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Former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has called on political parties and candidates preparing for the 2027 elections to make healthcare a central campaign issue, arguing that Nigeria’s political conversation cannot be considered serious if it excludes the state of the country’s health system.

Akande made the call during the My Take segment of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television, where he questioned why healthcare was not receiving greater attention as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general election.

He said political campaigns were already gathering momentum, with posters appearing and campaign messages dominating public spaces and the airwaves.

‘In about four months, we will have the elections. And posters are already going up. Jingles are flooding the airwaves. And the politicians are making promises of rescue and renewals. But I want to ask today: Where is the healthcare in that conversation?’

According to Akande, healthcare should not only become a national issue when a prominent person dies or a tragedy involving a well-known family attracts public attention.

He cited recent comments by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who said in a recent New York Times interview that her feelings towards Nigeria had changed following the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu, after a medical emergency in Nigeria.

Asked whether Nigeria still felt close to her heart, Adichie said, ‘My feelings toward Nigeria have changed. I do not want to go back to Nigeria.’

Akande said the statement should prompt a broader discussion about the condition of Nigeria’s healthcare system.

‘That sentence should shock this country and all of us in our tracks. This is a woman who has spent her entire career writing Nigeria into the world’s imaginations. And now, Nigeria, through its healthcare system has broken her bond.’

However, he stressed that the issue went beyond the experience of a prominent writer, arguing that ordinary Nigerians faced similar challenges without attracting national attention.

Akande also referenced the case of Aishatu Umar, a mother of five in Kano who died after surgical scissors were left inside her body following an operation at the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre.

The Kano State Hospitals Management Board said a preliminary investigation confirmed medical negligence and announced the suspension of three personnel involved in the case, while the matter was referred to the state Medical Ethics Committee.

Akande asked how many similar cases might occur without receiving public attention.

‘So, I ask: how many Aishatu Umars do we have who never made the news? We have a system failure. There are people that are dying regularly.’

He questioned whether hospitals across the country had the basic infrastructure and systems required to provide safe and effective care.

‘Do our hospitals have electricity? Do they have oxygen? Emergency drugs at 2am? Can patients get their records when they need it? Is there an independent body that diligently investigates complaints? And when negligence is proven, is there justice indeed?’

Akande called on President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Health, the 36 state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to make healthcare a national priority.

He argued that the administration’s Renewed Hope agenda would be difficult to achieve if healthcare facilities remained incapable of providing safe and reliable services.

‘Mr President, your Renewed Hope agenda cannot succeed if the hospitals that are supposed to keep Nigerians alive are places where hope dies.’

He proposed a shift in the way governments measure progress in the health sector, saying the focus should move beyond the number of hospitals and other physical infrastructure constructed.

‘We should stop counting buildings and start counting functionality when we talk about healthcare.’

According to him, governments should assess whether existing facilities have the personnel, equipment, medicines, electricity and systems required to function effectively.

He also identified human capital as a critical component of healthcare reform, calling for greater investment in training and retention of medical professionals.

‘We should make human capital the central reform – train people, train them well and keep them in the system.’

Akande also called for the establishment of stronger patient-safety mechanisms, arguing that access to healthcare should not depend on a patient’s social status or public profile.

‘We should build a patient’s safety system where a market woman in Aba can use and have access to healthcare. We shouldn’t have to be famous to even be heard.’

He said governments and healthcare administrators needed to create mechanisms through which patients could report complaints, have them independently investigated and obtain redress where wrongdoing was established.

Akande also identified the migration of Nigerian medical professionals as an issue that should form part of the political debate ahead of 2027.

He challenged presidential and governorship candidates to explain how they intended to address the shortage and retention of healthcare professionals and improve working conditions within the sector.

Akande said political parties should go beyond broad campaign promises and provide specific plans for improving hospitals, protecting patients and retaining medical professionals.

‘And, as we head into 2027, this must become a campaign issue.’

He said the coming election season should provide an opportunity for voters to demand concrete healthcare commitments from candidates rather than allowing political discussions to focus exclusively on personalities, alliances and electoral calculations.

