Category: Business Day

By the time this column appears on Sunday, 16 August, the people of Osun would have voted. The ballot boxes would have closed, the votes would have been counted and the political gladiators will be facing democracy’s oldest instruction: someone wins; someone loses; both remain citizens. That simple democratic proposition has often struggled to survive the Nigerian political imagination.

The latest disturbance comes from Senator Francis Fadahunsi, whose viral campaign video has placed the words ‘kill them’ at the centre of the Osun electoral conversation. Reports attribute to the Senator a call to supporters to kill Accord Party members and an assertion that even if they came to the polling station with voter cards, ‘we won’t allow them to vote.’ The Senator has subsequently explained that he meant ‘kill Accord with votes, not violence.’ That explanation belongs to the record and should be considered alongside the original recording, its context and the full circumstances surrounding it. The National Human Rights Commission has nevertheless called for his suspension, arrest and investigation, while the matter has generated a formal demand for police action. The law must determine the legal consequences. WordMatters must examine the words. And these words cannot be understood adequately as an isolated outburst. They belong to a longer Nigerian continuum.

The first great drumbeat came from the ‘Wild Wild West’ of the First Republic. The Western Region crisis of 1965 transformed political rivalry into frightening physical violence. The period became associated with ‘Operation Wetie,’ a brutal campaign in which political opponents, homes and vehicles were doused with petrol and set ablaze. The lesson should have been permanently etched into the national memory: When political power becomes a matter of life and death, politics ceases to be politics. However, the vocabulary returned in another form. In 2007, the presidential election was described as a ‘do-or-die affair’. The expression entered the national political lexicon as shorthand for a contest in which defeat was rendered existential. A political contest had become a matter of survival.

Then came another mutation in 2022 when political supporters were admonished that political power was not served ‘a la carte;’ instead, they must fight for it and by all means, snatch and run with it. This political rhetoric doubled down recently with ‘All is fair in politics’ declaration! Again, the words matter as power ceased to sound like a public trust and begins to sound like booty. Now comes: ‘Kill them.’ The political opponent is no longer merely someone to defeat. He becomes someone to eliminate. That is the point at which the continuum becomes frightening. Mr. President’s exhortation to the Osun voters: ‘Go out to vote candidate of your choice on Saturday without fear’ represented a radical departure from the toxic drumbeats. Nonetheless, they reveal a persistent political imagination in which winning becomes progressively more important than preserving the legitimacy, safety and dignity of the opponent. That is where Governance Optimality Theory enters the conversation.

Optimality Theory (OT), developed by Alan Prince and Paul Smolensky in 1993, belongs to phonology, the study of the sound system of language. Its basic architecture is remarkably simple. GEN, the Generator, produces a range of possible candidates. Think of it as a linguistic workshop in which several possible forms can be made available. CON, the set of Constraints (Markedness and Faithfulness), ranks competing requirements. The first constraint says, ‘Make the output conform to what the system considers desirable, natural, simple or well-formed;’ the second says, ‘Don’t change the underlying input unnecessarily.’ There is a fundamental tension between Markedness and Faithfulness; wherein lies the genius of OT. One cannot always satisfy both; something has to give. The outcome depends on which constraints outrank the other. This explains why the ranking is hierarchical because some constraints matter more than others. EVAL, the Evaluator, compares the candidates against those ranked constraints and selects the candidate that best satisfies the higher-ranking constraints. That selected form is the ‘Optimal Candidate.’

Governance Optimality Theory (GOT), I derived from the OT to serve sociolinguistic purpose, takes this architecture from the world of ‘sounds’ and adapts it to the world of ‘governance’. The G-GEN (Governance Generator) takes a governance problem and generate alternative possible outcomes. The political system also generates candidates. For instance, a politician seeking victory can say: ‘Defeat them at the polls.’ ‘Outvote them.’ ‘Persuade their supporters.’ ‘Campaign harder.’ ‘Win the election.’ These are possible rhetorical candidates. But another vocabulary is also available: ‘Do or die.’ ‘Grab it.’ ‘Snatch it.’ ‘Run with it.’ ‘Kill them.’

The question GOT asks is not merely: Which expression is most powerful? It asks: Which rhetorical candidate best satisfies the highest-ranking constraints of democratic governance? In a healthy democratic system, the higher-ranking constraints (normative constraints – i.e., constraints that ought to govern a constitutional democracy) should be obvious: human life; peace; equal citizenship; free political participation; the right to vote; legitimate opposition; rule of law; accountability; religious and political tolerance. A political expression that violates those constraints should lose. That is how optimality ought to work. Nigeria, however, presents a more disturbing possibility. Nigerian system of democracy develops operative constraints, i.e., informal constraints that actually determine what survives: patronage, prebendalism, elite accommodation, state capture, violence; rigging; personalisation of power, cronyism, religious and ethnic mobilisation.

