Category: Nigerian Tribune

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), through its Christian Social Responsibility arm, His Love Foundation (HLF), has donated three sets of dialysis machines to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin, Edo State aimed at strengthening renal healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

The donation, made on behalf of RCCG General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, and his wife, Pastor (Mrs.) Folu Adeboye, was received by the Chief Medical Director of UBTH, Professor (Mrs) Idia Ize-Iyamu, who described the gesture as a significant boost to the hospital’s capacity to provide life-saving treatment to patients living with kidney-related ailments.

Speaking with newsmen in Benin, Ize-Iyamu commended the Adeboyes for the intervention, noting that such private and faith-based initiatives would complement government investments in the health sector.

She said the donation was particularly important at a time when access to quality and affordable renal care remained a major concern for many Nigerians requiring regular dialysis.

Presenting the equipment, Pastor Bode Olojede explained that HLF remained committed to humanitarian interventions in critical areas, including healthcare, hunger alleviation, education, rehabilitation, prison ministry and social enterprise.

According to him, the RCCG leadership had, over the years, supported several national healthcare intervention programmes, including the establishment of intensive care units and the provision of dialysis centres in teaching hospitals and general medical centres across the country.

Also, the Federal Commissioner representing Edo State on the Federal Character Commission (FCC) and former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Victor Edoror, commended Pastor Adeboye and his wife for their sustained humanitarian interventions in the health sector.

The donated equipment included Nefro 4000 A HD dialysis machines, Nefro Dialyzer 1.8M2, Nefro Universal Bloodlines, Nefro Bicarbonate Cartridges, Nefro Acid Concentrates and Nefro Dialysis Fluid Filters.

Nigerian-British businessman and social media influencer, Igho Ubiribo, had received five penis enlargement injections at a Bangkok clinic before his death, according to findings by Thai health authorities.

The 43-year-old, also known as ‘Tiny’, ‘Denisi’ and ‘Ego’, died on March 6 after undergoing his fifth penile filler procedure at the clinic a day earlier while on holiday in Thailand with his wife.

The latest revelation emerged after Thailand’s Department of Health Service Support (DHSS) inspected the clinic on September 7 as part of an investigation ordered following Ubiribo’s death.

Information obtained from the clinic showed that Ubiribo had been receiving the treatment since 2024, with four procedures carried out between 2024 and 2025 before the final injection on March 5, 2026.

The last procedure involved 40cc of filler being injected into his penis. The clinic said its doctor had advised Ubiribo to have the treatment in two sessions, but he opted to receive the injection at once.

‘The clinic’s management provided information stating that the patient had been a regular patient since 2024. The patient had received five injections to enlarge the male genitalia,’ the statement noted.

‘The doctor recommended dividing the injection into two sessions, but the patient preferred a single injection.

‘The clinic provided post-operative care instructions and followed up with the patient, who did not report any problems with the procedure. Furthermore, the patient signed consent forms before each procedure,’ the statement added.

Ubiribo’s condition deteriorated shortly after the final procedure.

According to the account presented by his wife to medical personnel, the businessman went for a massage after receiving the filler injection but later developed chest pain and lost consciousness twice.

He was subsequently taken to Sukhumvit Hospital, where doctors suspected that he had suffered a pulmonary embolism and prepared to conduct a CT scan.

The Thai health authorities said the emergency response was triggered after the hospital requested an ambulance for a patient who had lost consciousness.

The statement read, ‘The investigation revealed that on March 5, 2026, the emergency medical services centre received a request for an ambulance from a private hospital in the Sukhumvit area to transport a patient who had lost consciousness.

‘The patient’s wife informed the medical team that the patient had recently received a filler injection the same day and had gone for a massage afterwards. Due to suspicions of a blood clot, the hospital prepared to perform a high-speed CT scan with contrast dye to diagnose the condition.

‘To create a three-dimensional image of the blood vessels (Computed Tomography Angiography), during which time the patient was unconscious and had no pulse, the medical team began CPR, but there was no response, confirming the patient’s death.

‘This initial information led to an investigation of the clinic located on Rama 1 Road, Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, on September 7, 2026.’

Ubiribo died before doctors could carry out the planned scan. Medical staff reportedly attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than 100 minutes but were unable to revive him.

A postmortem examination later found material in his lungs consistent with the hyaluronic acid used during the penile filler procedure.

The circumstances of his death had also been considered during a UK coroner’s inquest, where evidence indicated that the cosmetic treatment caused a fatal pulmonary embolism.

Tribune Online reports that approximately 40 millilitres of hyaluronic acid and lidocaine were used during the final procedure.

The Thai investigation was initiated after Minister of Public Health, Pattana Promphat, directed the DHSS and the Food and Drug Administration to examine the clinic and its operations following Ubiribo’s death.

Officials from the two agencies inspected the facility on September 7 and collected evidence as they continued to establish what happened before and after the procedure.

DHSS Director-General, Phuwadej Surakhot, said the investigation would cover the available facts and evidence before the professional-practice aspect was submitted to Thailand’s Medical Council.

