Category: Business Day

Employers, organisational leaders and human resources management professionals, especially in my generation, complain about the quality of school-leavers and graduates in our organisations – weak communication skills, poor work ethic, limited critical thinking, and a general lack of professional readiness.

For a long time, like many others, I assumed this was simply the reality of the system. But over time, it became clear that complaining about the problem and hoping that it would get better does not solve it. If anything, it reinforces a passive mindset that leads to things only getting worse!

This realisation led us to make a deliberate shift – to ‘backward integrate’ into the talent pipeline by developing life skills education programmes and resources targeted at children and youth.

The idea was simple: if the output is weak, then the input must be addressed much earlier.

Most organisations respond to talent quality issues at the point of entry, and many argue about the value of better alignment between university curricula and industry needs. They invest in internships, graduate trainee programmes, and onboarding academies. These interventions are valuable and should be sustained. However, they happen when development scholars all agree that it may be a bit too late and largely operate as selection mechanisms – cherry-picking the best from an already limited pool. They do little to expand the size or quality of that pool. If the overall pipeline is weak, then even the ‘best’ candidates may still fall short of what organisations need. This is why the conversation must shift from hiring talent to fixing the pipeline at its foundation.

Research strongly supports the importance of foundational life skills. Daniel Goleman demonstrated that competencies such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills are critical determinants of workplace success, more so than technical ability. At the same time, Ken Robinson famously argued that traditional education systems are structured in ways that limit creativity and suppress innovation, emphasising conformity over originality. Together, these insights highlight a fundamental gap: the very capabilities organisations need are often the ones least developed by formal schooling.

This gap is evident in many education systems today. Public schools are under-resourced, overstretched, and struggling to deliver even basic learning outcomes. At the same time, the proliferation of private schools has introduced its own challenges, with increasing commercialisation and a focus on credentials over character. The result is a system that produces graduates who may be credentialled but are often ill-prepared for the demands of the workplace and society.

What is missing is a deliberate focus on life skills – the practical capabilities that enable individuals to function effectively in real-world environments. These include communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and innovation, leadership, personal effectiveness, financial literacy, and civic awareness. These are not abstract or academic constructs; they are applied skills that shape how individuals think, behave, and make decisions.

Importantly, these skills are not constrained by age in the way traditional academic subjects often are. While mathematics or physics may follow a structured, age-based progression, life skills can be introduced, developed, and reinforced at virtually any stage of life. A child can begin to learn leadership, responsibility, communication, and financial literacy just as meaningfully as a university student or working professional. The earlier this exposure happens, the stronger the foundation. But even later interventions can still be impactful when they are practical and sustained.

The implication for organisations is profound. If the capabilities that drive workplace performance are developed early, then waiting until individuals enter the workforce is often too late. Training programmes at that stage are frequently trying to correct deeply ingrained habits and attitudes, which is significantly more difficult and less effective. Organisations must therefore begin to see themselves not just as consumers of talent but as contributors to its development.

Forward-looking organisations are already beginning to do this by partnering with institutions that understand these gaps and can deliver structured life skills interventions. These partnerships go beyond internships and graduate trainee programmes. They involve engaging with schools, supporting youth-focused learning initiatives, and investing in programmes that build practical capabilities over time. Increasingly, this should form part of corporate social investment strategies, where organisations allocate resources not just to visibility projects but to interventions that create lasting impact on human capital development.

This is not about replacing the education system but complementing it. Organisations bring practical insight, workplace context, and a focus on application that traditional curricula often lack. By engaging earlier and more intentionally, they can help shape individuals who are not just employable but effective.

The choice is clear. Organisations can continue to complain about the quality of graduates, or they can become active participants in fixing the education-to-talent pipeline. Internships and graduate trainee programmes will always have a role to play, but they are not enough. If we want a stronger workforce, we must start earlier, build better, and sustain our efforts over time. In the end, the future of work will not be determined only by who we hire but by what we choose to build.

Nigeria’s power sector is undergoing a quiet but consequential realignment, one that may ultimately determine whether decades of reform finally yield reliable electricity or simply fragment failure into smaller units. Investors, long wary of the risks embedded in the national grid, are increasingly turning their attention to state-led electricity deals. This shift, catalysed by the Electricity Act 2023, signals both opportunity and danger for a nation desperate to power its economy.

