Category: Nigerian Tribune

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has directed the transfer of the inland dry port (IDP) functions of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), in a move aimed at creating a clear separation between port economic regulation, development and operations.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser Dr. Bolaji Akinola in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister also directed the immediate constitution of a ministerial committee to oversee the transition of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council into the newly established Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to the NPERA Act, 2026.

The directives are part of measures to establish a clear institutional framework for the new port economic regulatory regime, eliminate overlapping responsibilities and ensure that agencies under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy operate within clearly defined mandates.

The NPERA Act, signed by President Tinubu in August, formally establishes a substantive economic regulator for Nigeria’s port sector, bringing to an end a two-decade wait for a dedicated statutory port economic regulator.

With the enactment of the law, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, which had operated as the country’s interim port economic regulator since 2014, transmutes into NPERA.

Under the new framework, NPERA is expected to focus primarily on its core economic regulatory responsibilities, including the regulation of tariffs and charges, promotion of competition, licensing, service standards, commercial dispute resolution and protection of port users.

Oyetola said the transition from NSC to NPERA provides an opportunity to establish a regulatory institution that is clearly separated from operational, developmental and promotional responsibilities.

‘We must get the transition right. The establishment of NPERA is a landmark reform, and the process of moving from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency must be carefully managed.

The ministerial committee will provide the necessary oversight to ensure that the transition is seamless and that every function is domiciled in the appropriate institution,’ he said.

The Minister stressed that the credibility and effectiveness of an economic regulator depend, in part, on its ability to function as an impartial referee without being encumbered by responsibilities that could create actual or perceived conflicts of interest.

According to him, the Federal Government’s objective is to ensure that NPERA is allowed to concentrate fully on its statutory regulatory mandate, while functions that are operational, developmental or promotional in nature are transferred to agencies with the appropriate mandates and institutional capacity.

‘The emergence of NPERA marks a new chapter in the governance of Nigeria’s port sector. It is therefore important that the new economic regulator is freed from functions that are not compatible with economic regulation. A regulator cannot function as an operator and, at the same time, be expected to be perceived as an unbiased referee,’ Oyetola said.

He added that a clear separation of responsibilities would strengthen confidence in the regulatory framework, enhance transparency and create a more predictable operating environment for port users, investors, terminal operators, shipping companies and other stakeholders.

The Minister assured stakeholders that the transfer should not be interpreted as a reduction in the Federal Government’s commitment to the development of inland dry ports across the country. Rather, he said, the objective is to strengthen the IDP programme by placing its promotion within an institution better positioned to integrate the facilities into the nation’s wider port infrastructure and operational network.

‘We are committed to strengthening the development of the Inland Dry Ports by placing their promotion within the agency with the appropriate operational and infrastructure mandate. The ultimate objective is to create a more efficient and integrated port system that serves the entire country,’ Oyetola added.

Following its participation in the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB 64) climate sessions in Bonn, Germany, the Animal Protection Organisation of Nigeria (APON) has announced a comprehensive national roadmap to scale climate action through sustainable agriculture, wildlife conservation, and green food systems.

APON, according to a statement issued after the event, is urging the Nigerian government to urgently pivot toward agroecological farming practices and financial frameworks that support plant-based businesses to meet national climate adaptation goals.

Industrial agricultural expansion remains a primary driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss in Nigeria. APON’s post-conference strategy emphasises that safeguarding Nigeria’s endangered wildlife requires an immediate shift away from destructive land-use practices. By protecting natural ecosystems from industrial livestock encroachment, Nigeria can preserve vital carbon sinks and protect vulnerable animal species from extinction.

To combat land degradation, APON is launching a nationwide advocacy campaign promoting organic compost application as a direct replacement for chemical fertilisers.

A critical takeaway from the Bonn climate talks is the necessity of shifting financial flows toward low-emission food systems. APON is calling on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to establish dedicated financial support pipelines, including grants and tax incentives, for: plant-based food businesses that will accelerate the growth of sustainable, local meat alternatives, as well as eco-conscious farmers – subsidizing smallholders who transition from intensive livestock rearing to climate-resilient crop cultivation.

