, allowed the empire of their party to crumble.

Those, considered the pillars of the party, who should have murdered sleep to seek an end to the crisis, are busy groping around and seeking other platforms to actualise their political ambitions in 2027.

Besides, with the party engulfed in endless legal battles, people are afraid that the party may be barred from contesting the forthcoming 2027 general election; a similar scenario played out in Rivers State against the APC in 2019.

It was gathered that Diri’s decision to join the APC was borne out of his desire to protect the political and economic interests of his state, especially as the festering PDP crisis has crept into his state. George Turnah, an ally of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, has been dragging the leadership of the PDP with the governor’s camp casting anxieties and uncertainties in the state.

Even the governor captured the reason for his resignation when he declared: ‘Today, I have formally resigned from the PDP for very obvious reasons’. Most people believe that the governor’s veiled reference to ‘very obvious reasons’, was only pointing to the intractable raging dispute in the PDP that has defied all possible solutions and has rendered the party impotent, hopeless and helpless.

Undoubtedly, Diri’s resignation and his ongoing move to join the APC will affect the political trajectory of the state. Bayelsa has been governed by the PDP since 1999, when the late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha took over the mantle of leadership. It ranks as the only PDP state in the South-South that has secured the highest political position in the country under the party. It produced Dr Goodluck Jonathan first as the Vice-President and later as the President of the country.

But despite the fortunes the state enjoyed on the platform of the PDP in terms of political positions, Bayelsa remained grossly underdeveloped. Jonathan’s presidency brought no tangible development to the state.

The Senatorial roads never received significant attention; the capital city, Yenagoa, was so underdeveloped that Dickson, who was the governor for eight years, described it as a ‘forest capital’. The number of local government areas was not increased as it remained eight under Jonathan.

The state was so underdeveloped that even Jonathan, as a President, then had no good road to access his Otuoke village and other communities in his Ogbia Local Government Area. Dickson was so pissed with the woeful performance of Jonathan that he referred to Jonathan’s Presidency as wasted six years. While addressing his people on one of the days designated to commemorate the feats of the late Isaac Adaka Boro, a governor, Dickson said: ‘Ijaw wasted six years at the Presidency’.

But observers discovered that some form of tangible development has crept into the state since Diri’s second term, following the economic policies of the APC national government led by President Tinubu. Tinubu has also incorporated inclusivity and political engagement of stakeholders in his government, dealing fairly with all the governors in terms of revenue and resource redistribution.

With more money accruing to the governors, Diri has been able to confront the Senatorial roads from all fronts; build new Yenagoa city and take advantage of the decentralisation of the power sector by Tinubu to embark on an ambitious 24-hour power generation project through turbines, among others.

Therefore, with his administrative style of accommodating all interests, Tinubu is said to have made the APC attractive to all, especially the governors.

In fact, Diri’s resignation from the PDP has dealt a deadly blow to the rumoured plot to enrol Jonathan into the forthcoming presidential race. There is no doubt that Jonathan’s popularity has waned since he left power in 2015 and preferred his global ambassadorial peace roles to taking an active part in politics.

With no home political support base, general perceptions of his failures when he was the President, as well as Diri’s looming move to join Tinubu in the APC, it becomes a political suicide to venture into any presidential electoral contest.

To avoid embarrassment, such a move could tarnish his image, many well-meaning leaders from his state have been calling on him to bury the dream. Immediately after Diri dumped the PDP, a former member of the Federal House of Representatives, Israel Sunny-Goli, told Jonathan to bury the thought.

He said: ‘People have been speculating about him contesting the next election. I believe Jonathan will not make the mistake of contesting for the 2027 elections as speculated by political jobbers because the odds are against him. ‘

Jonathan’s rumoured ambition was reportedly said to be the reason why High Chief Government Ekpomoupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, visited him in Yenagoa at the weekend. Though Jonathan said the visit of Tompolo, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tantita Security Services Limited (TSSL) in charge of pipeline surveillance contract in the Niger Delta, was to discuss some issues arising from the operations of the company, it was gathered that Tompolo came to give him reasons why he should not think of returning to the Villa much less contesting against Tinubu.

Besides, Diri’s dumping of PDP will soon turn the state into an APC-controlled state, with whatever is left in the PDP and other parties acting as the opposition. Hitherto, the APC was the only party providing opposition in the state. Other parties have been the appendage of the ruling PDP. Diri’s movement to the APC will temporarily destroy every form of opposition in the state, pending their regrouping in another party.

