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Oyo State politician, Chief Saheed Oladele, earlier perceived as the Social Democratic Party (SDP)’s governorship candidate before a dispute over the party’s nomination, has dumped the party for the African Action Congress (AAC), alongside his running mate, Mrs Damola Jaiye.

The development was announced in a statement issued by the Saheed Oladele Media Office on Wednesday in Ibadan.

According to the media office, Oladele, who had formally resigned from the SDP on Wednesday, September 16, said his decision to join the AAC was informed by his determination to rescue the people of Oyo State from what he described as the shackles of modern slavery, abject poverty, educational retrogression, poor development at the local government level and unnecessary mortgaging of the state’s future.

The office said Oladele’s political vision aligns with the people-centred principles championed by Omoyele Sowore, the AAC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

Explaining the decision, the Oladele Media Office said its principal was attracted to the AAC because of what it described as the party’s concern for the welfare of Nigerians, its strong and practical adherence to the ‘Take It Back’ mantra and its advocacy for good governance.

The statement said: ‘The idea of joining the African Action Congress was borne out of his love for good governance and the human rights culture championed by the leader of the AAC, Comrade Omoyele Sowore.’

Oladele’s media office described the AAC as a party with no factions and court cases, unlike virtually every other political party, making it an ideal platform for serious candidates who truly want to contest and win elections.

The statement called on the people of Oyo State to remain confident in the political direction Oladele and his team have chosen, saying the time had come for greater youth participation and leadership in the state.

It also urged their supporters and residents of Oyo State to join the AAC en masse, especially as the party is led and populated by active and vibrant youths who, it said, have been fighting for the rights of Nigerians and keeping the country’s leaders on their toes.

A global research team led by Dr Victor Oluwatomiwa Ajekiigbe, a public health researcher, has warned that consumer behaviour, unsafe fast-food preparation practices, and poor hygiene awareness are contributing to recurring Escherichia coli (E. coli) outbreaks and therefore called for stronger collaboration among food businesses, regulators, and the public to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases.

The warning is based on a new scientific review led by Dr Victor Oluwatomiwa Ajekiigbe, a medical doctor, public health researcher, and research leader at Imperial Research Academy and Helix Biogen Institute, together with an international team of researchers.

The study examines how modern lifestyles and increasing dependence on fast food have changed eating habits while exposing consumers to greater risks of bacterial contamination.

Although most E. coli strains naturally live in the human digestive system without causing harm, the researchers noted that dangerous strains, such as E. coli O157:H7, can cause severe illness, including bloody diarrhoea, kidney failure, and, in some cases, death.

According to Dr Ajekiigbe and his research team, the rapid growth of the fast-food industry-driven by urbanisation, busy work schedules, and demand for convenience-has created new food safety challenges. Improper cooking, poor hygiene among food handlers, cross-contamination, and inadequate food storage remain major causes of E. coli transmission.

The research found that contaminated ingredients can enter the food chain at several stages, from farms and processing plants to restaurant kitchens. Even small amounts of harmful bacteria can trigger widespread outbreaks because of the low infectious dose of some E. coli strains.

The study reviewed several major outbreaks over the past four decades, including the 1993 Jack in the Box hamburger outbreak, the 2011 European outbreak linked to contaminated fenugreek sprouts, the 2018 romaine lettuce outbreak, and the 2024 McDonald’s outbreak linked to slivered onions used in Quarter Pounder burgers.

The 2024 outbreak affected 104 people across 14 U.S. states, leading to 34 hospitalisations, four cases of severe kidney complications, and one death. Investigators traced the contamination to fresh onions supplied to affected restaurants.

Dr Ajekiigbe said the findings highlight the importance of strengthening food safety systems, improving hygiene practices, and increasing public awareness to reduce the risk of foodborne disease outbreaks.

The research team said these outbreaks show how contaminated ingredients and weak food safety controls can quickly develop into major public health emergencies.

Beyond industry practices, the study found that consumer behaviour also plays an important role in both the spread and prevention of foodborne diseases. Following major outbreaks, many consumers avoid affected food products, choose restaurants with stronger food safety records, and pay closer attention to food labels and hygiene standards.

However, Dr Ajekiigbe and his colleagues cautioned that misinformation on social media can affect public understanding of food safety, leading to unnecessary panic or false confidence in products believed to be safer.

