Category: Nigerian Tribune

Adolescents who use nicotine are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems than their peers who do not use nicotine, according to three studies from the University of Gothenburg.

The research also suggests that adolescent girls who use nicotine may be particularly vulnerable.

In one study of nearly 3,000 Swedish high school students, almost 80 per cent of girls who used nicotine reported clinically significant symptoms of anxiety. The association was found among users of both traditional tobacco products and newer tobacco-free nicotine products, including nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes.

Researchers also followed about 1,500 adolescents in southern Sweden from lower secondary school through high school. They found that depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts were more common among adolescents who smoked.

Girls whose tobacco use increased over time were also more likely to experience worsening sleep problems, anxiety, low mood and difficulties concentrating.

Johanna Andersson, a physician and PhD student at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, said the differences between boys and girls warranted further investigation.

‘We see clear differences between girls and boys, with girls who smoke appearing to be particularly vulnerable,’ Andersson said.

She said more research was needed to understand how nicotine pouches affect mental health, particularly among adolescent girls, where their use has increased rapidly.

The studies combined questionnaire-based research and long-term follow-up of adolescents with laboratory experiments examining nicotine’s effects on the brain.

In an animal study published in Neuropharmacology, researchers found that nicotine affected the amygdala, a brain region involved in emotional regulation and responses to stress. The effects were particularly pronounced in female rats.

Nicotine also altered communication between neurons and caused lasting changes in brain activity that remained after the substance had left the body.

Professor Louise Adermark of the Sahlgrenska Academy, one of the principal investigators, said similar patterns were observed across the different studies.

‘One of the key findings is that we see similar patterns across several different studies using different types of data,’ Adermark said.

However, she stressed that the research does not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between nicotine use and mental health problems.

‘We still cannot determine cause and effect,’ she said. ‘The animal studies demonstrate biological changes in the brain that could contribute to increased vulnerability to anxiety and stress-related symptoms.’

The researchers noted that multiple factors, including socioeconomic circumstances, stress, alcohol consumption, other substance use, and individual vulnerability, influence mental health and nicotine use.

Nevertheless, they said the findings raise concerns about the effects of nicotine on the developing adolescent brain, particularly as newer products become increasingly available.

Further research will be needed to determine whether girls are especially sensitive to nicotine’s effects and to clarify the long-term mental health implications of products such as nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes.

The researchers said understanding these relationships could help inform efforts to address nicotine use and mental health among young people.

A legal practitioner, Matthew Onoja, has urged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, to intervene in the alleged takeover of a disputed green area in Kado Estate, Abuja.

This is as a Civil Society Organisation, Grassroots Centre for Rights and Civic Orientation, warned against the alleged conversion of Abuja’s designated green areas for development, saying such activities could undermine the city’s environmental planning.

Onoja, who represents Hongye International Nigeria Limited, a lessee of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), said his client was facing an attempt to take possession of the property despite a pending court case over the land.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the lawyer said the dispute followed the purported allocation of the same property to another party, describing the circumstances surrounding the allocation as unusual.

He said his client had petitioned the IGP, seeking an investigation into how the property could have been allocated to another party while Hongye remained in possession.

According to him, the company was invited by the police, where it adopted its petition and submitted relevant documents, while the police indicated that the other party would also be invited to present its documents.

Onoja, however, said that while the police investigation was ongoing, an attempt was made to take possession of the property.

He said his legal team informed the police and also wrote to the Development Control Unit of the FCTA, notifying the authority that there was a dispute over the land and that the matter was already before the court.

He said relevant parties had been joined in the suit, adding that the sole director and shareholder of the other company involved in the dispute had also been joined and served with hearing notices.

Onoja noted that despite the pending case and notifications to the relevant authorities, men arrived at the property with equipment and bulldozers and began removing structures and installations.

He said the perimeter fence was destroyed, trees were felled, and installations belonging to his client were pulled down.