If the PDP survives the legal battle in court and defeats Wike’s faction, then the likes of Dickson and others still left in the PDP may rebuild it, while the faction loyal to Wike’s group may decide to join Diri in the APC, making the party numerically stronger. But if the PDP loses to Wike’s faction, Dickson and others may decide to join any other party, likely the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar may choose as his political platform for the 2027 Presidential election.

Apart from the foregoing, Diri’s looming defection will nearly complete the political unification of the Southsouth geopolitical zone ahead of the 2027 general election. With Edo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, and now Bayelsa states in one APC, it was gathered that the process of bringing the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, to the broom party has commenced. Already, 20 out of the 23 local government areas in Rivers are under the administration of the APC. Observers believe that the plan to make the zone speak in one voice in the 2027 election is a done deal.

Beyond the one-party rhetoric of Dickson as his reason for criticising Diri’s move, it was gathered that the former Governor believes that his political future will be more guaranteed as an opposition leader in the state. Dickson was a master of opposition politics in the state before he joined the PDP, and former President Jonathan foisted him on the people as their governor.

Already, his ambition to remain in the Senate is being threatened by the zoning formula in his senatorial district, which comprises Sagbama and Ekeremor local government areas, and any attempt to join the governor in APC amidst many contending interests may finally bury the ambition.

In fact, the general acceptance of Diri’s dumping of the PDP and his looming move to the APC showed that the governor did his homework well. He consulted widely. The slogan of most political bigwigs in the state, such as a former member of the House of Representatives, Warman Ogoriba, is ‘where the governor go, we will go’.

Both factions of the PDP in the state have since congratulated him. The Wike’s faction, controlled by George Turnah, bemoaned the development but accepted the resignation of Diri, saying the move was guaranteed by the fundamental human rights enshrined in the constitution. Turnah immediately summoned a meeting of members of the PDP caretaker committee in the state.

The other faction of the PDP, led by its state Chairman, Solomon Agwanana, immediately called an emergency meeting of its state executive committee and accepted the resignation of Diri. The committee acknowledged the democratic credentials of Diri, but affirmed its loyalty to the ideals of the party, insisting that its structures across the state were intact.

A former President, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, who welcomed the resignation of Diri from PDP and his moves to join the APC, warned against sidelining Sylva from the process.

Eradiri, who is also a chieftain of the APC in Bayelsa, appealed to Diri to first call a stakeholders’ meeting and use his influence and position as a governor to resolve the internal crisis rocking the APC in the state.

The former Commissioner for Youths and later Environment in Bayelsa, specifically asked Diri to unite the camps of former Governor Timipre Sylva and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri.

Eradiri warned Diri against succumbing to any pressure to sideline Sylva, the pioneer leader of the APC in Bayelsa, positing that leaving out the former governor in the ongoing negotiations would be counterproductive.

He said Diri was expected to bring his peaceful demeanour to the APC and to manage the differences in the party the same way he worked amicably with all the interests in the PDP.

Addressing the governor, Eradiri said: ‘I believe that your coming to APC is to come and also manage this emotion to the point where we will have one strong party because the day you join the APC, you will become the leader by the Constitution of the party.

‘Former Governor Sylva has contributed immensely to the development of APC. All those people throwing stones at Sylva today were not there when Sylva was toiling and building this party. We were in the PDP, and we fought him to ensure that we had our way. But that strengthens the APC we have in the state today.

‘Heineken Lokpobiri became minister, and he allowed these people to push him around, and he wants to assert leadership. It won’t work. There must be seeming respect for the man who had toiled and suffered for the foundation of this party. Sylva has supported a lot of people, including the Minister. You can’t just push him aside.

‘We expect that you bring your peaceful demeanour to come and override these interests and lead it as a peaceful house. Bayelsa has a lot of benefits to derive from the APC if we are a strong, united family.

‘We don’t want a situation where you come in and these individuals will begin to push you on one side to undermine Sylva and others, who hold the structure of the party. I am appealing to you to call a stakeholders’ meeting, engage Sylva, the Minister and bring this party together before your formal defection’.

Just as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was yet to release the results of the candidates who penultimate week sat for the underage screening examination into tertiary institutions in the country nationwide, came the rude shock that the Federal Government had decided to change the current admission process into tertiary institutions in the country by allowing the institutions to decide their choice of students themselves. In effect, JAMB would have lost its essence. To put it more bluntly, the board would naturally cease to exist once that happens because, under the extant arrangement, JAMB is central to the admission process.

