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NDLEA arrests ‘fake Police officer’ with 292kg cannabis in Delta

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted more than 1.3 million pills and capsules of tramadol and other opioids, as well as 6,000kg of cannabis, in a series of operations across eight states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The agency said the seizures had a combined street value of more than N3.4 billion.

The operations were conducted in Lagos, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe and Imo states, as well as the FCT.

The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the various commands for what he described as professionalism and intelligence-driven operations, urging them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.

A major highlight of the operations was the interception of 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 603.75kg and valued at N1.811 billion.

The operation also led to the arrest of a 49-year-old suspected drug trafficker, Innocent Ekpe, who allegedly impersonated a senior police officer to evade scrutiny at checkpoints while transporting illicit drugs across state lines.

Ekpe was arrested on Wednesday, September 16, along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, Delta State, with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in his silver Toyota Sienna bus.

According to the agency, preliminary investigation revealed that Ekpe allegedly presented himself as Godwin Emeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, using a forged police identification card.

A 39-year-old alleged accomplice, Nduka Joseph, was also arrested.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence raided a location along Agbor Road, Benin City, where they arrested 45-year-old Matthew Ossai.

The agency said Ossai allegedly used his auto-repair workshop to store illicit drugs.

Operatives recovered 48kg of Canadian Loud, 152 grammes of methamphetamine and a metal box allegedly used to store the substances.

At the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives placed a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada, under surveillance after it arrived on September 12.

A joint physical examination conducted with the The Nigeria Customs Service, along with other security agencies, made a significant discovery on Wednesday, September 16, uncovering 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud that weighed a total of 603.75 kg. The consignment was hidden inside 31 black jumbo bags, which were loaded into two Toyota Sienna vehicles within a shipping container.

In Niger State, three suspects-Bashir Usman (20), Abubakar Nuhu (18), and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab (18)-were arrested on Tuesday, September 15, during a patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in the Chachi area of Tafa Local Government. The suspects were allegedly found in possession of two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles, a magazine, a locally made pistol with a magazine, and nine rounds of 9mm ammunition concealed in a black travel bag.

Additionally, two more suspects, Aminu Isyaku (23) and Jamilu Habibu (25), were arrested on Friday, September 18, along the Abaji-Abuja Highway. The agency reported the seizure of over 1.1 million assorted tramadol tablets and capsules, along with codeine syrup, methamphetamine, and Exol tablets. These substances were reportedly concealed in eight sacks and were being transported from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Onyeka Ofor at his residence in Aguda, Surulere, on Friday, September 18, with 48,900 pills of tramadol (225 mg). Additionally, seven cartons containing 59 kg of cannabis sativa were intercepted at a logistics company in the state, resulting in the arrest of a suspect identified as Luke Ugokwe.

In another operation in Lagos, 43-year-old Ibrahim Hudu was arrested at Apongbo on Thursday, September 17, with 998.38 kg of nitrous oxide gas.

In Gombe State, a total of 154,480 capsules of tramadol were recovered from two suspects, Sabi’u Umar (27) and Hassana Muhammad (19), who were arrested at the Barunde area and Gombe Main Market, respectively, on Friday, September 18.

In Imo State, 25-year-old Ifesinachi Godwin was arrested along the Owerri-Onitsha Road on Friday with 43.85 kg of skunk.

Similarly, four suspects-Blessing Effiong, Saviour Peter, David Friday Sunday, and Ability Peter Sunday-were apprehended during a raid on a two-hectare cannabis farm in Ita-Ogbolu Forest, Ondo State, on Tuesday, September 15. The NDLEA reported that 5,000 kg of skunk was destroyed during this operation, and 48 kg of both dried and fresh cannabis was recovered from the location.

CPPO eyes anti-bullying desks in provincial schools

The Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) is pushing for the creation of anti-bullying desks and the installation of dedicated alarm systems as part of measures to strengthen school security following 19 threats investigated across Cebu since July.

CPPO Director Police Col. Abubakar Mangelan Jr. made the recommendations during the Cebu Provincial Board’s regular session on September 14, where partner agencies were invited to discuss school safety and preparedness.

