Category: Daily Trust

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) has urged business leaders and human resource professionals to rethink traditional approaches to productivity.

The call was made at the Corporate Members’ Forum 2026, organised by CIPM under the theme, ‘Re-engineering Employee Productivity Amidst Macroeconomic Stress.’

The President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CIPM, Mallam Ahmed Ladan Gobir, said organisations must move beyond viewing productivity merely as an operational metric and begin to see it as a leadership imperative capable of driving long-term competitiveness and growth.

According to him, while many organisations blame economic conditions for declining performance, the bigger threat often lies within.

‘The biggest threat to productivity in today’s economy is not actually inflation. It is uninspired leadership.

‘Inflation may increase the cost of doing business, but uninspired leadership increases the cost of lost ideas. Exchange rates may depreciate currencies, but toxic leadership depreciates human confidence,’ he said.

He noted that despite economic uncertainty, organisations that invest in people, inspire purpose, and build resilient cultures are more likely to emerge stronger from challenging periods.

Gobir described human capital as Nigeria’s greatest resource, stressing that sustainable productivity growth depends on leaders’ ability to unlock the potential of their workforce.

He urged organisations to move from compliance-driven management to people-centred leadership capable of converting workplace pressure into capability, innovation, and performance.

Delivering the keynote presentation, Dr. Bisi Aina, Managing Director of SoftAlliance and Resources Limited, argued that productivity challenges confronting organisations today are fundamentally systemic rather than employee-related.

He said organisations must redesign work systems instead of demanding more effort from employees.

‘Productivity today is no longer an employee problem. It is a system design problem,’ he said.

According to the keynote speaker, organisations often ask the wrong question by focusing on why employees are not working harder, rather than examining whether existing systems enable them to work smarter.

He maintained that average employees operating within exceptional systems consistently outperform exceptional employees trapped in inefficient systems.

Aina outlined five critical levers for improving productivity: simplifying work processes, digitalising operations, empowering managers, continuously building workforce capabilities, and shifting performance measurement from hours worked to value delivered.

Suspected kidnappers have reportedly abducted an unspecified number of passengers travelling in three buses along the Itobe-Achigili-Anyigba highway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

According to local sources, the two separate attacks occurred within a two-hour interval on Sunday, August 9, 2026, at almost the same spot on the highway.

The first incident, involving a Hummer bus belonging to a popular mass transit company allegedly happened around 4pm between Ojuwo-Ajengo and Mamerebo settlement, while heading to Abuja from its park in the eastern region.

The second attack occurred at about 6pm between Ojodu and Ojuwo-Olijo village, involving a Sharon and a Sienna commercial bus said to be on an inter-state journey.

Witnesses said all occupants were ferried into the bush after the buses ran into barricades mounted by the gunmen.

‘We found two cellphones in the grass around one of the buses; which was later handed over to the security operatives. The armed men left with all the occupants of the three buses .

‘First, a hummer bus was intercepted around 4pm. It carries the inscription of ‘Peace Mass Transit’, with fleet number ‘2838’. The two other buses , Sharon/ Sienna bus with registration number, Kogi : ERE 138 AE and BB 362 MKA ran into their ambush around 6pm on Sunday.

‘The number of the abducted persons from each of the three buses is not clear yet , except through the passengers’ manifest,’ said a source from a local security outfit in the area.

A joint security operation, comprising a detachment of army, policemen, local vigilantes and hunters was reported to have been mobilised to the scene of incident in an attempt to rescue the kidnapped victims and apprehend their abductors.

When contacted, the Kogi state police command’s spokesperson ASP, Saliu Oyiza Afusat said, ‘I’ll confirm and get back to you.’

However, as at the time of filing this report, the police spokesperson had yet to respond.

When I watched the Batch B stream II of the 2026 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on the media, as the nationwide orientation commenced last week, my mind flipped wistfully back to 50 years ago, when my set made a similar engagement in August 1976. That was when we streamed into the capitals of the 19 states of the federation as the 4th set of the NYSC.

Then there was only one set serving in the NYSC throughout the year. Graduating students from Nigerian universities were very few – there were only six universities in the country located in Zaria, Ife, Ibadan, Lagos, Benin and Nsukka. The scheme, which started in 1973 with only 2,364 graduates nationwide, ballooned to about 6,000, three times that size, in 1976. This is because it was in 1976 that HND and NCE graduates came on board the scheme. Today, that figure of 6,000 would be minuscule compared to the 400,000 who served in 2025.