According to him, he later went to the property after being informed that work had resumed and met the same people returning to continue the operation.

Onoja alleged that the men arrived in marked pickup trucks and that some of them were armed.

He said he asked whether they were aware of the dispute and pending court case and demanded to see the authority under which they were taking possession of the property.

According to him, no document authorising the action was shown to him, while the men allegedly told him he had no right to question them and directed him to go to court.

The lawyer said his client was being disadvantaged in the dispute, alleging that other interests involved had greater resources or influence.

He argued that even where ownership or occupation of land is disputed, the affected party should not be dispossessed without due process, stressing that his client was a lawful occupant.

‘We cannot be in court and then have any authority or individual who is already joined in the suit go behind the court to encroach upon or prejudice the interests of another party in the same matter that is pending before the court. It means there is no regard for the rule of law and shows contempt for the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court,’ he said.

‘My demand is not merely a personal demand. It is the demand of every right-thinking Nigerian that due process be followed. Let the parties maintain the status quo, with my client remaining in possession, until the rights of the parties in court, which have already been submitted for determination, are decided one way or the other,’ Onoja said.

He disclosed that the case is scheduled for hearing in October 2026 and urged the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the IGP to intervene and ensure that the parties maintain the status quo pending the determination of the dispute.

Speaking, Executive Director of Grassroots Centre for Rights and Civic Orientation, Armsfree Ajanaku, said the organisation’s interest in the matter extended beyond the private land dispute to concerns over the protection of Abuja’s green spaces.

Ajanaku said the organisation understood the location to be a green area under Abuja’s master plan, warning that the conversion of such spaces for development could undermine the city’s environmental planning.

‘For us, this is not just about private interest; it is also about public interest. We cannot fold our arms and watch what is supposed to be the only city in Nigeria where we say we should not have a concrete jungle lose all its green spaces to development,’ he said.

He said Abuja should avoid uncontrolled development, noting that green spaces contribute to environmental quality, health and the wellbeing of residents.

‘We cannot watch the environment, which is a collective heritage, being destroyed. It is not anybody’s personal estate. The environment belongs to all of us collectively as citizens,’ Ajanaku said.

Ajanaku also linked his concerns to recent flooding in the FCT, saying he had lived in Abuja since 2012 and had not witnessed flooding at the level experienced this year.

He called for any development allegedly encroaching on designated green areas to be halted and for such spaces to be preserved for their intended purposes.

He raised concerns about the presence of several people at the property during the operation, alleging that some appeared to be armed, while uniformed police officers were also present.

Ajanaku said that streetlights outside the property, which he said were provided with public funds, were among the infrastructure affected during the operation.

He urged the authorities to uphold due process in resolving the dispute and protect Abuja’s designated green areas from unauthorised development.

The ward campaign of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oredo Local Government Area of the state was brought to an abrupt end on Wednesday as aggrieved youth members of the party from the locality booed the party leaders.

Governor Monday Okpebholo, who led the APC leaders to the ward meeting held at Garrick Memorial College, Ekenwan Road, had his speech intermittently interrupted by the aggrieved youths, who kept chanting anti-party slogans.

Every attempt by Governor Okpebholo to douse the tension was met with more boos of ‘oppression, oppression’ and ‘no more neglect, no more use and dump’.

The youths also accused the administration of neglecting them after they allegedly worked for the governor’s election in 2024.

An attendee, who simply identified herself as Madam Esohe, said, ‘The area was tense. The youths defied all entreaties by party leaders and continued to chant that they had been dumped and neglected after supporting the governor’s emergence during the election.’

The development, according to her, created confusion at the meeting as attempts to continue the engagement were frustrated by the youths’ repeated interruptions.

The meeting, which was part of the governor’s ongoing engagements with APC members across wards in the state, consequently ended abruptly.

Governor Okpebholo had earlier in the day inaugurated the state campaign council, headed by Senator Matthew Uroghide, for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The governor has recently been holding consultations and meetings with party members at the ward level as part of efforts to strengthen the APC structure across the state.

