Category: Nigerian Tribune

IT is the task of the institutional reformer not only to push for concrete reform steps and policies, or take stock of the steady achievements of reform articulation and implementation. It is also very cogent for the institutional reformer to always stay ahead of political and electoral dynamics. The civil service was founded on its capacity for administrative stability and continuity that defies political and regime changes. In other words, despite the regular changes in government, it is the task of the civil service system to keep up the administrative frameworks that undergird the business of government. If, as it has become axiomatic, the public service is a complement to democracy and democratic governance, then it becomes important for any government hoping to achieve legitimacy in governance to keep reforming its civil service system or to keep consolidating its reform achievements.

This is the fundamental basis for this piece. It is founded on a serious question: How must we start thinking about next-level civil service reforms in Nigeria-all consolidated together in the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration and in the institutional reform programmes of some state governments, LGAs inclusive-after the 2027 elections and the constitution of new governments across the Nigerian federation? For the institutional reformer, this question implies that it does not matter which government is in place as long as such a government is either dedicated to consolidating its own reform agenda or continuing to deepen the frameworks of institutional reform left by the previous government. Administrative reform is a continuous business, given that its objective is to keep the civil service system sufficiently adaptive and creative to pre-empt challenges and generate resolutions of administrative problems.

The challenge before the communities of service and practice in Nigeria therefore derives from their responsibility to keep holding up Nigeria’s governance, administrative and institutional reforms to the mirror of global best practices and national imperatives. In other words, it is our responsibility to spotlight where we are coming from, where we are at the moment, and what possibilities for more inclusive reform the future holds if we articulate specific change management frameworks and scenario reflection. All across the world, proactive governments are recognised by their attention and dedication to continuously reassessing their policy implementation, performance effectiveness and service delivery efficiency. In the United Kingdom, for example, the government is focusing on, among many other reforms, a very strict emphasis among senior civil servants on performance management, which necessitates tying performance to pay and incentives. This also involves some kind of negotiated exit for those who are not able to meet the performance contract and its requirements.

In the United States, there is an ongoing tension in the relationship between merit and patronage, and between job security and administrative performance. In other words, the struggle lies in the need to balance political correctness with the need for professional civil servants to exercise policy discretion. In Latin America and Africa, reform efforts are directed towards transitioning the civil service away from (neo)patrimonial frameworks founded on clientelist and political patronage to meritocratic and performance-based bureaucracies that have the capacities to backstop developmental states.

The charge for the communities of service and practice is then to determine how we can align ongoing civil service reform agendas across the world with the realities of the unfinished business of administrative and institutional reforms in Nigeria. We need to determine how we can keep renewing the transformative edge of institutional reform to backstop democratic governance, especially in the next four years that the 2027 general election is set to herald. To be able to do this, we must be able to give cogent attention to a series of diagnostic questions which first emerged in my attempt to grapple with the task of researching the civil service and its reform challenges.

i. What, in the light of lessons from high-performing administrative systems across the world, can the inherited Weberian civil service achieve that will be suitable for the purpose of Nigeria’s current governance and development objectives?

ii. If delivery of democratic dividends and restoration of public trust in public institutions is a clear objective for any reform thinking, how can we reengineer the MDAs’ management system into a performance-oriented, technology-enabled, socially compliant and accountable institution in a stewardship relationship with the public under a social compact?

iii. What fundamental changes can be made to the MDAs’ personnel policies, structure and operational cost ratios that are most effective and consistent with the optimal productivity level of the national economy while restoring the status of government as an employer of choice in the labour market?

iv. How can the MDAs’ skills deficit be corrected in a manner that would achieve a mix of reskilling, regulated injection of fresh skills and some measure of rightsizing and the reduction of redundancies, if unavoidable, within a framework that labour unions will like to sign on to and partner with to spiritedly implement?

v. How would policy work and the civil service be more sensitive to the political objectives of the government and at once be accountable to the public in the context of democratic consolidation without its capacity for relative independence as an apolitical and professional entity being undermined?

vi. How can the political leadership be encouraged to commit the much-needed political will that is a defining factor in investing in the transformation of the public service?