1976 was a pivotal year for the country. The regime of General Murtala Mohammed, which overthrew General Yakubu Gowon the previous year, was in a hurry to transform the country. The regime had broken the 12-state structure into 19, named Abuja as the federal capital, and set October 1, 1979, as the target date for returning Nigeria to civilian rule, among other measures. Just 10 days after these earth-shaking pronouncements, General Murtala was assassinated in an attempted coup. We were in our final year when the country was undergoing all these traumas. Mercifully, we concluded our exams in June and became ready for the national service.

I was posted to Lagos. I was excited because it held interesting prospects for me. I had never crossed the River Niger and looked forward to the long journey to Lagos. When August arrived, I travelled from Maiduguri, my home, to Kano, where a brother-in-law bought a Nigerian Airways ticket for N25 (twenty-five Naira) so I could fly in style to Lagos. That year we were camped at Yaba College of Technology in the middle of the city. Even while encamped, we were well looked after. Besides the NYSC state officials overseeing our welfare, the NYSC DG himself, Col. Solomon Omojokun, was a regular visitor to the camp, interacting with us.

The Lagos State Government threw a cocktail party in the Government House, Marina, to welcome us. During the party, the Military Governor, Admiral Adekunle Lawan, mingled with many of us and had lively chats, amid a free flow of food and drinks. Our camp in Yaba College of Technology was close to a major military barrack and Fela’s Kalakuta Republic. During the encampment, Fela’s Kalakuta became a rendezvous of sorts for the corpers in camp. Unfortunately, Kalakuta Republic would be famously burnt down a few months down the line in February 1977, due to an altercation between Fela and soldiers.

We found Lagos in August 1976, a city in flux. There was massive construction underway in preparation for the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, billed to start in January 1977. Major road construction was in progress across Lagos, particularly on the multi-lane Ikorodu Expressway. The National Theatre was being completed and ready for FESTAC. During FESTAC, it was an opportunity to be amid the greatest assemblage of black artistes, writers and performers from 56 countries, celebrating our heritage through music, dance and art. We saw Miriam Makeba, Stevie Wonder and many of our icons of the time.

The majority of the corps members had meaningful primary places of attachment. With a marketing background, I was posted to a private food processing company in Onigbongbo, Maryland, on the Ikorodu Expressway. The company was a small going concern, and I became involved in its running. I was connected to the major retail outlets of Lagos, Leventis, Kingsway, UTC, and the like, where our products were displayed. I also occasionally travelled outside Lagos to source materials for our production lines.

I lived in Mende village, Maryland, then a small fishing settlement still exhibiting vestiges of a rural community, though it was a growing suburb of Lagos. It was a short distance to the factory, and I walked there every day. I still relish the experience I gathered from that posting. The Managing Director kept in touch with me for years after. He even visited me in Maiduguri in the mid-80s, when I was in the Chad Basin Development Authority, and he was interested in sourcing wheat for his company. I gave him a grand tour of our project in New Marte and rounded it up with a boat trip to Lake Chad.

Now, 50 years later, the NYSC has come a long way. The size of the scheme has grown exponentially, from a mere few thousand to hundreds of thousands now, making it a logistical nightmare. However, it seems the scheme will undergo drastic changes that will overhaul it entirely. The reform, already approved by the federal government, will introduce civilian-led management, extend orientation from three to six weeks, split into three phases, and remove military drills, among other measures.

One interesting aspect of the reform is that the khaki uniform, one of the most distinctive aspects of the NYSC persona, will now be replaced with adire material.

Troops of the Nigerian military attached to the air component of Operation Hadin Kai have bombed terrorists’ enclaves situated within the Sambisa Forest area of Borno State.

During the operation, no fewer than nine commanders of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters were killed.

The operation, which was conducted on Saturday, was carried out following intelligence that revealed the activities and movement of suspected terrorists within the Sambisa Forest area.

Among those reportedly neutralised was Abu Khalid Al Muhajir, described as a prominent ISWAP commander responsible for providing special security escorts for the movement of senior members of the terrorist group.

Confirming the operation via a statement issued on Sunday, the spokesman of the Nigerian Air Force, Ehimen Ejodame, said several other ISWAP fighters were wounded.

‘Acting on the intelligence, the NAF deployed a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) to conduct persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), enabling the identification and tracking of a group of terrorists as they moved towards a suspected hideout.

‘Following identification and confirmation of the target, the NAF aircraft conducted a precision engagement on the location,’ Ejodame, an Air Commodore, explained.

The senior military officer noted that intelligence further indicated that some of the terrorists affected by the strike were assessed to be linked to elements suspected to have been involved in the recent ambush of Nigerian troops along the Bita-Yamtage axis in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.

He added, ‘Subsequent battle damage assessment indicated significant effects on the targeted compound, with several terrorists neutralised.