At its core, this transition reflects a basic truth investors have long understood: capital flows to certainty. For years, Nigeria’s national grid has struggled under the weight of poor revenue collection, opaque subsidy regimes, and weak enforcement. Distribution companies, such as Eko Electricity Distribution Company, remain burdened by massive debts, including government arrears that undermine liquidity across the value chain. In such an environment, even the most well-intentioned reforms struggled to attract sustainable investment.

The emergence of state-led electricity markets offers a compelling alternative. By structuring projects around defined geographic areas, with identifiable consumers, enforceable tariffs, and integrated generation-to-distribution systems, states are presenting investors with something the national grid rarely could – bankable projects. It is no coincidence that financiers now favour deals where demand is anchored by public institutions, industrial clusters, or large commercial users. These arrangements provide predictable cash flow, the lifeblood of any infrastructure investment.

For the states, the implications are profound. This is more than an energy reform; it is an economic opportunity. States that can build credible regulatory institutions, enforce contracts, and align electricity planning with broader development goals stand to become magnets for capital.

Lagos State, for instance, has moved quickly to establish a phased and pragmatic electricity market, signalling seriousness to investors. By embedding energy planning into its wider economic strategy, Lagos is positioning itself not just as a consumer of power but as a competitive hub for industrial growth.

Yet this opportunity is unevenly distributed. While more than a dozen states have begun activating their electricity markets, institutional readiness varies widely. Many lack the technical expertise, data systems, and regulatory discipline required to manage complex electricity markets. Without these, the risk is clear. Instead of solving Nigeria’s power problem, decentralisation could simply replicate it at the subnational level.

The danger lies in mistaking legal authority for operational capacity. Passing state electricity laws is only the first step; enforcing them consistently and transparently is what builds investor confidence. Weak regulation, arbitrary tariff setting, or political interference could quickly erode the credibility states are trying to establish. In such cases, investors will retreat just as quickly as they arrived.

For the federal government, the shift presents both relief and responsibility. On one hand, decentralisation reduces pressure on a chronically underperforming national system.

On the other, it redefines the federal role in ways that are no less critical. The centre must now focus on strengthening transmission infrastructure, ensuring grid stability, and managing subsidies in a transparent and sustainable manner. The national grid, despite its limitations, remains the backbone of Nigeria’s power system and cannot be neglected.

Encouragingly, there are signs of progress. Under the leadership of Adebayo Adelabu, the federal government has recorded modest gains in generation capacity and a reduction in grid collapses. Revenue improvements across the sector also suggest that reforms are beginning to take hold. However, these gains remain fragile.

The persistent metering gap, running into millions of unmetered customers, continues to undermine revenue assurance and public trust.

The interplay between federal and state roles will ultimately determine the success of this new electricity order. A fragmented system without coordination risks inefficiency and duplication. Conversely, a well-aligned multi-tier market, where states drive local solutions while the federal government ensures national stability, could unlock unprecedented growth.

The way forward, therefore, requires deliberate coordination and discipline. States must prioritise institutional capacity over political speed. Building credible regulators, investing in data systems, and ensuring transparent tariff frameworks should take precedence over rapid but poorly structured deals. Also, the federal government must accelerate transmission upgrades and metering programmes, ensuring that the backbone of the system can support decentralised generation. Similarly, both levels of government must address the culture of non-payment, particularly by public institutions, which continues to distort the market.

Equally important is the need for policy consistency. Investors are not just betting on projects; they are betting on governance. Sudden policy reversals, tariff freezes, or regulatory uncertainty could derail the fragile confidence currently emerging in the sector.

Meanwhile, the shift toward state-led electricity markets offers a rare chance to break from a history of underperformance. But decentralisation is not a silver bullet. Without strong institutions, clear coordination, and sustained political will, it could deepen the very problems it seeks to solve.

If done right, however, this transition could mark the beginning of a new era, one where power is no longer a constraint on growth but a catalyst for it.

Growing up in Nigeria three decades ago, the local library wasn’t just a building filled with dusty books; it was a sanctuary of possibilities. It was the only place where a child from a modest background could access the collective knowledge of the world for free.