The researchers said preventing future E. coli outbreaks requires shared responsibility. They recommended that fast-food businesses strengthen hygiene practices, maintain proper cooking temperatures, prevent cross-contamination, and implement recognised food safety systems. Consumers should also practice good hand hygiene, cook food thoroughly, prevent cross-contamination at home, and choose restaurants with good food safety standards.

The research team also called for stronger enforcement of food safety regulations, particularly in developing countries where weak sanitation systems and limited regulatory oversight increase contamination risks. They recommended regular inspections, improved supplier monitoring, mandatory food safety training for food handlers, and rapid product recalls when contamination is suspected.

Dr Ajekiigbe and his team concluded that foodborne diseases remain a major global public health challenge. Citing estimates from the World Health Organisation, they noted that about 600 million people develop foodborne illnesses each year, resulting in approximately 420,000 deaths. They stressed that reducing future E. coli outbreaks will require stronger food safety practices, effective regulation, and greater public awareness.

There is something significant about seeing locally assembled buses operating at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Such activity is more than the movement of passengers from one point to another; it also demonstrates that local automotive manufacturing can intersect directly with aviation infrastructure.

At Nigeria’s principal international gateway, the combination of locally made buses and imported ones has become a rolling statement about what the country’s automotive industry can produce when local capacity is matched with institutional demand.

Looking inwards, what the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), led by its efficient administrator, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, has done in managing the ground transportation at the international airport is a right step in the right direction. The choice of locally assembled buses, therefore, deserves to be viewed beyond the ordinary procurement of airport vehicles.

For an industry that has spent years battling foreign-exchange constraints, high production costs, limited local content and uncertainty over policy direction, putting Made-in-Nigeria buses to work at an international airport is both commercially and symbolically important.

Some of these buses were assembled locally by Lanre Shittu Motors Limited (LSM), a Nigerian automotive company whose Managing Director, Mr Taiwo Shittu, recently used the opportunity of an oversight visit by the Governing Board of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) to highlight the significance of the project.

His message was clear as he pleaded that local manufacturers need institutional customers willing to demonstrate confidence in what they produce. This is exactly what FAAN had done to one of the oldest car manufacturing company in the country.

Speaking on some of their buses at the airport, Mr Shittu proudly said: ‘If you go to the airport, the buses are there now,’ emphasising that the buses operating at MMIA were assembled locally by his company.

That matters because airports are not ordinary operating environments. Vehicles deployed there are subjected to intensive utilisation, operational demands and public visibility. Consequently, a locally assembled bus working at an international airport provides a practical test of domestic manufacturing capability.

It also gives passengers, foreign visitors and aviation stakeholders arriving in Nigeria an immediate encounter with a Nigerian-made product. This is where FAAN’s procurement decision acquires a broader industrial-policy dimension.

The airport Authority is not merely putting buses on the tarmac. It is, whether by design or through procurement requirements, creating a market for domestic automotive production. Such institutional demand can help manufacturers plan production, sustain employment, develop supply chains and justify further investment in assembly capacity.

That is an important consideration for public institutions such as FAAN. Procurement should not end when a vehicle is delivered. Availability of spare parts, trained technicians, maintenance infrastructure and lifecycle support ultimately determine whether an investment delivers value over time.

This is where the ‘Nigeria First policy’ must go beyond the ceremonial purchase of locally assembled vehicles. If government agencies are encouraged to patronise Nigerian-made vehicles, manufacturers must equally be required to demonstrate measurable standards in quality, reliability, maintenance and after-sales support.

The relationship should therefore, be reciprocal: government creates predictable demand and policy stability, while manufacturers deepen local content, improve quality and maintain robust support networks.

Be that as it may, every time one of those buses moves through the airport, it carries more than passengers. It carries a question about Nigeria’s industrial priorities: whether government institutions will continue to provide a dependable market for domestic manufacturers, and whether manufacturers will respond by steadily increasing local content and technological capability.

FAAN’s choice of locally made buses at Lagos Airport should therefore be seen not merely as a transport decision, but as a small yet practical test of Nigeria’s resolve to build an automotive industry around local production.

The real success of that choice will ultimately be measured not by the fact that the buses are Made in Nigeria, but by how well they perform, how long they remain operational, how much of their value chain is Nigerian and whether their success encourages more institutional demand for locally produced vehicles.

