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Tinubu: Macron dinner reaffirmed strong Nigeria-France ties

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said his private dinner with French President, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris reaffirmed the strong friendship between Nigeria and France and their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefit of both countries.

Tinubu, who is rounding off his working vacation in Europe, was hosted by Macron to the private dinner at the Élysée Palace on Thursday night.

Giving an update on the engagement yesterday morning through his verified X handle, @officialABAT, the President said his conversation with the French leader centred on the relationship between the two countries and the need to further strengthen their partnership.

‘It was a pleasure to share a private dinner with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace Présidence de la République in Paris.

‘Our conversation reaffirmed the strong friendship between Nigeria and France, as well as our shared commitment to deepening cooperation and building a mutually beneficial partnership between our two nations.

‘I thank President Macron Emmanuel Macron for his warm hospitality and friendship,’ Tinubu wrote.

The President’s account provided further insight into the Thursday night engagement, which had earlier been disclosed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Onanuga had announced the meeting on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956, describing it as another reflection of the enduring relationship between Abuja and Paris.

‘French President Emmanuel Macron received President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a private dinner Thursday night at the Élysée Palace, reflecting the enduring relationship between Nigeria and France and their shared commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation’, Onanuga had said.

The dinner came in the closing days of Tinubu’s working vacation in Europe and represents another high-level engagement between the Nigerian and French leaders as both countries seek to expand cooperation across strategic sectors.

President Tinubu left Abuja on August 30 for his annual leave, with London as the first destination before proceeding to Paris for the concluding part of the vacation.

His latest engagement with Macron builds on a series of contacts between both leaders and growing efforts by Abuja and Paris to broaden their relationship beyond traditional diplomatic ties into trade, investment and other areas of economic cooperation.

Tinubu has made investment mobilisation a major plank of his engagements with France, repeatedly presenting Nigeria’s economic reforms and large domestic market as opportunities for French and other international investors.

The relationship received a major boost during Tinubu’s state visit to France in November 2024, when Macron hosted the Nigerian leader in Paris for high-level talks focused on strengthening political and economic relations.

The visit produced engagements covering areas including agriculture, energy, infrastructure, security, education, solid minerals, finance and investment, with both governments expressing their intention to develop a more mutually beneficial partnership.

Tinubu has since maintained high-level contacts with the French leadership and business community as his administration seeks foreign capital and partnerships to support its economic reform programme.

Thursday night’s private dinner, coming as the President concludes his European vacation, provided another opportunity for both leaders to review the relationship and reaffirm their commitment to expanding cooperation between Africa’s most populous country and France.

Tinubu: Nigeria must turn global cultural boom into jobs, economic value

Meanwhile, the President has said Nigeria must convert the growing global popularity of its music, films, fashion and culture into lasting economic value, increased local production and jobs for young Nigerians.

The President, who described the country’s growing cultural influence as a ‘remarkable cultural moment’, said he wants more of the wealth generated by Nigerian talent to remain in the country rather than being captured elsewhere.

Tinubu stated this in a post on his verified X handle, @officialABAT, yesterday evening after meeting French businessman Vincent Bolloré and executives of the Bolloré Group in Paris for talks on expanding investments in Nigeria.

The discussions focused on investments across film, entertainment, fibre-optic infrastructure and the digital economy, with the President pushing for greater localisation of businesses operating in Nigeria.

‘Nigeria is having a remarkable cultural moment in the world. Our music fills stadiums across continents. Our films and stories are reaching new audiences. Nigerian creativity, fashion and culture are commanding global attention.

‘We must turn this moment into lasting economic value for our people’, Tinubu said.

The President said his meeting with Bolloré and his executives involved extensive discussions on increasing their investments in Nigeria, particularly in sectors capable of harnessing the country’s rapidly expanding creative economy.

He said businesses associated with the group, including Canal+, MultiChoice and Universal Music, were interested in expanding their Nigerian operations.

‘Through Canal+, MultiChoice, Universal Music and other businesses, they are looking to do more in Nigeria. They see our country as the arrowhead of Africa’s cultural awakening, powered by Nollywood, Afrobeats and the growing global appetite for Nigerian culture’, he said.

Tinubu, however, stressed that the international success of Nigerian talent must increasingly translate into economic benefits within the country through local production, infrastructure development and employment.

‘I want more of the value created by Nigerian talent to remain in Nigeria. More production at home. Greater investment in our local industries and infrastructure. More opportunities and jobs for our young people’, the President said.

He disclosed that he had consistently pressed investors on the need for greater localisation, including in his engagements concerning MultiChoice.

‘I have made this case consistently, including on greater localisation by MultiChoice’, Tinubu said.

