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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has challenged the governorship ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), comprising Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and Gbadamosi, to demonstrate the governing experience and political structure required to administer Lagos State.

The APC spokesman in Lagos State, Mogaji Seye Oladejo, on Thursday said, ‘Lagos Is Not an Internship Centre: Rhodes-Vivour/Gbadamosi Face a Reality Check.’

Oladejo said although the emergence of the Rhodes-Vivour/Gbadamosi ticket might have generated excitement among opposition politicians, the unveiling of a ticket did not automatically translate into a viable route to Lagos House.

He argued that a political ticket was different from a political structure, while a coalition was not the same as a governing record.

According to him, the opposition ticket should be judged beyond social media visibility and campaign activities, particularly given the complexity of Lagos and the demands of running the state.

Oladejo also questioned the political trajectories of the two candidates, noting that Rhodes-Vivour contested the 2019 Lagos West Senatorial election on the KOWA platform before moving to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), later emerging as the Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate and subsequently joining the ADC.

Gbadamosi, he said, contested the 2019 Lagos governorship election on the Action Democratic Party (ADP) platform, where he polled 4,780 votes, before contesting the 2020 Lagos East Senatorial bye-election on the PDP platform.

He, however, acknowledged that there was nothing wrong with political evolution but argued that movement between political platforms did not amount to building a political institution.

Oladejo asked the opposition to explain what, beyond its latest political arrangement, qualified the two candidates to administer Lagos.

The APC spokesman said Lagos required leaders with the capacity to manage its complex economy, infrastructure, population and administrative machinery.

He asked:

‘Where is the governing experience?

‘Where is the record of managing a state bureaucracy?

‘Where is the experience of supervising a state budget?

‘Where is the evidence of successfully running a complex public institution?

‘Where is the tested record of converting campaign promises into government programmes and measurable outcomes?’

Oladejo said the opposition could not answer those questions with hashtags, rallies and campaign activities.

He also acknowledged Rhodes-Vivour’s performance in the 2023 governorship election, when he polled 312,329 votes to finish second behind the incumbent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who secured 762,134 votes.

According to Oladejo, the 2023 result remained part of the state’s democratic record and should be acknowledged, but finishing second in a governorship election was not the same as having a record of governance.

He said the central question ahead of 2027 was whether the ADC candidates could demonstrate the institutional depth, political organisation and governing capacity required to manage Lagos.

Oladejo also challenged Rhodes-Vivour’s claim that he had spent the period since the 2023 election building grassroots structures.

He said the opposition candidate should demonstrate the strength of those structures across the state.

‘Let us see the wards.

‘Let us see the local-government organisation.

‘Let us see the polling-unit machinery.

‘Let us see the depth beyond social media,’ he said.

He added that a statewide political network must not only be capable of sustaining an election campaign but also provide the foundation for governance after election day.

On the opposition’s policy proposals, Oladejo said Lagosians deserved more than a list of aspirations on issues including housing, transportation, healthcare, education, flooding and economic development.

He said the candidates should explain how much their proposed programmes would cost, when they would be implemented, who would implement them, where the funding would come from and what would happen to ongoing projects.

‘Governance is not a PowerPoint presentation.

‘It is the difficult business of financing, implementing, supervising and delivering,’ he said.

Oladejo said the Lagos APC welcomed the Rhodes-Vivour/Gbadamosi ticket and urged the opposition to bring its candidates, political structure, record and manifesto before the electorate.

He said the APC would similarly present its own candidates, record and programmes to Lagos voters.

The APC spokesman cautioned the opposition against assuming that political visibility or the formation of a new alliance automatically translated into electoral strength.

‘The Lagos House is not won by assembling two names on a ticket.

‘It is won through years of organisation, service, political relationships, institutional knowledge and demonstrated capacity to deliver,’ he said.

‘Until the Rhodes-Vivour/Gbadamosi ticket provides convincing answers to that question – with evidence rather than rhetoric – their much-publicised combination remains exactly that: a combination, not yet a pathway to Lagos House,’ he said.

Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday recused himself from the ongoing N10 billion money laundering case preferred against Ali Bello, the Chief of Staff (CoS) to Gov. Usman Ododo of Kogi State, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Omotosho, in a ruling, held that he considered the decision reasonable, fair and in the interest of the parties, the administration of justice and society at large.

The development followed the confession by the court registrar, Mr Nasir Zubairu Onimisi, that he tampered with one of the exhibits tendered by the EFCC, which was prosecuting the matter.