‘We will gather all facts and evidence to proceed according to our authority and submit the case to the Medical Council for a ruling on professional practice standards, in order to ensure fairness to all parties,’ the statement added.

The authorities have not announced a finding of malpractice against the clinic.

Vetiva Advisory Services Limited has emerged as the Lead Adviser to the Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, in what is set to become one of the most significant capital market transactions in Nigeria.

The IPO, which has received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is scheduled to open for subscription on September 14, 2026.

The Offer comprises up to 4.1 billion ordinary shares of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, with the issue price and other final terms to be contained in the SEC-registered Prospectus.

As Lead Adviser, Vetiva Advisory Services is coordinating the transaction and working with the refinery, other professional advisers and relevant market institutions to facilitate the execution of the landmark offer.

The transaction is designed to broaden the ownership base of the refinery while raising additional equity capital to support its expansion and strategic objectives.

An application has also been submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited for the listing and admission of the refinery’s entire issued ordinary share capital to the Daily Official List.

The Dangote refinery operates one of the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complexes, with a refining capacity of approximately 700,000 barrels per day and polypropylene production capacity of about 830,000 tonnes annually.

The planned listing represents a major development for Nigeria’s capital market, potentially bringing one of the country’s most strategically important industrial assets into the public market and providing investors with an opportunity to participate in its growth.

For Vetiva, the appointment further strengthens its investment banking franchise and track record in structuring and executing major capital market transactions.

The firm said its role also underscores its commitment to deepening Nigeria’s capital markets, widening investor participation and mobilising long-term capital for strategically important businesses.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State has kicked off its campaign ahead of the 2027 governorship and State House of Assembly elections, promising to focus on issues and the achievements of Governor Uba Sani’s administration rather than engage in personal attacks on opposition parties.

The party also pledged to conduct a peaceful, credible and issue-based campaign across the state.

Speaking at a press conference in Kaduna on Wednesday, the APC State Publicity Secretary, Mohamed Sani Haruna, said the party had met with publicity secretaries from the 23 local government areas to prepare them for the campaign.

Haruna said the APC would respect all political parties and the electorate throughout the campaign.

‘APC in Kaduna State is committed to a free, fair, credible campaign and election,’ he said.

‘We intend to conduct our campaign without acrimony, without insult, in the best manner possible. We intend to conduct the election with respect for all contending parties and for the people of Kaduna State.’

According to him, the party would base its campaign largely on the performance of Governor Uba Sani since he assumed office, arguing that the administration had fulfilled a substantial part of its campaign promises.

‘We are proud to sell the achievement of Senator Uba Sani as the governor of Kaduna State,’ Haruna said.

He identified education, healthcare, sports and skills acquisition as some of the sectors in which the administration had recorded what he described as significant progress.

On education, Haruna said the government had reduced tuition fees in Kaduna State-owned tertiary institutions by 50 per cent and reintroduced scholarship programmes.

‘When he became the governor of Kaduna State, school fees for tertiary institutions in Kaduna State was beyond the reach of the common man. Senator Uba Sani… reduced by 50 per cent tuition fee for all tertiary institutions in the state,’ he said.

‘He did not stop there; he reintroduced scholarship.’

Haruna said the administration viewed education as an important tool for reducing socioeconomic inequality.

‘He always says that education is the equalizer between the rich and the poor, between the have and the have not,’ he added.

The APC spokesman also highlighted the administration’s investments in healthcare, saying general hospitals across the state had been upgraded and equipped to improve access to medical services.

In the sports sector, he cited the reconstruction of Ahmadu Bello Stadium and the renovation and upgrading of Kaduna Township Stadium as evidence of the government’s investment in sporting infrastructure.

‘We believe without any doubt the quality of the people that are contesting under APC is no match to any other party,’ he said.

Haruna said the party would take its campaign to communities across Kaduna State to explain what it described as the achievements of the Sani administration and the Tinubu government.

On insecurity, he acknowledged that the challenge had not been completely eliminated but maintained that the state had recorded improvements.

‘We do not claim that the insecurity issue has been totally eradicated,’ he said. ‘But we have a government that is committed to eradicating it.’

He appealed to Kaduna residents and Nigerians to support the APC in the 2027 elections, arguing that continuity at both the state and federal levels would bring further development.

‘We believe that second chance for the government of APC, both in Kaduna State and in Nigeria, is going to engender more development, more progress, and more prosperity for Nigeria,’ Haruna said.

Oil prices climbed to a nearly six-week high, on Monday, as escalating US-Iran strikes in and around the Strait of Hormuz raised fears of prolonged disruption to global energy supplies.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, hovered around $97 a barrel, up nine percent over the past five days and 19 percent in the past month.

US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 79 cents to $92.27 a barrel.

The Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil-shipping route, normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Tensions escalated over the weekend after the United States struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had also attacked three tankers and three US-linked vessels elsewhere.

‘This is a reflection of continued conflict and exchange of fire,’ Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Al Jazeera. ‘The supply deficits globally are persisting, and there is little end to these shortages.’

Concerns deepened after Saudi Aramco’s Jizan facilities were reportedly struck on Monday, for the second time in a month, potentially delaying a return to production.