In the case of LSM specifically, some of the above challenges seem to have been addressed as assured by the MD, Mr Taiwo.

According to him, beyond assembly, the auto firm sources some components locally, including seals, lubricants and rubber products from Kano and Ogun.

The company also maintains spare parts warehouses in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano, supported by trained engineers to strengthen after-sales service and vehicle availability.

It is therefore expected that other vehicle assemblers will increasingly adopt similar strategies

For aviation, the LSM buses at MMIA can therefore represent more than passenger transport. They offer a visible example of how local procurement, automotive manufacturing and private investment can support Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure.

Healthcare and science are constantly evolving. The rules, responsibilities and expectations within the health sector also change with time. Therefore, we must continually examine our health system and ask whether it is adequately positioned to meet the needs of Nigerians.

Nigeria has consistently struggled with the performance of its health system. At one point, the country was ranked somewhere around the 120s among global health systems. I may not remember the exact position, but the point is that our performance has been poor.

If we are serious about building a healthier future, universal health coverage is one practical route to achieving it. But universal health coverage cannot be achieved without the appropriate health professionals and without assigning those professionals responsibilities that correspond with the needs of the population.

One area we need to look at seriously is community pharmacy. The United Kingdom provides an interesting example. During COVID-19, many physician surgeries and clinics were shut down or significantly restricted, but community pharmacies continued to provide essential services. The UK government subsequently invested £300 million to strengthen community pharmacy.

By May 2026, there was another £380 million investment under the Pharmacy First initiative. The objective was to transform community pharmacies into primary clinical-care points and reduce the burden on general practitioners.

Nigeria needs to recognise that community pharmacies can also serve as important primary-care facilities.

Pharmacists can provide basic screening for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. They can operate pharmacy-based clinics and contribute to maternal and child health education and advocacy.

In rural communities especially, the pharmacy may be one of the closest and most trusted health facilities available to people. Pharmacists can counsel patients on nutrition, folic acid, pregnancy-related issues and other basic health matters.

The issue is not simply about giving pharmacists more responsibilities. We must also create the enabling environment, provide the necessary training, establish appropriate guidelines and ensure that these responsibilities are properly regulated.

We have seen similar initiatives in other countries, including the United States, where community pharmacy clinics have received significant support. Unfortunately, many Nigerian professionals leave the country because they believe other environments provide more conducive conditions for professional practice.

How do we ensure that pharmacists and other health professionals do not go beyond their scope of practice? We have seen situations involving traditional birth attendants, for example, and conflicts between different health professions. How do we manage that?

Government has a responsibility to regulate the health system. Where professionals go beyond their scope, there must be appropriate regulatory mechanisms. However, the existence of violations should not prevent us from advancing the health system.

We have to consider our local peculiarities, the availability of health professionals and the realities of the communities we are trying to serve. Policies must be constantly reviewed and strategies adjusted.

There is no policy that is completely foolproof. What matters is good management, continuous monitoring and the willingness to correct defects when they are identified.

Traditional birth attendants, for example, were used in many rural communities because there were insufficient numbers of formally trained professionals. If that arrangement is not producing the desired results, then we should redesign the system rather than simply ignore the problem.

When you were President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, what was the biggest barrier to empowering pharmacists? And is that barrier still present in 2026?

The biggest barrier is political. I have always argued that there is an informal system within our health sector that tends to favour physicians. A large proportion of leadership positions in government health institutions are occupied by physicians.

Under the current administration, for example, there are several physicians within the Federal Executive Council, and most of the chief executives of health-sector agencies are also physicians, with some exceptions involving specialised agencies and regulatory councils.

The implication is that one professional perspective becomes dominant in shaping the health system.

I became President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in 2012 and left the position in 2015. Unfortunately, very little has changed since then. We repeatedly sent memoranda to the Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency on the need to properly integrate community pharmacists into primary healthcare.

COVID-19 demonstrated what pharmacists are capable of doing. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency engaged about 250 community pharmacies for COVID-19 vaccination. In less than six months, those pharmacies administered vaccines to more than 75,000 people.

That demonstrated that community pharmacies can contribute significantly to immunisation. Why should people have to wait for special immunisation days when a properly regulated pharmacy within their community can provide access throughout the year?

How do we move from this professional competition to a system where pharmacists, nurses, doctors, laboratory scientists and other professionals genuinely work as a team and are respected for their respective roles?