The disruption at Ward 3 has introduced a fresh twist into the party’s grassroots engagement, with allegations and counter-allegations emerging over what transpired at the meeting.

A source within the government, who pleaded anonymity, claimed that a party leader, whose name was withheld, orchestrated the protest and booing of the governor.

The member representing Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Dumnamene Dekor, has called on the Federal and Rivers State governments to declare Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State a disaster zone over persistent gas leaks and environmental degradation.

Dekor, who made the call at the 2026 National Extractives Dialogue (NED) in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to establish immediate medical camps, distribute relief materials and develop evacuation plans for residents in high-risk areas of the community.

The dialogue, organised by Spaces for Change (S4C), had the theme, ‘Remediation Before Divestment and Energy Transition: Amplifying the Bille Environmental Crisis.’

The lawmaker said the scale of environmental degradation in Bille required urgent government intervention, stressing that residents would have been evacuated if the crisis were occurring in countries with stronger emergency response mechanisms.

He also called on community leaders, civil society organisations, regulatory agencies and industry stakeholders to set aside political differences and work together to save Bille Kingdom from further environmental devastation.

‘We must put politics aside to save Bille Kingdom. We will not stand by and watch Bille Kingdom sink into an environmental abyss.

‘The people of Bille deserve clean air, safe water, and a secure future, and we will not rest until this gets done,’ he said.

Dekor further urged the Rivers State Government to intensify its intervention, saying the state had a greater responsibility to protect citizens affected by the crisis.

‘As Chairman of the House Committee on those communities, I wish to affirm that my committee stands fully ready to act as that bridge, facilitating open dialogue, supporting necessary policy frameworks, and ensuring that our agreements here are translated into lasting relief on the ground,’ he said.

Meanwhile, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) have called for the identification, disclosure and remediation of environmental liabilities before oil and gas assets are divested or transferred to new operators.

Representing the Director-General of NOSDRA, Engr. Chukwuemeka Woke, the agency’s Director of ICT/GIS, Dr Yusuf Rigasa, said NOSDRA had conducted several technical investigations into the Bille crisis in collaboration with relevant government agencies.

Rigasa assured the community that the agency remained committed to transparently sharing the findings of its investigations and ensuring that appropriate remediation measures were undertaken.

He said environmental responsibilities should not disappear merely because ownership of an oil asset had changed.

According to him, NOSDRA’s mandate covers oil spill preparedness, detection, response coordination, environmental monitoring, technical investigation, remediation and restoration oversight.

He stressed that the agency’s responsibilities remained relevant during divestment, adding that changes in ownership and the energy transition should not become avenues for escaping environmental accountability.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, represented by the Director, Energy and Mining, Sa’ad Balarabe, said the dialogue was taking place at a time when the ownership structure of Nigeria’s onshore and shallow-water petroleum assets had undergone significant changes.

Adar said while investors had the right to enter or exit markets, environmental liabilities attached to the assets must be addressed before ownership changed.

He warned that environmental liabilities could be transferred from well-capitalised international operators to successor companies with different financial and technical capacities, leaving host communities and the Nigerian government to bear the consequences.

‘Those environmental liabilities must be fully identified, valued and disclosed before a divestment is approved, and not reconstructed afterwards through litigation,’ he said.

He stressed that remediation should be a condition precedent to exit rather than an issue left for courts to resolve years after an asset had changed hands.

Adar also highlighted the importance of emissions disclosure in Nigeria’s energy transition, noting that NEITI had incorporated greenhouse gas and methane emissions disclosure requirements into its 2022 and 2023 oil, gas and mining audit processes.

He said credible data on environmental performance, remediation spending, community payments and the social and economic impacts of the energy transition would be critical to effective planning and accountability.

He added that NEITI would work with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), NOSDRA and the Federal Ministry of Environment to improve public disclosure of environmental payments, decommissioning contributions and remediation fund flows.