In applying these questions to the MDAs as the operational engine room of the public service system, the fundamental issue is not just to transform their business model but also to determine the scope of reforms to prioritise in each MDA. Focusing on the federal service, therefore, this will eventually raise the crucial matter of which MDAs are the most critical in delivering on the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda specifically, and the national development agenda generally. And finally, how might such prioritised MDAs be re-engineered to better be able to efficiently and effectively manage the business of government for enhanced performance and productivity?

Given the depth of my interaction with the system and my research connection with its inner dynamics, I will hazard a recommendation that the government needs to prioritise three sets of MDAs: one, those at the forefront of delivering on national priority programmes and projects like wealth and job creation; two, those tasked with the implementation of infrastructural and project-rooted master plans involving investment possibilities, SMEs, rule-based market players, etc.; and three, those MDAs delivering human capital development, and welfare-oriented and social impact services. To jump-start their institutional reform, these MDAs will have to first be taken through basic reform housekeeping that helps them to get the basics right in terms of the fundamental elements of any effective management system that can make the public service functional. And second, there is the need to beef up the organisational IQ of the MDAs through the mobilization of technical support that will facilitate a service-wide capability review that will attempt to fill the capability gaps while reinforcing the framework of performance improvement plans that must necessarily be implemented

In the rest of this piece, I will highlight some critical reform points to signpost the next level of performance of the public service as we look to 2027 and beyond in terms of the institutional transformation of the public service. One, given the deep erosion of the status of the public service as a vocation that is a complement to a democratic government, the government must constantly work on (re)launching a cultural adjustment programme that enables it to regain public trust in the public service. This can be done through the mainstreaming of codes of ethics and codes of practice that reinvent the public service as a value-based institution. This serves as the first level in consolidating the building of a new generation of public managers that can keep driving the transformation of the system. In this regard, the establishment of a multidisciplinary talent-reinforced senior executive service (SES) feeds into this need to reinvent and rebrand the public service, and beef up its organisational IQ. In pushing for the SES model for beefing up the brain and capability readiness of the civil service, we defer to Bob Garratt’s idea that in administration, the fish always rots from the head first.

Two, rebranding the public service and establishing a senior executive service must be reinforced by the deepening of the ongoing professionalisation of some core cadres in the service. This allows the service to restore the government and the public service as an employer of choice by connecting meritocracy to diversity and talent management in recruitment. In constantly revising the intellectual contents of skills for running the business of government through benchmarking globally available competency frameworks, the public service is then able to regrade skills and competences that are accompanied by the installation of new and competitive wage structures and incentive packages, the rightsizing and downsizing alongside considerable social assistance programmes and severance packages, which deserve to be funded with a major credit facility given the incredible value that their return on investment (ROI) promises.

Three, it is inevitable and urgent that the government must keep reengineering the operating and management system of the MDAs as a safeguard to make them structurally capable of backstopping results-based performance management systems which connect talent management with knowledge, performance and productivity. We must do all it takes to create performance-managed backends in MDA operations, ones that not only displace the discredited APER scores, but also deploy new performance appraisal metrics and instruments that will henceforth account for what officers have contributed or accomplished or have the capabilities and competences to achieve. The performance management system is, of course, meant to instigate the consolidation of competency-based human resource practices, career management protocols and leadership pipelining in the service.

Four, the emergence of the new normal consequent on the COVID-19 pandemic demands that the public service, post-2027, will not be able again to ignore the critical utility of digital technologies, including the pre-eminence of artificial intelligence in the public service workplace. This demands, therefore, that if the Nigerian state is to successfully navigate a place in the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions, the public service needs to deploy new technologies in strengthening its policy management function. This can be done through reprofiling and professionalising its planning, research and statistics function, concretising the policy-research-consulting synergies as a means of deepening policy intelligence, strategic thinking, evidence-based analytics and problem-solving. The system also must consider upgrading its MandE systems, as well as consolidating and significantly upgrading its programme, project and change management capabilities.