I would return to that shortly because this piece actually set out to comment on the underage screening that took place in Abuja, Lagos and Owerri between October 8 and 9. One hundred and seventy-six candidates in all sat for the examination, out of which 84 were adjudged to have finally scaled the hurdle to proceed to the universities of their choice for the 2025/26 academic session, having met the set criteria. This means they have scaled the four-stage screening set for them, having scored at least 320 in the UTME; at least 80 per cent in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE); 80 per cent in the university’s internal screening exercise; and another 80 per cent in the final screening conducted by a JAMB-appointed panel comprising vice-chancellors, civil society representatives, education experts, and other distinguished professionals.

These included Prof. Adamu Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, chairperson of the Lagos centre; Prof Taoheed Adedoja, chairperson of the Abuja centre while Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), chaired the Owerri centre.

Prof. Boniface Nworgu, a renowned psychometrician, who chaired the panel in Lagos on October 9, as Prof. Ahmed had to leave after the first day for other engagements; Dr Rafiu Soyele, Provost Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Prof. Lawrence Ezeminye, Vice-Chancellor, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, and Mrs. Mary Millicent Nnawuogo, Principal, Federal Government Academy, Suleja, among others.

A candidate becomes eligible for the next stage only after successfully meeting the requirements of the preceding one. This, indeed, was the issue with one Miss Kareem Kaamilah Omolarami, who scored 371 in the UTME and indeed successfully scaled the first two hurdles but was not invited for the final screening because Nile University of Nigeria to which she had applied wrote to JAMB that she was absent at the university’s internal screening. She therefore automatically became ineligible to continue the process, having missed one stage.

It was interesting how the oral interview session went in Lagos, with Professors Ahmed and Nworgu in charge. The conviviality of the atmosphere was such that could have normalised the blood pressure of the most nervous candidates. It took place largely on a father to son/daughter basis and not as some professors up there looking condescendingly at some kids trying to do what they did several decades ago.

At times, the candidate’s name was an object of joke. While some knew what their names meant (as we usually give people names in this part of the world for different reasons), I remember one of them who said his surname was ‘Arowosaye’ and he was asked the meaning, which he translated as ”one who has money to enjoy life”!

How about welcoming the candidate to the oral interview with ”how are you doing, my son/daughter”? Sometimes, Prof. Nwogu would, during break, chat up the candidates. ‘Are you enjoying your coffee”? Sometimes he cracked jokes with them, drawing laughter. It was such an enjoyable time that I knew some of the candidates would wish never ended. Virtually everyone that JAMB selected for the exercise was a parent indeed; born teachers, too. They had all it takes for such exercise: the patience, stamina, knowledge and what have you.

And JAMB more than spoilt the candidates with food, snacks and drinks.

I observed the process at the Lagos centre which held at the Senate Chamber of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. Trust Prof Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar and chief executive of JAMB, he would never allow any opportunity pass deserving of a joke without seizing it. The Senate Chamber also happens to be the seat of the highest decision-making authority in the university. In case the candidates did not know, Oloyede made them understand that and how indeed lucky they were to be sitting in such a place when they have not even become ‘JAMBITES’ (students newly admitted into the university). He was right. The candidates were lucky indeed. For those of us who left the university decades ago, the Senate Chamber was a place we looked at with awe from outside. We could only be imagining what the hell was happening in there!

Then, the candidates’ food. There was no doubt that some of them were amazed at what they were served, as they openly confessed that the pieces of meat and fish they were served were adult size. But that was not all. They equally had tea break during which they had snacks and coffee on the two days, all very rich qualitatively, and something to write home about, quantitatively, all paid for by JAMB!

But that is Oloyede for you. As a matter of fact, when the parent of one of the candidates asked him whether the board made any arrangement for lunch for the candidates, the question did not go down well with him as he wondered whether it was possible for any reasonable person to assemble such children without making provision for feeding for them. But then, both the parent and Oloyede were right. It is just because the JAMB registrar cares. Some other organisations would organise such things from morning till evening as JAMB did and the children would have to be catered for by their parents. All they would give them is lunch break; and the candidates, forget their impressionable ages, would have to fend for themselves.

This brings me yet to another aspect of the Oloyede phenomenon: resource management. When I considered the money spent to conduct these examinations in three centres, the calibre of experts that were engaged to ensure that things went well, the facilities used, etc., I keep wondering where the JAMB registrar gets the billions that he returns to the government’s coffers despite all these unforeseen expenses. Considering that this underage screening is novel in the JAMB processes, it means it was probably not budgeted for. Yet, candidates were not asked to pay a dime for its organisation. And I doubt if this would in any way stop the board from returning billions to the government’s coffers at the end of the day, given our experiences in the last few years that Oloyede assumed the front seat in the board.