Mangelan said the proposed anti-bullying desks should be supported not only by police but also by barangay officials, school authorities, parent-teacher associations (PTAs), and student governments.

He said the setup would ensure that addressing bullying and related concerns would not become a one-person responsibility for the police.

Aside from anti-bullying desks, Mangelan proposed that schools install an alarm system specifically intended for shooting incidents.

The proposal forms part of the CPPO’s recommendations for schools to improve their ability to immediately alert authorities and school communities in case of a serious security threat.

19 threats across province

According to Mangelan, the CPPO investigated 19 school threat incidents from July to September, involving schools in 15 local government units.

The incidents were recorded in Argao, Bantayan, Barili, Bogo, Carcar, Carmen, Consolacion, Cordova, Danao, Liloan, Pinamungajan, San Fernando, San Remigio, and Talisay City.

Carcar, Liloan, and San Fernando each recorded two incidents, while Talisay City recorded three. The other areas recorded one incident each.

Of the 19 incidents, police identified 13 suspects and brought them to police stations for investigation. Nine of those identified suspects were minors, Mangelan said.

He said this was the reason police were unable to file charges against the nine children.

Three arrests made

Mangelan said police arrested three persons in connection with the incidents in Bantayan, Pinamungajan, and Toledo.

In Pinamungajan, police confiscated a .357 revolver during the investigation, while the Toledo incident involved a bomb joke.

For the four incidents where suspects have yet to be identified, Mangelan said the investigation remains ongoing with the assistance of the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU). He added that police were working to identify those who posted the threats on social media.

Mangelan said police also identified a pattern in several of the incidents they investigated.

‘Most of these incidents or threats that have been directed towards our schools were some of the students or the schools are about to take their exams, or paperworks submission,’ he said.

These circumstances, he said, were among the motives uncovered by police during their investigations.

Mangelan described the practice as a possible ‘modus operandi’ among some students who wanted their schools to suspend classes.

‘This is some sort which become a modus operandi for some of our students wherein the particular school not to suspend their schools – they will have the threats,’ he said.

Interventions for minors

Mangelan said minors who were identified and investigated were subjected to interventions, depending on the availability of facilities in their respective areas.

In areas with Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD) facilities, the students underwent interventions. Those in areas without such facilities were referred to the community intervention program.

In the Pinamungajan case involving the confiscated revolver, the student was subjected to a discernment test by the municipal social worker.

Mangelan said police were still waiting for the disposition of the case to determine whether a case could be filed against the child or the guardian who admitted that the firearm belonged to him.

Mangelan said the CPPO had already manifested its proposal for the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to become part of school boards.

He also called for school authorities to be included in decision-making processes so police could validate information concerning possible threats.

Mangelan also said the CPPO, which has a total force of more than 3,000, could commit 50% of its troops to secure schools under threat. Through Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, the CPPO also proposed a one-police-officer-per-school security deployment.

He further proposed that schools conduct an inventory during enrollment, giving students an opportunity to declare whether their parents are members of law enforcement or privately licensed gun owners, which police could use for monitoring purposes.

The recommendations were raised as the provincial government implements Baricuatro’s executive order, namely, the Cebu Safe Schools Program and the Cebu Safe School Committee.

Board Member Sanchez said the discussion was intended to identify gaps and strengthen preparations for threats against students and teachers.

‘We hope it never happens in Cebu but hope alone is not enough, we must be prepared,’ said Sanchez.

The three stages nobody warned you about

The moment I received one of those long, italicized ‘share as received’ forwarded messages from Kat, my friend of many years, it actually stopped me in my tracks instead of getting scrolled past.

Somewhere in nearly everyone’s phone is a folder of forwarded messages nobody asked for; most are forgettable, but occasionally one lands with more weight than expected.

One has circulated quietly for years, describing retirement in three unsentimental stages.

From 58 to 64, your workplace begins drifting away from you no matter how influential you once were; you become, in the world’s eyes, simply ordinary again.

From 65 to 71, society itself loosens its grip; old colleagues vanish, and people at your former office may not even recognize you.