Shipping through the Strait has also fallen sharply. Data firm Kpler said an average of 10 commodity ships crossed the chokepoint each day over the past 10 days.

Higher crude prices are already pushing up fuel costs in the United States.

Reports show that the national average petrol price rose seven cents in a week to $4.15 a gallon, on Monday, according to the American Automobile Association. That compares with $4.04 a month ago and $2.98 on February 28, when the US and Israel first struck Iran.

Diesel prices have also hit record levels, rising above $5.90 a gallon on Monday, after reaching $5.85 last week.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, was quoted by Aljaseera as having warned that record diesel prices would eventually feed into the wider economy through higher transport and production costs.

US households have spent an average of $764.59 on fuel since the war began, about $418.82 more than usual, according to Brown University’s Watson School of International and Public Affairs.

Asian economies are particularly exposed to disruptions because they rely heavily on oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

China has sought to limit the impact by drawing on its strategic petroleum reserves and reducing its reliance on imports.

John Gong, an economics professor at the University of International Business and Economics, said China had been preparing for supply disruptions by conserving oil and gas and securing alternative sources, including supplies from Russia.

Beijing is also accelerating its shift towards alternative energy. More than half of cars sold in China are now electric, Gong said.

Analysts warn that if disruption in the Strait persists, higher oil and fuel prices could intensify inflationary pressures and raise transportation and production costs worldwide.

This version is more suitable for a print or online newspaper: the lead gets to the main development immediately, background is compressed, and the strongest figures and quotes are retained.

In this piece, JOHN AMEH of our Abuja Bureau brings to light the actions, missteps and controversies that have shaped Nigerian’s to the senate under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio since 2023.

Anyone familiar with the workings of the Legislature, nay our National Assembly, would admit that the tenure of the current 10th Assembly (2023-2027) is as good as over. It has entered its winding down phase with the next elections just around five months away! And so is stock taking for our senators.

By the time they reconvene from their annual vacation on September 15, senators will merely breeze in and out of the National Assembly to focus more on re-election campaigns. That’s for those who have a return ticket. For many who don’t have, attention will shift to the plans for the next layer of their lives. Soon after the polls in January 2027, returning senators will also busy themselves more with the politics of choosing the presiding officers of the 11th Assembly, six clear months to voting in June 2027. Simply put, legislative business for the 10th Senate is in the real sense, over!

Meeting expectations?

How has the Senate fared in the last three years then? Under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio, a former two-time governor, minister and principal officer of the Senate, much was expected after inauguration on June 13, 2023 around the core legislative mandate of lawmaking, oversight and constituency representation.

After his election, Akpabio told Nigerians, ‘To the Nigerian people, I say this: your dreams, your aspirations, and your well-being will be at the heart of everything we will do in this Senate. I urge you to remain hopeful, steadfast, and united.’

In one line, he said, ‘We will put members of the executive on their toes, especially the ministers when they are ready to work. We will follow project-by-project and ensure that there is no delay.’

In another breath, the Senate President stated, ‘I have an opportunity of serving as a Governor and I warned my people who worked with me that I didn’t steal to invest in politically motivated infrastructure. Therefore we shall carry out very serious oversight functions to ensure the protection of the resources of the country.’

Three years on, one can clap for the 10th Senate for the high volume of bills churned out, believably surpassing the efforts of previous assemblies. The latest compilation verified this August by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mr Kamoru Ogunlana, indicates that the Senate passed 1,500 bills so far. On the other side of the aisle, the House of Representatives passed 2,000 bills, bringing the updated compilation for the two chambers to 3,500 bills.

The two chambers jointly successfully passed 373 of the bills for presidential assent. Of the number, President Bola Tinubu has assented to 72, leaving 301 awaiting his attention. By constitutional provision, only the bills jointly passed by the two chambers may make it to become laws. Talking numbers, its kudos to the Senate and the House.

Yet, observers say numbers don’t always mean relevance, which may explain the Presidency’s lethargy in appending signature to the 301 bills gathering dust at the Villa.

According to the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre CISLAC, such bills that turned out to be a ‘waste’, drain the resources of the country while ‘starving needed areas of development of funding.’

The Executive Director, Mr Auwal Rafsanjani, while analysing the issue, blamed it largely on the tendency of the lawmakers to ‘duplicate’ existing agencies or create new ones without considering the wider ‘implications of national interests.’

He said, ‘I don’t think that the National Assembly should see their work as just passing a large number of individual member bills. Bills must not be overlapping, nor duplication or establishing agencies that are already in existence.

‘That’s why the Executive sometimes does not attach the needed importance to these bills. There should have been collaboration between the two sides from the beginning so that they prioritise national interests above personal public relations. They are consuming resources and the time of the National Assembly.’

A Political Analyst, Dr Otu Matthew, shared the same view, saying that bills ‘should not be promoted for the sake of promotion, but must reflect the national goals of Nigerians.’

He criticised what he termed ‘a race for the highest number of bills by legislators’, adding that ‘we see a trend whereby every Senator, every Representative wants a federal institution to be sited in their village, even where such institutions or similar ones exist nearby.’