‘Climate adaptation in Nigeria cannot succeed without transforming how we treat our land and our animals. By subsidising plant-based food systems and adopting organic soil management, Nigeria can lead Africa in humane, climate-smart agriculture that protects both our wildlife and our food security,’ the statement from APON concluded.

Rivers Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has signed the state’s ?1.8 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill into law, following its passage by the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The bill was unanimously passed by 26 lawmakers during the House’s resumed sitting in Port Harcourt and will now be transmitted to Governor Siminalayi Fubara for assent.

According to the Assembly, the approved budget is expected to cover the fiscal year ending on September 2, 2027.

Long before ‘government has no business in business’ became an article of faith in Nigerian public life, the people of the Old Western region had answered it in concrete. They took the proceeds of cocoa, gathered through public institutions, and built roads, schools, industries and estates. In 1965, Cocoa House rose above Ibadan as West Africa’s first skyscraper. It was more than a tall building. It was confidence given height: proof that a people could turn the sweat of farmers into capital, and capital into an inheritance for generations yet unborn.

That inheritance survives in Odu’a Investment Company Limited, jointly owned by the six South-West states. Its recent renewal challenges a stubborn orthodoxy: that the state must retreat, the market must advance effectively on autopilot, and development will somehow emerge.

In 2017, I reviewed Ha-Joon Chang’s Bad Samaritans, which exposed the gap between the economic sermons of rich countries and their own history. Many prosperous nations protected infant industries, directed credit, financed research, used public procurement and gave domestic firms room to grow. Having climbed the ladder, some became energetic lecturers on the virtues of climbing without one.

The free market remains one of humanity’s most productive inventions. Competition can punish laziness, reward innovation and allocate resources better than a room full of civil servants. But the market is an engine, not an oracle. It can reveal where profit is available today. It cannot, by itself, decide what kind of country we should become tomorrow.

Nigerian suspicion of state enterprise did not fall from the sky. We have seen public companies turned into feeding troughs, warehouses of abandoned assets and retirement homes for political loyalists. When Nigerians say government has no business in business, they are often speaking from the bitter evidence of government in business without discipline.

Odu’a also suffered a period of decline, long and costly. When Adewale Raji became Group Managing Director in 2014, the Odu’a Group had gone six years without paying a dividend. Assets estimated above ?80 billion generated barely ?1 billion, while Nigeria Wire and Cable, Askar Paints, Epe Plywood and Cocoa Industries had become moribund. Stakes in major companies had been heavily diluted, sometimes to keep the group afloat. Odu’a had drifted from industrial ambition into rent collection: rich in property, poor in productive motion. Raji began the climb back. That valley is the measure of its recovery.

But failure does not settle the argument. Otherwise, collapsed private banks, airlines and factories would also prove that private enterprise should be abolished. The harder questions are who governs, who appoints, who measures performance, who bears consequences and whether political owners can let professionals work.

Odu’a gives us a serious answer. The reform journey gathered momentum under Chief Segun Aina, whose board helped establish a new governance framework and the SRC 2025 strategy: Sweat, Revive and Create. Odu’a possessed a celebrated inheritance, but heritage can become a comfortable chair in which institutions sit until they fall asleep. Its assets had to work again.

Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, who became Group Chairman in June 2022, inherited that direction and drove it forward. Independent directors joined subsidiary boards and oversight was strengthened. For the first time in Odu’a’s history, a Group Managing Director emerged from within: Abdulrahman Yinusa, previously Executive Director of Finance, succeeded Adewale Raji. Institutions become durable when they can reproduce leadership rather than begin life again after every change of guard.

Odu’a declared dividends of ?428 million for 2022, another ?428 million for 2023 and ?518 million for 2024, returning ?1.374 billion to its owners in three years. Agusto and Co raised its corporate rating from A in 2023 to A+, and then to Aa- with a stable outlook in July 2025, citing stronger income and cash flow, increased rental earnings and the disposal of underperforming assets.