And from 72 onward, even family begins, gently and without malice, to draw back, busy with their own lives, their visits now a genuine gift instead of an obligation.

And then the message concludes with an unflinching line: eventually, even the earth is ready to let you go!

It’s blunt, occasionally clumsy in its phrasing, and still undeniably honest, which is probably why it keeps getting forwarded instead of forgotten.

But I think it’s only telling half the story, and Ecclesiastes chapter three tells us the other half.

Solomon opens that chapter with his famous poem: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.

Read against the forwarded message, that poem suddenly sounds less like poetry and more like a diagnosis.

Every stage that message describes, the fading relevance, the thinning circle, the quieter house is simply Solomon’s ancient observation playing out in a modern inbox.

Seasons change. Influence fades. People move on, not out of cruelty, but because that’s what seasons genuinely do.

Pretending otherwise, clinging to the identity of a season that has already ended, only makes the following one more painful than it needs to be.

But right in the middle of that same chapter, Solomon writes something the forwarded message never quite gets to: ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart.’

That one line changes everything about how we should read the three stages.

Here is the real reason the fading of relevance, of recognition, of company stings as deeply as it does.

It isn’t only sentimentality. It’s evidence of something eternal lodged inside us that refuses to treat any earthly season as the final word.

If we were purely creatures of this world, with nothing eternal woven into us, we could simply adjust to each stage the way a thermostat adjusts to temperature, with no ache, no resistance, just recalibration.

But we don’t recalibrate that easily, and Solomon tells us exactly why: eternity is in the heart, and nothing under the sun was ever built large enough to hold it.

That reframes the entire arc the forwarded message describes.

The fading isn’t proof that life eventually empties out. It’s proof we were never intended to find our final significance in a workplace, a social circle, or even our own family’s daily attention, genuinely good things, all of them, but never eternal ones.

They were always going to loosen their grip, precisely because they were never designed to be the place where our deepest significance lived.

This is where the message concludes. ‘Eat your favorite food with joy, do your favorite work with zeal, stay in touch with old friends because life comes only once’ is wise as far as it goes, but incomplete without what Solomon adds a few verses later: ‘eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all your toil for this is the gift of God.’

Not a consolation prize but an actual gift, received from God’s hand, meant to be enjoyed precisely because it’s temporary and ordinary, not despite that fact.

So yes, call your old friends. Enjoy your favorite meal without guilt. Do meaningful work with real enthusiasm for as long as your body allows.

That part of the message is worth keeping.

But don’t stop at ‘life comes only once, so make the most of it.’

Solomon’s deeper counsel is that life, precisely because every season eventually fades, was never meant to be where your soul finally rests.

Eternity was placed in your heart for a reason, and it was never satisfied by any stage of life to begin with, no matter how full, how influential, or how surrounded by people you once were.

The world will indeed loosen its grip on you, stage by stage, exactly as that message describes.

But Someone with an eternal grip has already made sure that goodbye was never the final word.

Every season under the sun eventually ends.

The One who placed eternity in your heart does not.

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Becoming the change we want

Two years ago, I was voted vice president of the Poets Association of Uganda (PAU). That organisation, which was about three years old at that point, was already riven by faction and corruption. So my election ensured I sipped the bitter swill of a poisoned chalice.

When members’ egos proved larger than the organisation, I offered my resignation, and most of the cabinet followed suit. However, as they put in their resignation letters, I was persuaded to stay put.

Constitutionally, I was to be elevated to the PAU presidency, but this did not happen. So no decisions could be made. That’s when I started the Uganda Poetry Society (UPS) and made sure I gathered fellow-travellers around me who put poetry before poets in order to put poets at the steering wheel of poetry.

Due to a crabs-in-a-bucket mentality common in Uganda, I made sure the founders of UPS were multinational and multiracial. I also declared myself president, much to the chagrin of many.

My vice president was an Asian professor called Ampat Koshy; other members included a UK-based PhD Literature student called Parvathy Salil, also Asian. Three Americans: Cindy Marie Camp, Victoria Adams and Katherine Rascoe, who had helped create the Songs of Kiguli poetry series in Nakasongola barracks.

