Category: Daily Trust

The Emir of Gumel in Jigawa State, Alhaji Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Sani II, CON, has died.

The monarch passed away on Thursday in Egypt.

His death has thrown the people of the Gumel Emirate and residents of Jigawa State into mourning, with tributes expected to continue to pour in from across the state and beyond.

The death of the respected traditional ruler is a significant loss to his family, associates and the entire Gumel community. Prayers have been offered for Almighty Allah to forgive his shortcomings and grant him eternal rest in Aljannatul Firdaus.

Prayers were also offered for Allah to grant his family, loved ones and the people of Gumel the strength and patience to bear the loss.

The death of the Emir represents a major loss to the Gumel Emirate, given the important role traditional institutions play in promoting peace, unity, cultural values and community development.

The Gumel Emirate is one of the historic traditional institutions in northern Nigeria, with a rich heritage and longstanding influence in the social and cultural affairs of its people.

As Emir, the late Alhaji Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Sani II, CON, served as custodian of the traditional institution and provided leadership to the people of the emirate.

His passing is expected to be deeply felt by members of the royal family, traditional title holders, community leaders and residents across the emirate.

The newly sworn-in Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Eze Paul Ituma, has warned opposition political parties and their supporters against engaging in political activities in the area ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ituma issued the warning while speaking on political activities in the council, saying anyone who attempted to operate against his political interests could be declared persona non grata.

‘Anyone who dares to do so will be declared persona non grata. This is the time for politics. I don’t have a shop at the International Market; politics is my business. Anyone who wants to put sand in my garri should not come close to Ohaukwu,’ he said in a viral video.

Ituma, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was recently sworn in as chairman of the local government.

His comments came after Governor Francis Nwifuru warned that any local government chairman who failed to secure victory for the APC in his council in the 2027 elections would be removed from office.

Nwifuru issued the warning in Abakaliki, the state capital, during the inauguration of the newly elected chairmen and vice-chairmen of the 13 local government areas in the state.

‘Any chairman who fails to win his council will be removed from office and replaced with a councillor. I want this information to be on the headlines of newspapers because, as politicians, we would not speak in secret,’ Nwifuru said.

‘The chairmen know we would win in the state, and if they choose to sleep and allow others to take their areas, they would be removed.’

Operatives of the Edo State Security Corps (ESSC) have arrested a suspected vandal over the alleged vandalism of a company’s property in Benin City, Edo State.

The suspect, identified as Isaac, allegedly conspired with other accomplices, who are currently at large, to break into a company located on Upholstery Street, GRA, Benin City, where they allegedly vandalised some of the company’s facilities.

A source said the security corps received a distress call at about 1am that some hoodlums had broken into the premises and were vandalising the facilities.

He said operatives were immediately deployed to the scene, adding that the suspects fled on sighting the security personnel.

The operatives, however, managed to apprehend one of the suspects.

The source further alleged that a security guard attached to the company, who was suspected of assisting the hoodlums to gain access to the premises, also fled after one of the suspects was arrested.

The Deputy Commander of the ESSC, Richard Balogun, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect had been handed over to the New Etete Police Station for further investigation and prosecution.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has welcomed the call by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN) for government intervention with domestic refiners to reduce petrol prices, saying the association has arrived, though belatedly, at the central economic principle behind his plan to make energy affordable again.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said IPMAN’s intervention was significant because it came from people who buy, distribute and sell petroleum products every day and therefore understand, beyond government propaganda, what expensive petrol is doing to businesses and Nigerian families.

‘IPMAN has come late to this conversation, but it has come to the right conclusion. The association is now saying that government cannot simply stand aside while petrol prices punish Nigerians and that deliberate subsidy around domestic refining can help bring prices down. That is precisely the policy principle President Tinubu and his gang of jesters have spent weeks trying to ridicule.

‘Tinubu’s argument has always depended on deliberately confusing the import-subsidy bazaar and a transparent, production-linked intervention that strengthens Nigerian refining and delivers measurable relief to Nigerian consumers.

‘Let me put it to President Tinubu in simple English: the difference between the import subsidy and the policy I have put before Nigerians is the difference between a farmer who harvests cassava, sells it all cheaply and then travels elsewhere to buy expensive garri for his family, and one who builds the capacity to process his cassava at home.’

‘Nigeria produces crude oil. It is economic foolishness to possess the raw material, fail to maximise its processing at home and then tell Nigerians that unaffordable fuel is the price they must pay for reform.