What happens when these operative constraints are ranked higher than the normative constraints by the corrupt system? The answer is the conceptual breakthrough that makes Governance Optimality Theory particularly useful for understanding Nigeria. The system may still produce an ‘Optimal Candidate’. It may still generate alternatives. It may still rank its constraints. It may still evaluate the candidates. It may still produce a winner. However, while the winner may not be the ‘best candidate,’ the winner may simply be the candidate that ‘best satisfies the highest-ranking constraints of a corrupted system. That distinction changes everything. In other words, G-EVAL evaluates the available candidates against the operative hierarchy of constraints. And here lies the central proposition of GOT. The governance output that emerges is the candidate that best satisfies the highest-ranked operative constraints; not necessarily the candidates that best satisfies the ideals of constitutional democracy.

In classical OT, ‘optimal’ has a technical meaning. It does not necessarily mean morally perfect.

It means the candidate that wins under the hierarchy of constraints. GOT retains that meaning. Consequently, if Nigerian politics has elevated electoral fraud, religious and ethnic arithmetic, patronage and impunity above peaceful competition, equal citizenship and the rule of law, the candidate who is most adept at satisfying those conditions may emerge as the system’s Optimal Candidate. But that is not democratic success. It is ‘optimised failure’. The system has not failed to optimise; it has optimised successfully for the wrong things. That is the Nigerian paradox.

This is where the ‘Broken Mortar and Rotten Palm-Nut’ (Mkp?k?r? Ikwe n? ?kw? Reburu ?n?) metaphor becomes more than a colourful image. Imagine a housewife mashing palm nuts in a mortar. The mortar is broken. The palm nuts are rotten. Still, the mashing continues. The process may be vigorous and efficient. The operator may even be exceptionally skilled. But the output cannot be wholesome. The problem lies deeper than the mashing. The instrument is defective. So are the material and the hierarchy of the process. Nigeria’s political system can therefore produce an electoral winner while simultaneously producing a governance failure. The candidate may have won. The process may have optimised but the result may still be rotten; hence the OPTIMISED FAILURES. That is the Nigerian extension of GOT.

The significance of Fadahunsi’s rhetoric becomes clearer within this framework. Suppose the objective is to defeat Accord. GEN supplies several possible rhetorical candidates: Persuade them.

Outvote them. Defeat them. Crush them politically. Kill them. G-CON then asks which constraints matter most. In a healthy democratic order, peace, life, citizenship and the right to vote would outrank partisan victory. ‘Kill them’ would therefore be eliminated. But imagine a corrupted hierarchy in which winning at all costs outranks the life and political rights of the opponent. The outcome changes. The violent candidate, having out-ranked the peaceful candidate, eventually emerges victorious as the optimal candidate! The danger is not merely the presence of violent words. It is the possibility that the political system has learned to reward the people who speak them most effectively. A rhetoric of violence becomes a political resource. Intimidation becomes campaign capital. Fear becomes mobilisation. Vote buying becomes strategy. Religious division becomes arithmetic. Impunity becomes confidence. And the broken mortar sustains the futile process of mashing rotten palm nuts.

The reported statement credited to Senator Fadahunsi concerning voter cards makes the matter even more serious. A voter card is a small piece of plastic carrying a large democratic idea: I have the right to participate. The reported response – ‘we won’t allow them to vote’ – represents the opposite idea: Our political power determines whether your political right survives. That is not merely aggressive campaign language. It attacks the very principle that makes an election what it is. The political opponent may be defeated. His vote cannot be defeated before it is cast. He may be persuaded. He cannot be silenced. He may lose. He cannot be rendered politically nonexistent.

Also, his imperial directive to supporters, ‘I authorise you to kill them’ adds another disturbing dimension. A Senator’s authority is not personal property. It is constitutional authority entrusted for public purposes. A Senator may legislate, investigate, represent, and may mobilise voters; however, he cannot convert public office into a rhetorical licence for violence. The word ‘authorise’ therefore deserves special attention. It transforms an expression of anger into an apparent grant of permission. The distinction is profound. ‘Vote against them’ is democratic mobilisation. ‘Defeat them’ is democratic competition. ‘Kill them’ is violent elimination. ‘I authorise you to kill them’ turns political authority into permission for violence. That is a governance constraint that should never be allowed to rank below partisan victory.

Saturday’s Osun election therefore represents more than another gubernatorial contest. It is a test of whether Nigeria can distinguish political combat from political warfare. By Sunday, one candidate will have more votes than the others. The losing candidate will still have supporters. Those supporters will still be citizens. The winning candidate will inherit a state containing people who did not vote for him. That is the discipline of democracy. The winner does not inherit the right to silence the loser. They inherit the responsibility to govern them. And here lies the profound irony of GOT.