But, observers also note that this submission doesn’t diminish the importance of some of the bills. For instance, the State Police Bill, which the Senate passed expeditiously has been hailed across the country as a legislative response to mounting security challenges.

The tax reform bills, despite the earlier concerns raised over them, are still counted as a significant achievement of the Akpabio Senate. The four bills -Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024; and Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024 -introduced in October, 2024, aim to simplify tax administration, enhance revenue generation and redistribute tax proceeds in a manner that individuals business owners at the lower wrung of the ladder will have lesser burdens, according the government.

They have since become operational laws following presidential assent, no matter the misgivings.

Akpabio’s Senate has also passed the National Minimum Wage Bill (raising payment from N30,000 to N70,000); the South-East Development Commission Bill; the North-West Development Commission Bill; the South-West Development Commission Bill; North-Central Development Commission Bill; South-South Development Commission Bill; the North-West Development Commission Bill; the Bill on Enhanced Salaries and Allowances for Judicial Officers; the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and Retirement Age of Magistrates bills; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; Code of Conduct Bureau; Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission; and the Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Food (Miscellaneous Provisions) bills.

The 10th Senate has also given a boost to further constitutional amendments by introducing several new bills, including the much talked-about Special Seats Bill to create special legislative seats for women from the State Assemblies to the National Assembly. What is left is voting on the new proposals, which the 10th Senate has promised will be concluded within its lifespan.

Some bills naturally raised eyebrows as the sole aim of passing them might be to fulfill the desires of the executive. One that readily comes to mind is the New National Anthem Bill, which was passed to replace ‘Arise O Compatriots’ with Nigeria’s post-colonial anthem, ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’, to become the country’s current anthem.

The Electoral Act (Amendment Bill) 2026 didn’t meet the expectations of the majority of stakeholders because of the exclusion of mandatory e-transmission of election results from the new law.

Security challenges

Insecurity remains a major worry for Nigeria. Following in the tradition of the 9th Assembly, the current Senate is paying attention to searches for solutions to banditry, kidnapping, farmer/herder clashes, murders and the constant threats posed to the safety of the citizenry by insurgency.

As of the last count, the 10th Senate has held a series of solution-seeking meetings with security chiefs to offer legislative interventions and passing countless motions/resolutions on insecurity.

It has proposed a national dialogue on herder/farmer conflict and interfaced with the executive on the current economic, food inflation, interest rate and exchange rate crises bedeviling the country to recommend solutions in a supportive role to the government. In addition, the Senate is set to play host to a National Security Summit from September 23 to September 26, 2026 to collate views for executive action against insecurity.

The ‘Carry Go’ era

One area Nigerians worry that the 10th Senate hasn’t given its best is in the core mandate of oversight. Much of the promise to interrogate executive decisions or actions hasn’t materialised beyond passing the majority of motions/resolutions that have failed to attract the desired positive response. While the Akpabio Senate may engage in self-adulation, the opinions of independent assessors see the senior legislative chamber as not doing much to ask questions or tackle the executive on some of its policies. This ‘unwilling disposition’ has earned the 10th Senate the description of ‘Carry Go Senate’; meaning just anything from the executive has passed without the much-expected scrutiny in the last three years.

Listed here will include policies such as the sudden removal of fuel subsidy, the intervention in the exchange rate market, national budgets (2024, 2025, 2026) riddled with insertions, probes like the NNPCL’s alleged N210trillion uncounted funds, among others.

A development economist, Dr Brian Dorgu, holds the view that the 10th Senate has hardly interrogated executive decisions, beginning from the ‘sudden removal of fuel subsidy.’

Dorgu, though admitting that subsidy is unsustainable, argued that in a monolithic, petrol-dollar dependent economy like Nigeria, a ‘subsidy removal policy must first undergo serious dissection by the government, working in collaboration with relevant stakeholders for parties to make the appropriate assessment and prepare for the consequences, including making adequate provisions to cushion the harsh effects on those at the lower rung of the ladder.’

He said this vital step wasn’t taken ahead of the policy, while the legislature too merely joined in ‘cheer-leading’ the decision without ‘making any determined commitment to suggest policy reviews.’

The economic expert also observed that there had been no bold move by the Senate to oversight the ministers as it promised, beyond the ‘routine budget defence question and answer sessions, the outcome of which produced no remarkable difference in the livelihood of Nigerians.’

Critics point to loan requests approved under Akpabio’s watch since 2023 without blinking an eye, ballooning the country’s debts to N160trillion (or $114.95billion) as of March 31, 2026, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO). In June 2023, the total debt stock was N87trn.

Below is a timeline of loans approved by the Senate/National Assembly led by Akpabio in the last three years, according to available data:

July 2023 -$800 million World Bank loan. The Senate approved a World Bank loan request that had originally been initiated under Muhammadu Buhari for the National Safety Net Programme.

November 2023 – $7.8 billion and pound 100 million. The Senate approved Tinubu’s request for external borrowing of $7.8 billion and pound 100 million, following a report by its debt committee.

July 2024 -additional loan approvals tied to sector support. Reports in 2026 summarising prior approvals say the Tinubu administration secured about $1.57 billion in 2024 for healthcare, irrigation, flood management, education, and power.