‘Further intelligence received after the strike confirmed that nine ISWAP fighters were killed, while several others were wounded.

‘His elimination represents a significant operational setback for ISWAP, particularly given his reported knowledge of routes, terrain and tactical movements connecting major terrorist enclaves within the Sambisa Forest and surrounding areas.’

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said repairs are ongoing on the Kugbo bus terminal, which was damaged by a storm in April.

Abuja Metro reports that a heavy rainstorm on April 7, 2026, wreaked havoc on the terminal, located along the Abuja-Keffi highway, blowing off large sections of the facility’s roof and causing major traffic disruption.

The downpour, which began around 3:30pm, was accompanied by strong winds that tore through the yet-to-be-operational terminal, scattering roofing materials and structural components across both lanes of the busy dual carriageway.

The Mandate Secretary, Transportation Secretariat of the FCTA, Chinedum Elechi, gave the update while briefing newsmen on the operationalisation of the Mabushi and Central Business District bus and taxi terminals at the weekend.

He also spoke on the administration’s plans to construct additional modern bus and taxi terminals across the nation’s capital.

Elechi said the move would help eliminate illegal motor parks, enhance passenger safety and modernise transportation in the nation’s capital.

He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to transforming the Federal Capital Territory into a world-class city through ongoing transport projects and future budgetary provisions for additional terminals.

Elechi addressed concerns over reliance on informal loading points, including Berger and Area 1 roundabouts, saying the shift to centralised terminals was necessary for security, orderliness and efficiency.

‘We are building these in strategic locations. The terminals in Kugbo and Mabushi are purely designed for intercity travel.

‘Whether a passenger is travelling to Aba, Lokoja, Owerri or Sokoto, they need a safe, secure and comfortable environment to board.

‘You cannot guarantee what happens when you board a bus at an ad hoc arrangement, which has contributed to the ‘one-chance’ security challenges,’ he said.

The secretary explained that the initial phase focused on key terminals in Mabushi, Kugbo and the Central Business District, with the latter designed primarily to serve intracity transportation needs.

According to him, more terminals have already been captured in the administration’s expansion plans under the leadership of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.

Comparing Abuja’s urban renewal efforts with global standards and regional examples, Elechi said cities such as Lagos had successfully transformed chaotic transit points into organised transportation hubs.

‘I have travelled all over the world, and even right here on our doorstep, cities are tidying up. If Lagos could transform the chaotic Oshodi traffic situation into modern transport hubs, why shouldn’t the FCT be tidied up?’ he said.

He explained that the terminals would function as primary transport hubs linked through structured last-mile services using designated bus shelters, taxis and e-hailing platforms.

Elechi urged commuters and transport operators to embrace the new facilities as the administration continued to expand modern transportation infrastructure across the Federal Capital Territory.

He reassured residents that the objective of the initiative was to guarantee public safety, maintain a clean city environment and establish an efficient and reliable transit system.

Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has directed senior medical officers in the state to submit requests for critical hospital equipment directly to his office as part of measures to accelerate healthcare upgrades and address the growing challenge of medical personnel leaving the country.

The governor gave the directive on Sunday in Yola while receiving members of the Association of Principal Medical Officers (APMO) on a courtesy visit to the Government House.

Fintiri said the directive would enable the government to obtain first-hand information on the urgent needs of public health facilities and respond more quickly to critical gaps in medical equipment and infrastructure.

He explained that Principal Medical Officers in tertiary institutions and state-owned hospitals could henceforth communicate pressing equipment needs directly to the state executive, without necessarily passing through the usual administrative channels.

The governor also expressed concern over the increasing migration of Nigerian doctors and other health professionals in search of better working conditions abroad, saying his administration was committed to improving the welfare and working environment of medical personnel in the state.

According to him, the government has embarked on several interventions aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery across Adamawa.

Among the measures are the construction of seven new cottage hospitals and the ongoing renovation of existing health facilities across the state.

The government has also installed CT scanners in Numan and Michika and provided new dialysis equipment at the Adamawa State Specialist Hospital.

In addition, modern ultrasound machines are being distributed to health facilities across the 21 local government areas, federal health centres and the state teaching hospital, particularly to strengthen maternal and diagnostic care.

On staff welfare, Fintiri pledged to review the conditions of service for medical officers and work towards aligning them with national standards to improve staff retention and productivity.

The governor further disclosed that the state had established a College of Medicine at Adamawa State University as part of efforts to increase the local supply of qualified medical professionals.

He added that the monthly stipend for undergraduate medical students had been increased from N8,500 to N100,000, while the state was also funding overseas postgraduate scholarships to enhance the skills and capacity of medical professionals from Adamawa.

