Category: Nigerian Tribune

Bala Jibrin, who on Monday announced his resignation from the party, alleged that neither had demonstrated a genuine commitment to prioritizing the welfare of the people in their plans.

The retired pilot and aeronautical engineer had previously aspired for the governorship ticket of the APC in Bauchi State but lost; he, however, stepped down his aspirations in the 2026 gubernatorial party primaries of the party.

While announcing his resignation via a letter to that effect dated 31st August, 2026, and addressed to the APC Chairman, Nassarawa/Bakin Kasuwan ward in Katagum LGA, Bala Jibrin, he cited alleged injustice and imposition of candidates.

In the letter, he stated that his resignation and withdrawal of support for the APC would take immediate effect.

According to him, the decision was largely influenced by what he described as the ‘brazen injustice’ and imposition of candidates for elective offices without due regard for the views of party members.’

‘I came to this conclusion due mainly to the brazen injustice and imposition of candidates for elective offices with no regard to party members in Bauchi State. The views of our supporters and constituents are apparently of no consequence,’ he stated.

Bala Jibrin stated that he arrived at the decision after consultations with his supporters, friends, and associates, who, according to him, endorsed his decision to leave the party.

‘After an interaction with my supporters, friends, and associates, my decision for exiting the APC was endorsed; that is, it is the best option in the circumstances,’ he said.

Bala Jibrin further described his resignation as, ‘The most honourable move,’ rather than remaining in a party where he felt members were treated with contempt.

‘Accept most kindly, my exit as this is the most honourable move than staying put and rewarded with contempt,’ he stated.

Bala Jibrin had been a vocal critic of the APC’s decision to produce former Bauchi State governor, Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar SAN, popularly known as M.A. Abubakar, as its governorship candidate for the 2027 election.

Before the party’s primary election, Bala Jibrin had opposed the move to choose the former governor, arguing that he was not suitable to represent the party in the election.

He later alleged that Abubakar emerged as the party’s candidate through what he described as underhanded maneuvering and imposition.

Nigeria’s online betting industry has grown from a niche pastime into a multi-billion-naira sector touching almost every state, but 2026 is shaping up to be the year the conversation shifts from growth numbers to guardrails. Regulators, banks, telecom partners and players themselves are recalibrating how digital wagering fits into everyday life, and that recalibration is quietly reshaping which platforms thrive and how they operate.

When Oversight Catches Up With Appetite

For years, the pace of product innovation outstripped the pace of policy. Live betting apps, instant deposits and round-the-clock sportsbooks expanded faster than the rules meant to govern them. That gap is closing. State and federal gaming authorities have introduced tighter licensing requirements, mandatory age verification, and clearer advertising standards, forcing operators to treat compliance as a core business function rather than an afterthought.

Within this landscape, platforms known for combining sports betting with online casino services, such as Dubibet, illustrate how operators are adjusting their onboarding and verification processes to match the new expectations. Identity checks that once took minutes now often require document uploads and cross-referencing with national ID databases, a shift that slows signups slightly but reduces underage access and duplicate accounts.

This tightening isn’t unique to Nigeria. Regulators across West Africa have watched jurisdictions in Europe and parts of Latin America introduce deposit limits and mandatory cooling-off periods, and several of those tools are now being discussed in Lagos and Abuja policy circles. The direction of travel is consistent: fewer loopholes, more paperwork, and a stronger paper trail for every transaction.

The Compliance Checklist Operators Can’t Ignore

Operators serious about staying licensed in the current environment are typically expected to demonstrate the following:

Verified age and identity checks before any real-money wagering is permitted.

Transparent terms on bonuses, withdrawal timelines and wagering requirements.

Visible responsible-gambling messaging, including links to helplines and self-exclusion tools.

Segregated player funds, keeping customer deposits separate from operational accounts.

Regular reporting to gaming boards on transaction volumes and flagged accounts.

Failure to meet these benchmarks increasingly carries real consequences, not just warnings. Several smaller platforms have had licenses suspended in the past eighteen months after audits revealed weak identity controls or misleading promotional language. That enforcement pattern sends a signal to the wider market: cutting corners on compliance is no longer a viable shortcut to customer acquisition.

Behavioral Shifts Among Nigerian Players

Regulation alone doesn’t change habits; it works alongside a slower, cultural shift in how Nigerians approach digital wagering. Financial literacy campaigns, often run through radio, church groups and social media influencers with large youth followings, have started reframing betting as entertainment with a budget attached rather than a shortcut to wealth.