We need strong and bold leadership. Sometimes, professional groups can exert enormous pressure on political leaders. In the health sector, physicians have historically been able to use strikes and other forms of industrial pressure to influence government decisions.

Government must be prepared to engage with professionals and negotiate fairly on welfare issues, but it must also protect the broader interests of the health system. Take the example of former Lagos State Governor Fashola. Governor Fashola sacked LASG doctors who kept holding Government to ransom through recurrent strike action at some stage in his stewardship in Lagos State. Government sometimes has to stand firm when faced with professional pressure while still ensuring that legitimate welfare concerns are addressed.

There have also been discussions around joint health-sector unions and demands that have existed since 2014. The adjustment of CONHESS since January 2, 2014, as it relates to non-physician cadres of health workers, is continually being sabotaged. Even when President Bola Tinubu promised a redress after a JOHESU advocacy visit on June 5, 2023, during a nationwide strike by health workers in the early days of his administration, the promise was jeopardised.

These issues should not continually be reduced to a situation where one professional group threatens industrial action and government is forced to respond.

We need a health system in which every profession has a voice and where policy decisions are based on the overall needs of the health system.

You have used the phrase ‘the politics of the health sector.’ What exactly do you mean by that?

Look at the composition of the National Council on Health. At the state level, you have commissioners and permanent secretaries of health. At the federal level, you have the health ministers, and many of the heads of health-sector parastatals are physicians.

If you put 100 people in a room and approximately 90 of them come from one profession, it is inevitable that the thinking and policies emerging from that room will be heavily influenced by that profession. That is what I mean by the politics of the health sector.

I am also concerned about the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health under Muhammad Pate. In my view, being a physician does not automatically make someone a health-sector leader. Leadership of the health system requires an understanding of the contributions of all the health professions.

One major issue is the failure, as I see it, to properly constitute the boards of professional regulatory councils and the boards of management of health institutions. Without properly constituted regulatory councils, how do you effectively discipline practitioners? How do you regulate companies? How do you accredit institutions?

There have also been efforts to establish a national health-facility regulatory structure that, in my view, could place too much control in the hands of one profession.

We resisted similar provisions when the National Health Act was being developed. We have also seen proposals to place physicians on the councils regulating professions such as nursing, physiotherapy and medical laboratory science.

I do not believe that is the right direction. A professional council should be allowed to regulate its own profession while working within the broader framework of the health system.

Q: What is the implication of these policies for the public health system?

A: One of the biggest concerns is the conversion of publicly guaranteed markets into private commercial interests.

Take the Drug Revolving Fund. Government provides funds for the procurement of medicines. Those medicines are then sold with a modest markup, often around 30 per cent, so that the money can revolve and sustain the supply of medicines. There are examples of public hospitals that developed their pharmacy operations successfully without destroying that system.

At the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Lagos, for example, the pharmacy department developed a pharmacy outlet around 2014 worth more than ?200 million. It included facilities for manufacturing and other pharmaceutical activities. That model demonstrated that public hospitals can develop sustainable pharmaceutical services.

My concern is that under the current system, some federal hospitals are allowing private interests to take over portions of the drug supply chain through arrangements where, for example, the private operator receives 70 per cent and the hospital receives 30 per cent.

In my view, such arrangements raise questions under the Public Procurement Act of 2007 and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria Act of 2022. There are also legal challenges relating to some of these arrangements.

What about the Basic Health Care Provision Fund?

The National Health Act of 2014 established a provision of one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for basic healthcare. There have also been discussions and resolutions around increasing that allocation to two per cent, but the original one-per-cent provision itself has not been consistently adhered to.

The fund is intended to support areas such as social health insurance and the procurement of essential medicines. Government should remain the custodian of the quality and security of essential medicines.

I am concerned about arrangements in which essential medicines are procured through private companies without sufficient consideration of their experience, capacity and regulatory standing.

For example, there has been discussion around a company referred to as Medipool. My concern is that a company with limited experience in pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution should not automatically be placed at the centre of the national essential-medicines supply chain.

Many states already have drug management agencies operating through registered pharmacies and established systems. If the federal government introduces a private arrangement without properly considering these existing structures, there could be significant consequences.

You have also raised concerns about corruption within the health sector. Where does this manifest?