The anti-graft agency had filed the charges in 2022, accusing Bello, also a nephew of former Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, and Dauda Sulaiman of fraud involving the alleged diversion of funds from the Kogi State Government’s coffers.

While Bello was listed as the first defendant, Sulaiman was the second defendant in the 10-count charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022.

Onimisi had, on February 5, admitted in open court to confessing to the judge that he tampered with Exhibit ‘N’ after the defendants allegedly promised to give him a house in Abuja.

The development occurred while an EFCC investigation officer, Muhammed Abubakar, was giving his evidence in the trial as the 17th prosecution witness.

This prompted Justice Omotosho to order Onimisi’s arrest and to direct the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the registrar and the defendants, and to submit their report to the court.

When the anti-graft agency closed its case after calling 17 witnesses, Bello and Sulaiman opted for a no-case submission on the grounds that the commission had been unable to adduce sufficient evidence in support of the charges to enable them to enter their defence.

However, when the case was called on Thursday for the defence lawyers, E. A. Oshayomi and Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN, to adopt their written addresses in the no-case submission, Justice Omotosho asked Abbas Muhammed, who appeared for the EFCC, about the outcome of the investigation seven months after.

Responding, Muhammed said he had learnt that the DSS had concluded its investigation and that the report had been submitted to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Federal Ministry of Justice.

The lawyer, who said he was yet to know the outcome of the investigation, promised to get back to the court on its details.

In his ruling, Justice Omotosho said he recalled that his registrar opened up to him about tampering with an exhibit in relation to the case.

‘On the 5th of February, 2026, my Registrar, Nasir Onimisi, called and came to my house at about 6:30 a.m., where he confessed to tampering with one of the exhibits, namely, a phone containing WhatsApp messages relating to transactions connected with the case.

‘He stated that he had been promised a house in Abuja by the defendants and that this was the reason he tampered with the phone,’ the judge said.

According to the judge, ‘Onimisi appealed to me to assist him, but I bluntly refused, stating that I could not assist him in such circumstances. Fortunately, the matter was coming up for hearing that same morning.

‘When the matter was called at about 10:00am, I played in open court the recording of the conversation that had taken place in my sitting room when Nasir came to disclose these facts to me.

‘The recording was played in the presence of all the parties and their counsel. I thereafter, gave the microphone to Nasir and asked him to confirm whether the contents of the recording were true.

‘He confirmed the contents and repeated the substance of the recording in open court. The phone, being Exhibit ‘N’ was then powered on to enable the court access its contents and the WhatsApp platform, in order to ascertain whether the messages and transactions had indeed been tampered with,’ he said.

The judge said that upon examination in open court, and in the presence of all the parties, it was discovered that the contents had indeed been tampered with.

‘Consequently, I made an order for the arrest of Nasir and the defendants for investigation, including forensic analysis of their calls and phones, to enable me determine the appropriate way forward and ascertain scientifically whether the exhibit had been tampered with.

‘The investigation is still ongoing as of today, and the prosecution has not informed me whether it has been concluded,’ Justice Omotosho said.

The judge further said that while going through the case file early in the morning in preparation for the proceedings for the adoption of addresses in respect of the no-case submission, he realised that ‘the exhibit in question constitutes one of the material pieces of evidence and is, in effect, one of the backbones of the prosecution’s case.

‘I must state that some of the contents of the exhibit have been downloaded onto a flash drive, which has been tendered before this court.

‘However, I observed that, if I were to continue with the matter to its conclusion, it might become necessary for the court to ascribe probative value to the said exhibit.

‘In my ruling in no-case submission to enable the court to determine if a prima facie case has been established or not, I have considered what an average person on the street might reasonably think, in the circumstances of this case, if I were to ascribe no probative value, or only very low probative value, to the exhibit.

‘Such a person may conclude that I was attempting to minimise or conceal the significance of the alleged tampering of the exhibit.

‘On the other hand, if I were to attach substantial probative value to the exhibit, the same perception of the circumstances may lead a layman to conclude that I was reacting in annoyance to the events surrounding the alleged tampering.

‘It is important to state that, during the pendency of this matter and after the incident involving the alleged tampering, I forfeited a property known as No. 12, 5th Avenue, 59 Crescent, Gwarimpa, Abuja to the Federal Government of Nigeria, which was allegedly acquired for an Islamic Cleric who prayed for Senator Oseni Yakubu.