The Optimal Candidate that emerges from an electoral system is not automatically the candidate Nigeria needs. If the constraints have been corrupted, the system can produce an Optimised Failure. That is why the Nigerian democratic project requires more than changing candidates. It requires re-ranking the constraints. Human life must rank above partisan victory. The right to vote must rank above political intimidation. Peace must rank above power accumulation. Equal citizenship must rank above religious arithmetic. Rule of law must rank above impunity. Public trust must rank above patronage. Only then does the Optimal Candidate begin to approximate the Best Candidate. Until then, Nigeria may continue to pound ‘?kw? reburu ?n?’ (rotten palm nuts) in a broken mortar (mkp?k?r? ikwe) and congratulate itself each time the system produces another ‘winner’ The output is called victory snatched and grabbed through the instrumentality of informal constraints. Alan and Smolensky’s theory calls it optimality. WordMatters calls it what it is: Optimised Failure. Word, as always, matters.

Nigeria’s insurance industry is increasingly looking beyond traditional product promotion to entertainment, consumer engagement and public recognition as it seeks to close the gap between insurance providers and the millions of Nigerians who remain uninsured.

Industry stakeholders believe that initiatives that bring insurance into mainstream public conversations could help improve the sector’s visibility, build consumer confidence and make insurance more relatable to a wider audience.

This is the broader significance of the 2026 Almond Insurance Industry Awards and Consumers’ Nite, scheduled for November 6, 2026 in Lagos, which is expected to bring together insurance practitioners, policymakers, corporate leaders, consumers and entertainers.

The event is designed not only to recognise performance within the industry but also to create a more accessible platform for the public to interact with the insurance sector.

According to the organisers, the event has evolved since its inception in 2018 into a major gathering on the insurance calendar, combining industry recognition with music, comedy and dance to attract a broader audience beyond insurance professionals.

For an industry battling low public awareness and weak consumer engagement, analysts say such platforms could become increasingly important as insurers seek to reposition insurance from a largely technical financial product into an everyday tool for managing risks and protecting livelihoods.

By combining industry recognition with entertainment and consumer participation, the Almond initiative provides an opportunity to take insurance conversations outside boardrooms, conferences and regulatory engagements.

The organisers said the 2026 edition attracted 796 nominations from insurance and broking firms, corporate organisations, individual clients, government agencies and other industry stakeholders. The nominations were subjected to screening based on the award criteria before the final shortlist was produced.

More importantly, consumers and members of the public are being brought directly into the process through voting, with companies and individual clients eligible to vote once in each category. An OTP verification system is also being used to prevent duplicate voting.

That consumer-facing element could prove more consequential to the industry than the awards themselves.

Allowing customers to participate in recognising insurers, brokers and industry executives creates an additional point of contact between insurance companies and the public. It also provides insurers with an opportunity to listen to consumers, strengthen relationships and demonstrate the value they deliver beyond premium collection.

The categories themselves reflect the breadth of Nigeria’s insurance ecosystem, covering general and life insurers, brokers, microinsurance and tearful operators, as well as insurance executives and customers.

For an industry undergoing significant regulatory and structural changes, including the recently concluded recapitalisation exercise, greater public engagement could also help reinforce confidence in the sector.

Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has warned the club’s Premier League rivals that the champions are targeting more trophies after opening their season with a commanding 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield.

Ødegaard delivered a man-of-the-match performance in Cardiff, scoring Arsenal’s third goal as Mikel Arteta’s side produced a dominant display against the FA Cup holders.

Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring after just 24 seconds before Kai Havertz doubled Arsenal’s advantage before half-time.

‘We want to win everything’

The victory provided an early indication that Arsenal remain hungry after securing their first Premier League title since 2004 last season.

Ødegaard, who lifted the league trophy after Arsenal finished seven points ahead of City, believes the performance demonstrated that the champions are determined to maintain their standards.

‘We played some brilliant football. Great performance and a great way to start the season,’ Ødegaard said.

‘We showed our level today. We showed we’re ready. We’re serious and we want to do it again. We want to attack it. We want to do it again.

‘When you get a taste of how nice it is, you want to do it again. We want to win everything.’

Arsenal set sights on more trophies

The Community Shield triumph gives Arsenal their second major trophy in four months and provides further momentum ahead of their Premier League title defence.

The Gunners have been installed as favourites to retain the title and will begin their campaign at home against newly promoted Coventry on August 21.

With Arsenal now targeting domestic and European honours, the Norway international believes the champions have the mentality required to compete on every front.

Aisha Garba, Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), has said no child’s circumstances should prevent access to quality education, stressing that every Nigerian child deserves an opportunity to learn, develop their abilities and fulfil their potential.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by Ikharo Attah Special adviser, media and publicity, Garba stated this during the formal commissioning of the rehabilitated Alternative High School for Girls in Agboju, Lagos State.