The portfolio is also moving beyond inherited property. The South West Agriculture Company entered partnerships worth nearly ?10 billion, covering cocoa cultivation, integrated farming, maize production and smallholder support. Odu’a activated a technology subsidiary, advanced the redevelopment of Premier Hotel and committed one per cent of profit after tax to its charitable foundation. By 2026, the foundation’s DEFINED programme had introduced more than 4,000 pupils to digital literacy and coding, and launched a cascaded train the trainer programme for thousands of school teachers in the public sector.

Odu’a is not beyond scrutiny, of course. A corporate compendium is not an independent audit, announced partnerships are not completed projects, and a groundbreaking ceremony does not pay a dividend. The next board must turn today’s promise into productive capacity. Yet the direction is difficult to deny. Chief Segun Aina helped lay the institutional rails; Otunba Bimbo Ashiru and his team moved the train considerably farther. Their strongest achievement may be that Odu’a’s renewal looks less like the performance of one man and more like the recovery of an institution.

There is a larger African lesson. ‘Government has no business in business’ may sound sophisticated, but repeated as universal truth, it becomes an act of epistemic surrender: a people lowering the flag of its own judgement before the altar of laissez-faire. Epistemic freedom is not hostility to ideas from elsewhere or a retreat into wounded nationalism. Knowledge has no tribe. We must remain open-minded without becoming empty-minded: willing to borrow ideas, never judgement.

The West itself has never spoken with one economic voice. Paul Krugman’s work on increasing returns and economies of scale challenged the idea that countries prosper simply by specialising in whatever nature initially gave them. In industries with enormous start-up costs, early entrants accumulate skills, capital and markets that make it harder for latecomers to compete. Comparative advantage is not always discovered like crude oil beneath the soil. It can be built.

In his 1987 essay, ‘Is Free Trade Passé?’, Krugman reduced free trade from an unquestionable optimum to a ‘reasonable rule of thumb’. A rule of thumb is useful; it is not holy writ. He also warned that industrial policy can be captured by vested interests. Nigeria knows that danger intimately. But the possibility of state failure is not an argument for state disappearance. An activist state must never become a busybody state. Industrial policy without discipline is patronage wearing a laboratory coat.

Artificial intelligence now gives the argument fierce urgency. Countries will not become serious AI powers through conferences, motivational speeches and the brilliance of isolated young people. AI requires vast computing capacity, stable electricity, specialised talent, patient finance, research universities, secure data infrastructure and governments capable of using procurement to create markets. We cannot code our way around the absence of power, capital and computing capacity.

The evidence is plain. The United States backs chips and frontier research; the European Union finances AI factories; China directs investment; Gulf states deploy sovereign wealth. These systems differ sharply, but all reject the false choice between dynamic enterprise and an active state. No serious power leaves its future entirely to the invisible hand.

Nigeria should not ask government to manage every start-up or write every algorithm. The state should expand reliable energy, finance shared computing infrastructure, support research, use procurement to give credible Nigerian firms a first market, invest in Nigerian-language technologies and provide patient capital tied to performance. Beneficiaries must face transparent selection, independent oversight and the withdrawal of support when promises fail. The choice is between a capable state that enlarges enterprise and a weak one that leaves its citizens competing on a field built by others.

Odu’a does not prove that every state enterprise will succeed. It proves something more useful and consequential: public ownership is not a sentence of death. Political owners can exercise restraint. Professional boards can impose discipline. Public capital can work with private expertise. One generation can build upon the institutional gains of another. That is the creative confidence Africa must recover.

The generation that turned cocoa into Cocoa House did not wait for foreign permission to imagine at scale. Our generation’s raw materials include data, talent, language and human ingenuity. We can organise them into productive power or export them cheaply and import their finished value at great cost. The next Cocoa House may be the computing infrastructure, research institution or technology company from which a new generation looks confidently upon the world.

The question is no longer whether the state has a place in the future. Every successful state has already answered that question. The question is whether Nigeria will enter that future as a builder, or arrive once again as a customer.