It was a democratic space where the son of a civil servant and the daughter of a trader sat side-by-side, united by the quiet ambition of self-improvement. But today, the world has moved from the printed page to the digital circuit. For the modern Nigerian youth, a library without a high-speed internet connection and a reliable power source is like a library with no books.

As we navigate the complexities of 2026, the gap between the ‘digital haves’ and ‘have-nots’ has widened into a chasm, and it is going to get worse if state and local governments don’t step up and get serious about democratising opportunity and rethink the concept of public infrastructure.

We need a national rollout of innovation hubs-the 21st-century evolution of the public library, designed specifically to bridge the energy, connectivity, and hardware gaps that stifle our greatest natural resource: human capital.

While the federal government sets broad policies, the real battle for Nigeria’s industrial future is being fought at the state level. The Ilorin Innovation Hub model by the Kwara State Government has emerged as a compelling case study in this regard. By treating innovation not as a luxury but as a vital public utility, the state has moved beyond the ‘tokenism’ of one-off tech festivals.

Kwara’s approach recognises that talent is evenly distributed, but the infrastructure to harness it is not. By investing in centralised innovation centres, the state has effectively created a ‘gravity well’ for genius. These hubs serve as the hardware-focused extension of the traditional library system. In this model, the government isn’t trying to be the entrepreneur; it is being the platform. It is providing the conducive space, high-voltage power, the fibre-optic backbone, and the sophisticated machinery that no individual youth in Ilorin or Offa could afford on their own.

Bridging the ‘Triple Deficit’

To truly move the needle, state-led hubs must address the three ‘critical deficits’ that currently act as a tax on Nigerian ingenuity:

The Energy Gap: The most brilliant AI researcher is useless if they are spending 70% of their income on petrol for an ‘I-pass-my-neighbour’ generator. State-backed hubs, powered by industrial-scale solar or mini-grids, provide the steady ‘heartbeat’ necessary for deep work and long-term experimentation.

The Connectivity Gap: High-speed broadband is currently a luxury good. By aggregating demand in a public hub, local governments can provide fibre-optic speeds that allow youth to participate in the global digital economy, contribute to open-source projects, and collaborate globally in real-time.

The Hardware Gap: A major barrier to assessing opportunity is the lack of access to personal computers. A modern hub must provide the hardware required for assessing digital opportunities. We cannot expect a young person to build the next Terrahaptix, the Nigerian giant now manufacturing autonomous drones, if they have never had access to a computer before.

From consumption to creation

The Ilorin Innovation Hub model is grounded in bridging the gap between the ‘digital haves’ and ‘digital have-nots’ to a creation-based one. For too long, Nigerian tech has been synonymous with ‘the app’-software that facilitates the movement of money or the delivery of food. While vital, software alone cannot build a nation’s industrial base.

By building hardware-ready hubs, state governments lower the ‘cost of failure’ for young inventors. When a local government provides a communal 3D printer, they are essentially giving every youth in that district a miniature factory. This is how we shift the national psyche. We move away from being a nation that merely imports foreign gadgets to one that builds homegrown solutions for precision agriculture, renewable energy, and national security.

Critics often argue that state governments lack the funds for such ‘high-tech’ projects. This is a fallacy of priority. The cost of building and maintaining a network of five innovation hubs is often less than the cost of a few kilometres of urban asphalt, yet the long-term ROI is exponentially higher.

A road facilitates trade, but a hub creates the products being traded. When a venture capital firm sees a concentration of hardware talent in a state-backed hub, they deploy ‘patient capital’ that creates high-paying jobs and increases the local tax base.

We must stop viewing innovation as something that only happens in the posh districts of Lagos. The library of our youth gave us the words to dream; the hubs of our future must give us the tools to build.

By adopting the Kwara model and evolving our defunct libraries into vibrant innovation hubs, we provide our youth with the ‘triple threat’ of power, internet, and tools. We give them a reason to stay in their communities rather than joining the ‘Japa’ exodus. Most importantly, we give them the chance to build the physical machines that will power Africa’s tomorrow. The future isn’t just digital; it is tangible, and it starts at the local hub.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday held a closed-door meeting in Abuja with Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Sources familiar with the meeting said discussions focused on the state of the nation and political developments leading to the 2027 presidential election.