She said the rehabilitation of the school, supported by UBEC through its UBE direct intervention, went beyond the provision of infrastructure, describing it as a renewed opportunity for girls and young women whose education had been interrupted for various reasons.

According to her, girls who dropped out of school should not be regarded as lost causes, while young mothers seeking to return to education should not be made to feel that they had missed their opportunity.

‘A girl whose circumstances prevented her from completing her education should be given another opportunity.

‘Every child deserves an alternative pathway to acquire the education they deserve to succeed in life,’ she said.

Garba explained that the Alternative High School for Girls was established to provide girls and young women with opportunities to return to learning, acquire relevant skills and pursue productive and fulfilling lives.

She urged stakeholders to ensure that the institution became more than a place for classroom learning by providing an environment where the girls could rebuild their confidence and develop hope for the future.

‘Let this not simply be a place where girls attend classes. Let it be a place where hope is restored, confidence is built and future is renewed,’ she said.

The UBEC boss commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritising education and human capital development under the Renewed Hope Agenda, while also acknowledging the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, for her commitment to the education and empowerment of girls and young women.

She said the support of the First Lady, who was represented at the occasion by Hajiya Nana Shettima, wife of the Vice President, demonstrated the importance attached to ensuring that every girl had an opportunity to learn, develop her abilities and fulfil her potential.

Garba noted that children affected by conflict, displacement and other difficult circumstances still had dreams, talents and potential, and should therefore be given opportunities to succeed.

She said the Federal Government, through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), was implementing reforms aimed at improving the quality of education, expanding access and ensuring that no Nigerian child was left behind.

According to her, the rehabilitation of the Agboju Alternative High School was in line with UBEC’s commitment to promoting inclusive education and creating alternative pathways for learners who had been excluded from conventional schooling.

She said the intervention covered school infrastructure, academic facilities, furniture for pupils, teachers and school managers, ICT equipment and tools, laboratory and vocational equipment, WASH facilities and environmental improvements.

‘We believe that investment in education should be visible, not only in figures and reports, but in the classrooms where children learn, in the facilities they use and, most importantly, in the lives they are able to transform,’ Garba said.

The UBEC executive secretary said the Commission had formally handed over the rehabilitated facility to the Lagos State Government, urging the state to sustain the investment, maintain the facilities and ensure that the school continued to serve the girls for whom it was established.

She disclosed that the second Alternative High School for Girls in Ikorodu was at an advanced stage of completion, adding that it would further expand opportunities for girls and young women seeking alternative routes back into education.

Garba also announced that UBEC would, before the end of 2026, provide the school with a bus and digital smart boards for its classrooms.

She, however, stressed that the success of the intervention should not be measured by the appearance of the renovated school but by its impact on the lives of the girls.

‘The true measure of our success will be the girl who walks through these gates and discovers that she still has a future.

‘It will be the girl who acquires a skill, finds employment, starts a business or becomes a leader in her community. That is why this investment matters,’ she said.

Garba urged members of the Agboju community to take ownership of the school by protecting and maintaining the facilities and supporting the girls enrolled in the institution.

Kidnapping remains a significant security risk in Nasarawa State, with recent abductions involving university students and officials, alongside attacks on a major transport corridor, testing the security environment needed to support investment and economic activity.

The Nigeria Risk Index recorded 29 security incidents in Nasarawa between January 1 and July 1, 2026, including seven kidnapping incidents, with 20 fatalities and 59 victims. Recorded incidents fell from 32 in the corresponding period of 2025, while victims increased from 37 to 59, according to the index.

The figures present a mixed picture: fewer recorded incidents and fatalities, but more people affected. The trend cautions against treating a decline in incident numbers alone as evidence of a broad improvement in security.

The latest high-profile case involved Professor Samuel Avengbe Okunsebor, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Nasarawa State University.

Okunsebor was abducted in the early hours of July 15 at Mile Uku, a border community between Lafia and Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Areas, according to reports citing security sources. Department of State Services operatives rescued him on July 17, while two suspects were arrested during the operation.

On August 7, DSS operatives arrested three additional suspects allegedly linked to the abduction around Mararaban Akunza on the Lafia-Makurdi highway, according to a security source cited by Nigerian news organisations. The arrests were reported on August 8.

The allegations against the suspects remain subject to investigation and due process.

The case captures the mixed nature of Nasarawa’s security environment: criminal groups retain the capacity to abduct people, while security agencies have demonstrated the ability to rescue victims and pursue suspected perpetrators.

University communities remain exposed

On May 6, gunmen abducted six Nasarawa State University students and another person from an off-campus lodge in Gudi, Akwanga Local Government Area, according to reports citing the Nasarawa State Police Command.