‘This case of forfeiture is very much related to this instant case and the defendants.

‘I therefore consider this circumstance relevant to the question of how my continued participation in the proceedings might reasonably be perceived by the parties and by the public, because this court needs to consider and look at Exhibit ‘N’ jointly with other evidence to determine if prima facie case has been established against the defendants or not.’

According to the judge, the overriding consideration is that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done by a reasonable person on the street.

‘In the peculiar circumstances of this case, I consider it prudent to take a preventive approach.

‘If I were to continue with the proceedings and any further incident were to occur in relation to the case file or the exhibits, it could give rise to various perceptions and conclusions, whether justified or otherwise, which may adversely affect public confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice.

‘I therefore consider it reasonable, fair and in the interest of the parties, the administration of justice and society at large that I recuse myself from further proceedings in this matter.

‘Accordingly, and for the reasons stated above, I hereby recuse myself from further proceedings in this suit,’ the judge ruled, and subsequently directed that the case file be returned to the chief judge for reassignment to another judge.

All Progressives Congress (APC) has again kicked against the declaration by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to return the fuel subsidy regime if elected into office.

National Publicity Secretary of the governing party, Felix Morka, in a statement on Thursday alleged that the proposal to return fuel subsidy as being canvassed by the former vice-president was not informed by any altruistic motive but to plunder the country’s foreign reserves, which he noted, has risen to over $54 billion.

‘Atiku’s sudden u-turn from his 2023 policy position in favour of fuel subsidy removal to his new promise to restore the fuel subsidy regime, if elected, must be understood as his latest device to lay his hands on, and squander, the country’s 18-year foreign reserve high of over $54 billion built up from $3 billion by President Bola Tinubu in less than 4 years through bold and prudent economic reforms.

‘The National Treasury that President Tinubu has built strong is what Atiku desires to scatter and plunder under the cover of his fake and unrealistic promise to restore the ruinous fuel subsidy regime.

‘In his book, My Watch, President Olusegun Obasanjo characterized Atiku as possessing a propensity for corruption, a tendency toward disloyalty, poor judgment, and a readiness to sacrifice the national interest for selfish gains. In August 2026, Obasanjo described his decision to select Atiku as his running mate in 1999 as the biggest mistake of his presidency.

He stated, ‘The man I picked as my running mate, my number two, if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him.’ That is an open-and-shut reference by the former President, Atiku’s principal, to his unfitness for public office.

‘Atiku was an accidental Vice President, and categorically unfit for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’

The APC further alleged that ‘ as a former public official, Atiku’s record is an executive summary of some of Nigeria’s vilest episodes of corruption and cronyism that pulverized our economy and decimated public trust.’

The party urged the electorate to reject the ADC presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections.

‘Nigeria’s upcoming presidential election presents the electorate the opportunity to deal a final blow to Atiku’s desperate quest for presidential power, and save the country from his ravenous plunder.

‘From the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the Siemens bribery scandal to the William Jefferson case, the PTDF funds controversy, and the US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions, Atiku’s name is engraved ingloriously on files and dossiers of onshore and offshore financial scandals and atrocities.

‘These are not mere allegations. They are matters that are well documented in official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations, national and foreign legislative reports, and international financial inquiries. Together, they raise legitimate questions about the fitness for probity and accountability of this serial presidential contender.’

The Bauchi State Government, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has inaugurated a State Steering Committee on Actuarial Analysis to develop modalities for making healthcare services affordable, sustainable, accessible, and equitable across the state.

The committee, comprising members from health sector-related agencies, was inaugurated by the State Commissioner of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Mohammed Sani Dambam, at the end of a three-day capacity-building program funded by UNFPA in collaboration with the Bauchi State Health Contributory Management Agency (BASHCMA).

The training focused on health financing and actuarial analysis and marked the commencement of UNFPA’s support for actuarial analysis in the state.

Inaugurating the committee at the Polio Emergency Operation Centre of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dambam stressed the importance of the committee in ensuring effective and efficient healthcare service delivery.

He charged members to develop strategies that would make healthcare services accessible and equitable to residents, particularly those in the hinterland and vulnerable groups.

Dambam assured the committee that the ministry would provide guidance where necessary and give full support to the successful execution of its assignment.