The meeting also rekindled a long-standing relationship between the two figures, who previously worked together during Jonathan’s time in office.

Hayatu-Deen had served as a member of the National Council on Privatisation and later chaired the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) while Jonathan was Vice President.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday held a closed-door meeting in Abuja with Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Sources familiar with the meeting said discussions focused on the state of the nation and political developments leading to the 2027 presidential election.

The meeting also rekindled a long-standing relationship between the two figures, who previously worked together during Jonathan’s time in office.

Hayatu-Deen had served as a member of the National Council on Privatisation and later chaired the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) while Jonathan was Vice President.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday held a closed-door meeting in Abuja with Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Sources familiar with the meeting said discussions focused on the state of the nation and political developments leading to the 2027 presidential election.

The meeting also rekindled a long-standing relationship between the two figures, who previously worked together during Jonathan’s time in office.

Hayatu-Deen had served as a member of the National Council on Privatisation and later chaired the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) while Jonathan was Vice President.

The Strait of Hormuz is 6,000 kilometres from Abuja. Your fuel bill didn’t get that memo.

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched coordinated air strikes on Iran under what was designated Operation Epic Fury. Within 48 hours, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. The strait handles roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day, that’s about 20 percent of global seaborne oil trade and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard began boarding and attacking merchant ships, laying sea mines, and issuing warnings forbidding passage.

What followed was the kind of energy crisis that most economists had modelled as a tail risk scenario. It stopped being a scenario on March 4.

The IEA has called this the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Global oil supply plummeted by 10.1 million barrels per day to 97 million barrels per day in March, with continued attacks on energy infrastructure and ongoing restrictions on tanker

movements through the Strait. Brent crude, which was trading around $55 a barrel before the conflict, surged past $120 per barrel as markets priced in direct attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure, with analysts at Wood Mackenzie warning that $200 per barrel was not outside the realm of possibility.

This is not an ordinary price spike. It’s a structural rupture.

The chokepoint that finally choked In 2024, around 84 percent of the crude oil and condensate shipments through the Strait of

Hormuz were destined for Asian markets. China received a third of its oil through the strait. Japan sourced about 94 percent of its crude from the Middle East. India depended on the region for nearly 60 percent of its petroleum imports. When the strait closed, the supply chain didn’t reroute, it collapsed.

Asian countries were among the worst hit. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Vietnam faced severe shortages. Bangladesh is projected to face recession-like conditions. In India, the gas shortage shuttered ceramics factories in Gujarat and forced Mumbai restaurants to close or cut

operations. Japan released 80 million barrels from strategic reserves in March, equivalent to 15 days of domestic demand.

Europe didn’t escape. According to the IEA, the global natural gas market was significantly affected by disruptions in the Middle East, resulting in a short-term supply shock and reduced availability of LNG globally, with markets projected to remain tight through 2026 and 2027.

Meanwhile, one country has been doing rather well.

The US benefits from surging oil prices as an energy powerhouse. In April 2026, US exports of crude and petroleum products rose to nearly 12.9 million barrels a day. American shale producers, who had been squeezed by low prices before the conflict, are running at full capacity.

Trump’s hostility to OPEC now looks like less of a rhetorical posture and more of a strategic bet.

A Middle East in flames, with a blocked strait and $120 oil, is genuinely good for American energy producers even as it devastates American consumers at the pump. The contradiction at the heart of US energy policy has never been sharper.

Nigeria: A two-speed story

Nigeria is producing oil into one of the strongest price environments in years. Nigeria’s large Dangote Refinery has increased production to help meet global shortages, with the government and oil companies profiting from the crisis. But ordinary citizens are not expected to benefit immediately, due to transport cost increases.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has been rapidly scaling up, selling 12 cargoes totalling 456,000 tonnes of refined products, mainly petrol to Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, and Togo. That’s a genuinely significant development. For the first time in decades, Nigeria is moving toward being a regional refining hub rather than an exporter of crude that returns as expensive imported fuel.

But the structural problem hasn’t gone away. Nigeria’s economy is still dependent on oil for roughly 70 percent of government revenue and over 80 percent of foreign exchange earnings.