The President linked the investment discussions to his administration’s economic reforms, saying they were intended to create an environment capable of attracting capital and stimulating growth.

He added, however, that attracting investments was not sufficient unless they produced tangible benefits for Nigerians.

‘Our reforms are creating the conditions for investment and growth. My responsibility is to ensure that these investments translate into real opportunities for Nigerians.

‘This is the purpose of the Renewed Hope Agenda’, Tinubu said.

The President’s post followed an earlier State House statement on the Paris meeting, which said Bolloré and his executives had outlined plans to deepen the localisation of their operations in Nigeria across film, entertainment, fibre-optic infrastructure and related sectors.

The meeting took place during Tinubu’s working vacation in France and forms part of his administration’s efforts to attract investment into Nigeria’s creative and digital sectors while retaining a greater share of the economic value generated by Nigerian talent at home.

Tinubu: Nigerians Already Enjoying Cheaper Transport Fares

Nigerians have already started seeing measurable reductions in transportation costs, according to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The President said this while giving an update on the promise to provide Nigerians with cheaper transportation from October 1, 2026.

On August 27, Tinubu met with governors and discussed steps that will crash transportation cost across the nation to cushion the effect of harsh economic conditions.

In a statement on Saturday, Tinubu said after the meeting, the implementation committee for the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum was established. He said he is aware that considerable work was already underway by the committee, PI-CNG and EV, the States, and other critical stakeholders to identify priority transport corridors, determine appropriate interventions, and put the necessary arrangements in place.

The President also cited instances of how CNG-powered and electric public transport services have reduce transport cost, emphasising that Nigerians were already experiencing the difference.

‘On August 27, I met with the governors of our 36 states, and we agreed on a clear objective. From October 1, more Nigerians should begin to see measurable reductions in transportation costs.’

‘This work has become even more urgent amid the current global energy crisis. We already have evidence from across Nigeria of what is possible when cheaper energy translates into cheaper transportation.

‘In Borno, CNG-powered and electric public transport services are moving commuters for between ?50 and ?100 on routes where commercial operators charge between ?300 and ?600.’

‘In Kaduna, 100 CNG-powered buses are providing free transportation on major routes across the state. In their first year of operation, the buses carried about 3.2 million passengers, saving commuters more than ?3.5 billion in transport costs.

‘In Oyo, CNG buses deployed to Pacesetter Transport brought the Lagos-Ibadan fare down from about ?8,000 to ?3,200 during the initial deployment.

‘In Adamawa, alternative-energy transit services have cut fares by as much as 50 per cent, from ?8,000 to ?4,000.

‘In Enugu, where 100 CNG buses have been deployed, the Enugu-Nsukka fare has been reduced from ?2,500 to ?1,500.

‘In Plateau, government-supported buses carry about 13,000 commuters every day at ?200, compared with more than ?500 commercially.’

The President added that through the partnership with the NURTW, passengers on CNG-converted commercial vehicles on several Abuja commuter routes receive a 40 per cent fare reduction.

He listed the routes where this has been happening as Area 1 to Gwagwalada, for example, has fallen from ?1,500 to ?900; Nyanya from ?700 to ?420; and Wuse from ?400 to ?240.

Citing additional instances, he said, ‘In Niger, passengers on the Suleja-Abuja service are paying ?550 compared with about ?800, while Abia has deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.

‘These are not projections. Nigerians are already experiencing these savings.’

Tinubu commended the governors utilising CNG, but said more still needs to be done.

He vowed that the Federal Government would support them to scale further.

‘Disruptions to global energy supplies are once again pressuring petrol and diesel prices and increasing transportation costs worldwide.’

‘Nigeria cannot control events in global energy markets. But as a gas-rich nation, we can reduce our exposure. That is what we have been doing.

‘Over the last three years, my administration has deliberately invested in building a CNG transportation ecosystem across Nigeria. Today, more than 120,000 vehicles have been converted; we have over 400 certified conversion centres and more than 90 CNG refuelling stations across the country, and these figures are increasing daily.

”=At a time like this, our answer cannot be to return to the ruinous petrol subsidy regime that consumed trillions of naira and left our economy exposed to every movement in international oil prices, as some have suggested.

‘We must accelerate the cheaper alternatives we have been building at home.

‘It is reassuring to see the movement spreading. Edo already has 50 CNG buses in active service. Kano has converted more than 1,000 commercial vehicles while rapidly expanding its conversion and refuelling network. Delta, Kwara and Lagos are expanding CNG-supported transport services, while Akwa Ibom has taken delivery of 50 CNG buses ahead of commercial operations.