May 2025 – request for $21.5 billion, $2 billion bond, and ?757.98 billion pension bond. Tinubu sent a large borrowing package to the National Assembly in May 2025, which was later reflected in approval reporting in 2025.

July 2025 -major borrowing package approved. The National Assembly approved about $21 billion in foreign loans, pound 4 billion, ¥15 billion, a $65 million grant, and $2 billion in domestic dollar-denominated borrowing; an additional $347 million under the 2025-2026 borrowing plan.

March 2026 -$6.9 billion foreign loan approved. This foreign loan facility was approved, with 40% to be used for capital projects in the 2025/2026 budgets.

Critics have queried the burgeoning loans amid the officially-acknowledged N15.8trn fuel subsidy savings and improved revenues.

Of 10th Senate and harvest of controversies

It’s considered to be perhaps the most theatrical Senate since 1999. It is not lacking in frequent dozes of comedy and controversies.

One of the earliest episodes was the ‘prayers’ the Senate President sent to the mailboxes of his colleagues in August, 2023, barely two months into the life of the 10th Senate. Money was sent to the bank accounts of senators, probably sitting allowances for the screening of ministerial nominees. At the end of the exercise, Akpabio, momentarily forgetting that he was on live recording, told senators that a ‘token’ had been sent to them.

He announced, ‘In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the clerk of the National Assembly.’ Suddenly realising his gaffe, he tried to modify it by saying, ‘I withdraw that statement. In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the Senate President has sent prayers to your mail boxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.’

Nigerians, in reacting to the development, expressed disbelief, asking how much public funds was regularly shared among their lawmakers and whether such money was budgeted or legitimately earned.

In March, 2024, the Senate suspended one of its own for three months -Sen. Abdul Ningi -for accusing the legislature of ‘padding’ the 2024 budget by N3.7tn.

He was quickly suspended after the Senate dismissed his allegation on the grounds that he used the wrong figures in his computations.

The episode that is evergreen was the bitter ‘war’ between the Senate/Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Kogi-Central lawmaker. Although her March 6, 2025 six-month suspension was the escalation of matters, tension had been building up several months earlier since July, 2024. On July 18, Akpoti-Uduaghan, during the plenary of the Senate, got up abruptly and started contributing to a debate without the presiding officer (Akpabio) yielding the floor to her. Akpabio, in a bid to caution her, compared her behaviour to people who go to nightclubs, saying that the Red Chamber isn’t a nightclub where people enjoy the freedom to speak without observing protocols!

‘Senator Natasha, you cannot speak without being asked or invited to speak in the Senate. This is not a nightclub’, Akpabio remarked, disapprovingly. It was a bad shot. Yet, the impact was not immediately felt on the floor, not even on Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the plenary went on smoothly till the adjournment.

However, the social media was soon agog with the news of the encounter as various platforms took over the ‘war’ on behalf of the female senator, some bashing Akpabio for allegedly denigrating women. This issue was so hot that for close to one week, the media feasted on it, unsettling the Senate President, especially when his wife, Unoma, also drew his attention to its seriousness.

Eventually, a humbled Akpabio had to eat the pie on July 23, ‘I will not intentionally denigrate any woman and I always pray that God will uplift women. Distinguished Senator Natasha, I want to apologise to you.’

Fast track to early 2026 when Akpabio reshuffled some standing committees, removing Akpoti-Uduaghan from the more fancied Senate Committee on Local Contents and reassigning her to the Committee on NGOs and Donor Agencies. While the Kogi lawmaker seemed to publicly accept the new development without qualms, she boiled within and kept seeking out opportunities to tackle Akpabio. The chance finally came in early March when the Senate did some rearrangement of seat allocations, displacing Akpoti-Uduaghan from where she considered a vantage location to an ‘obscure’ position. Protesting the rearrangement, she personally pulled off name tags and vehemently refused to resume her new seat, raining abuses in the process.

In a bid to rein her in, the Senate on March 6, suspended her for six months for violating its rules on sitting arrangement. Amid the drama, Akpoti-Uduaghan targeted Akpabio, accusing him of being responsible for her travails. The lawmaker went around media houses granting interviews, making sexual harassment allegations against the Senate President. A Senate panel, which investigated her claim, couldn’t establish it owing to lack of evidence.

The case also went through a number of court processes without Akpoti-Uduaghan clearly winning any of the layers. She ultimately served out her six months without fulfilling the attached condition of tendering an apology. Till date, Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan are believed to barely tolerate each other in the Senate, waiting maybe for the next stage to throw ‘punches’ again.

Just before senators went on their summer recess, another controversy raged -the amending of Senate Standing Orders to set the tone for the election of the leadership of the 11th Senate. The new rules bar some categories of senators from vying for leadership seats while conferring advantage or order of seniority on certain senators like Akpabio himself.

The development pitted Akpabio against some of his colleagues, seen to be the likely victims, including Senator Adams Oshiomhole. Akpabio and the same Oshiomhole also engaged in another spat over the N210trn NNPCL probe by the Senate, wherein the former President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) described the oil firm as being a home of ‘thieves.’