‘We cannot spend the next months debating only politics and personalities while the very infrastructure that keeps our human capital alive is collapsing – the healthcare system.’

He urged every presidential and governorship candidate to explain how they would improve hospitals and patient safety and address the loss of medical professionals to other countries.

‘Every presidential candidate, every governorship candidate must tell us: what is your plan for our hospitals? What is your plan for patient safety? What is your plan for stopping brain drain in the medical area?’

Akande concluded by linking healthcare reform to the broader question of Nigeria’s human capital and the ability of citizens to live productive lives.

‘If healthcare is not on the ballot, then we are not having a serious conversation as a people.’

Five persons were injured on Sunday in a multiple accident involving six vehicles, including a tanker, at Ikpoba Hill on Murtala Muhammed Way in Benin City, Edo State.

An eyewitness, Mr Ken Omusi, said the tanker driver had a brake failure, attempted to control the vehicle but lost control after hitting a pothole at the Ikpoba River Bridge section of the road.

He added that the tanker veered off its lane and rammed into other vehicles, resulting in a multiple collision.

Omusi said three of the injured persons were rushed to hospital for medical attention.

Emergency responders, including personnel from the Edo State Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps, Police and Fire Service, later arrived at the scene to assist with rescue operations and control the traffic situation.

The Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Preye Ezekiel Bedford, confirmed the incident, saying no lives were lost.

He said eight people were involved in the accident; five were injured, while the others escaped unhurt.

The Founder and Managing Director of TAJBank Limited, Mr. Hamid Joda, has reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to upholding the highest ethical standards in its operations while expanding access to non-interest banking products and services across Nigeria.

Joda gave the assurance following his recognition as the 2026 Islamic Banker of the Year by the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA).

The award was presented at the 16th annual GIFA ceremony held in the United Kingdom, where TAJBank also received the GIFA Championship Award for Digital Banking 2026.

Joda, who was represented at the ceremony by TAJBank’s Chief Compliance Officer, Dr. Muhammad Kabir Muhammad, said the recognition was a collective achievement involving the bank’s board, management, employees, customers, shareholders and regulators.

‘The Global Islamic Banker of the Year 2026 award is conferred on me but the commendation goes to our Board of Directors, the management and staff of TAJBank as well as our customers, who are creating the enabling environment for my performance,’ he said.

He expressed appreciation to the GIFA Committee for recognising both his contributions and the bank’s performance.

‘I thank the GIFA Committee for honouring me and TAJBank with the global awards,’ Joda said.

The TAJBank chief executive also assured stakeholders that the bank would remain focused on ethical banking and responsible financial practices.

‘I want to also thank the regulatory authorities, our shareholders and customers for these awards and promise them that we shall continue to do our best to retain TAJBank as the biggest Islamic Bank in the country by complying with the best ethical banking practices in their best interest, which is the main purpose of our operations,’ he said.

Joda said the international recognition should also serve as an incentive for TAJBank to deepen its contribution to Nigeria’s Islamic banking industry.

He said the bank would continue to leverage innovation and technology to expand its product offerings and ensure that more Nigerians could access non-interest banking services on a sustainable basis.

The GIFA recognition adds to a series of honours received by Joda for his contribution to Islamic banking.

In 2023, he received the Most Promising Banker of the Year Award at the 13th GIFA ceremony in Dakar, Senegal. He was also named Islamic Personality of the Year at the 6th African International Conference of Islamic Finance held in Abuja in the same year.

Joda, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, has more than 26 years of experience in banking, spanning deposit and Islamic banking operations.

Importation of foreign used cars into Nigeria has increased by 104 per cent in the first six months of 2026, Daily Trust reports.

Data from the foreign trade statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the country imported a total of N633.21bn worth of cars during the year, a 104 per cent rise from the N263.46bn recorded during the same period of 2025.

When compared to the second half of 2025, the increase was 31 per cent as N484.61bn of the product was imported.