‘I encourage every state to maintain the momentum towards October 1. Work with transport unions and commercial operators. Support conversion and fleet deployment. Facilitate the infrastructure required. Above all, ensure that savings from cheaper energy reach Nigerian citizens through lower fares.

‘Nigeria has the gas. We are building the infrastructure. We are already seeing the savings. Now we must move faster and scale this so more Nigerians feel those savings in the fares they pay every day.’

Goat Races take Dar by storm

The Goat Races took Dar es Salaam by storm today, September 19, 2026, with six goats emerging as the day’s unlikely stars after winning their respective races at the Vodacom Charity Goat Races held at Posta Grounds in Kijitonyama.

Each winning goat earned Sh400,000, as spectators, sponsors, business leaders and goat owners gathered for an afternoon that blended racing, entertainment and fundraising for education. Organised by the Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam Oysterbay, the annual event is targeting Sh200m to support more than 150 students pursuing university, college and vocational education.

Kilimanjaro Flash won Race One, while Cloud Nine claimed Race Two. Bongo Blazer triumphed in Race Three, Bongo Royale took Race Four, Taifa won Race Five, and Goaty McGoatrace emerged victorious in Race Six.

Each race featured 10 goats sponsored by different companies and organisations, creating a lively competition that kept spectators cheering as the animals raced towards the finish line.

The excitement reached another level during the special NMB unGOATable Race, a VIP contest featuring specially sponsored goats.

In the race, NMB the GOAT defeated Bowman to claim victory, giving NMB Bank Plc a memorable moment in its first participation as a sponsor of the Goat Races.

NMB Bank Head of Private Banking, Getrude Mallya, presented a prize to Bertha Mnyera following NMB the GOAT’s victory.

The bank’s participation added another corporate partner to an initiative that has continued to use entertainment to mobilise support for students facing financial challenges.

Vodacom Tanzania Business Director, Nguvu Kamando, said the company was proud to sponsor the event and support an initiative that combines entertainment with education.

‘We are proud to sponsor this event because it brings people together for entertainment while supporting a meaningful cause. We are happy to contribute to an initiative that helps students pursue their education,’ Kamando said.

He said supporting community initiatives remained important to Vodacom, particularly programs that create opportunities and contribute to people’s development.

Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam Oysterbay President Paul Muhato described the event as successful, thanking sponsors, participants and spectators for supporting the initiative.

‘The event has been successful, and we thank all our sponsors and participants for making it possible,’ Muhato said.

CRICKET-CWI-Kamil Pooran, Sampson earn T20I callups for India tour

Following an impressive showing in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Kamil Pooran has earned a maiden callup to the West Indies T20I squad to face India in their upcoming white-ball tour of the subcontinent.

The 30-year-old opening batsman was named in the West Indies’ 15-man squad, which was revealed by Cricket West Indies on Saturday and also sees the recall of exciting lower order batter Quentin Sampson.

The regional side will take on the top ranked India in three One Day Internationals from September 27 to October 3, before playing a five-match T20I series that runs from October 6 to 17.

Pooran is currently the seventh highest run scorer in this year’s CPL, despite his St Lucia Kings failing to make the playoffs.

He scored 273 runs in eight innings at an average of 39 with a strike rate of 159.64.

Meanwhile, Sampson, who was dropped for the T20I series earlier this year against Sri Lanka, makes his return after a decent showing in the CPL for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, where he scored 141 runs in 12 matches at an average of 28.20.

CWI confirmed that veteran all-rounder Jason Holder has been rested for the series.

Head coach Daren Sammy said the team had been selected with a clear focus on long-term objectives.

‘We are looking to build on the momentum from our series win against Sri Lanka, with the long-term goal of developing a strong core of players ahead of the next T20 World Cup.

‘The challenge of playing against the World Champions at home will provide valuable preparation, allowing us to continue improving and developing both individually and as a collective unit,’ Sammy said.

John Campbell makes his return to the ODI team after suffering a hamstring injury in the series against New Zealand, while Ackeem Auguste has been ruled out of the tour as he continues his rehabilitation after undergoing surgery in August.

He has been replaced by Jewel Andrew who will serve as a top and middle order batting option.

Shimron Hetmyer, who featured in the last two matches of the New Zealand series and has been in prolific form in the CPL for the Amazon Warriors, has been permitted an extended recovery period and will miss the ODI series, but will join the squad for the T20I series.

Regardless of the outcome of the ODI series, the West Indies will have to participate in the ICC’s qualification tournament early next year to book their spot in the World Cup.

Despite this, Sammy reiterated the importance of the series of matches.