May be someday, the man would tell Nigerians the magic. I do not want to dwell on this aspect of JAMB’s operations since the coming of Oloyede because it has become a familiar thing. As a matter of fact, the news from JAMB is; if the board cannot remit the billions as it used to do, not otherwise.

If JAMB’S past is anything to go by, then Oloyede is going to leave oversized pair of shoes for his successor when his second term ends. Alternatively, he may have to induct him or her into the secret of the machine that is spinning the billions that he has been handing over to the Federal Government annually in the last eight years. Or better still, show him or her the way to the shrine from where the gods cough up the remittances! What I am saying is that Oloyede’s successor must be ready to continue to ‘su dundun’ as we say in Yoruba land. That is he or she must be ready to excrete something pleasant or sweet! That is one of the lessons and legacies of the Oloyede years in JAMB. Anything short of that is unacceptable.

Be that as it may, let me seek your indulgence to return to the satanic rumour about the Federal Government scrapping JAMB, or making it impotent by stripping it of its role in the admission processes into tertiary institutions in the country. I did not take the rumour with a pinch of salt right from the time it ‘broke’. Mind you, rumours too break, not only stories! I knew it must have been something from the pit of hell. Apparently, some of the people benefitting from the rot in the JAMB of old must have had a dream of such happening. And, just like the Lagbaja episode, ”Omo, anything for me”, and the response: ”Lagbaja, nothing for you”!

Mercifully, the Federal Ministry of Education did not waste time to turn the fraudsters’ dream into a nightmare by issuing a rejoinder signed by the director of press and public relations of the ministry, Boriowo Folasade, on behalf of the minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa. The statement said: ‘For the avoidance of doubt, JAMB remains the statutory and legally empowered body responsible for conducting entrance examinations and coordinating admissions into all tertiary institutions in Nigeria.’ It added: ‘The established admission processes through JAMB remain fully operational, and any contrary information should be disregarded in its entirety.’ Thus ended the antics of the satanic dreamers.

All said, that the screening of the underage candidates went without serious hitches in the three centres was due mainly to the fact that it was well organised. Yes, there were minor hitches, especially with some of the parents who accompanied their children; these were generally sorted out without incidents. The fact that many parents indeed came with their children, at least to the Lagos centre, was one proof they were really underage; as in below the minimum 16 years required for admission. In my time, no one followed me because I was old enough to know my left from my right before seeking university admission. That was one of the things two years of Higher School Certificate (HSC) did for us back then.

It was indeed thoughtful of Prof Oloyede who insisted that the examinations should be held on university campuses instead of centres in town. This restricted movement and also made many of the parents to comport themselves. Otherwise, the exercise might not have been as successful as it was. In fairness to the candidates, they were generally calm and law-abiding. But, because babies would always be babies, some of them forgot the original of some of their documents in their answer sheets, particularly the National Identification Number (NIN) slips. Mercifully, they were not too many; therefore retrieving the documents did not pose a serious problem.

I congratulate the 84 candidates who successfully scaled the hurdles. In terms of brilliance, many of them cannot be denied the accolades. From reports globally, Nigeria has got talents. Many of our children, including the very ones we are talking about have all it takes when the matter is academic studies. What has been the central concern of many is whether these children have the mental and physical capacities to withstand the rigours of the environments in our tertiary institutions, with cultism and all.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Wale Edun, is back in Nigeria.

He was reported indisposed by the presidency last week.

On Sunday afternoon, he was sighted at Fraser Suites Abuja, walking into a meeting with a Qatari delegation.

He left the meeting in the company of the Minister for Industry Trade and Investment Dr. Jumoke Oduwole after an hour of closed door meeting with the Qataris.

In 2023, the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled 20 states and 59 senate seats. It was not a tenuous hold, but it was also not an overwhelming grip. By last week, that control had expanded to 24 states, and in the senate, to a dominant 73 seats from its 2023 level of 59 seats. These growths have been due to steady defections from opposition political parties to the ruling party, with the stream getting less viscous than one or two years ago. The APC’s previously controversial economic reform that earned it repudiation is suddenly not as controversial as they once seemed, as the economy has begun to enjoy a rebound in place of the great spasms and suffocations of the earlier months. Even President Bola Tinubu previously, once caricatured as the devil or agent of despair, has in the estimation of many of his former ardent critics become prescient.