The students were subsequently rescued, while police announced the arrest of two suspected kidnappers.

Governor Abdullahi Sule, speaking after the incident, said security agencies had made progress in the response. The statement represents the state government’s account and does not establish the guilt of any suspect.

The incidents do not establish a statistical rise in university-related kidnappings, but they illustrate the exposure of university communities to the wider security risks affecting the state, particularly outside formal campus environments.

Roads remain a separate vulnerability

The risk also extends to transport corridors.

On July 21, police operatives attached to the Andaha Division rescued four kidnapping victims during an operation in Akwanga Local Government Area, according to the Nasarawa State Police Command.

Police said the operation followed a distress call concerning suspected kidnappers near Megona Filling Station along the Akwanga-Jos Road. The suspects fled after security personnel intervened, while the victims were rescued. The command subsequently ordered a manhunt for the fleeing suspects.

The incident matters economically because the route facilitates passenger and goods movement between Nasarawa and neighbouring parts of the North-Central.

What the numbers show

The NRI figures are recorded security incidents, not a complete census of crime in Nasarawa. Incidents not reported or captured by the index would not appear in its dataset.

More significantly, the divergence between incidents and victims complicates any simple assessment of improvement. Recorded incidents fell from 32 to 29, but victims rose from 37 to 59.

The data therefore suggest that while the frequency of recorded incidents declined, the human impact remained substantial.

Location also matters. Recent cases have involved university-linked accommodation in Gudi, a university official in the Lafia-Nasarawa-Eggon axis and suspected kidnappers along the Akwanga-Jos corridor.

That does not establish that those areas are uniformly unsafe. It highlights the need for security policy to identify specific hotspots and vulnerabilities rather than treat insecurity as a uniform statewide problem.

Intelligence remains critical

Ahmed Abdulrazak, a Lafia-based security analyst, said stronger security funding could improve intelligence gathering, surveillance and operational capacity if properly managed and coordinated with federal security agencies.

Abdulrazak made the assessment on July 30 while discussing the Northern governors’ proposed ?19 billion monthly security fund. His comments addressed the wider northern security situation rather than the individual Nasarawa cases.

For Nasarawa, the distinction is important. Rescue operations and arrests demonstrate response capacity, but sustained improvement requires intelligence capable of identifying threats and disrupting attacks before they occur.

Community cooperation is equally important because residents can provide early information on suspicious movements and emerging threats.

The economic cost is uncertainty

The economic significance of kidnapping lies principally in predictability.

Nasarawa’s economic ambitions depend on the movement of farmers, workers, traders, equipment, raw materials and finished goods. Agriculture requires access to farms and markets; mining operations often depend on remote locations; and manufacturers and traders require reliable transport links.

There is no verified public estimate of the monetary losses suffered by Nasarawa businesses specifically because of kidnapping in 2026. It would therefore be inappropriate to attach a specific naira value to the economic impact.

The more defensible concern is operational uncertainty. Businesses operating around areas affected by repeated attacks may reassess travel arrangements, security requirements and logistics, although the cost of such adjustments has not been quantified in Nasarawa.

Nor do the available data establish that kidnapping has caused a decline in investment or economic output in the state.

What they establish is a security risk capable of affecting the predictability on which commercial activity and investment depend.

From response to prevention

Nasarawa’s recent security record contains evidence of both operational gains and continuing exposure.

The NSUK students were rescued after their May abduction; four victims were rescued during the July 21 Akwanga operation; and Okunsebor was rescued two days after his abduction before DSS subsequently arrested three additional suspects allegedly linked to the case.

These operations demonstrate security agencies’ capacity to respond. The stronger measure of progress, however, is whether intelligence-led operations, community cooperation and effective prosecution reduce repeat attacks.

For Nasarawa, sustained improvement would mean safer communities and more predictable transport corridors for farmers, traders, mining operators, manufacturers and investors.

The state therefore needs to convert response capacity into sustained prevention. That would strengthen public safety while reducing uncertainty for the businesses and investors whose activities underpin its economic ambitions.

Presidential Candidate of the Accord Party, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has congratulated Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on his re-election, describing the outcome of the governorship election as a victory for democracy and the people of Osun State.

Hashim, in a congratulatory message, commended the people of Osun for exercising their democratic rights and participating in the electoral process.

He said the election had once again demonstrated the power of the people to determine who governs them through the ballot.

‘This victory is, above all, a testament to the power of the people and the enduring strength of democracy. When citizens exercise their civic responsibility with courage and conviction, their voice can shape the direction of their state,’ he said.

Hashim also congratulated Accord Party leaders, members and supporters who participated in the election, describing their performance and commitment as part of the broader democratic gains recorded in the state.