‘Playing against the top team in the world presents us with a chance to fine tune and improve our performances as an ODI team which has seen quality performances across the cycle.

‘The series also creates a valuable platform to assess players who are stepping into important roles for this series with a long-term target of competing in the World Cup in 2027,’ Sammy said.

The squad departs the Caribbean on Monday and will arrive in Trivandrum on September 23.

WEST INDIES ODI SQUAD: Shai Hope (captain), Jewel Andrew, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Vitel Lawes, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales.

WEST INDIES T20I SQUAD: Shai Hope (captain), Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Kamil Pooran, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer.

Take your economic blueprint to campaign trail, Presidency tells Atiku

The Presidency on Saturday told the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to take his economic proposals to Nigerians on the campaign trail rather than attempt to dictate how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should govern the country.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Dr Sunday Dare, who made the assertion, also faulted the former Vice President for repeatedly referring to the President simply as ‘Bola’ during his press briefing in Abuja on Friday.

Dare, in a reaction posted on his verified X handle, @SundayDareSD, described Atiku’s intervention as ‘unsolicited homework’, arguing that the ADC candidate should concentrate on selling his programmes to the electorate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Atiku had on Friday called on President Tinubu to take immediate measures to reduce petrol prices and ease the cost-of-living pressure on Nigerians, arguing that high energy costs had filtered through transportation, food, production and other household expenses.

The former Vice President also warned against the planned phase-out of electricity subsidies, arguing that the experience of petrol subsidy removal should not be repeated in the power sector.

But Dare rejected Atiku’s approach, saying opposition politics did not confer on a presidential candidate the authority to issue directives to an incumbent President.

‘Alhaji Atiku Abubakar convened a press conference in Abuja and chose, once again, to address the President of the Federal Republic as ‘Bola.’ He issued instructions. He dictated a truncated timetable. He presumed to tell a sitting President how governance should be run in the last months of a mandate already given by the Nigerian people.

‘That is not opposition. It is insolence’, Dare said.

According to the presidential aide, Atiku should channel his policy propositions towards persuading voters rather than presenting them as instructions to the Tinubu administration.

‘It is election season. If Alhaji Atiku has a message for Nigerians, the proper place for it is the campaign trail, not a briefing room from which he talks down to the Head of State’, he said.

Dare also defended the administration’s economic reforms, arguing that President Tinubu was undertaking difficult structural changes necessitated by longstanding weaknesses in the economy.

‘President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing the heavy, foundational lifting required to restructure an economy crippled by decades of structural inertia and subsidy haemorrhaging. That work is difficult. It is also necessary.

‘Transient discomfort does not cancel the duty of reform, and it does not confer on any defeated candidate the right to issue decrees from the sidelines’, he said.

The presidential aide further challenged Atiku’s criticism of the administration’s fiscal policies and his proposed government intervention in petrol pricing, describing the ADC candidate’s position as politically motivated.

Atiku had proposed what he called a transparent ‘production subsidy’ for petroleum products refined locally and sold to Nigerians, saying such support should have a fixed spending limit, National Assembly approval and independent auditing.

Dare, however, questioned the former Vice President’s record, particularly his role in the privatisation programme during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

‘Atiku’s sudden conversion to the gospel of interventionism rings hollow’, Dare said, accusing him of seeking to capitalise politically on current economic difficulties.

‘A man who once supervised a controversial season of privatisation now presents himself as the apostle of relief. The country has heard this sermon before. It has also seen the record’, he added.

Dare also brought the controversy surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project into the exchange, saying Atiku should address questions arising from the long-running dispute before seeking to lecture the administration on economic management.

‘The Mambilla matter is not a rumour invented by the internet. It is a public controversy that requires candour, not diversion. A politician who wants moral authority cannot wave away the past with a petrol-price talking point and expect the nation to salute’, he said.

The Mambilla dispute returned to public attention after an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris on September 17 ruled in Nigeria’s favour in proceedings brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.

Sunrise had demanded $680 million as settlement and interest in connection with another arbitration in which it was seeking more than $2.7 billion in compensation and interest over disputes associated with the 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.

The tribunal also ordered Sunrise and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria about $11.8 million in legal fees incurred in defending the arbitration.

Dare maintained that Atiku should address issues concerning his past rather than use the economic situation to attack the administration.

‘Until those questions are answered, his grandstanding remains what it truly is; empty noise from a desperate politician whose time has long since passed.

‘Let him save his unsolicited blueprints for a mirror. Nigeria has looked past the Mambilla mirage, and it will not return to the Egypt of calculated economic pillaging’, he said.

Returning to Atiku’s manner of addressing the President, Dare said political rivalry should not eliminate respect for the office of the President.