After the general election is conducted, won and lost in 2027, what will continue to matter is the state of the public service and its capability readiness to deliver the dividends of democratic governance to Nigerians. We cannot afford to lose sight of that significant issue.

Olaopa is the Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Abuja, and Professor of Public Administration.

It is a singular honour to have been invited to serve as the Mother of the Day at this eighth annual lecture, organised by Penpushing Media.

I warmly commend the organisers for sustaining a platform that enriches public discourse and deepens our collective reflection on the issues that define the future of our democracy.

The theme of today’s lecture, ‘Restoring Electoral Integrity: The Path to Good Governance and Public Accountability’, speaks directly to one of the defining challenges of our time.

Elections are not merely periodic political contests; they are the constitutional expression of the sovereignty of the people. Their integrity is therefore indispensable to the legitimacy of government and the stability of the state.

History teaches us that enduring nations are built not simply on the strength of their constitutions but on the fidelity with which their institutions and citizens uphold them.

Good governance and public accountability do not begin after elections; they begin with elections whose outcomes command public confidence.

I therefore congratulate the organisers for convening this important conversation.

At a time when democracies across the world are confronting new tests, thoughtful engagement such as this strengthens our institutions and renews our shared commitment to democratic ideals.

It is my hope that today’s deliberations will move us beyond diagnosis to renewed resolve so that future generations may inherit a democracy that is not only constitutionally sound but also worthy of the trust and aspirations of our people.

It is, therefore, my pleasure to welcome you all to what I am confident will be an enlightening and consequential lecture.

Thank you, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Being remarks of Ambassador Dr Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu (as Mother of the Day) at the 8th Annual Lecture of Penpushing Media, held on Thursday, 23rd July, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Delta State Police Command has arrested 81 suspects during a Police raid on identified black spots across Asaba metropolis as part of efforts to tackle crime and dismantle criminal networks in the state.

The suspects, comprising 50 males and 31 females, were arrested for offences including the possession and sale of suspected illicit drugs and operating an illegal checkpoint at the Asaba-Onitsha Head Bridge.

The operation, led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police alongside tactical teams of the command, also led to the impoundment of five vehicles for various offences, including operating an unauthorised taxi park at Pinnacle Junction along Okpanam Road and facilitating the sale and distribution of suspected illicit drugs in the area.

The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement issued at the weekend, describing the operation as part of the command’s proactive strategy to dismantle criminal networks and deny offenders safe havens across the state.

According to him, exhibits recovered during the raid included large quantities of tramadol and substances suspected to be Indian hemp.

In a related development, the command said it had arrested nine additional suspects as it commenced a statewide crackdown on illegal roadblocks and unauthorised revenue collection along highways in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive to eliminate extortion and criminal activities on Nigerian roads.

The suspects were apprehended at strategic locations, including the River Niger Head Bridge linking Delta and Anambra states and the Benin-Asaba Expressway near Agbor.

The enforcement exercise targeted notorious locations where illegal toll collection and unauthorised roadblocks had hindered the free movement of motorists and posed security risks.

The command reiterated its commitment to restoring safety and order on highways across the state, assuring residents that the ongoing operations would be sustained to curb criminal activities.

The Oyo State Ministry of Health and the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, in collaboration with the Society for Family Health (SFH), have intensified efforts to promote self-care as a critical strategy for improving individual and family health, reducing the burden of preventable diseases, and achieving universal health coverage (UHC).

The 2026 Self-Care Month commemoration began with a radio phone-in programme to let listeners know that self-care isn’t a luxury anymore but an all-round approach to daily survival.

Speaking during the medical outreach session, the Reproductive Health Coordinator of the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Mrs Folasade Olatunde, who represented both the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board and the Oyo State Ministry of Health, described self-care as a comprehensive approach to maintaining physical, mental and social well-being.