One example is the use of amenity or private wards within public hospitals. There are situations where consultants allegedly divert patients from the public system into private arrangements, with payments going into private accounts while government facilities, drugs, theatres and other public resources are still being used.

The corruption in the procurement mechanisms of the federal health institutions (FHIs), because they are without Boards of Management, has reached an apogee.

That is a form of leakage within the health system. The ICPC rated the MDAs in the health sector as the most corrupt. The public health system must be protected from arrangements in which private interests benefit disproportionately from resources that belong to the public.

Let us turn to fake medicines. We still have unlicensed drug shops and patent medicine vendors operating beyond their permitted scope despite the existence of regulations from the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria. Why does the problem persist?

Drug regulation is a complex issue. Under the constitutional arrangement, drug matters fall under the Exclusive Legislative List. The Poison and Pharmacy Act, including provisions relating to patent medicine vendors, gave the minister significant powers.

At a particular point, those powers were delegated to 774 local government areas. That resulted in hundreds of licensing authorities across the country instead of one central licensing agency, the PCN. This development is the foundation for the proliferation of unregistered drug outlets, estimated at about three million nationwide.

The proliferation of medicine shops is partly a consequence of that arrangement. The regulatory challenge is made worse by the limited number of inspectors available.

The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria has fewer than 200 pharmaceutical inspectors. NAFDAC also faces significant capacity constraints. So, while the number of premises continues to increase, the regulatory capacity required to monitor them does not increase at the same rate.

How important is the pharmaceutical industry to Nigeria’s economy and health security?

It is extremely important. The pharmaceutical sector is specialised and strategically important. The availability of quality medicines is central to the credibility of any health system.

There is also a major economic opportunity. The pharmaceutical industry contributes significantly to the economies of countries such as the United States, China and India. Nigeria’s pharmaceutical market is currently estimated at around $2 billion, but there is potential to grow it substantially, potentially towards $10 billion.

There are companies and investors already trying to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria. We have seen investments in active pharmaceutical ingredients, HIV medicines, cephalosporins and other areas.

There have also been discussions around large investments in the production of pharmaceutical raw materials.

This is why I believe the President should establish a dedicated presidential committee on the pharmaceutical sector. Such a committee should examine the entire pharmaceutical value chain, including illegal premises, manufacturing, distribution and the implementation of national drug-distribution guidelines.

More than 70 per cent of medicines are imported. How do foreign exchange pressures, raw-material costs and government policy affect pharmacists and patients?

We need to be very clear about the issue of VAT. The pharmaceutical sector has not treated VAT as a major component of pharmaceutical operations for more than a decade. So, removing VAT alone will not solve the fundamental problem. The bigger issue is drug security and self-reliance.

COVID-19 demonstrated the danger of depending heavily on imported medicines. At various points, countries such as India restricted the export of certain pharmaceutical products. When that happens, countries that depend heavily on imports become vulnerable.

We also need to consider the security implications of weak borders and uncontrolled drug channels. Products entering through informal channels may pose serious risks to patients.

Nigeria must develop the capacity to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished medicines locally. We have approximately five world-class pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, but our production environment is not yet sufficiently competitive for us to become a major global pharmaceutical manufacturing destination.

Trade waivers and temporary interventions are not sustainable solutions. We need legislation, proper funding and policies that deliberately promote local pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The National Drug Policy 2021 emphasises affordability, accessibility and efficacy. But if pharmaceutical companies are forced to source foreign exchange at extremely high rates, achieving those objectives becomes difficult.

Government should therefore develop legislation that promotes local industry and discourages unnecessary imports of products that can be manufactured locally, including luxury pharmaceutical products.

NAFDAC has made efforts in this area, but there needs to be much broader stakeholder consultation.

There are new drug-distribution guidelines and proposals around mega-drug markets or centres. Will these help or hurt legitimate community pharmacists?

They should not be described simply as mega-drug markets. The concept is Coordinated Wholesale Centres, or CWCs. The idea originated within the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria during my presidency, with support from the Health Ministry, PCN and NAFDAC.

The first phase identified centres in Sabon Gari in Kano, Bridge Market in Onitsha, Ariaria in Abia and Idumota in Lagos. Kano State eventually built the first Coordinated Wholesale Centre in Kano. The centre displaced the old Sabon Gari market and was commissioned about four years ago. It is still operating.