‘Alhaji Atiku should go and campaign. If he has something to tell Nigerians, let him tell them as a candidate, not as an unappointed tutor to Mr President. Courtesy is not weakness. It is the minimum a republic asks of those who still seek its highest office’, he said.

The presidential aide said the administration would remain focused on governance despite the intensifying political contest ahead of the 2027 election.

‘Nigeria is being governed. The election will come in its season. Between now and then, the work of the President will continue, undistracted by first-name familiarity, unsolicited homework, and the restless theatre of a man who has not yet made peace with yesterday’, Dare said.

Patients don’t care about your qualifications, title; they care whether you noticed something and acted -Glory Ohunyon, UK-based nurse

I did my BSc in Industrial Mathematics at the University of Benin between 1998 and 2004. Nursing was not the plan at that point. What I did have was a way of thinking – you look at a problem, you break it into parts, you find the pattern, you check whether your answer actually holds. When I later came into healthcare, I found that I was using exactly that same habit at the bedside, only the variables were a patient’s blood pressure, respiratory rate, and how they looked five minutes ago compared to now.

So I would not say I abandoned mathematics. I would say the discipline followed me into a different room.

But the route was not direct. Your record shows housekeeping, sterile services, healthcare assistant work, and only then nursing. How would you explain that?

It was by circumstance first, and by decision afterwards. I started at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as a team leader in housekeeping services, booking shifts, arranging staff cover, keeping the environment safe. Then I moved into the sterile services department in the surgical theatres, operating washers and sterilisers, assembling instrument trays, testing and reassembling devices, including work supporting the Great Ormond Street Hospital contract. Then I worked as a healthcare assistant at Northwick Park, doing personal care, observations, wound care, catheter care, helping people move.

Along the way I did my NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care, and at the end of 2016 I went back into study. The postgraduate diploma in adult nursing at Buckinghamshire New University came between 2018 and 2020, and I qualified into a staff nurse post at Guy’s and St Thomas’, in acute medicine and community, where I stayed until 2023 before moving into emergency care at Northwick Park.

I would not trade that route. A nurse who has decontaminated the instruments understands infection control differently. A nurse who has washed and dressed patients as a healthcare assistant understands what the healthcare assistant on her shift is carrying. You cannot get that from a lecture.

You now work in Accident and Emergency (AandE). For people who only know AandE from television, what is the job actually like?

Much less dramatic and much more disciplined than television suggests. The core of it is rapid assessment: someone arrives, and within a very short window you have to form a picture, then you act on that picture, and you keep re-checking it. A great deal of my work is recognising early signs that a patient is deteriorating, interpreting vital signs and clinical observations, escalating to the right person at the right time, and communicating clearly with the multidisciplinary team.

You have once said that digital healthcare technology should be treated as a clinical instrument. What do you mean by that?

When a nurse documents observations on a digital system that is not paperwork, that entry is what triggers an escalation score, what the next shift reads, what the doctor uses to decide whether to come now or in an hour. It is part of the treatment pathway. If we treat digital documentation as a bureaucratic obligation to be completed at the end of a shift, we lose its clinical value entirely – because a deterioration recorded three hours late is a deterioration nobody acted on.

So my position is simple. Charting is care. Design the systems around that, train people around that, and audit them around that.

Do you think technology can solve the pressures the NHS is under?

No, and I want to be careful here, because it is a fashionable thing to promise. You cannot digitise your way out of a workforce problem. If there are not enough nurses on the floor, no system will produce them. What technology can do is give the nurses who are there back the minutes that save lives – minutes lost to hunting for a result, repeating an assessment that was already done, chasing a bed, re-keying the same information into three places.

That is a real gain, and it is worth fighting for. But it is a different claim from saying technology fixes the system, and I think we should stop conflating the two.

Where did the interest in digital healthcare technology come from in the first place?

From the floor, not from a conference. Every nurse in the NHS now works through digital systems – electronic records, digital observations, escalation scores – and you very quickly notice which parts of them help you and which parts are simply in your way. Once you notice that, you either complain about it for twenty years or you take an interest in how the systems are designed and who decides.

My degree was in Industrial Mathematics, so I am comfortable with systems and with data, and I think that made me less willing to treat the technology as somebody else’s department. Nurses are the heaviest users of these systems in the whole hospital. We should be in the room when they are chosen and configured, not handed them afterwards and trained for an hour.

You completed an MSc in Nursing in September 2025, and an emergency medicine course at King’s College London in the same year. Why keep studying?