‘My principle is simple: subsidy follows the barrel. Strengthen the Nigerian barrel, strengthen Nigerian refining and ensure that the benefit follows that barrel all the way to the Nigerian consumer.’

Atiku said the proposal would also strengthen important objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act, including promoting petroleum processing within Nigeria and ensuring safe and affordable access to petroleum products.

‘The law itself recognises that local refining and affordability matter. A policy that expands domestic refining capacity while lowering the burden on consumers therefore advances the direction of the PIA. What is the value of producing crude oil if the taxi driver in Kano, the teacher commuting from Kubwa, the trader in Onitsha or the farmer moving produce to Lagos cannot afford the fuel derived from it?’

Atiku said Tinubu’s celebration of subsidy removal as an economic triumph had become increasingly detached from the reality confronting ordinary Nigerians.

‘The real test of petrol policy is not how cheap one litre appears after somebody converts it into dollars. The real question is how much of a Nigerian’s income and labour it consumes.

‘The DailyFuels Fuel Affordability Index places Nigeria at number 91 on its affordability ranking and estimates that the average Nigerian requires about 44 minutes of work to afford one litre of petrol. A 40-litre tank represents about 29.5 hours of work under its methodology.

‘That is the Tinubu economy in one statistic. Petrol may appear cheap when converted into dollars and compared with richer countries, but Nigerians do not earn American or European salaries.

‘A teacher does not experience fuel policy through a government spreadsheet. A tomato seller experiences it when the truck bringing her produce charges more, her own transport fare rises and her customers arrive at the market with less money in their pockets. By the time one tomato reaches a Nigerian kitchen, Tinubu’s expensive petrol has collected its own levy several times along the journey.

‘That is why my targeted intervention is fundamentally a cost-of-living policy. When energy costs rise, transportation, food, production and distribution rise with them. Making fuel affordable means restoring purchasing power to Nigerian families. You do not govern spreadsheets. You govern human beings.’

The former Vice President said IPMAN’s intervention should now move beyond commentary and become part of the solution Nigerians will need from 2027.

‘I therefore invite IPMAN to join us in an unbreakable contract with the Nigerian people – not merely by acknowledging the principle of targeted intervention, but by bringing its experience, market knowledge and advisory capacity into the monitoring and implementation of this policy when we assume office in 2027.

‘The people who buy, distribute and sell petroleum products every day know where distortions occur, where leakages hide and where good policy can be sabotaged between the refinery gate and the filling station. That knowledge must be put at the service of Nigerians.

‘Our commitment is clear: subsidy under our administration will strengthen domestic refining, expand local capacity, prevent arbitrage, operate transparently and deliver measurable relief at the pump. IPMAN should have a voice in ensuring that every benefit intended for the Nigerian consumer actually reaches the Nigerian consumer.’

The Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Dr ?lalekan Fadolapo, has dismissed concerns that the regulatory body is out to strangulate operators in the advertising industry, saying its primary objective is to sanitise the sector and promote professional excellence.

Fadolapo stated this at a media briefing ahead of the maiden edition of the ARCON Special Recognition Awards 2026, scheduled to hold at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Ikeja, Lagos, on October 23, 2026.

He said ARCON’s regulatory activities were aimed at ensuring compliance with established advertising standards and procedures while creating an environment where responsible industry players could thrive.

According to him, the Council’s commitment to enforcing regulations should not be interpreted as an attempt to stifle businesses, agencies or individuals operating within the advertising ecosystem.

Rather, he said, ARCON was determined to strengthen the industry by ensuring that practitioners complied with the law and adhered to professional standards consistent with global best practices.

Fadolapo said the Special Recognition Awards was evidence that the Council’s regulatory mandate was not limited to sanctions and penalties against erring practitioners.

He explained that ARCON was also interested in recognising and celebrating individuals, organisations and agencies that had made significant contributions to the growth and development of the advertising industry.

‘The bestowment of awards and recognition to deserving awardees is crucial for the fact that it encourages awardees to keep doing more and also motivates others to aspire for such recognition in their professional and corporate endeavours.

‘We believe that recognition encourages positive competition towards excellence,’ he said.

The ARCON boss said his administration remained committed to raising and sustaining professional standards in the industry within the provisions of the law.

He stressed that effective regulation was necessary to build a credible, transparent and internationally competitive advertising sector.

The initiative has received the backing of major stakeholders in the industry, including the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) and Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN).