Some of the visible changes include:

More players setting weekly deposit caps voluntarily, even without being prompted by the platform.

Growing use of self-exclusion features during exam periods or salary-lean weeks.

Increased scrutiny of terms before accepting welcome bonuses, partly driven by online forums comparing fine print.

A noticeable drop in shared-account practices among students, following awareness campaigns about identity fraud risks.

These shifts matter because they reduce the pressure regulators face to impose blanket restrictions. When a market shows it can self-moderate to some degree, policymakers tend to favor calibrated rules over outright bans, which keeps the sector commercially viable while still protecting vulnerable users.

Technology as a Guardrail, Not Just a Gimmick

The tools once used purely to boost engagement, such as push notifications, personalized odds and instant cash-out features, are now being paired with protective functions. Machine-learning models that once predicted which promotions a user might respond to are being repurposed to flag unusual deposit patterns, rapid loss-chasing behavior, or accounts that show signs of distress spending.

Practical examples emerging across the industry include:

Automated alerts that pause an account after a set number of consecutive losing bets within a short window.

Dashboards showing players their net spend and time-on-app over the past 30 days, presented before they can deposit again.

Two-factor authentication becoming standard rather than optional, reducing account takeover fraud.

Integration with bank apps allowing users to set third-party spending blocks directly from their financial institution.

None of this eliminates risk entirely, but it changes the default experience from frictionless spending to one with visible checkpoints. For a generation of Nigerian users who already manage airtime, data and mobile money through similar dashboards, these checkpoints feel less like obstacles and more like familiar financial hygiene.

What This Means for the Naira and the Nation

The economic stakes are significant. Licensed operators contribute tax revenue, employ compliance officers, customer service teams and local marketing staff, and their advertising spend supports Nigerian media outlets. A market that polices itself credibly is more likely to retain that formal economic footprint rather than pushing activity toward unregulated offshore sites that offer no consumer protection and no tax contribution.

At the same time, banks and payment processors are watching closely. Several Nigerian financial institutions have updated their terms to flag high-frequency betting transactions, not to block them outright but to prompt confirmation steps that mirror fraud-prevention practices used for other online purchases. This quiet cooperation between regulators, banks and operators is arguably doing more to shape safer habits than any single piece of legislation.

What emerges from all this is a market in transition rather than a market in crisis. Nigerian bettors are not abandoning digital wagering, but the environment around them is asking more of both the platforms and the players, and the coming year will likely test how well that balance holds under continued growth.

Neurosurgeons in London have successfully performed what is being described as the world’s first live, artificial intelligence-assisted operation to remove a brain tumour.

The procedure was carried out earlier this year at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) in London on 48-year-old Rhys Hibbert, who was at risk of losing his sight without surgery.

Unlike conventional approaches that rely primarily on scans taken before an operation, the AI system analysed a live video feed from the surgery in real time.

The surgeons remained fully in control throughout the procedure, while the technology helped them make more precise decisions by identifying and highlighting critical structures at the base of the brain.

The operation, performed in May, marked the first time the technology had been used on a patient in this way. Details were kept private until now to allow Hibbert time to recover.

The pituitary gland sits in an area where blood vessels and nerves responsible for vision are packed closely together. Even a millimetre of error can have serious consequences, including blindness, stroke or death.

The surgical team therefore used AI to help identify areas that posed a risk while allowing them to remove as much of the tumour as safely possible.

The system can also track surgical instruments and interactions between instruments and tissue, providing real-time feedback to support surgeons during complex procedures.

The operation was performed by a team at the NHNN, which is part of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). It formed part of a clinical trial involving AI technology developed in-house at University College London (UCL) and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Google.

Before the operation, researchers trained and evaluated the system using a large collection of annotated videos from previous endoscopic pituitary surgeries. By learning from hundreds of procedures, the AI was trained to recognise critical anatomy, surgical instruments and interactions with tissue.

Hani Marcus, a consultant neurosurgeon at the NHNN and professor of neurosurgery at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, performed the AI-assisted operation alongside Danyal Khan, the surgical resident leading the work.

Marcus said the procedure represented an important global first and thanked the trial participants and the multidisciplinary team behind the project.

‘Huge thanks to the trial participants and to the team committed to improving patient outcomes by taking this important first step globally and using UK homegrown AI to help reduce risk during these delicate surgeries.’