The MSc in Nursing at Buckinghamshire New University, which ran from September 2024 to September 2025, was about depth: evidence, research methods, being able to read a paper properly rather than accept a summary of it. The emergency medicine work-based course at King’s College London, between April and July 2025, was narrower and more immediate – it was about sharpening practice in my own speciality while I was still working in it.

I do not study for the certificates. I study because the moment you decide you know enough in this profession is the moment you become unsafe.

What would you say to Nigerian nurses and other health workers who are considering the move to the United Kingdom?

Come with your eyes open. The clinical standards are demanding, and the systems are heavily regulated, which is a good thing, but it means there is a period of adjustment where you are relearning how to do things you already know how to do. Expect that. Do not read it as a judgement on your competence.

Second, the route may not be straight. Mine was not. I did housekeeping, sterile services and healthcare assistant work before I qualified as a nurse here, and none of it was wasted. If you can only enter through a side door, enter through the side door and keep studying.

Third, protect your registration and protect your reputation. In this system, both take years to build and a single careless shift to damage.

And what would you say about Nigeria’s health system, looking from outside?

That the difference is rarely the individual practitioner. Nigerian nurses and doctors are working at a very high standard, often in conditions I do not think many of my colleagues here could sustain. The difference is the system around them – the escalation pathway that works, the equipment that is there, the documentation that the next shift can actually read.

If I were to pick one thing that travels well and does not need enormous capital, it is structured early-warning and escalation. Deciding, as an institution, exactly what observations get recorded, exactly what triggers a review, and exactly who must respond. That is process discipline before it is technology, and it saves lives.

Is there anything about the nursing profession you wish the public understood better?

That nursing is a clinical decision-making profession, not an assisting one. There is still a public picture of the nurse as the person who carries out instructions. In an emergency department, the nurse is very often the person who decides that the instruction needs to change – who says this patient cannot wait, something is wrong here.

And I wish people understood how much of the work is communication. Explaining, reassuring, working past a language barrier, getting a frightened person to tell you the one detail that changes everything. London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and my patients arrive with different beliefs, values, and expectations about what should happen to them. Person-centred care means respecting that while still delivering the same clinical standard to everybody. That is not softness added to the clinical work. It is part of the clinical work.

How do you sustain yourself, doing this for as long as you have?

Family, and being deliberate about rest, which I am still not perfect at. Also, the studying genuinely helps – having something that is mine, that I am building, makes the hard shifts feel like part of a direction rather than just repetition.

And colleagues. The people you work with in emergency care see what you see. That matters more than any wellbeing initiative.

What is next for you?

I want to keep working at the point where emergency nursing and digital health meet – in practice, and in how we train nurses to use these systems clinically rather than clerically. I would like to see that work reach Nigeria as well, because a great deal of what we are learning about escalation and documentation does not depend on having the newest equipment. Beyond that, I want to be useful to the nurses coming behind me, particularly the ones arriving from home and finding the first year harder than they expected. Somebody did that for me.

What are your closing thoughts?

The patient in front of you does not care about your qualifications, your job title or how long you have been doing this. They care whether you noticed something and acted. Everything else – the studying, the technology, the systems work – is only worth doing because it makes that moment more likely to go well.

UNIBEN urges unions, stakeholders to seek clarification over salary, allowances

Authorities at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) have urged trade unions and other stakeholders to seek official clarification on staff emoluments to avoid what they described as ‘needless industrial disputes’ on campus.

The university also insisted that it paid full August salaries to all categories of staff, including academic staff.

In a statement, the university spokesperson, Dr Beneditta Ehanire, said the Federal Government’s portion of academic staff allowances, delayed by the non-release of the warrant, was fully paid in line with the payment warrant issued by the government to tertiary institutions across the country.

She added that the University Governing Council paid the portion of allowances payable to certain categories of academic staff after verifying eligible beneficiaries. eligible beneficiaries.

According to the statement, the clarification followed a meeting between the university management and the local branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

‘At a meeting between Management and the local branch of ASUU, the distinction between salary and allowances payable to different categories of staff was affirmed, with the union leadership made to appreciate the tax implications of lumping these two different emoluments,’ the statement said.

The university said the union was also reminded of the potential consequences for staff members of failing to understand the statutory distinction between the two forms of payment as provided under the new Nigeria Tax Reform Act (NTRA).

‘University Management believes that these clarifications should put to rest the avoidable controversies surrounding payment of emoluments, and assures all stakeholders that staff and students will continue to enjoy the prevailing peace and harmony in the University,’ it added.