Gift card trading has become one of the easiest ways to make quick cash in Nigeria. But with more people trading every day, scammers have also found new ways to take advantage of unsuspecting sellers. In this blog, we will break down the real risks and show you how to trade safely without losing money to fraud.

Why Gift Card Trading Scams Are So Common in Nigeria?

Gift card trading is fast, flexible, and does not require a lot of paperwork. That convenience is exactly why scammers love it too.

A few reasons scams keep happening:

High demand for quick cash means sellers often skip proper checks just to close a deal fast.

Social media and WhatsApp deals make it easy for fake buyers to approach sellers directly, outside any secure platform.

Low awareness of how card verification works leaves many first-time sellers exposed.

No accountability exists once a private deal goes wrong, since there is no platform to report to.

There is also the issue of platform hopping. Many traders switch between different apps and social media groups looking for the best rate, and this constant movement makes it hard to build a track record with any single trusted source. Scammers exploit this by posing as buyers on multiple platforms at once, knowing that a seller chasing a better deal is less likely to slow down and verify who they are dealing with.

Once you understand why scams thrive, it becomes easier to spot the warning signs before they cost you money.

The Most Common Gift Card Trading Scams to Watch Out For

Scammers do not always use the same trick twice. Knowing the common patterns helps you catch red flags early, no matter how the scam is dressed up.

Fake Payment Proof Scams

This is one of the oldest tricks in the book. A buyer sends a screenshot claiming payment has been made, then pressures you to release the gift card code immediately.

Always confirm the money has actually landed in your account before sending any card details.

Never trust a screenshot as proof of payment. Screenshots can be edited in seconds.

If someone is rushing you to ‘hurry up,’ that urgency alone is a red flag.

Undervaluation and Rate Manipulation

Some buyers deliberately quote rates far below market value, hoping desperate sellers will accept without checking. Others agree to a rate, then claim the card is ‘damaged’ or ‘used’ after you have already sent the code, so they can pay less.

Compare rates across a few sources first, and only send card details once a rate is agreed and confirmed in writing.

Used or Invalid Card Codes

This scam works both ways. Some sellers list cards that are already partially used or invalid, and unsuspecting buyers pay full price before checking the balance.

If you are selling, always verify your own card balance first so you can defend your claim if a dispute comes up.

Phishing Links Disguised as Trading Platforms

Fake websites and links that look almost identical to real trading platforms are designed to steal your card details or login information the moment you enter them.

Before entering any card details, double check the website address carefully. One extra letter or a slightly different domain name is often the only clue that something is off.

Impersonation of Trusted Traders or Support Agents

Some scammers copy the profile picture and name of a well-known trader or claim to be ‘customer support’ reaching out first. They rely on the trust built by the real account or platform to convince you to skip your usual checks.

Genuine support teams rarely reach out to you first asking for card details.

If someone claims to represent a platform, verify through the platform’s official channel before responding.

A slightly altered username or handle is often the only difference between a real account and a fake one.

How to Verify a Gift Card Trading Platform in Nigeria Is Legit?

Not every platform that promises fast payment is trustworthy. A few checks can save you from a bad experience.

Check for real user reviews. Look beyond the platform’s own website. Search social media and review sites for genuine feedback from people who have actually traded there.

Confirm the platform has visible, transparent rates. A trustworthy platform shows its rates upfront, not after you have already committed to a trade.

Test customer support before you trade. Send a message and see how fast and how helpful the response is. Slow or vague replies are a warning sign.

Look for a payment history you can verify. Platforms with a long track record of successful payouts are generally safer than newer, unverified ones.

If you are still comparing options, it helps to go with Tbay, the best gift card trading app rather than risking a private deal with a stranger online.

Read the terms before you commit. Legitimate platforms are upfront about how long payment takes, what happens if a card is flagged, and how disputes get resolved. If a platform avoids answering these questions clearly, treat that as a warning sign rather than an inconvenience.

Notice how the platform handles first-time users. A platform that walks new sellers through the process, rather than rushing them into a trade, is usually more invested in getting the transaction right than in closing it quickly.