Despite favourable economic indicators and uplifting governorship and legislative defections, few Nigerians predicted the massive change of affiliations witnessed in the past few months. The political cognoscenti might undoubtedly have foreseen some shifts, perhaps in a few vulnerable states or off-cycle elections states, but they will be telling tall stories to say they saw anything resembling the seismic shifts that have reshaped the political leanings of Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Enugu States. They had no pressing reasons to change alliances and were not under siege by anti-graft agencies on a scale and severity glibly referenced by critics. Nor was it obvious that by keeping their former affiliations they would be brutally suffocated by Abuja, especially considering that for the last two years there had been no punitive policies or exercises directed against opposition states. Indeed, the president had admired and recommended some opposition states and deprecated, privately and to a little extent publicly, a few states under the APC umbrella.

All the off-cycle governorship elections held in the past two years, not to talk of most of the by-elections noised among opposition coalition leaders as definitive and epochal, have been won by the ruling party. They were not rigged. While they suffered a few administrative hiccups, they were nonetheless mostly free and fair. Opposition leaders were mystified by the seemingly inexorable trend that defied their confident projections; but they seemed, after catching their breath, to have either reconciled themselves to the wind of change blowing over Nigeria or acknowledged the new realities. It may get worse for them. That wind is not only political; it is also economical. The economy is growing at a healthy rate, foreign exchange rates have not fallen as precipitously as opponents had wished and instead stabilised and strentghened, the stock market is generally and invitingly bullish, and the world, which had in the first few months of the administration excoriated the administration’s policies and warned of apocalyptic consequences, have been surprisingly upbeat.

The APC is still six states shy of the 31 the PDP boasted of in 2007 in the closing months of the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency. The ruling party is unlikely to match that PDP feat, and even if it does, it is unlikely to boast of ruling Nigeria for 60 unbroken years. The PDP dominance at the time was, however, a spinoff of the democratic euphoria sweeping over Nigeria, with indications to exultant Nigerians that the Fourth Republic would last longer than they dared to hope. The APC’s appeal in the past two years has been anchored on the administration’s courageous and perceptive management of the country’s distressed economy. Few analysts expected a turnaround as impressive and persuasive, with many of them initially sceptical about the bona fides of the men entrusted with the management of the economy, not to say the judgement of the president himself. But clearing $10bn forex debt, raising net foreign reserves from $3.99bn in 2023 to over $40bn last month, in addition to sustaining a growth rate of about four percent, all in a little over two years, was nothing less than phenomenal.

The governors saw a president willing to take the flak for them by absorbing acerbic public criticism that bordered on insurrection, a president who refused to engage in blame game with his predecessor, and one who freed public funds through courageous economic policies so that states could embark on massive infrastructural renewal while borrowing little from financial institutions. No, they didn’t need to be intimidated or cajoled into defecting. They saw the future, and despite the mocking conclusions of naysayers, decided to climb in bed with the APC administration. More governors and lawmakers could still defect because the indices of change and the power of the headwind appear irresistible.

The chances of this wind of change metamorphosing into one-party dictatorship is, however, far-fetched. It didn’t happen under Chief Obasanjo when the ruling PDP controlled 31 states. It is unlikely to happen now for the same reasons it didn’t happen then. Nigeria is not dominated by one ethnic group or religion which sometimes provide the favourable ecosystem for dictatorship. In addition, its constitution is in fact becoming more federal than the inchoate unitarism of its unpromising and uncompromising beginnings. What is more, power is gradually devolving to the sub-nationals in a way that does not flagrantly and defiantly threaten the hegemonism of the cartels that have maintained a stranglehold on the country. In any case, as history has shown, a seismic shift to dictatorship is often facilitated by periods of economic emergencies, such as depression, or massive existential challenges, such as civil or external wars. Check out Spain under Franscisco Franco, Italy under Benito Mussolini, Germany under Adolf Hitler, and Portugal under Antonio Salazar, among others. Where military generals and political demagogues sometimes tended to authoritarianism when circumstances permit, economists and financial experts rarely make dictators or one-party virtuosi, of course with the notable exception of Prof. Salazar, a brilliant political economist who balanced his country’s distressed budget and lulled distraught and hungry Portuguese to complacency.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, yesterday, donated a fully furnished office complex to the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) in Sokoto.

Wamakko, a former governor of Sokoto State, speaking during the official handover ceremony of the building, reaffirmed his long-standing commitment to promoting technical and vocational education in Nigeria.

He described the gesture as a continuation of his lifelong passion for education, which he said remains the foundation of national development and youth empowerment.