Wike, Stop Harassing FCT Teachers

From all indications, including his directives on the ‘no vacancy’ policy for the promotion of eligible teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, as the Minister of the FCT, seems to have resolved to keep creating scenarios that would make the teachers look like scapegoats. This is the second time in two months that this column has made Wike and FCT teachers the subject of discourse. The first was on July 11, 2026 edition of this newspaper, when it published the piece, ‘Oga Wike, listen to FCT teachers.’

In addition to issues of non-payment of teachers’ legitimate entitlements, the previous piece also highlighted the negative impact of strikes on basic education. The effect of Wike’s underdevelopment of education in the FCT is evidenced by the 2026 UTME and WAEC/SSCE abysmal results of candidates from FCT public schools. That piece was provoked by the FCT teachers’ disruption of promotion examination to protest the no-vacancy policy of Wike. Indeed, this lawful demonstration by the teachers marked the beginning of an unending persecution by their own employer.

Consequently, the leadership of the FCT Secondary Education Board (SEB) and the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) were removed from office, allegedly on Wike’s orders. The heads of the two FCT agencies (SEB and UBEB) had previously suffered the same fate when the then Director of the FCT SEB (Dr Sani Ladan), and the Director of the FCT UBEB were both removed from office for being proactive to shut down schools for vacation earlier than scheduled. When the news of the abduction of school children in Oyo state broke, the then FCT Director of Schools (who also suffered removal from office) had written to schools to quickly finish up their end of term examinations in order to forestall any incidences of kidnapping.

This columnist is disturbed by Wike’s persistent harassment of FCT teachers; yet for very inconsequential reasons. He would forever remain proud to publicly declare his solidarity for teachers, anytime, anywhere, as far as it concerns their demand for legitimate entitlements. Beginning as a Grade II teacher in 1979, I’ve lived the greater part of my life as a classroom teacher across various levels (primary, secondary and tertiary); spending, so far, over two decades in each of the last two.

In 2020 the then education minister, Malam Adamu Adamu, under late President Muhammadu Buhari announced a ground-breaking investment package for teachers, including the extension of service year for teachers from 35 to 40 years and an increase in their retirement age from 60 to 65 years. President Buhari signed the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act 2022 into law on April 8, 2022. Section 1 of the Act provides teachers could retire from pensionable service by whichever of the two that comes earlier.

This special offer is, indeed, the bone of contention over which Minister Wike, for several months now, has refused to allow FCT teachers to have deep, sound sleep. It’s also unfortunate that this well-deserving privilege granted to teachers by the Buhari administration has rather earned them the envy of other categories of civil servants in the country. It’s worse, however, that Oga Wike, even as a minister, would be spiteful of this exclusive offer for teachers.

Of course, the ‘Hasken Abuja’ may have relatively done well in some areas, but as for teachers and basic education in the FCT, the Nigerian public is unlikely to give him a pass. For instance, students have been taking lessons under tree shade in many schools outside of the city where classroom blocks, which had their roofs removed for renovation works, have continued to remain in an open-air learning environment because the over-one-year-old renovation projects are yet to be completed. The Honourable Minister of the FCT can do better than this for teachers and basic education. ‘Hasken Abuja ‘, which is a Hausa traditional title conferred on the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, on April 30, 2026 by the FCT Council of Traditional Rulers, could be translated into English as ‘The Light of Abuja.’

Like the offer for teachers, some categories of judges and university professors equally enjoy the privilege of retiring at 70 years of age. Similarly, some professionals, including medical doctors and nurses, have special salary structures different from what exists in the mainstream public service. Yet, no one detests them in the way teachers are begrudged by the FCT administration under Wike. Readers should help this writer to remind Wike that he was taught by teachers at all levels of his educational pursuit, including when he was at the Law School.

Last week, the FCT administration approved the posting of education officers currently in the elongated period of their service (35-40 years) to various schools as classroom teachers. This posting, believed by teachers to be ulterior-motivated, derives from a circular issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the ‘Guidelines on the Implementation of the New Retirement Age and Length of Service for the Teaching Profession.’ Section II(e) of the document states that, ‘All successful applicants will be deployed to serve as teachers in schools or quality assurance officers in the headquarters, zonal or state offices of the FEQUAS.’

Believing that the circular meant well, the posting of directors to schools as classroom teachers to serve under principals who are lower in rank than them is strange and unknown to the established norm in the teaching profession. The offence of the teachers? They are beneficiaries of the harmonized retirement age that allows them to remain in service longer than other categories of workers. A plausible insinuation from this development scenario is that this was intended to provoke the anger of the teachers to a level that they would, out of frustration, choose to forego a troubled extension of service and simply retire to have peace of mind.