Sophia Bano, associate professor of robotics and AI at UCL and technical lead for the system, said the technology was designed to support, rather than replace, surgeons.

‘This AI system was developed by a multidisciplinary team at UCL. By learning from hundreds of surgical videos, it has been exposed to a breadth of surgical examples that would take a surgeon many years to encounter.’

She added that the system was designed to recognise critical anatomy, surgical instruments and tissue interactions in real time, providing additional support during highly delicate procedures.

Mike Lewis, NIHR scientific director for innovation, described the operation as a pioneering example of how advanced AI could support surgeons and improve patient care.

‘By investing in innovative digital technologies, the NIHR is helping to turn cutting edge research into practical tools that can make a real difference in the operating theatre,’ he said.

The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery was founded in 1859 and is recognised as the world’s first dedicated neurosurgical hospital.

‘So, to me, it seems very fitting that the same hospital should also be the world’s first to carry out an AI assisted neurosurgery,’ Hibbert said.

‘I’m very pleased to have had the opportunity to be cared for in the hospital. I’m also very humbled to have been asked if I’ll be prepared to be the world’s first patient in this research.’

The Society of British Neurological Surgeons also welcomed the development, describing the use of AI as an ‘exciting and encouraging’ example of how advanced technologies could support clinical decision-making and surgical planning.

A spokesperson said the society supports innovation that could improve the safety, precision and outcomes of neurosurgical care, while stressing that new approaches must undergo careful evaluation.

The spokesperson added that developments such as this demonstrate the growing potential for AI to augment, rather than replace, the expertise and judgment of highly trained neurosurgical teams.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) that it ‘smuggled’ and substituted the party’s validly nominated candidates for State House of Assembly seats in Anambra and Benue States.

In a statement signed by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), the Commission described the claims as ‘unfounded.’

‘The Commission has noted a statement by the leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) removed the party’s validly nominated candidates for certain State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra and Benue States and replaced them with unauthorised names. The Commission states that these allegations are unfounded,’ the statement said.

INEC said it has no legal power to select, insert or substitute candidates for any political party.

‘Candidate nomination is, by law, the exclusive responsibility of political parties. INEC has no legal authority to select, insert, or substitute a candidate for any party. Monitoring a party’s primary is a statutory oversight function only and confers no power on INEC to choose or impose a candidate,’ Haruna stated.

The Commission explained the process used for candidate nomination ahead of the 2027 elections.

‘Ahead of the 2027 election, all 22 registered parties designated two technically trained officers to handle their nomination process, following training organised by the Commission. Thereafter, the portal access codes were issued directly and in person to each party’s National Chairman, and not by proxy,’ it said.

‘List of candidates were generated for each party as submitted by the party jointly signed by the National Chairmen and National Secretaries of the party, making the submission in Form EC9 series (A-G). Therefore any claim that the Commission independently uploaded or altered candidate information is unfounded and untrue.’

According to INEC, it is in possession of the NDC’s duly signed nomination forms.

‘As a matter of fact, the Commission has in its possession, Form EC9E where these candidates were listed and submitted to the Commission duly signed by the National Chairman and the National Secretary of the party,’ the statement added.

INEC reiterated its commitment to transparency and fairness ahead of the 2027 general election.

‘The Commission remains committed to transparency, accountability and providing a level playing field for all stakeholders in the electoral process.’

A massive rehabilitation and reconstruction work in primary and secondary schools across the 25 local government areas of Delta has been approved by the state government.

The approval formed part of the major resolutions reached at the State Executive Council meeting in Asaba presided over by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on Monday.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said the ministries of primary and secondary education had been directed to immediately assess schools across the local government areas and identify the ones requiring rehabilitation or complete reconstruction. as the job is expected to commence in the coming weeks.

Aniagwu said the intervention was aimed at providing pupils, students and teachers with safer and more conducive environments for teaching and learning.

‘The governor has directed that the two ministries should immediately come up with the scope of these different schools that need to be rehabilitated or reconstructed so that government can immediately proceed to put them in order,’ Aniagwu said.

The commissioner said the decision formed part of the administration’s broader commitment to improving public infrastructure and delivering visible projects across the state.

Also, Exco moved to boost workers’ welfare, with the approval of the construction of 12 additional duplexes for Permanent Secretaries. Aniagwu recalled that the administration recently inaugurated new residential quarters for Permanent Secretaries and provided them with official vehicles.