Adar recommended a comprehensive and independently verified audit of environmental liabilities, abandoned wells and ageing infrastructure across divested and divesting assets.

Earlier, the Executive Director of Spaces for Change, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, said the Bille crisis raised broader questions about how Nigeria manages environmental liabilities when oil and gas assets change hands.

She said residents had, for months, reported persistent gas emissions, contamination and threats to water sources and livelihoods, stressing that the situation was beyond a technical issue as it directly affected the safety, health and economic wellbeing of the people.

Ibezim-Ohaeri said regulators had acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and commenced empirical, scientific, environmental and technical investigations to establish the causes of the gas leaks and bubbling water sources reported in the community.

She said the Bille experience provided an opportunity to examine how environmental liabilities could be identified, documented and enforced before ownership or operatorship changed.

She added that the forum would examine investigations and technical assessments relating to Bille, emissions data and operators’ compliance, pre-divestment liabilities, corporate accountability, and the health, economic and social burdens of legacy pollution.

The dialogue also considered the impact of environmental degradation on women and children, as well as challenges relating to remediation, compensation and accountability across the Niger Delta.

The Federal Government has begun construction of a new ultra-modern National Control Centre for the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) in Osogbo, Osun State, replacing a 64-year-old facility that no longer meets the demands of running Nigeria’s grid.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the new National Control Centre of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) in Osogbo was performed by Vice President Kashim Shettima, supported by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe.

In his remarks, the Vice President, represented by the Senior Special Assistant (Legal), Office of the Vice President, Bashir Maidugu, said reliable electricity is central to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He described power as the foundation of an economy that works, enabling manufacturers to plan production, small businesses to operate with confidence and hospitals and schools to function, as well as creating jobs and wider economic opportunity.

The National Control Centre, he said, is where that reliability is protected, and Nigeria cannot run a modern, interconnected grid with the tools of yesterday.

According to him, ‘The establishment of the Nigerian Independent System Operator is an important part of this institutional evolution.

‘The separation of System Operation from transmission asset ownership and management creates an environment in which the System Operator can focus on its core responsibility: ensuring the secure and coordinated operation of the electricity system.

‘But institutional independence must be matched by institutional capacity, that is where this project becomes important.

‘The future of electricity-system management cannot be built solely around responding to problems after they occur. We must increasingly develop the capacity to anticipate risks, identify emerging conditions and take preventive action.

Speaking, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the construction of a new ultra-modern National Control Centre in Osogbo, Osun State, will strengthen Nigeria’s electricity grid stability and improve the reliability of power supply across the country.

He said the new facility would provide NISO with modern tools to monitor the national grid, balance electricity supply and demand, detect emerging faults and coordinate responses to disturbances.

He described the project as part of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to address structural weaknesses in the power sector and improve electricity supply to Nigerians.

Tegbe explained that the National Control Centre was an integral part of the country’s power infrastructure, as generation plants and transmission lines depended on effective coordination to deliver electricity safely.

According to the minister, ‘Today’s groundbreaking in Osogbo advances a fundamental requirement for reliable electricity through the capacity to know what is happening across the national grid and respond promptly.

‘The New Ultra-Modern National Control Centre will equip the Nigerian Independent System Operator, NISO, to perform that task more effectively. It is a concrete expression of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR’s determination to address the underlying weaknesses affecting electricity supply and deliver better results for Nigerians.

‘It is worthy of note that the existing Centre was built 64 years ago and consequently does not meet the current demands of NISO’s responsibilities. This is another bold and audacious step of Mr President to reset the power sector.

‘Osogbo has long served Nigeria as a centre of national grid operations, and this project, once again, strengthens that important responsibility.

‘The National Control Centre is an integral part of our national power infrastructure. Generation plants and transmission lines depend on effective coordination to deliver electricity safely. Through NISO, the centre supports the continuous balancing of electricity supply and demand, monitors grid network conditions and coordinates responses to disturbances,’ he added.