Introducing the procured actuarial analysis consulting firm at the end of the three-day workshop, the UNFPA Sexual and Reproductive Health/Health Systems Strengthening Specialist, Dr Oluwatosin Kolade, said the support was important to the state’s efforts to improve healthcare financing.

He said the initiative would contribute to the country’s efforts to reduce maternal and newborn mortality by creating opportunities to mainstream high-impact, low-cost interventions such as family planning into a prepayment financing mechanism through the health benefit package of BASHCMA.

In her message, the UNFPA Resident Representative for Nigeria, Ms Muriel Mafico, reiterated the agency’s commitment to its partnership with the Bauchi State Government, particularly in efforts to achieve zero unmet needs for family planning and zero maternal deaths.

She assured the state that the UNFPA team in Bauchi would continue to work with heads of ministries, departments, and agencies to achieve the objectives of the actuarial analysis and strengthen the state’s social health insurance scheme.

Mafico’s speech, which was read by the Sexual and Reproductive Health Analyst at the UNFPA Bauchi State office, Ms Deborah Tabara, also assured that UNFPA would continue to support a sustainable environment for programs in the state.

She thanked heads of agencies for their support, saying, ‘We would not have gotten this far without your cooperation and support. As we go on to the remaining parts of the roadmap that will lead us to eventually sustainably finance the social health scheme and family planning, using state-level data to make informed decisions with regard to the Bauchi State actuarial analysis, UNFPA reiterates its commitment to continue to work with the Bauchi State Government and with the key agencies and respective technical staff.’

She added, ‘We will leave no one behind in this process. We will remain consistent, and we look forward to your cooperation. At the end of the day, it is going to be our data. It’s going to be for the improvement of the lives of women, children, and other vulnerable groups in Bauchi State. We thank you very much, and we look forward to a successful program.’

Many people still believe that managing social media is simply about uploading nice pictures on Instagram, making TikTok videos, or dropping witty comments on X. Businesses rely on online platforms for actual revenue, customer support, and brand survival.

Stepping into this role means taking on serious responsibility from day one. You are the digital mouthpiece and frontline ambassador of the organisation.

In this article, Tribune Online examines five essential tasks you must prepare to execute immediately after landing a role as a social media manager.

Conduct thorough social media audit

Your first line of action is to inspect what the brand has already been doing online. You need to pull up every active account, review past engagement numbers, verify log-in securities, and document follower demographics. This step reveals what worked previously, what failed woefully, and what needs immediate fixing.

Regular channel audits help businesses spot wasted ad spend and identify inactive accounts that confuse potential customers. Taking inventory early prevents you from repeating past mistakes and gives you a factual baseline to measure your future wins.

Establish clear content calendar and posting schedule

Never wake up in the morning wondering what to post for the day. You must organize your messaging using a documented content calendar that details daily themes, visuals, captions, and publishing times. Grouping your content into buckets like educational posts, customer reviews, and product promotions ensures your feed stays balanced.

A planned content calendar keeps your output steady even during busy workdays. It also allows stakeholders and managers to review and approve posts well in advance, eliminating last-minute typing blunders and off-brand messages.

Build dedicated community management routine

Social media is a two-way street, not a television broadcast. You must set aside specific hours every single day to reply to direct messages, answer inquiries in the comment section, and engage with related industry conversations.

Audiences quickly abandon brands that act like brick walls. Fast and polite responses build customer trust, resolve complaints before they escalate, and directly turn casual viewers into loyal paying clients.

Master analytics and performance reporting

Posting without reviewing your numbers is like driving a car blindfolded. You must learn how to track essential metrics such as reach, click-through rates, conversion rates, and audience retention, rather than focusing purely on ‘vanity’ metrics like simple likes.

Management will inevitably ask for proof that your work is bringing value to the company. Learning to translate platform data into clear weekly or monthly performance reports proves your impact, justifies marketing budgets, and clearly shows where to adjust your strategy.

Set up an online crisis response protocol

Trouble can hit at any time on the internet, from a dissatisfied customer leaving an angry review to an accidental misstep in a campaign post. You must work closely with company leadership to draft a simple crisis plan before any controversy starts.

This protocol dictates exactly who needs to be alerted, who crafts public statements, and what steps to take when public backlash arises. Having this framework in place keeps you calm, prevents emotional online arguments, and protects the hard-earned reputation of the business.

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the results of the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal, with 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent, obtaining at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

The Registrar and Chief Executive of NECO, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, announced the results at a news conference at the council’s headquarters in Minna, Niger State, on Thursday.

