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The presidential campaign of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) candidate and Governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, has expanded its grassroots mobilisation in Abuja, with the campaign team taking its ‘Reset Nigeria’ message to some markets and communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Makinde/Daura 2027 Daily Mobilisation Team took the campaign to Nyanya Market and other parts of the FCT late on Wednesday, engaging traders and residents on their concerns, expectations and aspirations ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The team said the engagement was aimed at listening to the people and communicating Makinde’s vision directly to Nigerians at the grassroots, particularly those whose daily activities contribute to the economy.

According to the team, ‘politics is about people,’ adding that the interaction at Nyanya Market provided an opportunity to listen to traders who ‘keep our economy moving.’

It said the feedback from the market indicated a desire among Nigerians for a government that would listen to their concerns and deliver on its promises.

The team said the mobilisation was not limited to seeking electoral support but was also intended to build a platform for dialogue with citizens ahead of the 2027 election.

Makinde, who has been campaigning on the ‘Reset Nigeria’ agenda, recently outlined four broad areas of focus for his proposed administration: the economy, education, security and socio-political development.

He said his administration would seek to make the economy more productive and competitive through investment in skills, knowledge and increased economic activity.

The candidate also said a government under his leadership would pursue reforms in the petroleum sector to ensure that Nigeria’s crude resources provide measurable benefits to citizens, while rejecting a return to the old fuel subsidy arrangement.

The governor has called for greater transparency across the petroleum value chain, including crude production, domestic allocation, refining, transportation and distribution.

The campaign team said it would continue taking the ‘Reset Nigeria’ message to different communities, stressing that the campaign was being built through direct engagement with citizens.

‘We aren’t just campaigning; we are building a foundation for 2027, one handshake and one conversation at a time,’ the team added.

The Action Peoples Party (APP), Imo State Chapter, on Thursday condemned in strong terms the reported attempt to relocate electoral collation centres in some parts of Imo State, particularly the Ideato North/South Federal Constituency, and expressed serious concern over any similar development affecting the Nkwerre/Isu/Njaba/Nwangele (NINN) Federal Constituency and other electoral units in Imo State.

The APP State Chairman, Hon. Ernest Njesi, expressed the concern in a statement made available to journalists, maintaining that ‘any unilateral or poorly explained alteration to established electoral arrangements is a matter requiring urgent public clarification, transparency and strict adherence to due process.

‘Decisions affecting the electoral process of an entire constituency cannot and must not become the private affair of a few individuals. Such decisions have consequences for political parties, candidates, voters, traditional institutions, forum of Presidents-General, community leaders and ordinary citizens. They must therefore be handled openly, lawfully and with adequate consultation.

‘Of particular concern is the reported justification of insecurity for the proposed movement of the Ideato collation centre. The people of Ideato North have lived and conducted their social, economic and civic activities in their communities for generations. If insecurity is being relied upon as the basis for such a significant administrative decision, then the relevant authorities owe the public a clear explanation and verifiable evidence supporting that position.

‘We cannot allow vague claims or unexplained administrative decisions to become instruments for creating unnecessary tension among our people. Ideato North and Ideato South are communities whose people have shared relationships, traditions, markets, families and institutions long before the emergence of the present political administration. Likewise, the people of NINN have their own longstanding bonds that must not be subjected to unnecessary political tension,’ he noted.

Hon. Njesi particularly expressed the party’s concern that an ill-considered approach to electoral administration could create suspicion, mistrust and divisions among people who have historically lived as brothers and sisters.

He maintained that: ‘Imo State does not need electoral arrangements that divide its people. Imo State needs electoral institutions that unite confidence around a transparent process.’

The party therefore called on INEC and security authorities to publicly clarify the circumstances surrounding any proposed relocation of collation centres; make clear the legal and administrative basis for such decisions; provide verifiable information concerning any security assessment being relied upon; and consult relevant stakeholders before implementing changes that substantially affect an electoral constituency.