The presence of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, NAFDAC and the police provides a more structured environment for regulation and enforcement. This model can improve the quality and security of medicines.

The Federal Ministry of Health needs to entrench the concept rather than allow it to remain dependent on individual initiatives. Again, this is why I believe a presidential committee is necessary.

Look at the United States. Some chain pharmacies generate millions of dollars in turnover from a single outlet, and major chains operate thousands of outlets. There is enormous economic potential in a properly organised pharmaceutical distribution system.

NAFDAC carries out raids and seizures, yet fake medicines keep returning to the market. What structural enforcement measures would work in 2026?

We must address the structures and markets that absorb fake medicines. As long as the demand exists and the distribution structures remain in place, fake medicines will continue to return.

We need to properly fund regulatory agencies and strengthen the laws. The Fake Drug Act needs to be amended. Some of the current penalties are far too low. A fine of ?500,000 is not sufficient deterrence for someone who may be making millions from counterfeit medicines.

We need substantially heavier fines, potentially in the range of ?25 million to ?50 million, together with forfeiture of assets and proceeds derived from the illegal activity.

There should also be consideration of the responsibilities of landlords who knowingly provide premises for illegal pharmaceutical activities.

Regulatory councils must also be functional. NAFDAC and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria need more inspectors, better salaries, adequate legal support and protection for personnel working in dangerous environments.

Regulatory agencies should also be able to reinvest internally generated revenue into enforcement.

For example, agencies operating at airports have mechanisms for generating and using revenue to sustain their operations. Pharmaceutical regulators should have similarly sustainable funding arrangements.

I have been involved in this sector for about 40 years, and we are still discussing many of the same problems. That means we have to continuously strategise and restrategise.

Who should take the blame for the proliferation of fake medicines? Is it the government, the consumers or the system itself?

Everyone in the value chain has a responsibility. Government has a responsibility because of poor funding, weak laws and inadequate regulation.

Consumers also have a responsibility. People sometimes knowingly patronise unregistered premises because they believe the prices are cheaper or because they want medicines without proper prescriptions.

There are situations where people break seals, enter through back doors or deliberately seek out illegal sources. More broadly, we have developed a culture where people believe they can operate outside the rules without consequences.

That culture of impunity has to change. In about 40 years of practice, it was only recently that I saw a Nigerian court sentence someone operating a pharmacy facility to imprisonment for unlawful dispensing of medicines. That was a Federal Court in Calabar, around May or June of this year. We need more effective enforcement.

What does the law actually say about who can dispense and prescribe medicines?

Only registered pharmacies should dispense medicines. There are also specific categories of professionals who are legally authorised to prescribe medicines. These include registered medical practitioners, veterinary doctors or surgeons, and dentists.

Yet many private hospitals dispense medicines directly. The problem is not necessarily the absence of laws. The problem is enforcement. NAFDAC, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria and other relevant regulatory institutions have responsibilities, but those responsibilities must be properly enforced.

There are also concerns about the prices patients pay in private hospitals and pharmacies.

A World Health Organisation study cited differences in medicine prices, with private hospitals reportedly charging more than 192 per cent of the public pharmacy baseline and private pharmacies around 185 per cent. These are issues that must be addressed if we genuinely want affordable healthcare.

The National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) has been commended by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) for its outstanding tax compliance and consistent fulfilment of statutory obligations.

The NRS gave the commendation during an official visit to the Institute by a delegation from the Abuja office, led by the Director of the Government Business South Directorate, Dr Mustapha Akaje.

According to the delegation, NIHORT ranked first among institutions in Oyo State in tax compliance.

The NRS team praised NIHORT, its management and the Executive Director, Professor Muhammed Lawal Attanda, for demonstrating exemplary commitment to lawful conduct, accountability and responsible public administration.

In his remarks, Dr Akaje outlined the four key phases of tax compliance: the registration of taxpayers; the timely remittance of taxes within the stipulated 21-day period; compliance with audit requirements; and the settlement of outstanding tax liabilities.

He emphasised that adherence to these obligations was essential to promoting institutional accountability, financial discipline and responsible public administration.

Speaking during the engagement, Professor Attanda said the recognition reflects the institute’s sustained adherence to its statutory responsibilities and its commitment to promoting transparency and good governance in the public sector.

He expressed appreciation to the NRS delegation for the recognition and described the commendation as a welcome gesture that would further motivate the institute to improve its performance. He noted that an effective reward system encourages organisations to do more and strengthens the culture of excellence in public service.