Earlier, the State Chairman of APMO, Dr. Zamani Tizhe, commended the Fintiri administration for its interventions in the health sector.

Tizhe particularly highlighted the recent second increase in the running costs of general hospitals, describing it as a significant boost to the effective operation of healthcare facilities across the state.

The association said the interventions would contribute to improving healthcare delivery, strengthening medical infrastructure and creating better conditions for the retention of doctors and other healthcare professionals in Adamawa.

?The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has successfully uploaded the names of its candidates for all elective positions in the 2027 General Elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal, beating the electoral umpire’s official deadline of August 8.

?The National Chairman of the party, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, announced the development at the weekend.

He said the early completion of the exercise was a testament to the party’s internal discipline, organizational structure, and digital readiness.

Prof. Yilwatda noted that managing the nomination, verification, and electronic documentation for positions ranging from the State House of Assembly to the Presidency requires significant institutional coordination.

?’The APC has once again demonstrated that we are prepared for the responsibility of governing Nigeria,’ Yilwatda stated in a release issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Mr. Abimbola Tooki.

‘We did not wait until the last minute. We planned ahead, coordinated our structures, and ensured that our candidates were successfully uploaded before the expiration of the original deadline.’

The Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, has come under criticism over his recent comment on the state of the Nigerian economy and the performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

Adedeji had praised the economic direction of the Tinubu administration, urging the President not to be distracted by negative comments from critics who, according to him, have no alternative to the government’s economic policies.

The NRS chairman made the remarks during a briefing at the State House, where he highlighted the significant increase in government revenue as evidence of the administration’s economic progress.

He told President Tinubu that the government had transformed the country’s revenue system to a level that many of its critics could not comprehend.

He, however, said they would continue to educate the critics on the revenue system.

The comments, however, have attracted criticism from Nigerians and economic experts, who said Adedeji failed to acknowledge the hardship being experienced by Nigerians despite the increase in the government’s revenue.

Under the Tinubu administration, the government has pursued a series of fiscal and tax reforms aimed at improving revenue mobilisation, expanding the tax base and strengthening the efficiency of revenue collection.

In 2023, Tinubu’s administration removed subsidy from premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol and liberalised the foreign exchange market.

While this twin-policy substantially increased resources available to the government, it also triggered a cost of living crisis never seen in years.

The NRS has been at the centre of the revenue mobilisation drive, with the government seeking to increase non-oil revenue and reduce the country’s dependence on oil earnings.

Analysts said Adedeji’s comments focused primarily on the revenue side of the government’s economic reforms.

However, critics argue that revenue growth alone does not adequately measure the success of an economic policy if citizens continue to face high prices of food, transportation, electricity and other essential goods and services.

A development professional and former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Dr Joe Abah, described the statement attributed to Adedeji as unnecessary and insensitive to the economic realities confronting citizens.

Abah, while reacting to the comments in a post on X, said the increase in revenue should translate into measures that would directly reduce the cost of living and ease the burden on Nigerians.

‘If true, this is a deeply insensitive statement,’ Abah said.

He, however, responded to Adedeji’s question about what critics of the administration would have done differently, saying there were examples from other countries of how increased government resources could be deployed to address rising living costs.

According to him, the United Kingdom provides an example of policies aimed at cushioning the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on citizens.

‘But to answer the question of what I would have done differently, I can just look at the UK’s Andy Burnham, who is trying to tackle the cost of living,’ Abah said.

He cited measures which he said had been introduced under Burnham, including the removal of five per cent VAT on domestic electricity, a policy he contrasted with the 7.5 per cent rate in Nigeria.

He also pointed to the capping of bus fares at £2 per ride through reimbursement of private-sector operators for the difference between the capped fare and the real cost of providing the service.

Abah further cited a proposed 20 per cent reduction in business rates for pubs and clubs, as well as adjustments to Universal Credit designed to favour poorer and more vulnerable citizens.

‘So, I would have used the increasing tax revenue to tackle the cost of living. That is what I would have done differently at my own level. Hope that helps,’ he said.

Another analyst, Paul Obasi, said, ‘First thing I will do differently is restore part of the subsidy, reduce taxation mostly on grocery items, reduce importation duty on food items and drugs. Increase production of rare earth minerals, pass shoot on site policy to anyone illegally mining minerals.’

Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has condemned remarks attributed to Sheikh Yahya Jingir, describing them as divisive rhetoric capable of fuelling religious tension and threatening Nigeria’s unity.

Adeyanju, in a statement, said Nigeria remained a plural society whose Constitution recognises and protects the rights of citizens to practise different religions.