A Nigerian poet and lawyer called Emenobazi Usetu Unoh. The rest were Ugandans, namely Eva Rukikaire Mwine, Edna Kusiima, Paul Obonyo, Ddumba Nyanzi and Harlord Ankwasa.

All the Ugandans, save for Ankwasa, had no experience in leading Ugandan poets and so they didn’t come with any unwanted baggage. They sought a fresh start. Our organisation was not limited to Uganda; it was to serve as a Marxian battle-cry uniting poets all over the world.

The Ugandan poetry fraternity initially scoffed, believing this to be a vanity project. Then we acquired members outside the run-of-the-mill poets. One of whom was an American, Col Dr Ivan Edwards, whom we urged to curate the annual Dr Ivan Edwards Poetry Award with a grand prize of $1,200 (Shs4.6m) under the aegis of UPS.

The judges were Dr Koshy, Dr Stella Nyanzi, Joanitah Atuhaire, Jesse Unoh and Alex White, a Cambridge University PhD. To avoid personalising UPS, more than 400 members voted in a new cabinet led by Priscilla Atim.

The cabinet was full of university students because we don’t believe the youth are future leaders if they can’t lead now.

A UPS constitution was promulgated to guide and guard all poets’ interests, domestic and foreign. The UPS patron is the venerable Prof Timothy Wangusa, a man whose reputation precedes him in literary circles the world over.

In Leninist thought, there is what is known as Vanguardism, a political philosophy stating that a small, disciplined group of conscious workers must lead the broader working class to overthrow capitalism.

Our brand of Vanguardism was shaped by UPS founders to overturn the disorientation and dislocation in the global poetry fraternity.

After benefiting poets, our top-up leadership philosophy focuses on empowering the grassroots to drive national progress, rather than relying strictly on top-down directives. It prioritises investing in citizen capability, local institutions, and community-led initiatives to build sustainable democratic institutions.

Thus, instead of merely criticising what has gone wrong in Uganda, we chose to represent what is right in Uganda in order to be the change we wish to see in the world.

President’s meeting with UN Secretary-General of pivotal importance, Spokesman says

The High-Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly represents the year’s foremost diplomatic moment, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Sunday, adding that the meeting that the President of Cyprus will hold with the UNSG on September 24th, is a pivotal one.

Speaking to journalists in New York and referring to the meetings President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides will hold during his stay there for the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly, the Spokesman said that ‘the UN High-Level Week is the most important diplomatic moment of the year. We are, of course, here with the Cyprus issue at the centre of our efforts and with a focus on the initiatives undertaken by the President of the Republic to resume substantive negotiations’.

This year, the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly is being held under the theme of restoring trust and defending and promoting multilateralism-issues and principles which, as the Spokesman noted, ‘the Republic of Cyprus has been defending, upholding and advancing, and has been seeking to safeguard, for the past 52 years.’

‘Today, September 20, marks the anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus becoming an official member of the United Nations in 1960, joining this great family, the UN family, which seeks to convey its messages through the defence and promotion of international law,’ the Spokesman said.

He added that ‘the meeting between the President of the Republic and the UN Secretary-General is a pivotal one, alongside the many bilateral meetings he will hold during the week with heads of state and government, institutional partners and leading global energy companies.’

The Spokesman said that the meeting with the UN Secretary-General is scheduled for September 24 and will be preceded by a meeting between the President and the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín.

‘We are coming into these meetings following a period of regular contacts and discussions and, as the President of the Republic has already made known, he is coming with ideas, proposals and suggestions regarding confidence-building measures, as well as the methodology and substance of the Cyprus issue,’ he pointed out.

Letymbiotis explained that the Government’s objective ‘remains unchanged.’

‘Our aim is to see how we can contribute, to the extent of our own capabilities, to making possible the convening of an expanded meeting, in line with the objective set by the UN Secretary-General. A successful expanded meeting that will serve as a substantive springboard towards the resumption of meaningful negotiations from the point at which they were interrupted,’ he said.

Beyond that, Letymbiotis continued, another major diplomatic moment will be the day on which the President of the Republic addresses the UN General Assembly.