When global oil prices spike or crash, Nigeria’s entire fiscal framework is thrown into disarray. A windfall today doesn’t fix the dependence that makes the next shock equally ruinous.

The World Bank has projected that inflation in the developing world will average 5.1 percent in 2026; a full percentage point higher than expected before the war with developing economies growing 3.6 percent, down 0.4 percentage points since January.

The World Bank’s chief economist stated that the war is hitting the global economy in cumulative waves; first energy prices, then food prices, then inflation, pushing up interest rates and making debt more expensive. For Nigeria, which is already managing high debt service

costs and a battered naira, those waves land hard.

What the crisis exposed

The Iran-US conflict did something that decades of energy policy conferences failed to do; it made the cost of dependence legible to everyone at once.

Every country that had built its energy system around the assumption of uninterrupted Gulf flows now has a problem. Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the world’s lowest refining-to-production ratios, a structural vulnerability that leaves the continent exposed to distant geopolitical shocks. Nigeria is a producer, but it still imports refined products. That paradox, already embarrassing in peacetime, is now a crisis-level liability.

The long-term lessons are obvious even if they take years to act on: domestic refining capacity, strategic reserves, energy diversification. Nigeria has started down that road with Dangote’s plant. The question is whether this crisis provides the political will to go further rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, building gas-to-power infrastructure, and treating the Petroleum Industry Act less like legislation and more like a mandate to execute.

For policymakers, the conflict has condensed decades of discourse on energy transition into weeks of existential urgency. It’s a harsh way to learn the lesson. But it’s the lesson.

The Strait of Hormuz is 33 kilometres wide. The policies that close or reopen it are made in Washington, Tehran, and Tel Aviv. Nigeria doesn’t sit in any of those rooms. Which means what Nigeria does at home; its production capacity, its refining infrastructure, its fiscal buffers is the only variable it actually controls.

Former Kogi State governorship candidate Yakubu Ajaka says he intends to provide authentic, people-oriented representation after securing clearance from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest the Kogi East senatorial seat in the 2027 general elections.

Screening committee chairman Philip Shaibu, the former Deputy Governor of Edo State, granted Ajaka a waiver on Saturday, allowing him to bypass the standard questioning. Party members described the ‘take a bow and go’ gesture as recognition of Ajaka’s prior contributions to the APC, including his tenure as the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary.

Speaking to journalists after the screening, Ajaka called for peace, unity, and reconciliation across Kogi East. He emphasised that sustainable development requires collective purpose, urging political leaders to bypass personal interests to advance the Igala nation and Kogi State.

Ajaka stated that his campaign will focus on securing federal investments, infrastructure development, and youth empowerment. He pledged to leverage his national political network to address local unemployment and insecurity, promising to advocate sincerely for his constituents.

Paying tribute to supporters who died during the 2023 governorship election, Ajaka promised continued assistance to their families. He also called on APC members to back the re-election of President Bola Tinubu, describing the president’s leadership as vital for national economic stability.

Political analysts note that Ajaka’s strong grassroots support across the nine local government areas of Kogi East makes him a leading contender for the 2027 senatorial seat.

Troops of the Joint Task Force North-East, Operation HADIN KAI, have repelled a major overnight assault by suspected Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists on military positions in Buni Gari, Yobe State, killing no fewer than 50 insurgents during a coordinated land and air operation.

The Military disclosed that the attack targeted the Headquarters of the 27 Brigade and the Buni Gari Checkpoint in the early hours of last Thursday, but was successfully foiled after troops mounted what officials described as a ‘devastating’ counteroffensive against the attackers.

According to a statement by Sani Uba, Media Information Officer of Operation HADIN KAI, the terrorists launched the assault around 2 a.m. from multiple directions under the cover of darkness in what appeared to be a coordinated attempt to overwhelm and encircle troops stationed in the area.

The statement said the insurgents initially attacked from the western flank before reinforcing from the southern axis through Ganinga Junction and later advancing from the south-western corridor.

However, troops reportedly maintained their defensive positions and responded with heavy firepower and coordinated tactical manoeuvres that neutralised scores of the attackers and forced the surviving insurgents to retreat.