The commissioner also disclosed that the state government was working on a proposal, to be backed by legislation, for the payment of a 13th-month salary to civil servants.

He described the proposed payment as a reward for workers’ dedication and contribution to the development of the state.

The Council also approved additional residential quarters for members of the Delta State House of Assembly, following the increase in the number of constituencies from 29 to 38. The development will bring nine additional lawmakers into the Assembly.

Aniagwu said Governor Oborevwori had directed the Ministry of Housing to commence the process of providing accommodation for the incoming legislators ahead of their assumption of office.

Aniagwu also announced approval for the construction of 92 residential quarters for medical personnel at the Osubi Specialist Hospital, adding that the accommodation comprises 24 units for resident doctors and 68 units for house officers.

He said the project was part of the administration’s efforts to improve the welfare of healthcare workers and provide better working conditions at the facility.

Aniagwu said Council also approved the reconstruction of the 9.35-kilometre Ezhionum-Ogume Road at an estimated cost of more than N7 billion, saying the project would open up rural communities, improve connectivity and stimulate economic activities in the area.

Other road projects approved include; the reconstruction of Uba Egbelemeji-Ugbenikoko Road in Warri North; rehabilitation and reconstruction of Mosogar Community Road Junction-Okwueka Road; and reconstruction of the Old Oviorie-Agbarho-Eku Road.

To tackle flooding around the Specialist Hospital in Asaba, the Council according to Aniagwu, approved the completion of the storm drainage project around the facility.

Similarly, the government approved the reconstruction of internal roads at Warri Central Hospital to improve access and movement for patients, healthcare workers and visitors.

Speaking further, he said Exco equally approved the termination of some contracts over poor performance, adding that the affected contracts were terminated following recommendations by the State Tenders Board after the contractors failed to deliver the projects at the expected pace.

Among the contracts terminated were; the Okerenkoko Township Road; construction of Adjei Street and School Road with interlocking stones at a new layout in Warri South; and the permanent office complex for the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC).

He said the termination would allow the government to commence fresh procurement processes and re-award the projects to contractors with the capacity to deliver them.

Aniagwu said the decisions underscored the administration’s determination to ensure timely delivery of public projects and prevent taxpayers’ money from being tied down in abandoned or poorly executed projects.

A Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Dr Torngee Malu, has said no fixed monetary value exists for a human kidney, dismissing the idea that organ donation should be reduced to a straightforward sale price.

Malu spoke on Tuesday on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged kidney harvesting and human trafficking in Nigeria. Asked about the ideal value of a kidney donated through due process, he said the law only allowed for reimbursement or compensation, without pegging a specific price to an organ.

‘I will still have to follow the law. If you go to the US or the UK, they say there should be reimbursement, what people may call compensation.

‘Now, the question is, what do you consider as compensation? What will you consider as compensation enough? Even if you have a relative that donates a kidney for you, what will you really consider as compensation? It’s relative.’

The surgeon argued that framing organ donation around money misrepresents who actually needs transplants, noting that kidney disease cuts across income lines and should not be treated as a rich person’s problem.

‘People also think that kidney failure only affects rich people. It doesn’t, it affects a lot of poor people. So, if we talk of putting a monetary value to it, that’s not a good way to look at it. The question is: Who needs it? Who wants to give it? Who is willing to do it at this rate? So, it’s not about a fixed rate to give for kidneys. There’s no fixed rate. Poor people are affected, rich people are affected. We should make it available to as many people that want to have it.’

Malu also drew a sharp line between legitimate kidney transplantation, which he described as a highly specialised procedure, and illegal organ trafficking, saying the two should not be conflated. He noted that the legal framework guiding organ donation had since been broadened by guidelines the Federal Ministry of Health issued in 2025.

On how demanding the procedure is, he said only trained specialists could carry out kidney harvesting, ruling out the possibility of it being done casually or by just any medical practitioner.

‘It’s very, very difficult to harvest the kidney. I’m a surgeon, I’ve been practicing for years, I’m a plastic surgeon-I cannot harvest a kidney. Even a general surgeon cannot just go and harvest a kidney. The kidney is one of the most hidden organs in the body; it requires only a specialist that can do that.’

Describing how the process unfolds, he explained that both donor and recipient are brought into the same theatre once tests and matching are complete, with separate teams handling the harvesting and the transplant itself.