In three years, Akpabio is said to have survived a number of impeachment threats, both real and imagined, over some of his behaviour disapproved of by colleagues. His ill-timed humour on the floor that wastes legislative hours and late-coming to work, keeping senators endlessly waiting, the foisting of certain decisions on senators, budget and zonal intervention issues, committee appointments and more, are listed among his offences.

However, the Senate President scores his performance in the last three years highly, suggesting it also speaks to favourable approval ratings both within and outside the walls of the National Assembly.

According to his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, in three years, Akpabio has not only stabilised legislative governance but also made the Senate to be strengthened as an institution.

‘Three years into his tenure, the Senate under Akpabio has increasingly sought to position itself as a stable, proactive, and policy-driven legislative institution.

Through a combination of legislative initiatives, institutional reforms, parliamentary diplomacy, and engagement with critical national issues, the Senate has played a visible role in shaping the country’s governance landscape’, he said.

‘While critics have raised concerns on certain matters, an inevitable feature of democratic leadership, the overall record presents a legislature that has remained active, cohesive, and focused on its constitutional responsibilities during a period of significant national transition.’

In three years, the Akpabio-led 10th Senate has opened a mixed ledger: an energetic lawmaking record and high-profile bills that address pressing issues, set against persistent questions about oversight rigour, bill quality, and political theatre that have at times undermined public confidence. As senators return to campaign trails and the Assembly winds down, the true measure of this tenure will be whether its enacted laws translate into tangible improvements for Nigerians and whether the next Assembly learns from both its legislative gains and its governance lapses, prioritising meaningful oversight, coherence in lawmaking, and a renewed focus on national interest over spectacle, or even ‘eye-service.’

A heavy vehicular traffic crippled movements on the popular Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday as the Federal Ministry of Works commenced the repair of the damaged Kara Bridge’s expansion joints.

The gridlock, which started before noon, extended to Ojota, Lagos by 3.00pm, with motorists finding it difficult to navigate the route.

As a result, many passengers trying to find their way home, were stranded at Ojota, Secretariat and Berger bus stops.

However, commercial vehicle operators took advantage of the situation to increase fares.

The Federal Government had announced that repair work on the damaged expansion joints on the Kara Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway would commence on September 8.

A statement by the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, on Sunday, was noted that the development is in line with the Federal Ministry of Works’ earlier announcement.

The project, earlier slated to commence on August 26 this year, was suspended for traffic review, following public outcry over short notice and the need for effective traffic management.

The two-week rehabilitation, directed by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, will involve the replacement of deteriorating expansion joints to improve road safety, structural integrity and long-term traffic flow on the corridor.

The project is expected to run through September 22.

Meanwhile, the state government has advised motorists traversing the corridor to plan their journeys ahead.

To minimise its impact on traffic, the government explained that one half of the affected section will be closed at a time, while motorists share the other open half interchangeably, appealing to all motorists to exercise patience and cooperate with traffic managers to ensure the rehabilitation is completed as scheduled.

The paramount ruler of Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State, Minen Takon Atangba Nkpa, has called for a centralised New Yam Festival to unite the people and attract investment, tourism and development to the area.

The monarch made the call during an interaction with the Nigerian Tribune, following the conclusion of the Ekpache Nkome new yam festival, held at the Ikom Stadium.

Nkpa described the festival as an important part of Ikom’s cultural identity and economic life, saying a coordinated celebration would provide an opportunity to showcase the area’s agricultural and cultural potential to investors and development partners.

According to him, the festival was not merely a cultural event but also an occasion for communities to appreciate God for the harvest and celebrate the contributions of farmers to the local economy.

‘The New Yam festival is more than a cultural celebration. It is our way of thanking God for the bountiful harvest He has granted to the people of Ekpache Nkome in particular,’ the monarch said.

He added that yam remain central to the livelihood and cultural identity of farmers in the area.

‘For our farmers, the yam is not just food. It is life, wealth and identity,’ he said.

The traditional ruler expressed concern over what he described as the fragmented manner in which communities and units in Ikom celebrate their new yam festivals on different dates and different formats.

He argued that such fragmentation diminished the potential economic and developmental benefits of the celebrations.

‘Today, we see that various units and communities in Ikom Local Government Area celebrate the New Yam on different days and in different styles. When we celebrate in fragments, our impact is scattered,’ he noted.

He said a unified festival will enable the government, investors and development partners to view Ikom as a united and potentially viable destination for investment rather than as a collection of smaller communities.

Nkpa urged the people of Ikom to emulate the annual Leboku festival in Yakurr Local Government Area, which he said had grown beyond a local cultural celebration to become a major tourism and development event.

‘Take the example of Yakurr Local Government Area. Yakurr comes together as one people to celebrate the Leboku New Yam in a grand and centralised manner,’ he said.

To achieve the objective, the monarch proposed the harmonisation of New Yam festival dates across Ikom, with communities agreeing on a central date or week for the celebration.

He also called for the establishment of a central planning committee comprising representatives of the various clans and communities to coordinate the festival and liaise with government agencies, corporate organisations and potential sponsors.