The NIHORT Executive Director also emphasised that compliance has wider institutional benefits beyond the fulfilment of financial obligations. He linked the institute’s culture of accountability and responsibility to its broader achievements in horticultural research and national development.

Professor Attanda stated that NIHORT had released approximately 29 improved varieties of its mandate crops over the years, including 22 developed and introduced during the past three years under the current administration. The crops comprise plantain, banana, tomato, garden egg, onion, amaranthus, corchorus, celosia and okra.

These achievements, he explained, demonstrate the importance of maintaining strong institutional systems that support research, innovation and the effective delivery of improved technologies to farmers and other value-chain actors.

Professor Attanda commended the institute’s workforce for its role in sustaining the organisation’s compliance record. He gave recognition to the Finance and Accounts Department, led by Mrs V. A. Adedipe (FCA), for its diligence, professionalism and contribution to the Institute’s financial accountability.

He stressed that institutional achievements are the product of collective effort and that the commitment of staff members remains essential to maintaining NIHORT’s reputation as a responsible and high-performing public research organisation.

The crisis within the Jigawa State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has persisted despite an intervention by the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to reconcile the two factions ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Atiku reportedly presided over a reconciliation meeting on Tuesday night involving the ADC governorship candidate in Jigawa State, Senator Sabo Mohammed Nakudu, and a former governorship aspirant, Hon. Bashir Adamu Jimbo, where he called for unity and cooperation among party members.

However, fresh disagreement has emerged over claims about the outcome of the meeting, particularly regarding pending court cases, the party’s candidate list, and the status quo.

In a statement made available to journalists in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, Nakudu’s Head of Media/Publicity, Comrade Mati Ali, said the governorship candidate had reaffirmed Atiku’s position on unity, reconciliation, and cooperation.

According to the statement, Nakudu described Atiku’s published account of the meeting as the authoritative position on the reconciliation effort.

Atiku was quoted as saying, ‘Today, we have chosen unity over division and cooperation over acrimony.’

He reportedly added, ‘The contest is behind us. The task ahead is greater than any individual ambition.’

The statement, however, disputed reports attributed to an ADC stalwart, Ali Tukur Gantsa, which reportedly referred to court cases, the candidate list, and maintaining the status quo.

It maintained that those issues were not contained in Atiku’s published statement on the reconciliation meeting.

The statement therefore urged the media and members of the public to attribute such claims to their sources rather than to the ADC presidential candidate.

It further clarified that Gantsa was not part of the substantive reconciliation meeting involving Atiku, Nakudu, and Jimbo.

According to the statement, his appearance in a wider group photograph did not establish that he participated in the discussions.

Nakudu, it said, welcomed Atiku’s intervention and reiterated his commitment to reconciliation, party unity, mutual respect, and cooperation among members.

The statement added that the clarification was intended to protect the integrity of the public record and prevent Atiku’s position from being conflated with subsequent accounts of the reconciliation meeting.

The Police Public Relations Officer for the Benue State Command, DSP Peter Aondongu, has stated that the Chief Medical Director of Multicare Hospital, Makurdi, Dr Jonah Ogbaji, was arrested by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad attached to the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja.

Aondongu was reacting to the alleged abduction of the medical doctor, which had gone viral on social media across the state.

However, the PPRO said in a terse statement issued on Thursday that the medical doctor was arrested by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad attached to the Force Intelligence Department, Abuja, in connection with an undisclosed investigation.

Social media platforms in the state had been awash with reports of the suspected abduction of the medical doctor around 9pm on Wednesday while he was attending to patients at his hospital along Ankpa Road, Makurdi.

Aondongu, in the statement, described the alleged abduction as ‘false’.

According to the PPRO, ‘The Command has received enquiries regarding reports of the alleged abduction of a medical doctor and owner of a hospital in Makurdi.

‘Upon verification, the report is false. The doctor was not abducted. He was arrested yesterday at his hospital by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad (STS) attached to the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja, in connection with an ongoing investigation.

Aondongu said the specific circumstances surrounding the investigation were yet to be known to the Command.

The command, however, advised the people of the state to disregard reports of the medical doctor’s alleged abduction or kidnapping.

The arrested medical doctor was a two-term ex-officio member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), North Central.