‘Before the international community, we will convey our messages concerning our self-evident effort for Cyprus to become a normal, modern European state, without anachronistic guarantees and occupying troops, a Cyprus that will continue to demonstrate its great importance and value in the Eastern Mediterranean region,’ he said.

Asked whether the possibility of a trilateral meeting, either with the UN Secretary-General or with Holguín, had been discussed, the Spokesman said that ‘at least so far, there is no prospect of a joint meeting either with the UN Secretary-General or with his Personal Envoy”.

Of course, he went on to say, “such a possibility is something we view and approach positively. President Christodoulides himself has said that, if the Secretary-General’s schedule allows, certainly after High-Level Week, we are considering the possibility of extending our stay in New York precisely in order to make such a meeting possible. Ms Holguín is coming to New York next Tuesday, the day on which she will meet with President Christodoulides’.

Asked when Holguín would meet with the Turkish Cypriot leader, the Spokesman said that, according to the information available to him, ‘it will be next Wednesday, the day after her meeting with the President of the Republic’.

He added that, regarding the possibility of a trilateral meeting, ‘we will wait to hear from her directly. Of even greater significance will be the meeting with the UN Secretary-General, during which there will be a joint assessment and evaluation of the steps taken so far but, more importantly, of the steps that can be taken in the period ahead.’

Asked whether the document recording the convergences had been prepared, Letymbiotis said that ‘this is something on which we, too, are waiting to be briefed by Ms Holguín”.

” It is known that the United Nations has begun recording the convergences. We had expected to receive this update during the visit Ms Holguín was due to make to Cyprus, which had been scheduled for September but was postponed for personal reasons. This is something that will form part of the discussion next Tuesday between the President of the Republic and Ms Holguín’, he concluded.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term nears its end, announced he would convene another meeting in broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. María Angela Holguín, Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission’s Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.

ICRC, Power Ministry move to fast-track PPP projects

The Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, has met with the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, to discuss strategic collaborations aimed at advancing critical Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in Nigeria’s power sector.

Ewalefoh disclosed this in a post on his X handle, saying the meeting focused on aligning strategies to attract private investment into key power infrastructure and improve efficiency across the sector’s value chain.

According to him, ‘The power sector remains the bedrock of Nigeria’s economic development,’ making it necessary to review strategic roadmaps designed to attract private investment into critical power infrastructure and pursue strategic concessions to boost efficiency across the value chain.

He said the discussions also centred on strengthening collaboration between the ICRC and the Ministry of Power to accelerate infrastructure development through PPP arrangements.

Ewalefoh said the meeting ended with both parties reaffirming their commitment to driving infrastructure development in the power sector.

He added that Tegbe reaffirmed the ministry’s readiness to ‘fast-track project approvals for energy projects nationwide.’

The ICRC boss, in turn, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to streamlining processes and enforcing rigorous regulatory oversight to ensure transparency and high returns for both the Nigerian public and investors.

The development comes as the Federal Government continues to explore private-sector participation as a means of financing and improving critical infrastructure, particularly in the power sector.

PUP allows use of lived names in graduation rites

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines administration has committed to allow the use of lived names for this year’s commencement exercise following calls from PUP students.

Lived names are self-chosen names that a person goes by in daily life, instead of their official name on legal documents.

PUP vice president for student affairs and services Tomas Testor have announced the approval of its use, according to student regent JP Azusano.

‘I already raised this matter to the PUP administration, noting that this approval should have a legal and official document. But they said there is no need for that,’ Azusano told The STAR.

He said the use of lived names in graduation rites is a huge step toward recognizing equality in education.

‘Beyond the university’s commitment to upholding its diversity and inclusion policy, being recognized by our lived names is also a student’s democratic right. When an institution fails to acknowledge the students’ true identities, it undermines the dignity and respect we deserve,’ Azusano said.

‘This recognition is crucial for students, as it is vital for the university to respect a student’s decision not to use their deadname. These initial steps of recognizing a student’s lived name must be followed by the creation of genuinely safe spaces within the university,’ he added.

A deadname refers to the birth name that a person no longer uses.

