Category: Daily Trust

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged Nigerians not to mistake any temporary relief from the cost of living for genuine economic recovery, accusing the President Bola Tinubu administration of responding to hardship only as the 2027 elections approach.

In a statement on Tuesday, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said it was contradictory for the president to condemn Atiku’s proposal to reduce energy costs as a return to the past while promising cheaper transportation, increased food production and relief for vulnerable Nigerians.

‘For more than three years, Nigerians have endured punishing transport fares, soaring food prices, crippling energy costs and wages that buy less every month,’ Shaibu said.

He questioned why the government had taken more than three years to recognise that economic growth must reach ‘the dining table and the pocket’.

‘Why is intervention backwards when Atiku proposes it, but progressive when you announce it? You cannot condemn cheaper living when Atiku proposes it and rename the same objective Renewed Hope when you promise it,’ he said.

Shaibu also criticised the high cost of petrol in Nigeria, arguing that the country’s status as a major oil producer should translate into lower energy costs for citizens.

He cited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria and Angola as examples of oil-producing countries where petrol prices are lower than Nigeria’s.

He said Nigerians were being offered ‘a temporary dose of political anaesthesia’ as 2027 approaches.

Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has warned members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against actions capable of creating divisions within the party, insisting that the party remains united ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Aiyedatiwa gave the warning on Monday at the APC Elders Council meeting.

The governor declared that the APC has only one structure in Ondo State and urged members to close ranks in order to strengthen the party’s chances in future elections.

Aiyedatiwa said efforts were ongoing to reconcile members and prevent the emergence of parallel groups within the party.

‘We don’t want to leave anybody out. Even those who are trying to create another faction, we are talking to them that APC must remain one,’ he added.

The governor stressed that unity within the party is critical to achieving electoral success and directed that the APC Elders Council be activated across the 18 local government areas of the state adding that the party must strengthen its structures from the local government level down to the wards and polling units in preparation for the next election cycle.

He urged party members to support President Tinubu’s re-election bid, describing the President as courageous in implementing reforms that have increased resources available to states for developmental projects.

Speaking at the meeting, APC State Chairman, Kolawole Babatunde, said the experience and guidance of party elders remain essential to sustaining the growth and stability of the party.

Earlier, Chairman of the APC Elders Council, Senator Nimbe Farukanmi, urged members to remain united and support both Governor Aiyedatiwa and President Tinubu, describing the gathering as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation among party leaders across the state.

The Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria, (CIOD) has introduced a Chartered Director Certification Programme to train company’s directors in a bid to strengthen corporate governance.

The registration for the programme begins today, Wednesday, 2 September 2026 and closes on Tuesday, 22 September 2026.

Speaking during a press conference yesterday, the institute’s president Otunba Adetunji Oyebanji underscored the importance of directorship in shaping the future of an organization.

Themed: ‘Advancing Board Excellence and Corporate Governance Through the Chartered Director Certification,’ he said boards occupy a critical position in every organisation.

‘They provide strategic direction, oversee management, safeguard stakeholder interests and ensure that institutions remain accountable, resilient and focused on sustainable value creation.

‘The decisions made in boardrooms affect not only organisations and their shareholders. They also affect employees, customers, investors, communities and the wider economy,’ he said.

He stressed that directorship must therefore be recognised as a position of profound responsibility requiring competence, sound judgement, integrity and continuous professional development.

‘Today’s directors operate in an increasingly complex environment. Boards must contend with economic uncertainty, rapid technological change, digital disruption, cybersecurity threats, evolving regulations, sustainability considerations and heightened expectations from stakeholders.

Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, who passed away last week in Cairo, Egypt, has been laid to rest in Kano.

Family sources confirmed that the funeral prayer was conducted at the Kano Emir’s Palace around 5:00 pm, yesterday with relatives, colleagues, and members of the public in attendance.

He was later buried at Farm Centre Cemetery in Kano.

Justice Bayero was elevated from the Kano State High Court to the Court of Appeal in 2018 and took his oath of office on June 22 of that year.

He was widely respected for his integrity, fairness, and dedication to justice, delivering landmark rulings on criminal case transfers, fundamental rights enforcement, and capital offences.