‘Now, they bring in the person who wants to donate the kidney into the theater, and they bring in the person who wants to receive the kidney into the same theater. There’s a team that is responsible for harvesting the kidney-they harvest it, and then they give it to the team that is going to transfer. It’s not the same team that harvests that transfers.’

He added that timing is critical, as a harvested kidney becomes unusable if it is not transferred quickly enough.

‘So you see, it’s a very, very technical process. Because if you keep the kidney for some time, it dies off, it’s no more useful.’

Malu urged the public to separate genuine kidney donation from trafficking, insisting that the case currently under investigation had been wrongly characterised.

‘So, that is why I said we have to differentiate kidney trafficking from kidney donation. This case we’re dealing with is kidney donation that is being put out there as if it’s kidney trafficking. It’s actually kidney donation; it’s poor information that is giving rise to all this.’

His comments come against the backdrop of a police sting operation on August 19 at Auta Balifi in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, which led to the arrest of four suspects: Emmanuel Ode, 23; Dr Benjamin Oyime, 48, a nephrologist and consultant to Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja; Dr Daniel Otukpa, 53, also a nephrologist and Acting Director of Clinical Services at Wellington Hospital; and David Idoko, 25.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, alleged that Ode confessed to recruiting victims under false pretences. Police further alleged that one victim was lured to Wellington Hospital in April 2026, where his kidney was harvested after he was paid $1,250, while another victim allegedly underwent a similar procedure in 2022.

Reacting to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the country’s economic growth, the ministry stated that given ‘this momentum, Nigeria is well positioned to consolidate its standing among Africa’s largest economies and to advance toward the Government’s target of a USD 1 trillion economy by 2030.

‘The International Monetary Fund has already ranked Nigeria among the top 10 contributors to global real GDP growth in 2026, projecting the country to account for roughly 1.5 per cent of world growth this year, ahead of several advanced and emerging economies’.

According to a statement by the ministry, ‘continued macroeconomic stability, sustained growth across productive sectors, and improving investor confidence would accelerate Nigeria’s progression toward becoming Africa’s largest economy by 2028.

‘These results underscore the importance of sustaining our reforms and ensuring policy consistency as their benefits begin to reach households across the country. The Government remains focused on accelerating inclusive growth and translating these macroeconomic gains into shared prosperity for every Nigerian family’.

In the statement, the military noted that ‘Nigeria’s economy continues to demonstrate resilience and accelerating growth, with second quarter of 2026 real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding by 4.43 per cent year-on-year, up from 4.23 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.89 per cent in Q1 2026.

‘The strong Q2 2026 outturn lifted real GDP growth for the first half of 2026 to 4.16 per cent, up from 3.68 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025, a clear signal of sustained strengthening across the economy.

‘Growth is also becoming more broad-based. In Q2 2026, 27 economic subsectors recorded real growth above 3.0 per cent, up from 23 subsectors in Q2 2025, showing that expansion is no longer concentrated in a handful of industries.

‘The productive sectors led the way. Manufacturing grew by 3.24 per cent, more than double the 1.60 per cent recorded in Q2 2025, reflecting improved industrial output. Agriculture expanded by 4.39 per cent, up from 2.82 per cent, underscoring stronger production and value-chain performance. Services, the largest driver of growth, expanded by 4.60 per cent, up from 3.94 per cent’.

According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, ‘the relative stability and steady appreciation of the exchange rate further amplified these gains in dollar terms. The naira appreciated by more than 12 percent between H1 2025 and H1 2026, resulting in an expansion of the economy by approximately 17 per cent in U.S. dollar terms over the period, a pace that, if sustained along with the various social programmes of the Government, will meaningfully strengthen dollar incomes, improve purchasing power and lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty’.

The presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said that a well-governed, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria is in Canada’s strategic interest.

Obi disclosed this on Tuesday following a meeting with Canada’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Pasquale Salvaggio, and members of his team at the invitation of the Canadian High Commission.

According to him, the discussions centred on Nigeria’s forthcoming elections and Canada’s support for efforts to strengthen the country’s democratic processes.

The former presidential candidate said the meeting also covered trade and investment, economic development, education, as well as measures to improve women’s participation and representation in politics.

Obi stressed that a Nigeria capable of meeting the needs of its citizens would unlock the country’s economic potential while creating opportunities for stronger partnerships with Canada and other African countries.