The University of the Philippines, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Philippine Normal University, De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University have adopted policies to use lived names in their graduation rites.

Azusano said PUP is crafting a resolution to streamline the use of lived names in future graduation rites.

Team Philippines steps up chase

From the sea to the range, the halls and the hardcourts, Team Philippines launches its drive for glory as full action begins at the 2026 Asian Games here.

The morning after the opening ceremony, Filipino bets with strong podium chances take center stage, led by wushu artist Agatha Wong, triathletes Fernando Casares, Iñaki Lorbes, Kim Mangrobang and Raven Alcoseba, shooters Jayson Valdez and Franchette Shayne Quiroz, and modern pentathletes Samuel German and Michael Ver Anton Comaling.

The women’s soft tennis team will go for broke in its bid to upset host Japan in the semifinals at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center; Prince Agustin, who battled back through the repechage, fights for bronze in teqball; while the Gilas Pilipinas Women seek a follow-up to their rousing debut against Kazakhstan as they go for win No. 2 versus Hong Kong in their 9 a.m. (Manila time) face-off at the Aichi International Arena.

While hopes are high for aces like Carlos Yulo, Alex Eala, EJ Obiena and Kayla Sanchez, Philippine Olympic Committee President Bambol Tolentino said there are many others across various fronts who can deliver.

Philippine Sports Commission chair Pato Gregorio expressed the country’s full support.

‘As the Asian Games officially begin in Nagoya, the whole nation rallies behind our athletes as they carry the flag and the dreams of our country,’ he said.

‘You have worked hard and sacrificed much to be here. Focus your mind and remember your purpose – para sa sarili, para sa pamilya, para sa bayan. Sa bawat laban, ipakita ninyo ang puso ng atletang Pilipino.Lahat kami ay nakaabang at nakasuporta. Laban, Pilipinas!’

There is Wong, a six-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist aiming for her first Asian Games gold. Not to be counted out are the triathletes and the shooters.

Triathlon chief Tom Carrasco described Casares, Lorbes, Mangrobang and Alcoseba as ‘sharp and battle-ready.’

Shooting secretary general Iryne Garcia is optimistic about podium finishes, mentioning Quiroz as one of their top bets along with shotgun entries Hagen Topacio (trap) and Enrique Leandro Enriquez (skeet).

‘I think we have a chance,’ said Garcia, pointing out that the shooters were primed for the Games with the help of foreign coaches – an Italian for skeet, a Kazakh for rifle, and an Uzbek for pistol.

The team suffered setbacks before the Games. Young triathlon star Kira Ellis, a double-gold winner in the last SEA Games, was forced to withdraw after injuries in a freak training accident in August. Olympian shooter Paul Brian Rosario also had to skip the Games after a spill during a bike ride weeks ago.

But hopes are high that their teammates will carry the fight.

Much of the focus on Day 1 will be on Wong in Taijiquan and Taijijian in wushu and the combo of Princess Catindig, Noelle Manalac, Christy Sañosa, Shyryn Salazar and Hilary Paas as they pursue ambition against Japan in the soft tennis women’s team semifinals.

They have already made history with a guaranteed medal – a feat the team has been chasing since its first Asian Games participation in 1998 in Bangkok.

Wong wages her own chase.

‘I’m giving it my all, all my effort, all the amount of discipline that I can muster and courage,’ said Wong, entered in a field of 13 in a discipline where a participant performs bare-hand tai chi and tai chi straight sword.

She’s good for bronze in 2018 then skidded to fifth in 2023.

NESG seeks more private investment in primary healthcare

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has called for the establishment of a national framework for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in primary healthcare to attract more private investment and improve access to quality healthcare services across the country.

The group also proposed the creation of a dedicated primary healthcare investment and risk-sharing facility to give investors clearer information about the risks involved in funding and operating healthcare facilities, particularly in underserved communities.

The proposals formed part of discussions at a pre-summit dialogue organised by the NESG, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, ahead of the Nigerian Economic Summit.

The virtual meeting, held on Thursday, September 17, 2026, focused on ‘Powering PHC to UHC: Unlocking Private Sector Partnership’ and brought together government officials, healthcare providers, development partners and private-sector operators.