In total, Nigeria spent N748.07bn to import cars in 2025, which is N114.86bn more than what was spent in the first six months of 2026.

Analysis of the report showed that N284.0bn was spent to import cars in the first quarter of 2026 but increased to N349.14bn in the second quarter, a 23 percent increase.

A breakdown by country of import destination indicated that N491.52bn of the product labeled ‘Used Vehicles, with diesel or semi diesel engine, of cylinder capacity >2500cc’ was imported from the United States.

This is followed by N18.2bn imported from Canada, then N17bn imported from the United Arab Emirates, N16.14bn from China, N7bn from Belgium and N6.64bn from Italy.

This is coming amidst rising concerns over the dumping of used vehicles into Nigeria despite the existence of dozens of vehicle assemblers.

However, the used vehicles’ segment has largely dominated the automotive market amidst affordability constraints by Nigerians.

Trend of import in 6 years

It would be recalled that Nigerians imported fewer passenger motor cars in 2024 due to rising inflation and the continued naira depreciation that made foreign exchange more expensive, driving up the cost of vehicle imports.

Data from the NBS showed that the total value of passenger car imports fell by 14.3 per cent to N1.26tn in 2024 from N1.47tn recorded in 2023.

The decline followed a sharp surge in imports the previous year, when vehicle importation more than doubled compared to 2022.

However, the harsh economic realities of 2024 forced businesses and consumers to cut back on non-essential purchases, with imported cars among the most affected.

Nigeria’s passenger car imports have fluctuated significantly. In 2020, the country imported N546.79bn worth of vehicles, a figure that increased to N695.40bn in 2021.

However, by 2022, imports declined slightly to N655.69bn before soaring by 124.7 per cent to N1.47tn in 2023.

The drop to N1.26tn in 2024 marked a reversal of the previous year’s surge, which was further accentuated by the drop to N748.07bn in 2025.

One of the major factors responsible for the decline was the surge in inflation, which eroded consumers’ purchasing power and made high-value goods, such as vehicles, less affordable.

FG’s import duty reduction

Daily Trust reports that the renewed surge in importation might be due to the reduction in import duty for foreign used cars and the 2027 elections that have seen the distribution of cars for campaign purposes.

It would be recalled that the Federal Government reduced the import levy on both new and used vehicles as part of its 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures, a move aimed at lowering the cost of vehicle importation, easing the burden on importers and improving access to vehicles for consumers.

The new fiscal measures, which took effect on July 1 2026, form part of a broader review of Nigeria’s import tariff structure and customs regime designed to stimulate economic activity and support trade.

Under the revised policy, the import levy on new vehicles has been reduced from 20% to 10%, while the levy on used vehicles has been cut from 15% to 5% per cent.

According to the government, ‘Beginning 1st July 2026, the Nigeria Customs Service will implement the Green Tax Surcharge as part of the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures to support environmental sustainability while also reducing the import levy on new vehicles from 20% to 10% and that of used vehicles from 15% to 5% to ease the cost of vehicle importation.’

Speaking after the reduction, the President of the National Association of Motor Dealers and Chief Executive Officer of Mitchel Automobile Limited, Prince Ajibola, described the reduction in levies as a positive development but said its benefits would depend largely on the size of the Green Tax.

‘We don’t know what the surcharge is going to be. If they reduce the levy on vehicles and then introduce another surcharge, we need to know how much it is before we can say there will be any considerable change,’ he said.

Ajibola noted that while reducing the levy on used vehicles from 15 per cent to five per cent represents a significant concession, the gains could be diminished if the Green Tax offsets the reduction.

‘If the surcharge is far less than what has been reduced, then it’s a plus. But if it is the same or even higher, then it has not really changed anything,’ he explained.

He added that import duties remain one of the biggest contributors to the high cost of vehicles in Nigeria, aside from foreign exchange challenges.

‘The development is a very good one. There’s no doubt about that. But to know exactly how it will affect prices, we need to know what the Green Tax is. If it is very little, then the reduction in levies will still be significant and consumers will feel the impact,’ Ajibola said.