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Tinubu and other political office holders to spend their holidays in Nigeria, saying doing so would give them a better understanding of the difficulties confronting vulnerable citizens.

Obi made the call on Wednesday after a two-day visit to Sokoto State, where he met with different groups and visited the Ramin Kura Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in the Sokoto North Local Government Area.

The former Anambra State governor said the condition of residents at the camp highlighted the need for political leaders to experience first-hand the realities faced by Nigerians affected by insecurity and displacement.

According to Obi, more than 1,000 displaced persons are currently living at the Ramin Kura camp, where he said some families were staying in makeshift structures and thatched rooms.

He said some of the rooms were occupied by as many as 10 people, while the camp lacked sufficient toilet facilities, a primary healthcare centre and a basic school for children.

Obi said the situation was particularly troubling given that the residents had been forced to leave their communities because of insecurity.

He called on the government to improve the immediate living conditions of displaced Nigerians while intensifying efforts to address the security problems preventing them from returning home.

‘I have always insisted that as long as even one Nigerian lives in an IDP camp, we are all internally displaced,’ Obi said in a statement shared on his X account.

He also said temporary shelters should be made more suitable for the displaced while the authorities work towards creating the conditions required for their safe return to their ancestral communities.

Obi disclosed that the Sokoto visit marked his 12th visit to an IDP camp across Nigeria, adding that he would continue to provide support to displaced persons.

He further criticised what he described as inadequate attention to critical areas of development, arguing that the vulnerability of displaced Nigerians had been compounded by the failure to address their basic needs.

‘This is why I continue to say that the President’s and political office holders’ holidays must be within Nigeria, so that they can see first-hand the difficulties faced by these fellow Nigerians,’ he said.

Obi urged the Federal Government and relevant agencies to take immediate steps to address the needs of residents at the Ramin Kura camp.

He said tackling the humanitarian situation must go alongside efforts to resolve the security challenges that forced thousands of Nigerians to abandon their homes.

Two poems consider what happens to dignity when circumstance makes us dependent on the kindness of others.

There are moments when self-sufficiency becomes impossible. You are out of money, out of ideas, and someone else must now open a door or window for you. These benevolence of other, becomes the difference between continuing and stopping.

Dependence creates its own kind of vulnerability because the person who provides help also acquires, however briefly, a measure of power.

That power can preserve another person’s dignity or diminish it.

These two poems approach that experience from opposite directions. The first remembers kindness that became a bridge. The second remembers shelter that came without the dignity a home should offer. This is the question they leave us with: when another person’s vulnerability places some measure of power in our hands, what do we do with it?

THE FRIEND WHO HELD THE LIGHT

My final year arrived with a price tag

I could barely look at without fear.

My project stood before me, almost finished,

yet money had become the locked door

between effort and completion.

I had already poured hours into it,

dreams into it, pieces of myself into it.

The thought of stopping there

felt like watching a house collapse

after you had laid its final brick.

I wondered whether years of work

could end at the edge of an empty pocket.

The thought hurt differently,

because failure was not the only fear.

Waste was.

Then a friend reached out a hand

when mine had begun to fall.

No trumpet announced the kindness,

no crowd gathered to witness it,

but that gesture became a bridge.

Sometimes help does not arrive

as a miracle wrapped in light.

Sometimes it comes quietly,

through one person who says,

‘Let me help you finish.’

I learned that resilience is sometimes borrowed

until you can grow your own.

And when I finally stood again,

I carried more than gratitude.

I carried a promise to keep going.

Kindness is easiest to recognise when we are the ones receiving it. Its deeper test comes when another person must depend on us.

A ROOM THAT TAUGHT ME KINDNESS

I once slept beneath another person’s roof

and learned how quickly shelter can become shame.

The walls were standing,

but I never truly felt at home,

because kindness had been left outside the door.

There is a particular loneliness

in being somewhere you are not wanted.

You learn to fold your presence smaller,

to make your footsteps quieter,

to apologise for taking up space.