He said Accord’s participation reinforced the principle that Nigeria’s democracy must remain open to genuine political competition and that every political party and candidate has a role to play in strengthening the democratic process.

The Accord presidential candidate urged Governor Adeleke to see his re-election as a renewed mandate to serve all residents of Osun State, irrespective of political affiliation.

‘Elections end, but governance continues. The real responsibility now is to build an Osun where every citizen has a sense of belonging, where development reaches every community, young people have meaningful opportunities, and peace, justice and prosperity remain shared aspirations,’ Hashim said.

He also urged all political actors and citizens to put the contest behind them and work towards the development of the state.

‘To Governor Adeleke, I extend my sincere congratulations and best wishes for continued wisdom and success in the service of the people of Osun State.

‘To the people of Osun, your voice has been heard. Your mandate has spoken. May this new chapter bring greater peace, progress and prosperity to your dear state,’ he added.

Hashim concluded by congratulating Governor Adeleke, the people of Osun State and the entire Accord family, while reaffirming his commitment to democratic renewal and the building of a better Nigeria.

‘Above all we give Glory to God’ he said.

The battle for political space in Ebonyi State ahead of the 2027 general election is already taking a contentious turn, with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) trading allegations over the procurement of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

The PDP alleges that the state government and APC are plotting to use claims of illegal PVC dealings as a pretext to harass, arrest and intimidate opposition members. The party says such actions could weaken political opposition ahead of the elections.

But the APC and the government have rejected the allegations, describing them as unfounded and challenging the PDP to provide evidence of any planned arrests or intimidation.

The controversy took a sharper turn when Stanley Okoro Emegha, APC State chairman, alleged that some PDP members had already been arrested over the alleged purchase of voters’ cards. He said the matter followed a petition concerning an individual allegedly sent to buy PVCs from residents, including elderly women.

The PDP, through Darlington Onwe, the Publicity Secretary, also raised concerns over an alleged attack on journalists and party supporters during a political event in Ezza South Local Government Area, describing it as part of a broader atmosphere of political intimidation.

For the APC, however, the PVC controversy is about protecting the integrity of the electoral process. Emegha argued that voters should retain their PVCs and questioned why anyone would pay N5,000 to obtain them.

As the two major parties trade accusations, the PVC dispute has become another flashpoint in Ebonyi’s emerging 2027 political contest, raising questions about voter freedom, electoral integrity and the need for all parties to play by the rules.

With the election still months away, the unfolding controversy suggests that the political temperature in Ebonyi may continue to rise as the major parties position themselves for 2027.

Nigerian troops have neutralised suspected terrorists, dismantled criminal camps, rescued abducted construction workers and recovered weapons and explosives in separate operations in Katsina, Kebbi, Anambra and Borno states.

The operations, carried out by troops of Operations FANSAN YAMMA, UDO KA and HADIN KAI, occurred between August 14 and 15, 2026, according to separate statements issued by the military.

In Katsina State, troops of the Joint Task Force North-West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, on August 14 repelled suspected terrorists operating in Kankia Local Government Area, killing two of the attackers and forcing others to retreat.

The troops of Sector 2 engaged the terrorists in a fierce firefight following reports of their activities in the area.

The military said two terrorists were neutralised during the encounter, while others fled following the superior response of the troops.

One AK-47 rifle and a magazine were recovered from the terrorists.

In southern Kebbi State, troops operating under Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV also rescued construction workers who were abducted at Tsatsunbe village.

The troops were mobilised after receiving a distress call over the abduction and subsequently engaged the terrorists.

According to the military, the intervention forced the attackers to abandon their captives and flee into the surrounding area.

All the abducted construction workers were rescued and returned safely to their camp.

Three motorcycles belonging to the fleeing terrorists were recovered at the scene.

One of the construction workers sustained injuries during the incident and was evacuated to a military medical facility, where he was receiving treatment as of Saturday.

The military said the operation demonstrated the commitment of Operation FANSAN YAMMA to protecting communities and safeguarding critical economic activities within its area of responsibility.

In another operation in Katsina, troops supported personnel of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Malumfashi Area Command, in a joint raid on a suspected drug peddler’s hideout in Gozaki village, Kafur Local Government Area.

The operation led to the recovery of significant quantities of suspected illicit drugs.

The recovered substances have been handed over to the NDLEA for further investigation and necessary legal action.

The military said the operations reflected its continued collaboration with other security and law-enforcement agencies to tackle terrorism, organised crime and other threats to public safety.

Meanwhile, troops of the newly established 15 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, operating under Joint Task Force South-East, Operation UDO KA, dismantled three suspected Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network camps in Anambra State.

The intelligence-led operation was conducted in the early hours of Saturday, August 15, following credible intelligence on the activities of suspected IPOB/ESN elements operating from camps at Osuakwa, along the boundary between Ihiala and Ogbaru Local Government Areas.