Safety Tips Before You Trade Gift Card in Nigeria

A little caution before you trade goes a long way. Keep these steps in mind every time:

Verify your card balance before selling it, so you know exactly what it is worth.

Stick to trusted platforms instead of random individuals on social media.

Avoid moving conversations off-platform, since that removes any protection you might have.

Keep screenshots of every conversation, rate agreement, and payment confirmation.

Never share your card code until payment is fully confirmed in your account.

Be wary of deals that sound too good to be true, since they usually are.

Following these steps consistently on a platform like Tbay, is the easiest way to sell gift cards in Nigeria without falling into a trap.

It also helps to trade during reasonable hours when you can respond quickly if something feels off, rather than late at night when you are more likely to rush through checks just to be done with it. Building this habit takes a little discipline at first, but it quickly becomes second nature once you have done it a few times.

What to Do If You’ve Been Scammed on Gift Card Trading?

If a gift card trade has already gone wrong, acting fast matters.

Report the incident to the platform immediately, if you traded through one.

Gather all your evidence, including screenshots, chat history, and transaction details.

Warn others in trading communities, so the same scammer does not target someone else.

Avoid trying to ‘get even’ through another risky trade. It usually leads to more loss, not less.

Learning from a bad experience is how most experienced traders eventually build safer habits.

Do not blame yourself into silence. Many people who get scammed stay quiet out of embarrassment, which only allows the same scammer to keep operating. Speaking up, even just within a trusted trading community, helps protect the next person.

Update your own process afterward. Every scam attempt, whether it succeeded or not, teaches you something about what to check next time. Treat it as a lesson rather than a reason to stop trading altogether.

Final Thoughts on Trading Gift Cards Safely

The gift card trading space in Nigeria is not going anywhere, and neither are the people trying to exploit it. The good news is that most scams follow familiar patterns, and once you know what to look for, they become easy to avoid.

Take your time with every trade. Verify before you trust, and choose a platform like Tbay over a private deal whenever you can. That single habit will save you far more money over time than chasing a slightly better rate ever could.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for July 2026 global passenger demand, indicating that African airlines saw a 6.4 percent year-on-year increase in demand for air travel.

According to IATA, capacity within Africa was up 9.0 percent year-on-year, while the load factor was 74.1 percent. Also, domestic Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) grew 0.6 percent in July 2026, compared to the same month last year.

The body, however, stated that at the global level, total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, was up 0.2 percent compared to July 2025.

Excluding the Middle East, demand grew by 1.2 percent and total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, increased 0.3 percent year-on-year.

While the load factor was 85.2 percent, international demand fell 0.1 percent, compared to July 2025. Excluding the Middle East, demand grew by 1.5 percent and capacity was up 0.3 percent year-on-year, and the load factor was 85.2 percent.

Domestic demand grew 0.6 percent compared to July 2025. Capacity increased 0.2 percent year-on-year. The load factor was 85.3 percent.

Commenting on the development, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, Marie Owens Thomsen, said: ‘The peak Northern summer travel season is a mostly positive story for air travel. Overall growth of 0.2 percent in July was achieved, despite year-on-year collective declines by carriers in North America and the Middle East.’

‘Notably, traffic through the Gulf hubs continues its recovery trajectory.

Although high fuel costs, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions continue, carriers are expressing confidence in demand for the last part of the year with an almost 3 percent expansion of seat capacity in September,’ Thomsen added.

The Kogi State Government is set to roll out N1.5 billion under a Livelihood Support Grant, with 15,000 beneficiaries expected to receive ?100,000 each.

The Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning and Chairman of the Kogi State Commissioners’ Forum, Asiwaju Asiru Idris, disclosed this as the forum resolved to intensify grassroots mobilisation and public engagement in support of the development agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said another 5,000 vulnerable persons would benefit from a cash transfer program of ?20,000 monthly for 12 months, amounting to ?1.2 billion in total support.

Similarly, 3,400 people are expected to participate in the Labour-Intensive Public Works programme, receiving ?20,000 monthly for one year, while 350 communities are projected to benefit from infrastructure projects in health, water, and education valued at about ?2 billion.