His death has elicited widespread condolences and prayers. Well-wishers have asked Allah to forgive his shortcomings, accept his good deeds, and grant him the highest rank in Jannatul Firdaus.

Justice Bayero was remembered not only as a disciplined and principled judge but also as a generous figure in his community.

A mother and four of her children died on Tuesday when the boys’ quarters attached to a three-storey building collapsed in Ilorin, Kwara State.

Eight members of the family were trapped in the rubble, which occurred at about 5 a.m. at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque.

Three others, including the father, survived the disaster and were taken for medical attention.

When Daily Trust visited the scene, residents were still mourning and consoling the bereaved family.

A resident involved in the rescue operation, who identified himself simply as Abdul, said the occupants were just waking up when the building suddenly came down.

He said rescuers initially recovered the mother and her last child, who is about five years old, dead from the rubble.

‘We brought out the mother with his last child, who was about five years old, dead on her chest,’ he said.

Abdul said rescuers later heard the father shouting for help from inside the toilet, after he had gone there to perform ablution.

‘That was his saving grace, and it was only the wood that was part of the old building that prevented a big pillar from smashing him. We had to dig to pull him out,’ he said.

He said rescuers concentrated on freeing the father after discovering that he was trapped alive.

‘After the loud sound, we rushed out and went straight to the building and started trying to rescue them. We met the father inside the toilet trapped, but he was shouting for help and we started digging through the rubble,’ he said.

According to Abdul, one of the deceased, Mistura, the eldest daughter, was a graduate of Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, who was expected to commence her National Youth Service Corps programme soon.

He said the building had shown signs of structural distress, including visible cracks, before it collapsed.

Another family member, who asked not to be named, said the section of the building that collapsed was not the part where cracks had previously been noticed.

He said the cracks were observed on the front section of the building, where efforts were already underway to carry out repairs before the tragedy occurred.

The elder brother of the father, Qudus Olarewaju Sambo, who was also inside the building when it collapsed, gave a separate account of how he narrowly escaped being caught in the disaster.

Sambo said he woke up around 5 a.m. to prepare for Subhi prayer and was on his way to the toilet at the back of the house to perform ablution when the building collapsed.

‘I woke up normally around 5 am to prepare for Solat (prayer), and on my way to perform ablution, I was just about entering the toilet, which is also at the back of the house, but thank God I had not entered because it would have been a different scenario now.

‘Suddenly, I just heard a loud sound, and the dust was all over me. I didn’t even know where I was until after some time,’ he said.

Sambo said he later returned to his apartment at the front of the building and began trying to get the family members out before realising that the entire boys’ quarters had collapsed.

He said he immediately contacted senior government officials and the Fire Service, which arrived at the scene, but the initial rescue effort was limited by the absence of specialised equipment.

He commended members of the community and government officials for their efforts, saying the arrival of an excavator later enabled rescuers to reach the trapped victims.

Sambo said five of the eight people trapped died in the collapse.

He identified the deceased as Hajia Wasilat Qudus, the mother, and her four children, Misturah, Barakat, Firdaos and Mukhtar.

Mukhtar, the only son among the deceased children, died while strapped to his mother’s chest as they slept when the building collapsed.

He said Mistura would have commenced her NYSC programme on Thursday.

The father, Kale Mohammed Qudus, is a serving sergeant in the Nigerian Army and was on medical leave at the time of the incident, Sambo said.

His wife, Hajia Wasilat Qudus, was a casual worker at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies.

The other survivors were identified as Saadat and Zainab, who, alongside the father, were receiving medical attention.

Sambo said the tragedy had left the family displaced and in need of assistance, particularly as those receiving treatment required continued medical care.

The Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed that the agency received a distress call at about 5 a.m. and immediately mobilised to the scene.

He said the cause of the collapse had not been established, adding that proper assessment of the structure would be required before any conclusion could be reached.

‘We are only here to ascertain the actual cause of this collapse and rescue the trapped victims. As at when due, we will communicate to the media about our findings,’ he said.

Adekunle said authorities would take appropriate action if the assessment showed that the building required demolition, while occupants would be advised accordingly if it was found to be safe.

The Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, said preliminary findings indicated that the collapsed portion was the boys’ quarters.

He said the occupants of the main building were evacuated pending an assessment of its structural condition.