I remember measuring my movements,

wondering whether simple existence

was already asking for too much.

A roof should protect the body,

but what protects the heart beneath it?

I learned then that dependence

can make a person swallow words

they should have been allowed to speak.

Gratitude can become complicated

when kindness comes with humiliation attached.

I remember that feeling,

the helplessness of needing what someone else controls.

It taught me that a room is not enough.

A home must have dignity in it,

or it becomes another kind of cage.

So I made a promise to my future self:

whoever sleeps beneath my roof

will never have to earn the right to feel human.

If I have space,

I will make room.

About the poet

Olatinwo Yushau is a poet, performer and author whose work explores survival, resilience and human responses to adversity. He is the author of Broken Roads Still Lead Forward. His writing and performance work has appeared on platforms including Nigerian Tribune, Upwrite Magazine and Poetreel.com, and he has performed on poetry and literary stages in London and Bristol.

Weeks back, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the final list of candidates qualified to contest Senate seats in the 2027 general elections as submitted by the 18 political parties participating in the electioneering, after vetting. What were some of the takeaways?

A total of 1,301 candidates across the political parties are vying to occupy the 109 available seats in the Red Chamber of the Nigerian National Assembly. Viewed closely, that comes to between 11 and 12 candidates vying for each of the 109 seats spread across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The INEC list, except for the one or two windows provided by the Electoral Act, 2026 for possible alterations, is a Fait accompli, a sealing that may not be reopened, going to the polls. It means even for sitting senators in the current 10th Senate, who wish to return in 2027, but whose names are not on the list, it’s farewell.

The elections (Presidential and National Assembly) are fixed for January 16, 2027, less than four months away. From the INEC list, at least 52 of the serving senators are not listed, for re-election an indication that they will not contest the elections, unless their parties explore the aforementioned windows.

Furthermore, not all the 57 of the serving senators who made the list have the guarantee of winning the polls in January, implying that the turnover in the 11th Assembly will increase after the number of the losers have been added to the 52, who will not contest the poll at all.

Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2026, dealing with withdrawal of candidates, states: ‘A candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice in writing signed by him together with a sworn affidavit delivered personally by the candidate to the political party that nominated him for the election and the political party shall convey such withdrawal and the sworn affidavit to the Commission not later than 90 days to the election.’

The related provision on replacement is Section 33, which provides:

‘A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted under Section 29 of this Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate…’

Thus, the 90-day rule in Section 31 concerns the deadline for transmitting a candidate’s withdrawal and sworn affidavit to INEC. Section 33 then permits substitution only where the candidate had died or withdrawn, subject to the conditions that follow in that section.

The Act separately requires INEC to publish the full names and addresses of all candidates standing nominated at least 60 days before election day under Section 32(1).

The Presidential and National Assembly polls will be held on January 16, 2027 and still give political parties the window to make amendments, replacement, withdrawal of candidates as the case may be. It’s about the only opportunity left for the 52 senators not listed by INEC to rekindle their hopes of participating in the elections and returning next year, else their fate has been sealed.

Let’s clarify here that some senators won’t be returning not necessarily because they failed to secure tickets but for the reason that they are aspiring for other offices, especially the governorship seat of their states.

However, the majority won’t be returning because having lost their primaries, their efforts to secure tickets on platforms other than their original political parties also fell flat, leaving them with no choices but to lick their wounds. In some cases too, senators simply stepped down to avoid a clash with their governors who had indicated interest to take over their seats and had gone ahead to pick the tickets. They know they will be fighting a losing battle by attempting to swim against the tide!

Cases that come to mind

In Ogun State for instance, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Ademola Solomon Olamilekan, will exit the Senate, having secured the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Whatever happens in January, Olamilekan can only go to the Ogun State Government House in May 2027, if he wins the governorship seat, not the Senate.