The traditional ruler further advocated the strategic packaging of Ikom’s cultural heritage, cuisine, music, dance and agricultural produce as part of the festival’s attractions.

Nkpa expressed optimism that a unified festival will increase government and private-sector attention to the area and stimulate investment in infrastructure, markets, tourism and other sectors.

The Olusegun Obasanjo Leadership Institute (OOLI) on Tuesday hosted Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, for a high-level visit that underscored the Institute’s growing global relevance in leadership development and governance discourse across Africa.

During her visit, Mrs Mohammed held strategic discussions with Prof Samuel Adedeji Daramola, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Board of Trustees member of the institute.

Founded by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, OOLI, located in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, is dedicated to cultivating ethical, visionary, and transformational leaders through research, training, dialogue, and strategic partnerships.

Prof Daramola plays a central role in driving the institute’s continental leadership initiatives, working alongside former African presidents, diplomats, and global scholars to advance its mission.

Lauding OOLI as a unique platform for leadership reflection and continuity, Mrs Mohammed stated: ‘OOLI is a place for leadership to be discussed and remembered. It is important for us to stand on the shoulders of those who have been there. For us, this is a demonstration of a legacy of a life that is not yet done, but is still leading-and this is really important.’

In a statement released by Professor Elvis Otobo, the UN Deputy Chief’s remarks highlighted OOLI as both a living archive of African leadership and a forward-looking engine for nurturing the next generation of visionary leaders.

Following her interaction with Prof Daramola, the UN Deputy Secretary-General proceeded to a closed-door meeting with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

The closed-door session between Mrs Mohammed and Chief Obasanjo focused on shared priorities, including peacebuilding, sustainable development, youth leadership, and strengthening governance institutions across Africa.

The meeting reaffirmed the alignment between OOLI’s vision and the United Nations’ broader agenda for inclusive, accountable leadership and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Speaking on behalf of the Director of the Institute, General Martin Luther Agwai (rtd), Prof Daramola described the visit as a significant milestone in OOLI’s international partnerships.

‘Having the UN Deputy Secretary-General at OOLI is both an honour and a validation of our work,’ Prof Daramola said.

‘Her reflections on legacy, continuity, and standing on the shoulders of proven leaders speak directly to why OOLI exists. We are committed to translating these values into concrete programmes that impact communities, institutions, and future leaders across Africa and beyond.’

In his remarks, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo reiterated OOLI’s commitment to serving as a continental hub for leadership excellence.

‘Our goal at OOLI is to ensure that leadership in Africa is not left to chance,’ Chief Obasanjo said. ‘We are building a space where experience, scholarship, and practice meet-so that future leaders do not start from zero, but from a foundation of tested wisdom and global engagement.’

The high-level visit further positions OOLI as a strategic partner in global conversations on governance and development, opening new avenues for collaboration with multilateral institutions, universities, and civil society organisations worldwide.

Prince Gbemileke Alagbe, also known as Eleniyan, is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in this interview with RUKIYAT OGUNWADE, he speaks about the deepening crisis rocking the party over its governorship candidate in Oyo State, his political ambition among other issues. Excerpts;

There is currently confusion in the ADC in Oyo State over who the authentic governorship candidate is but INEC uploaded Chief Adegboyega’s name last Saturday. How did we get to this point?

At no time did INEC upload the name of Adegoke . What they basically did was to just display his name in one of the notice boards, which we know, is illegal, it’s criminal, and it is undemocratic. Number one, I’m the authentic candidate of the party. I contested the election, the primary election on May 22nd, 2026.

The primary election was conducted in the 351 wards of the Oyo State, and the final collation was done at the University of Ibadan and INEC was present throughout, both at the ward, at the local government, and at the state collation. After the primaries, I was declared a winner with over 15, 000 votes.

Two weeks later, we applied to INEC for a Certified True Copy of the report of the primaries. So they gave us a certified true copy report, and that to us is sufficient as the true winner of the primary.

That is actually the only certified true copy that was issued by INEC. INEC has not issued any other certified true copy report of the primaries ever since.

So I am the authentic candidate of the party. Whoever smuggles Adegoke’s name into the INEC portal is just a joker. If INEC monitor primaries, if INEC issues certified true copy of the report of the primaries in line with Section 4(i) of the Electoral Act, I don’t think INEC has any right to publish any other person’s name.

My name had been uploaded already, and you can listen to him in one of the short videos that was going viral, where he admitted that he and God knows how they get their names into the INEC portal.

The party leadership at the national level seems divided. What is your relationship with the ADC National Working Committee right now, and whose directive are you following?

For now, we have the presidential candidate and the vice presidential candidate, we have the party executives, in person of the chairman and the secretary, we are totally good, except the national secretary who seems to be insisting on imposing a candidate on us but he must have been living in the past because the present reality shows that you cannot impose a candidate on anybody, except you want to lose the election, not only the lose the election, you want to invalidate your candidacy because Section 29(i) of the electoral act is very clear that the party shall nominate the name of the duly elected candidate of the party to the INEC. So, the party has no option but to send the name of the person who truly won the primaries to INEC. So, if one person out of 1000 wants to impose an unpopular candidate on us in Oyo state, it’s not going to work. What happened in Osun and the Ekiti, cannot work in Oyo State. Oyo State is cosmopolitan, Oyo state is dynamic, and our state is a cradle of the Yorùbá politics.