He urged religious leaders to recognise the diversity of the country and use their influence to promote peace, tolerance and national unity rather than deepen divisions between Christians and Muslims.

‘I condemn the recent rhetoric of Sheikh Yahya Jingir as divisive and capable of fuelling religious tension,’ Adeyanju said.

‘Religious leaders should respect Nigeria’s plurality and use their influence to promote peace and unity rather than sowing discord between Christians and Muslims.’

The lawyer also questioned whether the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket had translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians, arguing that leadership should be assessed based on its impact on citizens rather than religious identity.

‘Has the Muslim-Muslim ticket put food on the tables of Nigerians, solved insecurity, unemployment, inflation, or strengthened the Nigerian passport and Nigeria’s standing in the world?’ he asked.

Adeyanju said Nigerians should move beyond religious considerations when assessing political leadership, stressing that the wellbeing and security of citizens should remain the priority.

‘We must look beyond religion and judge leadership by its impact on our lives as Nigerians,’ he said.

He warned that rhetoric portraying one faith as superior or hostile to another could worsen existing divisions and fuel agitations across the country.

‘Any rhetoric that pits one faith against another is one that only deepens our divisions and fuels agitations across the country,’ he said.

Adeyanju further called on clerics and politicians to refrain from provocative statements capable of inciting citizens, urging them to respect Nigeria’s religious, cultural and ethnic diversity.

‘Clerics and politicians must stop provoking law-abiding citizens and learn to respect our different religions, cultures and ethnicities. Nigeria belongs to all of us,’ he said.

As part of its commitment to youth development and corporate social responsibility, Lanre Shittu Motors (LSM) has expanded its campaign against financial crime by donating copies of Clean Hands, Bright Future: A Youth Guide to Avoiding Financial Crime in Africa to public secondary schools across Lagos State.

The initiative, which is currently in its first phase, targets 200 public secondary schools across the state, with more than 150 schools already benefiting from the programme.

The campaign, which commenced at Kuramo Senior College and Victoria Island Senior Secondary School, has since extended to several other schools across Lagos. It aims to educate students about the dangers of fraud, cybercrime, identity theft, examination malpractice and other forms of financial crime, while promoting integrity, hard work, ethical leadership and responsible citizenship.

Author of the book, Mr. Adedayo Aluko, said the project was conceived in response to the growing involvement of young people in financial crimes and the need to address the problem through early education.

‘The rate of financial crime among youths is becoming increasingly alarming. We believe education is one of the most effective tools to prevent crime. The message of the book is simple: crime does not pay, and with clean hands, every young person can build a brighter future,’ Aluko said.

He explained that the initiative extends beyond the distribution of books. Plans are underway to revisit beneficiary schools for interactive enlightenment sessions, career talks and mentorship programmes designed to reinforce the values of integrity and responsible decision-making.

According to Aluko, the book explains more than 100 forms of financial crime in simple language, helping students identify offences that many young people unknowingly become involved in. It also uses illustrations, practical examples and relatable scenarios to make the lessons engaging and memorable.

Aluko commended Lanre Shittu Motors for supporting the project, describing the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Taiwo Shittu, as a long-standing advocate of youth empowerment, education and character development.

‘Mr. Taiwo Shittu believes there is no shortcut to success. During the flag-off ceremony, he personally presented copies of the book to students and encouraged them to embrace education, hard work and skills acquisition as the genuine pathways to success,’ he said.

Speaking on the initiative, Shittu said the company’s decision to sponsor the distribution reflects its conviction that the fight against financial crime must begin with instilling the right values in young people.

‘Young people are the future of our nation. By investing in character development and educating students about the consequences of financial crime, we are helping to build responsible citizens who will contribute positively to society.

‘At Lanre Shittu Motors, we believe integrity, education and hard work remain the surest foundations for lasting success,’ he said.

Shittu added that the company’s strong culture of corporate social responsibility was inherited from its founder and his father, the late Alhaji Rasak Olanrewaju Shittu, whose legacy continues to inspire its community-focused initiatives.

He noted that the late automotive icon instilled in his family and employees the enduring values of compassion, service and giving back to society. Those principles, he said, continue to guide Lanre Shittu Motors’ investments in education, youth development and other impactful social interventions.

Published in May 2026 and endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Clean Hands, Bright Future has been widely described as a practical guide for young people navigating increasing social and economic pressures in today’s digital age.

The ongoing distribution programme underscores Lanre Shittu Motors’ determination to inspire a generation that chooses integrity over shortcuts, honest enterprise over criminality and responsible leadership over unethical conduct.