Wamakko said: ‘This handover ceremony is not the end of our relationship; it is the beginning of a partnership that will yield tremendous benefits for technical and vocational education in Nigeria.

‘The only sustainable way to empower people is to give them skills. You can give a man money or food, but if you give him a skill, you have given him a future.’

The former Sokoto governor explained that his decision to build and donate the edifice to NABTEB stemmed from his belief in the transformative power of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

He noted that empowering young Nigerians with practical skills was the surest way to tackle unemployment, poverty, and underdevelopment.

He said: ‘As a governor, education was at the heart of my administration’s agenda. We built and renovated schools, recruited teachers, and supported thousands of students with scholarships.

‘That commitment has continued in the Senate through my constituency projects and personal interventions, including the establishment of North-West University, Kalambaina.’

Wamakko added that by strengthening NABTEB, he was helping to strengthen the entire technical education sector.

‘NABTEB sets the standards for business, technical, and vocational education. By supporting NABTEB, we are directly supporting Nigeria’s future workforce and productivity,’ he said.

He pledged to mobilise other lawmakers, former governors, and business leaders to support NABTEB’s mission.

‘This donation is just the beginning. I will continue to stand by NABTEB to ensure it has the facilities and resources needed to fulfill its mandate,’ he added.

Receiving the building on behalf of the Board, NABTEB’s Registrar/Chief Executive, Dr. Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, described the donation as a monumental act of patriotism and a testament to Wamakko’s visionary leadership.

Mohammed said: ‘This day marks a significant milestone in NABTEB’s history. Distinguished Senator Wamakko has shown that true leadership is not about position but about impact.

‘This building is not just bricks and mortar, it is a beacon of hope and a foundation for a stronger future in technical and vocational education.’

The Registrar explained that the new office would greatly enhance NABTEB’s operational capacity by improving administrative efficiency, expanding staff accommodation, and providing better facilities for training and documentation.

‘With this building, we will be able to process examinations, results, and certifications faster and more efficiently.

‘It will also serve as a training hub for capacity building and as a secure centre for the management of examination records,’ Mohammed said.

The NABTEB boss pledged that the Board would ensure optimal utilisation and maintenance of the facility.

‘We will not take this gift for granted. Every part of this edifice will be put to productive use in line with our mandate,’ he said.

He also called on other well-meaning Nigerians and corporate organisations to emulate Wamakko’s example by investing in the nation’s education sector.

‘Government alone cannot do it. The future of technical and vocational education depends on collective effort and sustained investment,’ Mohammed said.

The ceremony, attended by government officials, traditional leaders, education stakeholders, and community members, was held at the new NABTEB office complex in Sokoto.

Wamakko’s donation is expected to significantly strengthen NABTEB’s presence in Northern Nigeria and support its goal of producing a skilled and self-reliant workforce capable of driving industrial and economic growth.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of illicit drugs concealed in frozen snails, electrical bulbs and female clothes heading to the United States, United Kingdom and Democratic Republic of Congo have been intercepted by operatives of the at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and a courier company in Lagos.

Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said at least, two suspects linked to attempts to export the illicit substances have already been taken into custody.

Babafemi said one of them, a cargo agent Boladale Riliwan was arrested on 7th October 2025 following the discovery of 15 parcels of skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in 10 pieces of giant rechargeable electrical bulbs he presented in a carton for airfreight to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the export shed of the Lagos airport.

He said another suspect in custody is 48-year-old Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot who is a UK-based Public Health Assistant.

According to the statement, she was arrested on Sunday 12th October at the departure hall of terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja following the discovery of frozen snails used to conceal 2,300 pills of tramadol 225mg in her luggage while heading to Manchester, United Kingdom, on a Qatar Airways flight.

Babafemi said an attempt by another syndicate to export 810 pills of bromazepam hidden in female clothes going to the United States was also thwarted by NDLEA officers at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday 16th October.

The Agency’s Spokesman said in Adamawa, a suspect Bello Buba was intercepted at an NDLEA check point in Namtari, Yola South LGA with 38,270 pills of tramadol concealed in the spare tyre, boot, and door compartments of his Honda Civic car he drove all the way from Benin Republic to smuggle the consignment into Nigeria on Sunday 12th October.

The statement read: ý’He said not less than 53,250 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 21.3 hectares of cannabis farm in Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti state, with 70 bags of the same psychoactive substance weighing 1,140kg recovered by NDLEA operatives during an operation that lasted between Sunday 12th and Monday 13th October.