He also highlighted the importance of strengthening democratic institutions, increasing citizen participation and developing a political system that gives every Nigerian, irrespective of gender, background or circumstances, a meaningful role in governance.

Obi said he looked forward to further engagements with Canada’s diplomatic and business communities towards building partnerships that would support a more prosperous, secure and inclusive Nigeria.

He said, ‘MY VISIT TO THE CANADIAN HIGH COMMISSION

‘Yesterday, at the invitation of the Canadian High Commission in Nigeria, I had the privilege of meeting with His Excellency, Pasquale Salvaggio, and his team.

‘Our discussions focused on Nigeria’s forthcoming elections and Canada’s continued support for strengthening our democratic processes. We also exchanged views on trade and investment, economic development, education, and the need for affirmative measures to increase women’s participation and representation in politics.

‘I reiterated my conviction that a well-governed, peaceful, stable and prosperous Nigeria is firmly in Canada’s strategic interest. A Nigeria that works for its people will not only unlock the enormous potential of our nation but also create greater opportunities for deeper partnership between Nigeria, Canada, and the wider African continent.

‘We also discussed the urgent need to strengthen our democratic institutions, deepen citizen participation, and build a political system where every Nigerian, regardless of gender, background or circumstance, has a meaningful opportunity to contribute to governance.

‘I look forward to continued engagement with Canada’s diplomatic and business community as we collectively pursue partnerships that can contribute to a more prosperous, secure and inclusive Nigeria. A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO’

The Federal Government of Nigeria on Monday said President Bola Tinubu’s administration is considering plans to establish a technology innovation hub in Taraba State.

The Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, disclosed this while playing host to a delegation from the Taraba State Youth Development Agency (TSYDA), led by Prince Gara Nongha, at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

The minister also expressed his office’s readiness to deepen collaboration with the Taraba State Government to complement the ongoing efforts of Governor Agbu Kefas towards preparing young people for a productive future.

According to Olawande, the proposed technology innovation hub will provide opportunities for young Nigerians to acquire relevant digital and technological skills to participate meaningfully in the emerging digital economy.

The minister called on Taraba youths to support President Tinubu’s re-election to achieve the desired targets for young Nigerians in the digital economy.

‘I wish to inform here that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is considering plans to establish a technology innovation hub in Taraba. This is to complement the effort of Governor Agbu Kefas towards preparing people for a productive future.

‘The proposed technology innovation hub is targeted at providing opportunities for young Nigerians to acquire relevant digital and technological skills to participate meaningfully in the emerging digital economy,’ the minister disclosed.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Taraba State Youth Development Agency (TSYDA), Prince Gara Nongha, said the proposed technology innovation hub would also provide opportunities for young Tarabans to explore natural innovation ideas and business development.

The TSYDA chairman appealed for a stronger federal-state partnership to enable the agency to expand opportunities for young Tarabans and complement the ongoing efforts of the Governor Agbu Kefas administration in empowering young people for a productive future.

Prince Gara emphasised that a stronger and more strategic partnership between the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the Taraba State Youth Development Agency, particularly in the areas of skills development, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, would attract jobs and empowerment opportunities for young citizens to thrive.

‘This is a significant commitment to the young people of Taraba. The proposed hub will provide opportunities for our youths to acquire relevant digital and technological skills, nurture innovative ideas, develop businesses and participate meaningfully in the emerging digital economy,’ Prince Nongha said.

The TSYDA chairman also commended the minister’s commitment and the Federal Government’s willingness to work in harmony with the Taraba State Youth Development Agency.

He stated that the agency was looking forward to translating the understanding into practical programmes and opportunities that would have a direct and lasting impact on young people across Taraba State.

Prince Nongha also used the visit to thank the Honourable Minister for his support and commitment to youth development, particularly his recent visit to Taraba State, where he attended the Kefas Youth Empowerment Programme and witnessed the unveiling of the Taraba State Youth Development Roadmap 2026-2031 and the Long-Term Taraba Youth Agenda 2050.

Politicians are once again set to do battle in the three senatorial districts of Oyo State ahead of the January 16, 2027 polls. From Oyo North to Oyo Central and Oyo South, candidates are set to engage in a fierce contest that would precede the victory dance. The outcome is difficult to predict owing to the state’s long history of political shifts after successive election seasons. There is fragmentation in the major parties, especially Governor Seyi Makinde’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), having to collapse into the Allied People’s Movement (APM), as well as the rumblings in the All Progressives Congress APC). BIOLUWATIFE AKINYEMI, in this analysis, examines the key contenders and the emerging dynamics that could shape the outcome of the January elections.