Many party members say this crisis is about money and godfatherism. Is that true?

What? Well, I don’t understand because I’m hearing that for the first time. Yes, if you say godfatherism, God, the father is my own God father, and he, on the other hand, Aregbesola, is his God father. I understand. If you say money, well, I don’t think any of us is poor. You are in my house, everybody knows that nobody will be at this stage and be poor. So I don’t see how money comes into it. But maybe you can enlighten me because I really don’t understand the idea of money, but godfatherism will not work in Oyo state politics. We are more sophisticated than that, especially when you want to come from Osun to impose a candidate on us in Oyo state. It will fail flatly.

Also, there is a lot of allegation of bribery, some people were alleging that some party executives must have been compromised, that is, criminal. Maybe, himself and the people who put his name to INEC should tell us how they are able to do it without bribery. I understand why some people are alleging bribery because they must have been used. They must have been bribed. But we will look onto it eventually. If they actually go ahead with that threat to impose or to substitute me, I am going to call for a criminal investigation to the whole process because I know some people must have been compromised or induced using money because how else a political party would wants to substitute a candidate without informing the candidate? How else would you substitute a candidate without even following due process? Because the constitution says that the candidate needs to sworn an affidavit and if INEC are out of this, who compromised who

Chief Adegoke’s name is currently on the INEC portal. Does that mean the battle is already lost for you, or do you have other option?

I don’t see his name being on the portal. If INEC confirms his name is on the portal, that means we need to sue them and claim damages. They did not confirm to me that his name was on the portal. What they are telling us is that, the matter is still in court, that his name is nowhere. So as at today, I remain the validly elected candidate of ADC in Oyo State, the authentic, and whatever he is doing, all that he is parading to get a ticket of somebody attempting to submit his name somewhere, which to me is a waste of time and energy. So, if INEC do so, they should let us know so that we can sue them for damages.

There is a court case coming up in a few weeks regarding the authentic ADC candidate. What exactly are you asking the court to determine?

We are just asking the court to preserve our mandates. We told the court that we are the winner of the primaries, and we know that these people are desperate, and they can go to whatever extent to change or manipulate our mandates, so we are asking the courts to preserve the mandate. We are seeking the court to protect our mandate. We are asking the courts not to allow anybody to do otherwise. So we are asking for an injunction that no other name should be recognised, either by the party or by INEC, except my name, which I think is a normal thing in politics and a normal thing in litigation.

How confident are you that the judgment will go in your favour?

We will not tell you our strategy but will tell you things that we can tell the public, let me tell you one point. The electoral act is with us because I have quoted section 29 and section 84 during the course of this interview, and I can bet you I can put over 10 constitutional electoral act provisions that are strongly in our favour. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 amended, is strongly in our favour because it is an abuse of the right to be voted for, and for anybody to want to substitute your name without your consent. So it’s a violation of my fundamental rights for anybody, be it INEC, the party, be it Aregbesola, or whatever, want to substitute my name without my consent, having been truly voted for by the people, it is a violation of my rights. Number three, it is an abuse of the court process for any other person to claim to have been a candidate of the party, because before the primaries there has been a ruling by Justice Malik of Federal High Court, Abuja stating that it is only my group that is recognised by law, and they still appeal that judgment. The court of appeal still ruled that it is only my group that is recognised by law in Oyo State.

If the court rule against you, what will be your next line of action, will you support the party’s candidate?

Number one, the court will not rule against me. Number two, I have told you that this battle is going up to the Supreme Court. As far as I am concerned, there must be a case in the analogue of Nigerian history called Gbemileke vs INEC and ADC. There must be that case that the world will cites, and I am ready to pursue the case up to Supreme Court. So, they should not make the mess of themselves by thinking the court will rule against me because the court will not rule against me, and even if that was done, we are appealing up to Supreme Court. Nobody should think he has a monopoly of instrumentality of law. We have over 32 lawyers, and we are going to use those lawyers to our maximum benefit. We are going to use the law to our maximum advantage.

Beyond the legal battle, how is this crisis affecting the party unity and the morale of ADC members in Oyo?

Well, I have been going around to tell our members to continue to support our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the vice presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi. We are campaigning every day, a day before yesterday, I was campaigning for House of Representatives and Senates in Ibadan Southwest, and we are going round to mobilise for our presidential candidate and our National Assembly candidates. And I can bet you when they lift ban on campaign for governorship, I’m going out with my campaign. If he likes he should be campaigning. That is his own business. But eventually, we know that he will be campaigning for us because we are the ones standing by the law. No court of law will rule in favour of somebody who conducted his primary in contravention with a court pronouncement, a court judgement. No courts of law. We have not descended into the abysmal of corruption and abysmal of illegality to that extent, we are a country of law, we are a country of rule and regulation, and we are a country of law and order. So whatever they are trying to do is impunity, and impunity will not stand.