Chairman, House Committee on Health Care Services/Establishments, Dr Amos Mogaji, said uncertainty over revenue, fragmented regulation, lengthy government procedures and weaknesses in contracting and procurement were discouraging private investors from participating more actively in primary healthcare.

He said investors needed to know clearly what government and private operators were expected to do, the risks each party would carry and the results expected from their investments.

Mogaji called for a national framework that would set out the responsibilities of government and private-sector participants in PHC partnerships.

He also proposed an investment and risk-sharing facility that would provide greater certainty for investors and help reduce some of the risks associated with operating healthcare facilities in underserved areas.

According to him, stronger coordination between government agencies and private operators would also reduce unnecessary bureaucracy caused by multiple regulatory and reporting requirements.

The lawmaker said policy continuity was equally important, arguing that agreements and frameworks established to encourage private investment should continue even when administrations change.

The need for stronger private-sector involvement is significant because private operators already account for an estimated 60 to 70 per cent of healthcare service delivery in Nigeria.

Dr Sade Adebanjo, a member of the Steering Committee of the NESG Health Policy Commission, said the scale of private-sector participation meant that the country could not make significant progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) without finding better ways to work with private healthcare providers.

She described primary healthcare as the foundation and first point of contact for most Nigerians seeking healthcare, but said inadequate financing, shortages of healthcare workers, poor infrastructure and weaknesses in service delivery continue to affect its ability to serve communities, especially those that are underserved.

Adebanjo said combining the resources and expertise of government and the private sector could help expand access to affordable and quality healthcare while making the PHC system stronger.

Dr Nkata Chuku, Deputy Director, Health Systems Strengthening and Primary Healthcare at the Gates Foundation, said government must take ownership of PPP projects from the beginning if such arrangements are to grow and remain sustainable.

He said government should be involved from the design stage and throughout implementation instead of waiting until private-sector models had already been developed and tested.

Chuku also said Nigeria needed clearer arrangements for paying healthcare providers. He explained that strategic purchasing systems could help protect poor and vulnerable Nigerians from excessive out-of-pocket spending while also giving private healthcare providers a reliable way to recover their investments.

He said viability-gap funding and other measures to reduce investment risks could make it easier for private companies to provide healthcare services in communities where commercial returns may initially be limited.

Rather than creating entirely new structures, Chuku called for better use of existing health financing arrangements, including the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and state health insurance schemes.

He said improvements in provider accreditation, quality control, purchasing arrangements and payment systems could create more opportunities for private healthcare operators to work in underserved communities.

The issue of health insurance was also identified as central to the sustainability of private investment in primary healthcare.

Dr Ifunanya Ilodibe, Chief Executive Officer of EHA Clinics, said healthcare providers, including those operating for social impact, needed predictable and sustainable financing to continue serving communities.

She said low insurance coverage, dependence on patients paying directly for healthcare and delays in reimbursement were making it difficult for providers to maintain services in underserved areas.

Ilodibe called for wider health insurance coverage, particularly among Nigerians working in the informal sector, saying a larger pool of insured patients would give healthcare providers more predictable patient numbers and revenue.

She said timely payments through the NHIA and state health insurance schemes would also give private operators greater confidence to invest in primary healthcare facilities.

The EHA Clinics chief executive also called for greater accountability between government and private-sector partners under PPP agreements.

She described the existing situation as ‘regulatory asymmetry’, noting that private healthcare providers were subject to strict accreditation, regulatory and auditing requirements while government obligations under some PPP agreements might not be enforced with the same level of rigour.

She called for contracts to clearly state government responsibilities, including facility improvements, patient enrolment, capitation guarantees and payment schedules. The contracts, she said, should also contain penalties where either party fails to meet its obligations.

Dr Ben Nkechika, Managing Director of Almond Healthcare Services Limited, said the private sector’s role in primary healthcare should go beyond simply being engaged as contractors.

He said private companies could contribute to health education, community mobilisation, advocacy, financing, technology and service delivery.

Nkechika said private-sector interventions should be designed around the actual needs of primary healthcare centres rather than being introduced as isolated projects that do not address the main problems facing the facilities.