The President of AAAN and Chairman of the Heads of Advertising Sectoral Group (HASG), Lanre Adisa, also stressed the importance of recognising individuals and organisations contributing to the growth of the industry.

Adisa said the initiative would help create greater visibility for the advertising sector while encouraging practitioners to continue raising the standards of the industry.

‘One of the things we try to create is visibility for the industry. And to achieve that, one way is to expand the scope and recognise the people who are at the forefront of doing the industry proud.

‘By doing so, others will be motivated,’ he said.

Also speaking, the President of MIPAN, Brenda Nwagwu, said recognition was important because it encouraged excellence, which she described as one of the pillars of the association.

‘At MIPAN, we remain committed to working with ARCON to move the industry forward with the 2026 ASRA,’ she said.

Similarly, the President of EXMAN, Tolulope Medebem, commended ARCON for the initiative, saying practitioners who continued to raise the bar deserved to be recognised.

‘At EXMAN, we believe recognition is important for an industry such as ours, which involves changes in technology.

‘We commend ARCON for this award initiative, and we believe it can only get better for the industry,’ she said.

The Chairman of the Planning Committee, Yinka Adebayo, described the event as the mother of awards in the industry, saying the awards would help correct the perception that ARCON’s activities were focused mainly on imposing fines on erring agencies.

‘The event will correct the assumption that ARCON is only about awarding fines to erring agencies.

‘Rather, it is also interested in recognising and commending industry players that are contributing towards the growth of the advertising ecosystem,’ Adebayo said.

According to the organising committee, online voting for the awards will commence on September 20, while nominations will close on September 13.

The committee said nominees would thereafter be required to submit evidence supporting their eligibility for the awards before voting begins.

The winners will emerge from four broad award frameworks, comprising Advertising Compliance Awards, Public Sector Recognition Awards, Private Sector Recognition Awards and Individual Recognition Awards.

Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has declared that he is ready to lose his life while protecting his votes in the 2027 election.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Thursday, Obi charged Nigerians to prevent a repeat of the ‘irregularities’ witnessed during the 2023 general election.

In 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to upload election results electronically due to the alleged failure of IReV.

Critics had accused the commission of hiding under the alleged failure of IReV to rig the election against the opposition.

Obi, who ran under Labour Party, and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar who was candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had rejected the declaration of President Bola Tinubu as winner of the election and headed to the court.

But Tinubu’s election victory was upheld by the court.

Speaking at the event tagged: ‘Obi Talks Nigeria’, the NDC Presidential Candidate said those plotting to manipulate the election would fail in their mission.

He urged his supporters to go all out and exercise their franchise on election day, saying no one would intimidate them or prevent their votes from counting.

‘Nobody will intimidate us again at the polling booth. If you get to any polling booth today, the highest number of officials you see is five. The average number of voters is 40 to 50. There is no way five people will intimidate 50 people.’

‘This time all of us will rescue our country. Somebody said, ‘We are ready to die.’ Let me tell you, I’m ready to die too.

‘We will make sure we have coordination to ensure that such intimidation does not arise. Yes, they will try to manipulate the IReV. But let me tell you, it will not be easy this time,’ he said.

‘There will be so many IReVs this time. If there is a network glitch, we will give them another one that has no glitch,’ he said.

‘By allowing them to continue, that glitch will glitch our lives. That is what we are suffering today,’ Obi said.

On his part, NDC Vice Presidential Candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, appealed to voters to avoid past mistakes of not choosing competent leaders with the capacity to address the country’s challenges.

He said despite the number of states that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) currently controls, the party will still lose the next election.

‘I believe that Nigerians must not make mistakes again. This is the time to get it right. And anything to the contrary, I believe people, if they make a mistake, certainly people will regret making that mistake. Because it will be too costly for the people and the country.’

‘Jonathan was the president, the sitting president lost the election. I’ve given you an example, especially those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That was a very big mistake,’ he said.

Troops of the Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, have neutralised several terrorists and intercepted 899 rounds of ammunition during separate operations in Zamfara and Kaduna states.

The operations, conducted on Wednesday, were part of the military’s sustained offensive against terrorist groups operating across the North-West.

In Zamfara, troops of Sector 2, acting on credible intelligence, ambushed terrorists moving from the Fakai General Area towards Kwanar Jolof and Tashar Dole in Shinkafi and Zurmi local government areas.

According to a statement by the Joint Task Force Media Information Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, the troops engaged the terrorists at Kwanar Jolof and neutralised several of them, while others fled.