According to him, 1,378,048 candidates registered for the examination, comprising 682,352 males and 695,696 females, while 1,371,992 candidates, made up of 678,903 males and 693,089 females, eventually sat for it.

Wushishi said 1,162,118 candidates, representing 84.70 per cent, obtained five credits and above, irrespective of their performance in English Language and Mathematics.

He, however, said 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.

The examination was conducted across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as six foreign countries: Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Saudi Arabia.

Wushishi said the results were released 63 days after the conclusion of the examination, following the completion of marking, verification and quality assurance processes.

He described the 2026 examination cycle as one of the most challenging for the council, saying it had tested NECO’s systems, processes and readiness.

The registrar also announced a significant reduction in examination malpractice, with 1,406 candidates involved in various forms of malpractice in 2026, compared with 3,878 candidates recorded in 2025.

He said this represented a 64.74 per cent reduction in examination malpractice.

Wushishi attributed the decline to the council’s sustained efforts to strengthen examination security and quality assurance, noting that the deployment of technology, including Computer-Based Examination (CBE), had also contributed to the reduction.

Giving a breakdown of candidates’ performance by geopolitical zones, Wushishi said the Southwest recorded the highest proportion of candidates who obtained five credits and above, irrespective of performance in English Language and Mathematics.

He said the Southwest accounted for 24.60 per cent of the performance, followed by the Northwest with 22.10 per cent, North Central with 19.00 per cent, Northeast with 14.70 per cent, South-South with 10.53 per cent and Southeast with 9.07 per cent.

At the state level, Kano recorded the highest number of candidates who obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics, with 74,413 candidates.

Lagos followed with 72,496 candidates, while Oyo came third with 55,543 candidates.

Wushishi said the detailed statistical tables also provided separate rankings by geopolitical zone, state, gender and candidates who obtained five credits and above, with or without English Language and Mathematics.

In the North Central, Benue led the state-level ranking with 3.82 per cent, followed by Nasarawa with 3.66 per cent.

In the Southeast, Anambra topped the ranking with 2.92 per cent, followed by Enugu with 2.14 per cent, while Ebonyi and Abia recorded 1.15 per cent and 0.57 per cent, respectively.

For the South-South, Rivers ranked first with 3.03 per cent, followed by Edo with 2.17 per cent, Delta with 1.84 per cent, Akwa Ibom with 1.61 per cent and Cross River with 1.30 per cent.

The registrar said the male and female performance rankings also showed variations across the geopolitical zones and states.

Wushishi further disclosed that 1,334 candidates with special needs participated in the 2026 SSCE Internal.

He said the figure comprised 640 candidates with hearing impairment, 149 with visual impairment, 84 with albinism, 94 with autism, 136 with low vision and 231 candidates with adermatoglyphia.

He assured candidates, parents, schools and other stakeholders that NECO would continue to uphold the integrity and credibility of its examinations.

The registrar also expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, for their support to the council.

He commended security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Department of State Services (DSS), as well as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other institutions, for their support during the examination.

Wushishi urged candidates to access their results through the NECO website using their examination registration numbers and to continue their academic pursuits with renewed hope and determination.

Following a directive from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) over reported cases of under-dispensing of petroleum products nationwide, the Petroleum Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has mandated its members to immediately inspect, calibrate and verify dispensing pumps and totalizers at their retail outlets,

A circular signed by PETROAN national president, Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, and the National Secretary, Adedibu Aderibigbe, said the Association was acting on an industry circular from NMDPRA, which described under-dispensing as a breach of consumer trust that will not be tolerated.

The circular added that all petroleum retail outlet operators are required to carry out immediate calibration and verification of their dispensing equipment to ensure accurate measurement and guarantee that consumers receive full value for the products they purchase.

According to PETROAN, NMDPRA has intensified inspection and enforcement activities across the country, saying outlets found under-dispensing, using improperly calibrated equipment, or otherwise compromising dispensing accuracy would be required to take immediate corrective action.

While warning that persistent or serious violations could attract sanctions, including revocation of operating licenses, PETROAN urged its members to conduct immediate inspection and calibration of equipment, maintain accurate records of calibration and maintenance activities, cooperate fully with regulatory inspection teams, and uphold transparency and consumer protection standards across their operations.

‘Your prompt action and full compliance with this directive are highly appreciated as this require utmost seriousness from members,’ the circular read in part.