He also harped on the need to ensure that ‘no political party, candidate or individual is given an undue advantage through administrative decisions; respect INEC and the integrity of the electoral process; and avoid actions capable of creating unnecessary tension or division among neighbouring communities.’

While assuring that the APP would continue to stand for transparency, fairness, accountability and peaceful democratic participation, he called on the people of Ideato North, Ideato South, Nkwerre, Isu, Nwangele and Njaba to remain calm, vigilant and law-abiding, adding that differences concerning electoral administration should be resolved through lawful institutions and established democratic processes, not through confrontation or division.

Experts and stakeholders at the 4th Ehingbeti Maritime Hub Summit have advocated a dedicated Coastal Resilience Fund to support coastal protection, infrastructure development and community empowerment across Nigeria.

The call was made during the 4th Ehingbeti Maritime Hub Summit in Lagos, where stakeholders examined the legal, regulatory, security and investment frameworks required to unlock the blue economy potential and promote sustainable coastal development.

Delivering the keynote address, president of the Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Chief Jean Chiazor Anishere, SAN, said a dedicated financing mechanism was necessary to address infrastructure deficits and improve the living conditions of people in coastal communities.

Anishere urged Nigeria to explore international financing opportunities through climate funds, development banks and multilateral organisations to scale up coastal resilience and community development.

She said sustained investment in coastal resilience would help strengthen infrastructure, protect livelihoods and create an enabling environment for coastal communities to participate meaningfully in the emerging blue economy.

The legal luminary stressed that Nigeria’s blue economy should be underpinned by effective governance, noting that the country needed to establish the legal and institutional conditions required for innovation, investment and sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

She called for a regulatory system that provides certainty and security for investors while remaining flexible enough to encourage innovation, environmentally responsible enough to protect marine resources and inclusive enough to benefit coastal populations.

Anishere identified security, sustainability and governance as critical pillars for the future of Nigeria’s blue economy.

She also advocated improved waste-management infrastructure, sustainable fishing practices, recycling education and environmental stewardship initiatives that directly benefit coastal communities.

The keynote speaker further called for increased private-sector participation in blue tourism, resilient infrastructure and marine-based enterprises through appropriate incentives, streamlined regulations and public-private partnerships.

Representing the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Bopo Oyekan-Ismaila, said the state remained committed to an inclusive approach to blue economy development.

She noted that while Ehingbeti’s history was closely associated with Lagos Island, the state’s blue economy development agenda would encompass communities across Lagos.

According to her, Governor Sanwo-Olu encouraged participants to collaborate and develop a communiqué capable of advancing the blue economy agenda of Lagos State.

The Convener of the Ehingbeti Maritime Hub and Founder of the Ocean Ambassadors Foundation, Hon. Olaitan Violet Williams, said the Hub was established in 2023 to trace and reconnect with the historical roots of maritime activities in Lagos.

Williams said Ehingbeti represented an important chapter in Lagos’ evolution from its early trading history to modern-day Eko.

She identified inland waterways as one of the low-hanging fruits of Nigeria’s blue economy and called for greater investment and stronger legal protection for investors.

The Chairman of the occasion and Chairman of the NIWA Governing Board, **Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu Shagari**, represented by NIWA Board Member, Capt. Tajudeen Alao, commended the Convener for her commitment to the development of Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.

Shagari stressed that coastal communities must remain central to the implementation of blue economy policies, while advocating an appropriate legal framework for the development of Nigeria’s littoral states.

A major highlight of the summit was the official launch of the 28 Inland Waterways Investment Jigsaw, an initiative designed to highlight viable investment opportunities across Nigeria’s inland waterways and provide a structured pathway for private-sector participation.

The initiative is expected to support efforts to identify investment opportunities across the country’s inland waterways while encouraging greater private-sector involvement in water transportation and other marine-related businesses.

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.’