‘Self-care is about how an individual takes care of himself or herself. It starts with personal hygiene, a clean environment, healthy food preparation, adequate nutrition, regular exercise, and ensuring good mental, physical and social well-being. It is a holistic approach to health,’ she said.

Olatunde encouraged people living with chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes to regularly monitor their blood pressure and blood glucose levels where possible, noting that early detection enables prompt medical intervention and better health outcomes.

On mental health, Olatunde called for an end to the stigma associated with mental illness, stressing that mental health deserves the same attention as physical health.

She also urged women, in particular, to prioritise self-care despite their multiple responsibilities, warning that prolonged stress and inadequate rest could lead to serious health complications.

Also speaking, the Oyo State Family Planning Coordinator, Mrs. Anifat Romoke Adedeji, urged residents to take greater responsibility for their health through regular self-care practices, noting that self-care empowers individuals to identify health challenges early and seek timely medical attention.

Adedeji underscored the importance of self-care in family planning, explaining that women can safely use certain contraceptive methods independently after receiving proper guidance from trained healthcare providers. According to her, daily oral contraceptive pills and self-injectable contraceptives enable women to effectively space pregnancies and plan their families without unnecessary visits to health facilities.

She stressed that family planning does not prevent couples from having children but rather helps them decide when to have them and the number they can adequately cater for, thereby promoting healthier families and reducing economic pressures.

The Adolescent Desk Officer of the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Mr Adeniyi Ademola, said self-care is equally important for adolescents, describing it as encompassing physical, emotional, social and mental well-being.

He encouraged young people to seek accurate information about their health, particularly sexual and reproductive health, instead of relying on misinformation from peers.

According to Ademola, simple practices such as getting adequate sleep, drinking enough water, recognising inappropriate behaviour and seeking help when necessary can significantly improve adolescents’ health outcomes.

He stressed that informed young people are better equipped to protect themselves, make healthy decisions and access appropriate care when needed.

The State Programme Officer for the Society for Family Health DISC 2.0 Project in Oyo State, Mrs Oluwabunmi Olajide, said the 2026 Self-Care Month celebration was designed to encourage individuals to take ownership of their health by knowing their health status, adopting preventive healthcare practices and making informed decisions about their well-being.

Olajide explained that the outreach focused on reintroducing the concept of self-care through self-care walks/exercise, community health education and free health services, including blood pressure checks, weight and height measurements, body mass index (BMI) assessments, malaria RDT screening, random blood sugar tests, HIV screening and family planning services.

She said the initiative places individuals at the centre of their healthcare, empowering them to take proactive steps to stay healthy rather than waiting until they become ill.

She added that the SFH programmes also cater to women of reproductive age, adolescents, and men by providing access to youth-friendly reproductive health information, family planning counselling and methods, and community and male engagement sessions, stressing that equipping individuals with accurate health information is essential to building healthier families and communities across Oyo State.

The medical outreach recorded an average attendance of close to 200 women and over 100 men, highlighting a rising intentionality among men regarding their health. Sustaining this momentum through occasional self-care campaigns will further encourage this positive shift, promoting proactive mental and physical healthcare habits.

CHRIST Apostolic Church (CAC) Nigeria and Overseas has reaffirmed its commitment to global evangelism with the successful completion of a six-day apostolic missionary journey to Sierra Leone, aimed at strengthening existing mission fields, encouraging missionaries, and expanding the reach of the Gospel.

The delegation, led by the Director of Missions, Pastor C. S. Fasuyi, visited mission stations in Freetown and Kenema, where they assessed the progress of the church’s evangelistic work, worship, discipleship, and community impact. The team expressed satisfaction with the steady growth of the congregations and identified the establishment of a school in Kenema as a strategic step toward enhancing the church’s social and educational ministry.

At the Kissy Mission Field in Freetown, the delegation encouraged members despite the recent theft of the church’s sound system, assuring the congregation that a replacement would be provided to sustain worship and evangelistic activities. The mission field also reflects CAC’s growing international reach, with worshippers from both Sierra Leone and neighbouring Guinea.