‘Suspects arrested include: Matthew Emmanuel, 26; James Moses, 27; and Israel Samuel, 20. This followed the destruction of 17,400kg skunk on 6.96 hectares of plantation by NDLEA operatives at Aponmu forest reserve, Akure, Ondo state on Sunday 12th October.

‘ýIn Oyo state, Aliyu Muhammed, 50; Babarinde Segun,32; Ogunbiyi Sanjo, 30; and Ajani Oluro,30, were nabbed with 596kg skunk at Apata-Ako, Igboora, while Jacob Afolabi, 30, and Salako Oluwatobi, 25, were arrested with 273kg of same substance at Odo-Oyan, Igangan, on Thursday 16th October.

‘While Joseph Andrew was arrested in possession of 88kg skunk on Wednesday 15th October by NDLEA operatives at Ona – Imeko, Ogun state, another suspect Festus Udoh, 42, was nabbed with 13,000 pills of opioids along Onitsha- Owerri road, Imo state. In same vein, a total of 74.5kg skunk was recovered from the store of a suspect Joseph Chukwujamaa at Umuogbo – Agu village, Enugu state on Saturday 18th October.

‘In Lagos, no fewer than 11 bags of skunk weighing 117kg were recovered from the base of a suspect Ramoni Olukowi in Mushin area on Saturday 18th October while a total of 80,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were intercepted in a container earlier watch-listed by NDLEA coming from India during a joint examination of the shipment with men of Customs service and other security agencies at the Apapa port on Tuesday 14th October.

‘In like manner, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA advocacy lecture to students and staff of Commercial Grammar School, Igogo Ekiti; Junior Secondary Smart School, Kasarawa, Katsina; Government Technical College, Ahoada, Rivers; Government Girls Junior Secondary School, Yau Danzabuwa, Babura, Jigawa state; Attarbiyya Community College, Hotoro, Kano; Fuga Mixed Secondary School, Fuga, Edo state; St. Cyprian Special Science School, Nsukka, Enugu and St. Peter’s College, Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun state, among others.

‘While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Apapa, Lagos, Ekiti, Adamawa, Oyo, Enugu, Ogun, Ondo, and Imo Commands for the arrests, and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) urged them and their colleagues across the country not to relent in their ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.’

The defection of Enugu State governor Peter Mbah does not just reflect his personal desire to join the ruling party and win more federal concessions for his state, it is also probably an indication that he and many like him have given up on his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and any thought that an opposition coalition can wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027. While angry commentators and some party chieftains accuse defectors of sabotage and selfishness, the defectors see their migrations as realistic appraisals of the shifting dynamics of contemporary Nigerian politics. If they do not adapt quickly, the defectors ruminate, they could fade into irrelevance prematurely. They recognise the worrisome internal dynamics of the main opposition party far more comprehensively than armchair critics who still bandy superficial analysis of the PDP’s prospects or make moralistic evaluation of what defection presupposes.

In one fell swoop, Mr Mbah got rid of the uncertainties clogging his movement and stymying his politics. To him, the PDP was too weakened by internal rancour that it had become difficult to calculate options. The PDP candidate in the 2023 presidential election had also jettisoned the party and moved on to spearhead a new coalition of aggrieved parties. Labour Party’s Peter Obi, a presidential candidate in the last elections, had also leapt into the void by trying to straddle the Labour Party (LP) and the coalition platform, the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Until he lands, neither his supporters nor he can tell whether he has landed well or not. But he was also at a time a member of the PDP. Other than the interim leaders of the ADC led by former senate president David Mark and former Osun governor Rauf Aregbesola, few other party chieftains are sure who really is an ADC member.

Despite the initial razzmatazz of coming together for a public presentation of the ADC and letting the public know that their souls are knitted with the adopted party, presumptive party chieftains have engaged in protracted formalisation of their membership of the party. Former vice president Atiku Abubakar announced through his spokesmen that the process of registering with the ADC was ongoing. It takes less than 24 hours to register with any party, but Alhaji Atiku is taking months. It takes just a moment to register with the coalition platform, but Mr Obi has engaged in sophistry and unabashedly declared he was still an LP member while his soul drew to the ADC. Their dithering is unlikely to be because of their lack of certainty in winning the presidential ticket nomination. Alhaji Atiku knows no one can upstage him in a party he has invested his personality and money on a significant scale. Conversely, Mr Obi knows he cannot win the ADC ticket under any circumstance.