Military authorities said the troops employed indirect fire systems and offensive-defensive combat tactics that systematically dismantled the terrorists’ advance from all directions.

‘At no point was any part of the camp breached, as the integrity of the location remained fully intact throughout the engagement,’ the statement noted.

The military said preliminary exploitation of the battlefield led to the recovery of 10 terrorist corpses within the immediate vicinity of the military base, while intelligence reports indicated that more than 20 additional bodies were discovered in surrounding bushes along withdrawal routes stretching through Gashua, Azare, and Kamuya.

The Military also credited the Air Component Command for playing a decisive role in the operation through sustained Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions that enabled troops to track and engage fleeing insurgents in real time.

The statement added that Nigerian Air Force platforms conducted precision air interdiction strikes on identified terrorist positions and retreating fighters, killing an additional 20 insurgents during the pursuit operations.

‘Recovered items included eight AK-47 rifles, two General Purpose Machine Guns, two Rocket-Propelled Grenade tubes, five RPG bombs, three RPG chargers, two boxes of 7.62mm ammunition, two fully loaded magazines, nine bandoliers of ammunition, and three Improvised Explosive Device canisters.

Military authorities described the recovered weapons as evidence of the scale and intensity of the failed assault.

Troops, supported by volunteer forces, have since launched aggressive follow-up operations across the area to track fleeing insurgents and prevent any regrouping attempts.

The military also disclosed that some Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and gun trucks sustained minimal damage during the engagement, while wounded personnel are currently receiving medical treatment and are said to be in stable condition.

Despite the successful operation, the military confirmed that two soldiers were killed during the battle.

The military paid tribute to the fallen troops, describing them as gallant personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of the country.

‘Their sacrifice embodies the highest traditions of service, courage, and unwavering commitment to the defence of the nation,’ the statement said.

The military further stated that the failed attack reflected increasing pressure on terrorist groups operating in the North-East, insisting that troops remain battle-ready and committed to sustaining operational dominance across the region.

The group said the prolonged investigations and slow prosecution of corruption cases were enabling some former governors, ministers and other political figures facing allegations of financial misconduct to continue seeking elective positions and re-entering the nation’s political space without judicial conclusions to their cases.

In a statement issued on Sunday by Emmanuel Onwubiko, its National Coordinator, the group expressed concern that several politicians currently facing corruption investigations or charges have continued to purchase nomination forms and pursue political ambitions without decisive action from anti-graft agencies.

Among those mentioned by the group were Ifeanyi Okowa,former Governor of Delta State governor, Abubakar Malami,

former Attorney General of the Federation, Saleh Mamman, former Minister of Power, and Yahaya Bello, former Governor of Kogi State.

HURIWA alleged that the EFCC had failed to take proactive steps to alert political parties and Nigerians about individuals facing corruption charges, despite publicly prosecuting other categories of suspects.

The rights group argued that while the EFCC recently defended itself by stating that it lacks constitutional powers to stop individuals under investigation from contesting elections, the explanation failed to address what it described as the deeper institutional problem of delayed investigations and prolonged prosecutions.

According to HURIWA, the inability of anti-corruption agencies to conclude investigations and prosecutions promptly has created a situation where politically exposed persons retain ‘unrestricted political mobility,’ allowing them to continue participating in governance while their cases remain unresolved.

The organisation stated that the trend was eroding public confidence in Nigeria’s justice system and creating the impression that anti-corruption laws were being selectively enforced depending on political status and affiliations.

HURIWA further warned that allowing individuals with unresolved corruption allegations to seek legislative or executive offices could create conflicts of interest, especially where such office holders may eventually oversee institutions investigating them.

The group referenced Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, alleging that previous investigations linked to him failed to progress to court despite widespread publicity, thereby enabling his continued rise in public office.

According to the group, several former governors and senators allegedly indicted by the EFCC had either not been prosecuted or had their cases stalled for political reasons.

HURIWA expressed particular concern over prolonged investigative delays involving politically exposed persons, noting that such delays often allow suspects to regain political influence before judicial processes are concluded.

The organisation specifically cited the case involving Okowa and other unnamed politically exposed persons whose matters, it said, had remained in prolonged investigative or pre-trial stages without clear public updates.