Troops of 15 Brigade, working alongside personnel of the Department of State Services and members of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group, launched a dawn raid on the identified locations.

The joint force reportedly came under fire from the suspected terrorists but responded with superior firepower.

Three suspected IPOB/ESN members were neutralised during the encounter, while the three camps were overrun and subsequently destroyed to prevent them from being reused as operational bases.

The troops recovered one FN rifle with 10 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, one pump-action shotgun with five cartridges and 15 sticks of dynamite.

Other items recovered included four motorcycles, one gas cylinder, three hybrid batteries, two car batteries and three handheld radio chargers.

‘Further exploitation of the area led to the arrest of a suspected IPOB/ESN member identified by the military as Chijioke, as well as a male and female suspected accomplices’, the military said.

The three suspects were reportedly found in the company of six children.

The Commander of 15 Brigade commended the troops and their partners for what he described as courage, discipline and effective inter-agency cooperation.

He said the operation represented a major setback for criminal elements seeking to undermine security in Anambra and the wider South-East.

The Brigade said it would sustain intelligence-led operations in collaboration with sister security agencies and local stakeholders to locate and dismantle criminal networks across the region.

In Borno State, troops of the Joint Task Force North-East, Operation HADIN KAI, also repelled an attempted attack by Islamic State West Africa Province terrorists on Forward Operating Base Mandarag??au in Biu Local Government Area.

The attack occurred at about 2am on August 15 when the insurgents launched a coordinated assault on the military location from two fronts.

The military said troops detected the advancing terrorists through early warning and surveillance systems and immediately deployed a combat team to intercept one of the attacking groups.

A fierce exchange of fire followed, during which the troops defeated the attackers on that axis.

A second group reportedly attempted to bypass the ambush team and infiltrate the military base but was also met with superior firepower.

The coordinated response forced the insurgents to withdraw from the area in disarray.

The troops subsequently launched a hot pursuit and exploited the contact area and the routes used by the fleeing terrorists.

The troops also recovered AK-47 rifles with loaded magazines, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with bombs and chargers, a camcorder video camera and other items described by the military as combat enablers.

Surveillance footage obtained after the engagement reportedly showed the terrorists dragging the bodies of some of their slain colleagues towards the Timbuktu Triangle.

The military said no Nigerian soldier was killed or injured in the attack.

The Theatre Command of Operation HADIN KAI commended the troops of 162 Amphibious Battalion for their readiness, courage and tactical response.

The command said the successful repulsion of the multi-pronged assault demonstrated the troops’ operational preparedness and determination to deny insurgents freedom of action in the North-East.

The latest operations come amid intensified military efforts to disrupt terrorist and criminal networks across multiple theatres of operation.

The military said the various operations were aimed at protecting vulnerable communities, securing economic activities, dismantling criminal infrastructure and creating an environment in which citizens can conduct their legitimate activities without fear.

Operation FANSAN YAMMA, Operation UDO KA and Operation HADIN KAI reaffirmed their commitment to sustaining offensive operations against terrorists and other criminal elements within their respective areas of responsibility.

David Umahi, minister of Works, Friday said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was gradually ending the marginalisation of the South-East through massive investment in road infrastructure and other development projects across the region.

Umahi stated this while inspecting ongoing federal road projects in Ebonyi State, where he highlighted the economic, security and commercial importance of the projects to the people of the South-East and other parts of the country.

The minister urged the people of the region and the media to acknowledge the infrastructure development taking place under the Tinubu administration, saying the impact of the projects would be felt in improved connectivity, commerce, security and job creation.

He said: ‘When Sokoto becomes very close to Ebonyi, when Calabar becomes very close to Kebbi, when the marginalisation of the South-East has become a thing of the past, should we not be bold enough to tell the story?’

According to him, the current administration has demonstrated a commitment to inclusive governance by opening up previously neglected areas through strategic road construction and rehabilitation.

Umahi said his appointment as Minister of Works was also part of President Tinubu’s broader intention to promote inclusiveness and bring the South-East closer to the centre of national development.

He disclosed that the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road had recorded significant progress, with one carriageway completed and work ongoing on the second, adding that several major infrastructure projects were simultaneously being executed across the South-East and other parts of the country.

He said the Federal Government had also turned virtually every state into a construction site through its infrastructure programme.

Speaking on the Ndibe Beach-Onueke-Ezza-Ebonyi route, Umahi said the project covered 125.5 kilometres, with plans for dualisation in selected sections.

According to him, an 8.9-kilometre section being realigned to bypass Afikpo was currently under construction, while the second carriageway was being designed to conform with the administration’s plan for legacy road projects.

The minister further disclosed that the Federal Government was dualising about two kilometres of the road around Abaomoge to beautify the town and improve traffic flow.