In the same Ogun State, former governor Gbenga Daniel won’t return for the Ogun-East seat because governor Dapo Abiodun will contest the poll in Daniel’s place, having picked the ticket of the APC for the seat.

In Nasarawa State, a former chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts (SPAC), Senator Aliyu Wadada, is gunning for the governorship in 2027, having won the APC’s ticket.

In Imo State, the chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Osita Izunaso’s Imo-West ticket was ceded to governor Hope Uzodinma, while a similar situation played out in Yobe and Gombe States, among others, where sitting governors took over the Senate tickets from the present occupants.

As for Sokoto state, former governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who is among the 52 outgoing senators won’t return because the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant stepped down for a young contestant in a power-sharing understanding of his current political party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

However, the list also shows that in some states, all three current senators secured tickets and have hopes of returning in 2027 among the 57on the INEC list.

In Lagos State, Senator Adetokumbo Abiru (Lagos-East); Senator Adebule Idiat Oluranti (Lagos-West); and Senator Sanni Eshilokun (Lagos-Central) have return tickets and chances of being part of the 11th Assembly.

In Ekiti, the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti-Central); the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti-South); and Senator Fasuyi Cyril Oluwole (Ekiti-North)- all have return tickets.

The story is not different in the Senate President’s (Godswill Akpabio) home state, Akwa Ibom, where Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North-West); Senator Aniekan Bassey (Akwa-Ibom North-East); and Senator Ekong Sampson (Akwa Ibom-South) also have return tickets.

All three senators in Borno State, including Mohammed Ali Ndume, are among the 57 serving lawmakers shortlisted by INEC for the 2027 elections.

How will the turnover in 2027 compare?

It’s still unclear how the final turnover figure will tally in 2027 after the polls. What has been established is that at least 57 serving senators will contest the polls but there is no guarantee that all of them will win.

In the 7th Assembly (2011-2015), about 76 senators failed to return to the 8th Assembly (2015-2019), representing the highest turnover in recent years. In the 8th Assembly, 41 senators did not return to the 9th Assembly (2019-2023), while in the current 10th Assembly, 55 senators couldn’t make it from the 9th Assembly.

With 57 senators qualified to contest the elections for the 11th Assembly, the scenario confirms the consistency of high turnover of senators over time, though there is uncertainty over whether the 10th Assembly will record the heaviest losses until after the electioneering.

Observers blame the unfolding on reported manipulation, scheming and greed orchestrated by powerful and influential forces across the country, added to the unimpressive performance of many senators, who may not return, especially in districts where the electorate actually wield the power to determine their fate.

According to a Political Analyst, Dr Samuel Magdugu, one major factor that worked against some senators this season was the reported ‘manipulation’ of the process leading to the primaries by state governors in particular.

‘I think the idea of consensus, which was adopted in most of the instances, was deliberately planned to scheme a lot of contestants out.

‘Where you had governors participating and breathing down on party faithful to decide on who should take the ticket, the fate of those not in their good books was long decided’, Magdugu remarked.

He holds the view that political parties must be built and strengthened as organisations on their own to be able to withstand pressure or ‘control by money-bag politicians as we see happening today.’

On his part, Alhaji Lawan Ibrahim, a grassroots politician, castigates the current crop of senators for being ‘yes men’ to the Executive amid the crippling hunger, insecurity and general hardship in the country.

‘Of course, there are constituencies and senatorial districts where the people decide the fate of the candidates. The performance, to tell the truth, has been low in many states’, he said.

He spoke more: ‘But, what do you hear daily? These same lawmakers keep praise-singing the excesses of the system that has unleashed this suffering on the people. It didn’t come as a surprise that they would be thrown out.’

In short, the INEC list and the new Electoral Act together signal a likely reshaping of the Red Chamber in 2027: with at least 52 incumbents excluded from the ballot and many more facing unpredictable contests, the 11th Senate looks set for significant turnover.

Whether driven by governors’ influence, poor performance, or ambitions for other offices, the huge turnover reflects deeper strains in party structures and voter impatience. This will leave the electorate and the political elite to reckon with a Senate whose composition and mandate may change markedly.

Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has submitted a N1.2 trillion supplementary and amendment budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly for consideration and approval.

The proposal was contained in a correspondence read by the Speaker of the House, Jibril Isma’il Falgore, during plenary in Kano.

Governor Yusuf said the supplementary budget was necessitated by a shortfall in revenue accruing to the state from the Federation Account following the implementation of the new tax law.

He explained that the state had anticipated increased receipts from the Federation Account, including Value Added Tax (VAT), but said some expected revenues, including signature bonuses, exchange differences and NNPC refunds, remained with the Federal Government.

Under the proposal, the state plans to finance the supplementary appropriation with N45 billion from the opening balance, N753.44 billion in recurrent revenue and N402.82 billion in capital receipts, bringing the total proposed supplementary budget to N1.201 trillion.

The proposed expenditure comprises N390.31 billion for recurrent expenditure and N810.95 billion for capital expenditure.

A breakdown of the recurrent expenditure shows that N169.96 billion is earmarked for personnel costs, N195.21 billion for overheads and N24.62 billion for debt servicing.

The governor also proposed a new partnership arrangement between the state and local governments aimed at promoting economic growth and development.

According to him, the arrangement would enable jointly generated revenue by the state and local governments to be captured and deployed to finance selected development projects.

Governor Yusuf urged the lawmakers to consider and approve the supplementary budget expeditiously, citing Section 122(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The House subsequently referred the proposed supplementary and amendment budget to the relevant committee for further legislative consideration.

Two Nigerians resident in the United States, Chijioke Timothy Odimegwu and Harafat Mogaji, have been sentenced to a combined 189 months in federal prison for their roles in an international cyber-intrusion scheme that defrauded businesses of more than $2.4 million.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, David Waterman, announced the sentences, according to a statement issued by the district’s Public Information Officer, MacKenzie Tubbs, on Tuesday.

Tubbs said the two defendants, who were residents of Delaware, were sentenced on September 25, 2026, after being convicted for their roles in the scheme.

According to the statement, Odimegwu and Mogaji were serving in the US Air Force when they and their co-conspirators targeted businesses across the country for nearly two years through email-spamming and phishing campaigns.

The conspirators allegedly used the campaigns to steal usernames and passwords from employees’ email accounts and subsequently used the stolen credentials to facilitate fraudulent transactions.

They also allegedly used spoofed email addresses designed to mimic those of victims or their business partners to communicate with businesses and redirect payments to bank accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy.

Tubbs said Odimegwu and Mogaji, working with co-conspirators in the US and abroad, fraudulently diverted more than $1.68 million in a wire transfer from a victim in Iowa City, Iowa, to a bank account in Chicago controlled by the conspiracy.

They also diverted more than $720,000 sent by a victim in Ohio to an account controlled by the conspiracy, she said.

‘These are in addition to many other attempts Odimegwu and Mogaji made to divert wire transfers made by businesses in Iowa and across the country,’ Tubbs said.

The defendants were also accused of harvesting financial information from victims during their spamming and phishing campaigns.

The stolen information allegedly included financial account numbers, personal identification numbers, credit and debit card numbers and other financial details.

Tubbs said the stolen information included credit card details belonging to a non-profit organisation in Pella, Iowa.

According to her, the defendants also purchased stolen financial information from their co-conspirators and exchanged the information among themselves.

‘They would then use the stolen information to make and attempt financial transactions without their victims’ knowledge or authorisation,’ she said.

Tubbs added that the defendants attempted to use the stolen information to make purchases involving victims across the country.

Odimegwu was sentenced to 111 months in prison and ordered to pay $366,617.59 in restitution.

Mogaji received a 78-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay $995,680.45 in restitution.

Both defendants were taken into custody following sentencing.

After serving their prison terms, Odimegwu and Mogaji will each be placed on three years of supervised release.