By the time Nigerians go to the polls on January 16, 2027, leadership in Oyo State’s three senatorial districts – Oyo North, Oyo Central and Oyo South – will have changed hands so often since 1999 that the word ‘incumbent’ has lost its real essence of predictability. Save for Oyo North, where Senator Fatai Buhari has retained the seat since the 2015 election cycle, making himself a three- term Senator, the two other zones-Oyo South and Central- have been involved in a game of musical chairs. Now, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) split into two rival factions and Governor Seyi Makinde leading his supporters to the little-known Allied People’s Movement (APM), there is bound to be some effects on the usually competitive senatorial race in the state.

A quarter-century of instability

Since the return to democracy in 1999, Oyo’s three seats have rotated through five different party labels – the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the PDP, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and briefly the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The AD swept all three seats in 1999, riding on the pro-democracy/Afenifere sentiment that prevailed at the time. The PDP made some incursions in the 2003 election, winning Oyo North with Senator Robert Koleoso and Oyo Central with Senator Teslim Folarin. The AD, however, retained Oyo South with Senator Abiola Ajimobi emerging as the Senator. In the 2007 election, the PDP won the three senatorial seats, but by 2011, two seats went to the newly formed ACN, while the PDP retained one. By 2015, the merger politics that produced the APC delivered a clean sweep for the new ruling party. By 2019, it was able to win two of the seats, losing Oyo South to Senator Kola Balogun of the PDP. By 2023, however, the three senatorial seats went to the APC, though with new faces, except for Oyo North, whose senator remained in office since 2015. In Oyo Central in 2023, the then incumbent Senator Teslim Folarin had chosen to vacate his seat to pursue a gubernatorial run, which he lost, thus enabling the APC to produce Senator Yunus Akintunde. Thus, while the APC won two of the three seats in 2019, it made a clean sweep of the three seats in the 2023 election, with Buhari, Yunus Akintunde, and Senator Sharafadeen Alli emerging in the North, Central, and South.

The deeper story in the above is not just that one party hardly makes a clean sweep for successive elections; the fact also remains that no particular candidate retains the seat consecutively except for Fatai Buhari of Oyo North. Teslim Folarin, former Senate Leader and one of the most recognisable Oyo Senators, won the Oyo Central seat on three occasions, but only succeeded himself once in 2007. Everyone else – Senators Lekan Balogun, Robert Koleoso, Peter Adeyemo, Abiola Ajimobi, Kamorudeen Adedibu, Olufemi Lanlehin, Monsurat Sunmonu, Rilwan Akanbi, and Mohammed Kola Balogun – served a single term and moved on. They were either defeated or chose to pursue other ambitions.

Therein lies the peculiarity of Oyo State politics. It was also the same for the governorship seat until Ajimobi broke the single-term jinx in 2015. Whereas in many Nigerian states, a senator who wins once tends to consolidate a base and run again, sometimes for a decade or more. Oyo State scenario hardly gives room for such longevity. In this republic thus far, only Fatai Buhari and Teslim Folarin have presented some varied exceptions. Part of the explanation lies in the sheer size and diversity of each district: Oyo Central alone stretches across eleven local government areas, including five local governments in Ibadan, four in Oyo zone and two in Ogbomoso axis. This means that a winning coalition in one election cycle – built, say, around an Ibadan-city base – can be outflanked four years later by a candidate who consolidates the Oyo/Ogbomoso axes. In Oyo North, an unwritten code has seen the Senatorial and deputy governorship seats rotated between Oke-Ogun and Ogbomoso axes in a delicate balancing act. This is because the configuration of the zone is split between ten councils in Oke-Ogun and three thickly populated local governments in the Ogbomoso axis. In Oyo South, Ibadan is dominant, with two local governments from Ibarapa to make up the zone.

The fracture that changes everything

Unlike the 2023 scenario, when the APC was faced with a cohesive PDP, the 2027 situation will be different. The movement of Governor Seyi Makinde of the PDP to the fringe APM would likely take its toll on the competitiveness of the political structures, especially following the division in the ranks of the PDP after the takeover of the PDP at the national level by the loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The fact that some members of the original PDP are still going about flying the flag of the party despite Makinde’s defection to the APM could amount to political distractions that could hurt some candidates. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised the Wike-backed National Working Committee under Abdulrahman Mohammed as the party’s legitimate leadership for 2027 processes; thus, the candidates on the platform are recognised on the INEC portal.