The agricultural sector is also expected to receive support, with 7,350 farmers targeted for agricultural inputs and small farm assets estimated at ?1.9 billion.

The government is also expected to expand the State Social Register to capture more than 300,000 poor and vulnerable residents, with the aim of improving the targeting and delivery of social intervention programs.

Idris charged the commissioners to ensure that residents are properly informed about the various programs and understand how they can benefit from them.

He stressed that the endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Alhaji Ahmed Ododo for a second term was reached at a meeting of the state’s commissioners.

Idris urged members of the forum and other stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to strengthen party unity, work with established party structures, and take information about government policies and programs directly to communities across the state.

He described commissioners as key agents of development and political cohesion, stressing that their responsibilities extend beyond managing ministries to ensuring that government programs reach the people.

‘As Commissioners, we are agents of development and agents of growth. We must take the message of government to the grassroots, work with our party structures, and ensure that our people understand and benefit from the programs and policies of government,’ he said.

The forum chairman urged commissioners to return to their respective local government areas and deepen engagement with party leaders, ward executives, community leaders, youths, women, farmers, and other stakeholders.

He also disclosed plans by the Ododo administration to roll out a social and economic empowerment programme targeting vulnerable residents and communities across the state.

The commissioners, at the meeting, commended Governor Ododo for his infrastructure drive across the state, particularly interventions on roads in Bassa, Bunu and Ibaji.

They said the road projects would improve connectivity, ease the movement of people and farm produce, boost local businesses and expand access to social and economic opportunities.

The forum noted that investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture, security and social protection had provided government officials with tangible achievements to present to the people.

The commissioners subsequently reaffirmed their support for Governor Ododo’s administration and pledged to work with APC structures to consolidate its achievements.

They also declared support for President Tinubu, commending his economic and fiscal reforms, which they said had improved the revenue available to the three tiers of government for development projects and social interventions.

Idris urged political office holders to explain the impact of the Federal Government’s reforms to citizens and demonstrate how increased public resources are being channelled into development.

Ahead of the 2027 elections, the commissioners pledged to mobilise support for the re-election of President Tinubu and Governor Ododo, saying continuity would provide an opportunity to consolidate ongoing reforms, complete infrastructure projects and deepen social intervention programmes.

The forum also resolved to strengthen cooperation with local government and ward structures, traditional institutions, youths, women, farmers, and other stakeholders.

According to Idris, the most effective political message any administration can present to the electorate is evidence of projects and programmes that directly improve the lives of citizens.

He said the commissioners would continue to serve as a bridge between the government, the APC and the people by ensuring that the impact of government policies is felt and communicated at the grassroots.

Nigeria and Germany have taken fresh steps to strengthen their aviation relations, by reviewing and ratifying existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA), following plans by the German aviation group to further expand its operations in Nigeria.

The agreements were reached, when the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, received a delegation from the Lufthansa Group in his office, in Abuja.

The delegation, which comprised Alexandra Dietzen-Zill, Senior Manager, Aeropolitical Relations and Traffic Rights, Lufthansa Group, and Walid Mahmud, Sales Executive, Lufthansa Technik, Aero Alzey, focused on the existing BASA between Nigeria and Germany, signed in 2010.

According to the delegation, the BASA is due for ratification and updating to reflect the current realities of the aviation relationship between both countries.

Speaking during the meeting, Dietzen-Zill commended the minister for the significant reforms and initiatives being undertaken to reposition Nigeria’s aviation sector. She particularly highlighted the accession to and implementation of the Cape Town Convention, describing the development and other ongoing reforms as important steps in strengthening confidence in the Nigerian aviation market and recognising the country’s strategic position within the global aviation industry.

She noted that the Lufthansa Group remains interested in a stronger and more modernised aviation framework between Nigeria and Germany.

According to her, the German Ministry of Transport is currently reviewing the existing BASA with a view to reaching a conclusion on its revision and eventual ratification.