A search of the area led to the recovery of an RPG launcher, one RPG bomb, an AK-47 rifle, six AK-47 magazines, 106 rounds of ammunition and a motorcycle, among other items.

In Kaduna State, troops of Sector 1 intercepted a vehicle at a snap checkpoint along the Saulawa-Zaria Road.

The military said one of the passengers resisted a search of his bag and attempted to escape after being ordered to open it.

Danja said a subsequent search of the bag uncovered 793 rounds of ammunition concealed inside gari.

The vehicle and its driver were taken into military custody for further investigation.

The military said the operations were aimed at dismantling terrorist networks, disrupting the movement of arms and ammunition and denying criminal groups freedom of action across its area of operations.

It added that the troops remained committed to restoring lasting peace and security in communities affected by terrorism across the Joint Operations Area.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has continued its capacity-building programme for Cleaning Service Providers across its stations as part of efforts to sustain high standards of hygiene, sanitation and passenger safety.

The latest two-day training session was held at Moniya Train Station, Ibadan, from 25th-26th August 2026, under the theme: ‘Safe Hygiene Practices for a Healthy and Infection-Free Train Station.’

The programme combined practical and theoretical sessions designed to strengthen the knowledge and skills of personnel responsible for maintaining cleanliness and hygiene within the station environment.

The Railway District Manager, Western District, Mrs Naomi Itajobi, thanked and appreciated the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Dr Kayode Opeifa for the good initiative, noting that the continuous training would further enhance hygiene standards and improve service delivery across railway facilities.

The HOD, Western District Health Safety and Environment Officer Mr Adedigba Timothy also participated in the programme, reinforcing the Corporation’s commitment to proper health, safety and environmental practices.

At the end of the training, Certificates of Completion were presented to participating personnel.

As part of efforts to further professionalise the service, personnel responsible for cleaning and sanitation are also being encouraged to be recognised as Hygiene Staff, reflecting the important role they play in maintaining a clean, healthy and passenger-friendly railway environment.

The continuous training programme forms part of NRC’s commitment to improving service delivery, strengthening workplace hygiene standards and providing passengers with a safe and pleasant travel experience.

The Rivers State Police Command has dismissed three officers involved in the shooting that led to the death of a University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) graduate, Anthony Obodo.

The victim, who was awaiting his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) call-up letter, was allegedly shot last Thursday along the popular Ada George Road in Port Harcourt during a police pursuit.

The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing in Port Harcourt.

He said the officers were dismissed following the conclusion of an investigation that established their culpability in the incident.

According to him, the affected officers were tried in an orderly room trial alongside another officer who is currently at large and were recommended for dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force.

Adepoju said the dismissed officers would subsequently be charged to court to face appropriate criminal charges in accordance with the law.

He said the action demonstrated the commitment of the police command to accountability and professionalism, stressing that officers who abuse their powers or act contrary to the law would not be shielded.

‘I am here to provide updates on some serious incidents recently recorded in the state, including the investigation into the death of one Anthony A. Obodo, a student, following a police pursuit and unfortunate shooting incident, as well as the arrest of suspected members of a one-chance robbery syndicate operating within Port Harcourt and its environs,’ he said.

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has renewed his call for Nigeria to adopt a two-party political system to streamline political competition and minimize chaos.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday during a visit by the Council of the Wise of the Savannah Centre for Democracy, Diplomacy and Development (SCDDD), Duke, a former Cross River State governor, warned that escalating political desperation could spark widespread violence and plunge the nation into deep crisis if unchecked.

The former governor argued that the relentless focus on acquiring power at all costs has eroded core democratic values, transforming politics in Nigeria from a public service vocation into a desperate occupation.

The delegation from the SCDDD’s Council of the Wise was led by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. The visit formed part of the group’s broader advocacy engagements with key political leaders to foster peaceful conduct ahead of the 2027 polls.

Justice Ariwoola urged all presidential candidates to ensure their campaigns remain free from hate speech, inflammatory rhetoric, and incitement to violence.

The former Chief Justice cited Nigeria’s painful history of election-related unrest, referencing the 2011 general elections where over 1,000 lives were lost, primarily across northern states.

Ariwoola criticized the political class for treating elections as ‘matters of life and death’ through the deployment of political thuggery, vote buying, rigging, and ballot stuffing.

The Council called on political figures to strictly follow Independent National Electoral Commission guidelines to restore public confidence in the electoral system.