Weeks after Governor Makinde was unveiled as the APM’s presidential candidate, the defections that followed were not symbolic – six sitting members of the House of Representatives from Oyo’s PDP caucus crossed the floor to APM in a single sitting, and the governor’s preferred candidates across the state, from the governorship down to state assembly seats, were instructed to contest under the APM umbrella rather than the PDP ticket that had carried Makinde to two terms as governor.

The practical effect on the Senate race is significant. Shina Peller, the nightclub-and-hospitality entrepreneur who had emerged as the Makinde camp’s consensus PDP candidate for Oyo North, resigned and moved to APM alongside the governor. Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, a longtime grassroots PDP figure from Egbeda who had briefly eyed the governorship before party elders redirected him to the Senate race, followed suit and now carries the APM ticket for Oyo Central. Meanwhile, the Wike-backed PDP structure in Oyo has released its own House of Representatives candidate list, suggesting it intends to contest the state independently of Makinde.

The district-by-district picture

In Oyo North, the contest looks set to be a straight fight between the APC’s Hannah Ogunesan – one of the few women fielded for any of these three seats across the entire post-1999 period – and Shina Peller’s APM candidacy, with the ADC’s Sule Kabiru Ayinde and the SDP’s consensus nominee running as lower-tier contenders. Abdulfatai Buhari, the district’s three-term senator, is not seeking a fourth term as far as current filings indicate, which removes the one genuinely proven incumbent from the board and opens the seat more than it has been open since 2015.

Oyo Central may be the most closely watched race of the three, partly because of the governorship-zoning argument tied to it. The APC has renominated its sitting senator, Yunus Akintunde, an energy-sector academic and businessman who won comfortably in 2023. Against him stands Ajadi’s APM/PDP alliance ticket. Ajadi’s ally, Bimbo Adekanmbi, the party’s governorship candidate, also hails from Oyo Central, whose influence could also be of advantage. ADC’s senatorial candidate for the zone, Kamil Akinlabi Mudashiru, and the SDP’s Alade Ismail Olatunji are also major contenders on the field. Akinlabi is from Oyo like Yunus Akintunde, and the battle in the four Oyo councils is expected to be intense.

Oyo South carries its own twist: incumbent senator Sharafadeen Alli, a lawyer and former state government secretary, is now the gubernatorial candidate for the state. His senatorial seat is now being contested by Hon Aderemi Oseni, who currently represents the Ido/Ibarapa federal constituency of the state. With Alli on the guber ticket and the APC pushing for a return to the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, the battle is expected to be intense, while Hon Stanley Akinjide, another member of the House of Representatives, is flying the flag of the APM/PDP alliance. The ADC’s Tanimowo Modupe Grace and the SDP’s Ayoade Raimi Baale are also top contenders, just like PDP’s Bolanle Sarumi, who is seeking the senatorial seat for Oyo South. A former aide to Governor Makinde, Sarumi, popularly known as BASA, is a known face in the polity, having contested the governorship seat in 2019, before emerging as a Special Assistant to the governor on Diaspora Matters. With BASA on the ticket for Oyo South, the Wike-backed PDP may have a good showing in the contest.

For Oyo North, Hannah Ogunesan’s candidature for the APC equally carries a huge weight, just as she will have to battle it out with fellow Oke-Ogun indigene and candidate of the APM/PDP alliance, Peller.

What will actually decide it?

As the 2027 elections draw closer, it is clear that the pattern that has governed every National Assembly election in Oyo State since 1999 may just repeat itself in the forthcoming elections. In Oyo elections, national political winds matter less here than local structures play a big role, as well as the ability to build a coalition that spans the necessary strongholds. The APC enters 2027 with the advantage of incumbency in all three senatorial seats, but that does not give a clue as to where the pendulum would swing in 2027. The picture of 2023 still hovers in the air,r as APC’s record in that election shows that where it won, the PDP finished a close second. Again, 2027 would present a fractured PDP, with one faction standing with Governor Makinde in APM and another standing with Wike. The APC is seeking to clean sweep the political structure of the state, not just the National Assembly elections. How all this would pan out remains to be seen. The contestants would, however, need to show their qualities to enable the people to decide who gets their votes.