He said the project would also include major flyovers at Onueke, Ukwuachi, describing the projects as evidence of the Federal Government’s commitment to the Ezza nation and Ebonyi State.

‘Who will say that Ezza nation is not loved?’ Umahi asked, while expressing appreciation to the people for their support and cooperation with the projects.

He also urged the people to demonstrate their appreciation for the Federal Government’s infrastructure interventions through continued support for the Tinubu administration.

On the contractor handling the project, Umahi said Infoqest emerged winner through a competitive bidding process after Hitech declined to bid for the project.

He commended the contractor for the progress recorded so far, saying he was impressed by the quality and volume of work since his previous inspection of the project.

Umahi said an assessment by the ECOWAS Bank had also highlighted the project’s potential to improve security and commerce while creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

The minister further disclosed that compensation had been paid to some affected property owners, particularly in Abaomoge, while commending Governor Francis Nwifuru for paying compensation for the Onueke flyover.

He said the Federal Government had taken steps to address compensation challenges that had slowed down some projects, noting that the Ministry of Works had paid billions of naira in compensation on projects in other parts of the country.

On the compensation for the Ukwuachi flyover and the road linking the area to Benue State, Umahi said the affected properties had been enumerated, but the initial assessment of about N6 billion would be reviewed to ensure that compensation could be paid without jeopardising the funds available for construction.

He assured the affected communities that once the review was completed, the compensation would be approved for payment.

Umahi said the Federal Government remained committed to completing critical road projects across the South-East, stressing that the ultimate objective was to improve connectivity, strengthen commerce, enhance security and stimulate economic growth in the region.

He therefore, called on the people of the South-East to look beyond political narratives and assess the tangible infrastructure projects being executed across the region under the Tinubu administration.

Beyond delivering voice and data services, telecommunications giant MTN Nigeria is expanding its role in digital entertainment, leveraging innovation and partnerships to deepen customer engagement and deliver tangible value to Nigerians.

At a prize-distribution event in Lagos, MTN Nigeria, in partnership with digital service provider YellowDot Africa, celebrated the Season 1 finale of its revamped Lucky Number Jackpot campaign, with 10 subscribers each receiving ?10 million from a combined ?100 million prize pool.

The initiative goes beyond a promotional campaign, reflecting MTN’s broader strategy to strengthen customer engagement, reactivate subscribers and provide accessible, family-friendly digital entertainment.

Revamping a legacy service

Lucky Number has been part of MTN’s value-added services portfolio for more than a decade. However, the company recently partnered with YellowDot to revamp the platform and make it more attractive to subscribers.

The companies co-invested in the campaign, increased the prize value and simplified participation. Subscribers can enter the draw by sending a keyword to a designated short code, with their MTN numbers automatically entered into the daily draw.

‘We looked at our subscribers, we looked at the economy, and we said, ‘Can we bring back this product again and revamp it?” said Eitayo Amushan, Lead, Partner Management Portfolio (Digital Services), MTN Nigeria.

‘We brought in Yellow Dot, co-invested with them, increased the winnings and made the product more enticing. You can see people are delighted-we are really touching the core for people.’

Re-engaging dormant subscribers

The revamped platform has also recorded significant growth in its user base.

According to Izuchukwu Uba-Mathias, Product Manager at YellowDot Africa, the platform’s subscriber base increased from about 274,000 to 1.5 million following the launch of the campaign.

The growth highlights the potential of digital entertainment services to re-engage customers in Nigeria’s highly competitive multi-SIM market.

Aisha Mumuni, Chief Digital Officer at MTN Nigeria, said Lucky Number is helping bring some dormant SIM cards back onto the network while creating a new engagement point with customers.

‘What this is doing is bringing back some of those dormant SIM cards onto the network,’ Mumuni said.

‘People are coming back and saying, ‘Let me see if I can win.”

She described the service as a ‘fun, stress-free’ initiative designed to give customers something to look forward to while creating a community around the Lucky Number brand.

Digital infrastructure powers entertainment

MTN’s digital entertainment strategy is also being supported by its continued investment in 5G and next-generation network infrastructure.

The company sees high-capacity connectivity as critical to supporting digital entertainment, gaming, interactive services and other value-added offerings.

As Season 1 concludes, MTN and YellowDot are already looking ahead to further editions of the campaign, with plans to incorporate customer feedback and introduce new interactive features.

Mumuni confirmed that the initiative will continue beyond the first season.

‘Season two, season three, season four,’ she said, describing the first season as a pilot that has generated strong engagement.

For MTN and YellowDot, the Lucky Number Jackpot illustrates how telecom operators can leverage digital infrastructure and local partnerships to move beyond traditional connectivity, while creating new avenues for customer engagement and delivering direct financial rewards to Nigerians.