It added that the repeated reliance on procedural explanations by the EFCC risked undermining public trust in the agency’s ability to carry out its mandate independently and effectively.

HURIWA stressed that effective anti-corruption enforcement required urgency, transparency and equal application of the law irrespective of political status, warning that unresolved corruption allegations should not be allowed to linger indefinitely while affected individuals actively participate in electoral politics.

The group consequently called on the EFCC to publicly disclose the status of corruption investigations, including procedural stages, timelines and prosecutorial decisions already taken in such matters.

It also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, the judiciary and civil society organisations to remain vigilant in protecting electoral integrity and ensuring that unresolved allegations of public fund diversion do not undermine governance.

HURIWA maintained that Nigeria’s anti-corruption war would continue to lose credibility if enforcement agencies were perceived as slow, selective or politically influenced.

The group noted that public office should not become a refuge for persons facing unresolved allegations of financial misconduct, insisting that restoring accountability remained critical to safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy.

Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar’s blockbuster WrestleMania 42 showdown reportedly became WWE’s most-watched YouTube video for April, amassing 5.33 million views to dominate the company’s online traffic throughout the month.

The highly anticipated contest, held on Sunday, April 19, at WrestleMania 42, marked the emphatic rise of a new WWE superstar before a global audience.

Oba Femi, born Isaac Odugbesan in Lagos, delivered one of the most remarkable performances in recent wrestling history, dismantling 10-time world champion Brock Lesnar in under five minutes.

Adding to the rivalry’s dominance, another video centred on the Femi-Lesnar storyline ranked second on WWE’s monthly YouTube chart with 2.89 million views, completing a clean sweep of the top two spots for the feud.

The rivalry had already generated significant buzz in March, with momentum carrying into April following their WrestleMania clash and Lesnar’s surprise retirement angle.

The report also showed that several other WrestleMania-related clips posted impressive numbers. Highlights involving CM Punk and Roman Reigns attracted 2.32 million views, while a clip of IShowSpeed hitting Logan Paul with a splash drew 2.25 million views. Another segment featuring LA Knight during IShowSpeed’s livestream reached 1.89 million views.

Other top-performing videos included Jacob Fatu confronting Reigns for the title on the RAW episode after WrestleMania, the April 6 promo exchange between Punk and Reigns, and the match between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.

Clips involving Lesnar and Femi from the April 6 episode generated 1.52 million views, while a six-man tag team match featuring The Usos, LA Knight, Logan Paul, Austin Theory and IShowSpeed rounded out the top 10 with 1.38 million views.

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has eulogised former governor of old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo, on his 86th birthday, describing him as uncommon icon.

Mbah, in post on Saturday, recalled the octogenarian’s selfless service and numerous legacies as governor of old Anambra State, Minister, and Senator, saying he had written his name in gold.

‘There can indeed never be much anyone could say that will amply capture the real essence of what His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Jim Nwobodo, represents.

‘At 86, Senator Nwobodo’s life is an extraordinary odyssey – a timeless reminder that service can truly be a lifelong devotion.

‘Today, we celebrate a man who has inspired generations. We celebrate a priceless gift to Enugu and humanity.

‘Although it has been over four decades since His Excellency, Senator Nwobodo, served as governor, his imprints as an astute administrator are still very visible across the three states that comprised the old Anambra State that he governed – Enugu, Anambra, and parts of Ebonyi.

‘We are proud to note that we are today building on those legacies.

‘On behalf of my family, the Government and good people of Enugu State, I convey our hearty congratulations to you as you celebrate your 86th birthday.

‘May the Almighty God continue to strengthen you with good health, inner peace, and the grace of lifelong mentorship and service to our dear state,’ he stated.

Nwobodo is credited with many accomplishments during his tenure as governor of old Anambra State in the Second Republic.

They include the Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Sunrise Flour Mills Limited, Anambra State Broadcasting Service, Anambra State University of Science and Technology, Ikenga Hotels, College of Education at Eha-Amufu, College of Education at Nsugbe, among others, most of which have metamorphed into federal institutions or multiple institutions named after their respective host states of Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi States.

Only recently, Vanguard Newspapers conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award, 2025, on Jim Nwobodo at the Vanguard Personality of the Year Award ceremony in Lagos.