‘For now, the situation is under control. We will examine the remaining buildings and see how people can be secured. But for now, we have evacuated everybody from the main building,’ Adekimi said.

The state’s Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, described the incident as unfortunate and condoled with the victims’ families.

Olohungbebe said the accessibility of the road leading to the building aided the rescue operation.

He urged residents and developers to comply with building and town planning regulations.

The Ilorin West Local Government Chairman, AbdulRahman Babatunde Ladan, said between six and seven ambulances were deployed to assist in evacuating the victims.

He urged residents to report structural defects promptly and evacuate buildings whenever they noticed signs of possible danger.

Several emergency and security agencies, including SEMA, NEMA, the Fire Service, NSCDC, the police, the Red Cross and health officials, participated in the rescue operation.

The Popo Giwa tragedy is the latest in a series of building and structural collapse incidents recorded in Ilorin in recent years.

In April 2026, two children were rescued after a two-storey residential building collapsed on Ajegunle Street, off Sabo Line area of the city.

No death was recorded, but the Fire Service said the structure had deteriorated before the incident and subsequently recommended that it be sealed, while occupants of an adjacent building considered unsafe were ordered to leave.

In June 2025, two construction workers were killed and another injured when part of the old fence of Kwara Hotels in the GRA area collapsed during renovation work.

Earlier incidents include the collapse of sections of buildings under construction in the Zulu Gambari area in 2017, where workers sustained injuries but no deaths were reported, and a 2019 building collapse in the Ikokoro area that injured two people.

Building collapses have also resulted in fatalities elsewhere in Kwara State.

In April 2023, a teenage girl, Joy Thomas, was killed when part of an abandoned, uncompleted building collapsed at Lade in Patigi Local Government Area.

A woman and her son were also injured in the incident.

Sambo, a former Corporation Secretary of the Kwara State Television Service, appealed to the state government to support the survivors receiving treatment in hospital.

He said the collapse had left the family facing the double burden of mourning their loved ones while also grappling with the loss of their home and the resulting accommodation challenge.

According to him, the building had stood for more than 70 years and had provided shelter for the family before it collapsed on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 is gone.

The National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) has disclosed that 79,504 candidates obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics, in June/July 2026 National Business Certificate (NBC) and National Technical Certificate (NTC).

The Board’s Registrar, Dr Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, disclosed this Wednesday, while announcing the release of the results in Benin City.

According to him, a total of 100,069 candidates registered for the examinations in 2026, compared with 92,876 candidates who registered in the 2025 examination.

He said this represents an increase of 7,193 candidates, reflecting the growing interest in business and technical education.

He said the 79,504 candidates represented 81.24 percent of the 97,867 candidates who sat for the examinations.

He noted that 89,580 candidates, representing 91.53 percent, obtained five credits and above, with or without English Language and Mathematics.

According to him, in the 2025 examination, 74,633 candidates, representing 83.28 percent, obtained five credits and above, with or without English Language and Mathematics.

‘The improvement recorded in the 2026 examination is encouraging and demonstrates the collective efforts of candidates, teachers, schools, parents and the wider education system,’ he said.

Muhammed also disclosed that 24,128 candidates, representing 24.65 per cent, were certified as craftsmen.

Mohammed said the examinations were conducted across 2,144 examination centres nationwide.

He also disclosed that 847 candidates were involved in examination malpractice.

The Nigeria Police Force has said controlling of roaming cows in the Federal Capital Territory is not within its mandate.

The force stressed that it will only intervene when the animals cause an offence.

Ani Iniedu, the police spokesperson, stated this at the joint security spokespersons’ briefing while responding to enquiries about the increasing presence of cows on roads and other public spaces in the capital city.

Iniedu explained that the responsibility for controlling animals, including cattle, rests with the relevant environment authorities, while the police would only act where the animals cause damage to property, trespass or become involved in other offences.

He said, ‘The responsibility for the control of animals is the Ministry or Department of the Environment. Where we come in is if the cow has committed an offence or the cow is involved in the destruction of your property or trespassing your property. If that is the case, it is reported to the nearest police station.’

The police spokesperson added that the force would investigate any complaint formally lodged over offences allegedly committed by roaming cattle.