He also called for stronger involvement of local governments and communities, saying their participation would be important for ensuring that PHC projects are accepted locally and remain sustainable.

Nkechika cited a programme in Delta State involving the concession of 15 primary healthcare facilities to private operators as an example of what structured partnerships could achieve.

He said the programme combined private-sector incentives, technology and expertise with the involvement of local governments and communities.

According to him, the participating facilities recorded no maternal deaths over a five-year period and also recorded improvements in infant health outcomes.

The discussions also identified the absence of integrated systems linking public and private primary healthcare providers as another challenge that needs to be addressed.

Mogaji said clearer responsibilities and better coordination between the two sectors would make it easier to deliver services and monitor results.

The NESG and its partners said the broader objective of the dialogue was to identify practical ways of improving PHC financing, infrastructure, service delivery, quality and access as Nigeria works towards Universal Health Coverage.

The discussions suggest that unlocking private investment in primary healthcare will require more than simply asking private companies to provide services. It will also require clear government commitments, predictable financing, wider health insurance coverage, effective regulation, risk-sharing arrangements and policies that remain stable over time.

APC PCC to Atiku: You’re ignorant of PIA; Tinubu can’t reduce crude price for local refineries

All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has faulted the proposal by the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, for the Federal Government to intervene in petrol and diesel prices and provide cheaper crude oil to local refineries.

The APC-PCC challenged Atiku to explain the legal, fiscal and practical basis of the proposal, arguing that it must operate within the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

The council’s position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Dele Alake, following Atiku’s call at a media briefing in Abuja for measures to reduce the cost of petroleum products and support domestic refining.

Alake said Atiku’s proposal raised questions about the legal framework for government intervention in the downstream petroleum sector, noting that Section 205(1) of the PIA provides for wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products to be determined under unrestricted free-market conditions.

He also cited the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which recently said it does not fix pump prices or issue administrative price templates except where statutory conditions for intervention are met. The regulator said no such market failure had been declared.

According to Alake, a direct pronouncement by President Bola Tinubu on pump prices would also raise questions about the statutory responsibilities of the NMDPRA, which regulates the midstream and downstream petroleum sectors.

‘That proposal raises important legal, fiscal and practical questions that he must answer.

‘Section 205(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 provides that unrestricted free-market conditions shall determine wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products,’ he said.

Alake challenged Atiku to explain whether refineries receiving the proposed support would be required to sell petrol at a government-prescribed price.

‘If the answer is yes, he should identify the legal framework under which the government would impose that price condition and explain how it would operate consistently with the Petroleum Industry Act.

‘If the answer is no, he should explain how public support to refiners would guarantee lower prices at filling stations. Without an enforceable mechanism, refiners could receive the benefit while consumers continued to pay market prices,’ he said.

The APC-PCC spokesperson also demanded details of the cost and funding mechanism for Atiku’s proposal.

He expressed reservations about the proposed preferential pricing of crude for domestic refineries, arguing that such a measure could reduce the value of crude accruing to the Federation and consequently affect revenues available to the federal, state and local governments.

‘Any discount on crude would reduce the value accruing to the Federation and, consequently, the revenue available to the federal, state and local governments,’ Alake said.

He further claimed that the cost of the proposed intervention could run into several trillions of naira annually, depending on the size of the discount, the volume of crude covered and whether the support applied to the entire barrel or only petrol sold domestically.

The APC-PCC said the government was instead pursuing alternative measures to reduce transportation costs through compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric mass transit, adding that CNG and electric buses were already operating on some routes.

The council acknowledged the pressure caused by rising petrol prices but maintained that the Tinubu administration would continue implementing measures aimed at cushioning the impact on Nigerians.

It noted that petrol had sold for about ?830 per litre before the Middle East crisis pushed crude oil prices above $100 per barrel, adding that any de-escalation of the crisis could ease global crude prices and, consequently, petrol and diesel prices.

The NMDPRA, according to the APC-PCC, is also working with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on alleged price-gouging and with the Nigeria Customs Service to tackle the diversion of petroleum products across Nigeria’s borders.