So, why are they still pussyfooting? In the next few months, the parties will hold their primaries. And possibly before the end of 2026, going by the speculations about the scope of the legislative amendment being proposed to the Electoral Act, the elections might conceivably be held next year, and not 2027 as previously determined. Given the tightness of the electoral schedule ahead, party leaders and aspirants to various offices ought to demonstrate urgency and perspicacity in their political calculations. Instead, both Alhaji Atiku and Mr Obi have been formulaic and lethargic. Their seemingly detached approach is, however, unlikely to be a result of their excessive caution in watching which way the cat jumps. Their lethargy is in fact a function of two factors intrinsic to their politics. One, both men worry over what other banana peels are strewn across their paths, hobbled it seems by the unpredictability of their self-willed colleagues within a fractious party.

Two, having never founded any party before but had thrived reaping where they did not sow, the two gentlemen a lack of capacity in running anything but trading concerns and one-man businesses where their word is law. Asking them to engage in perspective thinking and modeling will be asking them to deconstruct a black hole or expound the latest advances in particle physics. Alhaji Atiku is adept at picking holes in other leaders’ policies and scorning their achievements, while Mr Obi is brilliant at sermonising and drawing distinctions between black and white, not other colour spectrums. Both gentlemen have imposed their inadequacies and uncertainties on the coalition force. But they know that after 2027 or 2026, they would no longer be in currency, especially given the superficiality of their ideas and the insubstantiality of their persons. So, it is now or never, with no room for mistakes. But their best political years are behind them, whether they recognise it or not.

The ADC itself, or whatever is left of it, having morphed so badly that it has become unrecognisable even as a special purpose vehicle for political journeymen, is in a quandary. Party chieftains await the decisions of their notables. Until those putative leaders make up their minds, the party will remain in the doldrums. Fiery chieftains like former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai will loath such inertia; but there is little he can do, having burnt his fingers in other issues and decisions because of shortage of funds and lack of sound judgement. Other chieftains like Rotimi Amaechi will continue to nurse his bilious rage, but there is little else he can do until both Alhaji Atiku and Mr Obi make up their minds. Other less calculating chieftains like Gen. Mark and the obstreperous Mr Aregbesola will squirm beneath the surface until someone puts them out of their misery. The ADC will hope that the former vice president and the former Anambra governor will never return to the PDP, for from such devastation, should it happen, no politician, no matter how gifted and principled, has ever recovered.

Wakanow Group, Africa’s leading travel tech company, has announced that it has acquired NairaBox, a fast-growing lifestyle and entertainment platform in Nigeria.

This acquisition represents a deliberate strategic step by Wakanow to broaden its portfolio into entertainment, events, and lifestyle experiences, reinforcing its commitment to innovation, consumer centricity, and diversified growth.

NairaBox is known for providing seamless access to event tickets, cinema experiences, lifestyle offerings, and more via its digital platform, combining convenience with engagement.

By integrating NairaBox into the Wakanow ecosystem, the Group said its customers will enjoy more holistic experiences: travel, entertainment and lifestyle, all under one roof.

Bayo Adedeji, Group CEO of Wakanow, stated: ‘We see tremendous opportunity in the intersection of travel and entertainment. This acquisition allows us to offer deeper, richer experiences to our customers – beyond being a travel agency, not just where they travel, but how they live, how they enjoy, how they engage with culture.

‘We are excited about what the future holds as we combine Wakanow’s strength and reach with the lifestyle energy of NairaBox.

‘As we expand, we are focused not only on geography but on sectoral breadth. Entertainment and lifestyle are natural adjacencies to our business – they enhance the value we deliver and align well with consumer trends.

‘We believe the synergies will unlock new growth, both for our customers and stakeholders,’ Adedeji added.

According to an official statement by Wakanow, the CEO, Nairabox, Ugochukwu Jay Chikezie, will continue in his role to support the transition while Oluwatobi Samuel Andero from Oracle Experiential Marketing joins NairaBox as Head of Business.

While stating his commitment to a smooth transition of ownership, Chikezie affirmed: ‘Joining forces with Wakanow marks an exciting new chapter for NairaBox and for entertainment in Nigeria.

‘Over the years, we’ve built a platform that connects people to the experiences they love – concerts, movies, and live events.

‘This acquisition allows us to scale that vision even further by integrating travel and entertainment into one seamless ecosystem.

‘Together with Wakanow, we’re creating a future where access to unforgettable experiences, whether across cities or continents, becomes simpler, smarter, and more connected than ever.’

The acquisition of NairaBox adds to the growing arsenal of brands within the Wakanow Group portfolio, including Wakanow.com, Onburd.com, Kalabash54, rommde.com, Pointview and Trip Merchant.