He added, ‘We will commence investigation immediately. That is if a complaint was made. If it is going out to look for cows, it is not one of our responsibilities.’

Osborne Umahi, the son of David Umahi, Minister of Works; and Chidi Nwode, brother-in-law to Governor Francis Nwifuru, have been sworn in as Local Government Chairmen in Ebonyi State.

While Umahi was sworn in as the Chairman of Ohaozara LGA, Nwode, the younger brother to Gov. Nwifuru’s wife, was sworn in as the Ikwo LGA chairman.

Addressing all the 13 newly inaugurated chairmen, Governor Nwifuru urged the chairmen not to allow the opposition to thrive in their areas because ‘charity begins from home’.

He further charged them to do all in their powers to deliver APC 100 per cent in 2027.

He also admonished the vice chairmen to work in harmony with their chairmen and avoid any acts of rivalry.

He urged them to liken their positions to ‘spare tyres inside the car boot’.

The governor told the vice chairmen to remember that ‘it’s only when the tyre refuses to function or collapses irreversibly that they can function.

‘You should always be available to the chairmen and ask them of your councils’ daily activities. Do not listen to gossip and ill advice from your friends against your chairmen because that will destroy your relationship with them,’ he said.

Nwifuru said that his deputy, for instance, was a former council chairman and nobody knew she will be a deputy governor today.

The re-elected Chairman of Afikpo LGA, Chief Timothy Nwachi, who responded on behalf of others, thanked the governor and party stakeholders for giving them the opportunity to serve the people.

‘We pledge to justify the confidence reposed in us and especially ensure that APC records landslide in 2027,’ Nwachi said.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to answer the substantive questions arising from documented American records, accusing him of hiding behind personal attacks, distractions and theatrical diversions.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the latest intervention by Sunday Dare was not a rebuttal but an attempt to change the subject by attacking Karl Von Batten’s marriage, ancestry, names and business history.

‘At this rate, perhaps the next response from the Presidency will tell Nigerians the colour of Karl Von Batten’s socks and what he eats for breakfast. But after all the mockery, genealogy and amateur detective work, the documents will still be there,’ Shaibu said.

He noted that Atiku Abubakar’s $1.2 million engagement with Von Batten-Montague-York was voluntarily registered with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, FARA, with the filing clearly stating the nature of the engagement, its duration and compensation.

‘You cannot expose what was publicly disclosed. So, President Tinubu should stop chasing the messenger and answer the questions raised by the records.’

Shaibu asked why Tinubu’s name was connected to a historical United States federal narcotics and money-laundering investigation and why a United States District Court entered a decree forfeiting $460,000 held in an account in Tinubu’s name.

‘These are not documents written by Atiku Abubakar. They were not manufactured by Karl Von Batten. They form part of an American judicial record.

‘Let us also be precise. A civil forfeiture is not a criminal conviction, and we have never said otherwise. But President Tinubu cannot abuse, mock or distract a court record out of existence.’

Shaibu said the hypocrisy became even more obvious when Tinubu began attacking Atiku over the cost of his Washington engagement while saying nothing about his own administration’s far more expensive lobbying arrangement.

According to him, the Tinubu administration entered into an arrangement with DCI Group worth $750,000 every month, amounting to $4.5 million for the first six months, with contractual provisions capable of taking the engagement to $9 million.

The arrangement was conducted through Aster Legal in connection with a senior federal security institution.

‘So, President Tinubu, let us understand your new morality. When you spend millions lobbying Washington, it is diplomacy. When Atiku spends $1.2 million over an entire year, it becomes desperation. What magnificent hypocrisy.’

‘If Atiku’s $1.2 million is evidence of desperation, what exactly should Nigerians call your own arrangement capable of reaching $9 million? National distress?’

Shaibu said the issue was not whether either side had the right to engage lobbyists, but the rank hypocrisy of Tinubu attempting to scandalise an activity his own administration had pursued on a far greater financial scale.

‘President Tinubu is entitled to engage lobbyists. Atiku is equally entitled to engage lobbyists. Washington does not belong to the Nigerian Presidency.’

‘The embarrassment is watching an administration associated with a multimillion-dollar Washington lobbying arrangement climb onto a moral pedestal to lecture its political opponent about lobbying.’