The Lufthansa Group delegation also informed the minister of plans to introduce Eurowings, another Lufthansa Group carrier, into the Nigerian market, with operations expected to commence next year. The airline, she explained, is expected to operate Boeing 737-series aircraft, further expanding air connectivity between Nigeria and Germany.

The discussion also provided an opportunity to explore broader areas of cooperation and the creation of a more conducive environment for sustained investment and airline operations.

Responding, the minister welcomed the Lufthansa Group delegation and expressed appreciation for Lufthansa’s longstanding presence and strong operations in Nigeria.

The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an aviation environment that supports legitimate investment, promotes connectivity and encourages international airlines to deepen their operations in Nigeria.

Keyamo assured the Lufthansa Group representatives of his readiness to support the airline within the ambit of his mandate, noting that the Ministry remains open to constructive engagement with international aviation stakeholders seeking to expand their operations and contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s aviation sector.

He further stressed that the administration is committed to policies that enhance investor confidence, strengthen bilateral aviation relationships and position Nigeria as a leading aviation hub in Africa.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has commenced high-level engagements aimed at building a broad opposition coalition capable of producing a consensus presidential candidate.

The MCE said its Political Commission, chaired by political economist and Convener of the Big Tent Political Movement, Prof. Pat Utomi, had shortlisted seven opposition political parties and their presidential candidates for further engagements and possible endorsement.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the MCE Media Coordinator, Comrade James Ezema, the commission said it had been reviewing the profiles, ideologies, electoral programmes and curricula vitae of various parties and presidential contenders since July.

The panel, according to the statement, is seeking to identify what it described as the most credible alternative for the Nigerian electorate ahead of the 2027 poll.

The MCE said the names and profiles of the shortlisted parties and candidates would be formally unveiled at a press conference scheduled for next week.

It said the event would also present the commission’s work plan, modalities for the coalition-building process and the various working sub-committees that would drive the engagement.

According to the organisation, the coalition process would be anchored on a power-sharing model designed to avoid the challenges that undermined previous opposition alliances.

The proposed framework builds on the declaration reached at the opposition summit in Ibadan in April 2026, with the parties involved expected to sign a legally binding Memorandum of Understanding by November 2026.

The MCE said it was broadening its consultation process by bringing in external stakeholders, including G-100 Nigerians, to make the coalition-building effort more inclusive.

It said a team comprising pro-democracy advocates, civic leaders and politicians would work alongside Utomi in conducting the tactical negotiations.

Members of the team listed by the MCE include Hadjia Maryam Inna Ciroma, Mrs Modupe Adelaja, former Minister of Youths and Sports Development Comrade Solomon Dalung, Hon. Uche Onyeagocha, Dr Sam Amadi, Dr Mike Iginni, Obongawan Barbara Etim James, veteran Olawale Okunniyi and Dr Adum Ter Alex.

The MCE said its intervention was intended to be pro-people and pan-Nigerian, with the objective of creating an electoral balance of power and preventing what it described as a looming threat of anarchy.

It stressed that it was not seeking to impose a presidential candidate on the opposition but to facilitate genuine political competition and provide Nigerians with credible choices at the polls.

‘Democracy is best protected when citizens have genuine choices, institutions are credible, political competition exists, and the electoral process is sufficiently robust to reflect the will of the people,’ the statement said.

The organisation also announced plans for a leadership retreat involving its members, allies and volunteers, where roles would be assigned and strategies developed to strengthen its mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.

The retreat is expected to form part of the MCE’s broader effort to mobilise voters and promote what it described as a process that would ensure that the people’s votes count in 2027.

President Bola Tinubu has received the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dayo Mobereola, at the State House, Abuja, where issues bordering on the development of the maritime sector were discussed.

Dr Mobereola briefed the President on developments within NIMASA over the past two years, highlighting the progress recorded by the agency, as well as some of the challenges confronting the industry.

Following the briefing, President Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the development of the maritime industry. He noted that the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy was a deliberate step towards ensuring that the maritime sector contributes more significantly to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

While commending NIMASA for the progress recorded so far, the president charged Dr Mobereola and his team at NIMASA not to rest on their oars.