Wike should honorably stop or be advised to stop harassing FCT teachers. It’s exceedingly surprising that the Federal Ministry of Education and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) have each remained tongue-tied over the FCT’s dishonest implementation of the extended service year for teachers; a national policy authorized by an Act of the National Assembly. Where are the country’s human rights lawyers? We are compelled by this scenario to remember late Gani Fawehinmi. May Allah guide Wike to treat teachers and the teaching profession with decorum and respect. Amin.

FG intensifies efforts to strengthen coordination at SEZs, boost production

The Federal government has intensified stakeholders engagement in a bid to strengthen coordination of activities at the Nigeria Special Economic Zones (SEZs), improving the country’s production capacity.

Speaking at the SEZs stakeholders meeting, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investors, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said, ‘Following the assumption of office in November 2024, we identified the ongoing tax reform process as a critical policy development with significant implications for Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones (SEZ) ecosystem.

‘A key policy concern was the increasing diversion of goods produced within Free Zones into the Nigerian customs territory whilst continuing to enjoy fiscal incentives designed primarily for export-oriented activities.

This development has created an uneven competitive environment for manufacturers operating within the Customs Territory who remained subject to the full domestic tax regime.

‘When I stood before many of you at the Third Special Economic Zones Annual Meeting in February of 2025 (Q1 last year), I made a commitment: that this Ministry would work to align fiscal, monetary and trade policy so that our zones remain globally competitive.

‘I am so stated the policy direction of the Tinubu Administration with regard to free zones. This stakeholder engagement forms a part of that delivery process, which has been ongoing since then.’

She explained that ‘after the February 2025 engagement and recognising the need to preserve Nigeria’s competitiveness as an investment destination while strengthening fiscal accountability, the Ministry commenced extensive engagements with the legislative and executive arms of government and private sector stakeholders throughout the development of the tax reform process to ensure that the impact of the tax legislations on the special economic zones scheme are aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on the diversification of the economy through the increase of non-oil exports.

‘Earlier this year in February 2026, I convened the Directors of FMITI’s Legal Services and Commodities and Export Departments, the Managing Directors of both Authorities, and their teams, and inaugurated the Special Economic Zones Legislative and Regulatory Reform Committee.

‘These Regulations – 1) Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority Regulations and Operational Guidelines for Free Zones in Nigeria, 2025; 2) Nigeria Export Processing Zones (Domestic Sales, Fiscal Alignment and Customs Treatment) Regulations, 2026; and 3) Oil and Gas Export Free Zones (Domestic Sales, Fiscal Alignment and Customs Treatment) Regulations, 2026 are the product of a whole-of-Ministry process, and they are being implemented through a whole-of-government approach’.

The Minister noted to charged stakeholders that ‘we must collectively stand against diversion of goods, mispricing related-party transactions, understating domestic sales, or dressing customs territory business in zone clothing.

‘These unsavory practices are not victimless practices, and they are reputation, bringing the entire Scheme at risk-particularly under the new tax regime.

FMITI’s role is to protect your investment and to defend the competitiveness of this the at every forum where it is discussed, however, compliance is a condition precedent. The Ministry can only defend a clean scheme’ she stated.

APC aspirant condemns INEC’s publication of Ya’u as Zamfara North candidate

The All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for Zamfara North Senatorial District, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) publication of the name of Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as the party’s candidate for Zamfara North.

In a statement issued on Saturday in Gusau, the APC chieftain and senatorial aspirant said the Federal High Court, Gusau, Zamfara State, judgement of 31 August 2026, had nullified the primary election held on 19 May and ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary election within 14 days of the judgement being delivered.

The statement reads in part: ‘The court also ordered INEC to accept the outcome of the fresh primary election. The commission was duly served the certified true copy of the court order for compliance.

‘It is inappropriate, unfair, unjust, justice juxtaposed and an assault on the nation’s emerging democracy for INEC to flagrantly violate a clear order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

‘The publication of any candidate’s name prior to a fresh primary election ordered by the court, or determination of the matter at the appellate court, undermines the Judiciary as the temple of justice and the last hope of all aggrieved citizens.

‘As the electoral umpire, INEC should safeguard the credibility and integrity of the electoral process, including the political parties’ nomination processes. Disobeying a court order in a matter in which the commission was a party to and fully represented will erode public confidence in the electoral system.

‘It could be recalled that the Supreme Court had nullified the All Progressives Congress’ primaries in previous general elections and awarded victory to the political party that came second in the polls, including governorship elections.’

The Counsel to the plaintiff, YAS Law Firm, has written a letter to the INEC Chairman dated 18 September 2026, which reads: ‘Notice of unlawful publication of Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as APC candidate for Zamfara North Senatorial District in defiance of existing Federal High Court judgement.’