The statement described the attacks on Karl Von Batten’s personal history as a transparent diversion from questions Tinubu would rather avoid.

‘President Tinubu can mock the man. Investigate his marriage. Trace his ancestry. Count his clients. Inspect his socks if that helps.

‘But when all that is finished, the $460,000 forfeiture record will still be there. The multimillion-dollar lobbying arrangement will still be there.

‘That is the problem with documents: they do not respond to insults.’

Shaibu said Nigerians would be better served if Tinubu devoted the same energy to explaining why life had become increasingly unaffordable under his administration.

‘Nigerians want to know why food is expensive, why transportation is expensive, why electricity is expensive, why the naira buys less and why millions of families are struggling to survive.

‘They cannot eat presidential press releases. They cannot fuel their cars with insults. They cannot pay school fees with investigations into another man’s family tree.’

The statement added that if Tinubu truly wanted the political conversation to be about domestic performance, Atiku was ready for that debate.

Women farmers face major obstacles in accessing land, credit and other productive resources.

The development has limited their capacity to expand agricultural production and contribute fully to Nigeria’s food security.

Reforms in land ownership, agricultural financing, extension services and rural infrastructure are therefore needed to unlock the potential of women in farming and agribusiness.

Professor Taibat Moji Yusuf, Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, made the call while delivering the 23rd Inaugural Lecture of the institution.

The lecture was titled, ‘Empowering Women Farmers in Nigeria: Closing the Gender Gap for Agricultural Transformation and Food Security.’

Drawing on more than three decades of field based research, Yusuf said empowering women farmers would improve agricultural productivity, strengthen food security and help reduce poverty.

She urged the government to reform inheritance laws to guarantee women the right to own and inherit land regardless of their marital status.

She also recommended joint land ownership for married couples, arguing that discriminatory practices over land remained a major impediment to women’s access to agricultural credit, inputs and other productive resources.

To address the financing gap, the professor advocated wider access to microcredit schemes that do not require land as collateral.

She urged financial institutions to develop agricultural loan products suited to the realities of women farmers and expand digital financial services to reach those in remote rural communities.

Yusuf also called for a revamp of agricultural extension services through the recruitment of more female extension agents and flexible training schedules that recognise women’s domestic responsibilities.

She proposed using mobile platforms to deliver agricultural advisory services in local languages, particularly to farmers in rural communities.

The professor said inadequate rural infrastructure was also adding to the burden faced by women, urging greater investment in water supply, electricity and childcare facilities.

Such investments, she said, would reduce the time women spend on unpaid domestic labour and enable them to devote more attention to farming and agribusiness.

She further advocated greater access to mechanised processing equipment and other labour saving technologies designed around the operational needs of women farmers.

According to her, adult literacy, agricultural training and cooperative organisations would improve women’s management skills, facilitate technology adoption and strengthen their bargaining power.

Yusuf called for policies that would promote income diversification through off-farm employment, agro-processing and entrepreneurship.

She said better roads, electricity and information and communication technology would also help rural households withstand agricultural shocks.

The don urged the government and private sector to expand contract farming and credit programmes through public private partnerships, particularly schemes that provide farmers with reliable markets, inputs and financing.

She also called for investment in post harvest storage, transportation, cold chain facilities and market information systems to reduce food losses and enable women farmers to derive greater value from their produce.

Yusuf recommended mainstreaming eco-friendly agricultural technologies, particularly moringa based bio organic fertiliser, through agricultural extension services, cooperative production networks and soil fertility programmes.

She urged communities to promote moringa cultivation to ensure a steady supply of raw materials for producing the organic fertiliser.

On policymaking, the professor called for mandatory gender impact assessments for agricultural development programmes and policies.

She sought greater representation of women on policy committees, agricultural boards and farmers’ unions, alongside dedicated budgetary allocations for gender responsive agricultural investments.

Yusuf said stronger monitoring mechanisms should be established to determine the impact of such interventions.

She further argued that agricultural policies must be integrated with national poverty reduction efforts adding that food security could not be achieved in isolation from employment, education and healthcare.

With an estimated 140 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, she said coordinated action across sectors had become urgent.

The professor stressed that closing the gender gap in agriculture was not merely a question of fairness but an essential strategy for transforming Nigeria’s agricultural economy and improving national food security.