Although flooding prevented a visit to the Duawaz Uphill Mission Field, reports received from the area highlighted encouraging progress, with new fellowship centres flourishing in Lungi, Kariee Village, Kington, and Aberdeen through regular prayer meetings, Bible studies, youth ministry, discipleship, and community outreach.

The missionary journey underscores CAC’s unwavering commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission by strengthening believers, planting new fellowships, and advancing the Gospel across Africa.

Bauchi State Government has declared that there was no time it approved a certain amount of money as dowry for women who are intending to get married anywhere in the State.

It, therefore, dismissed as false and misleading a viral video circulating on social media platforms, particularly Facebook and TikTok, claiming that the State Governor, Sen Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, approved a fixed dowry of ?1,500 for divorced women.

The viral video, allegedly circulated by individuals described as mischief-makers, also claimed that the traditional ruler of Zar (Gum Zar) directed residents to comply with the purported government policy.

In a related claim, a social media user identified as Boroh James Hussaini alleged that the dowry for a single woman who had given birth outside marriage would be ?3,000, while unmarried women who had remained at home for a long time without giving birth would be married off to drivers free of charge.

Reacting to the allegations while addressing journalists in Bauchi, the Commissioner for Religious Affairs and Societal Reorientation, Engineer Muhammad Binni Abdulkadir, described the claims as entirely false, baseless, and fabricated.

He stated that the Bauchi State Government had never issued any directive or policy concerning the dowry of divorced or single women, emphasising that the information circulating on social media was fake and intended to mislead the public.

The Commissioner urged residents to disregard the viral video and refrain from sharing unverified information capable of causing unnecessary tension and confusion.

According to him, Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has consistently respected the religious beliefs, cultural values, and traditions of the people of Bauchi State since assuming office.

Engineer Binni Abdulkadir further called on the public to act responsibly by verifying information before sharing it and to avoid spreading falsehoods capable of undermining the peace, unity, and reputation of Bauchi State and its diverse religious and cultural heritage.

Fikun Aluko, an AI, cybersecurity and technology leader and Chevening Scholar, has challenged business leaders to move beyond simply adopting artificial intelligence (AI), urging organisations to embed the technology into their core strategy if they want to remain competitive.

Aluko made the call while delivering a presentation titled ‘From AI Strategy to AI Reality’ at the 6th International AI in Business Summit held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on June 1, 2026.

Addressing founders, investors, engineers, researchers and enterprise executives, he argued that although AI adoption has become widespread, only a small percentage of organisations are using it to create lasting business transformation.

‘Almost every organisation is using AI. Almost none are leading with it,’ Aluko said.

Citing McKinsey research, he noted that 88 per cent of organisations now use AI, yet only six per cent qualify as high-performing AI-driven businesses. He also referenced the WRITER 2026 Enterprise AI Survey, which found that 75 per cent of executives admitted their AI strategies were largely symbolic rather than practical, while 48 per cent described AI adoption in their organisations as a major disappointment.

Drawing from his experience leading enterprise-wide AI adoption across five business divisions at a leading Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) business services company, Aluko argued that successful AI implementation begins long before any technology is deployed.

‘The leadership team believed AI would make their operations faster. My job was to change that model entirely,’ he said, adding that reframing AI as organisational infrastructure rather than a productivity tool produced measurable improvements across all five divisions.

He identified three common misconceptions preventing organisations from achieving meaningful AI outcomes: viewing AI solely as a productivity tool, expecting it to solve broken organisational systems without structural change, and treating it only as a compliance or risk issue while competitors advance.

Instead, he urged executives to recognise AI as a strategic business capability that requires ownership at board level and alignment with long-term organisational objectives.

‘The six per cent have not found better technology,’ he said. ‘They have made a different foundational decision about what the technology is.’

Aluko also argued that governance should be viewed as a competitive advantage rather than an obstacle to innovation.

Drawing on his experience building enterprise cybersecurity and risk frameworks aligned with standards such as ISMS, BCMS, SOC 2, the EU AI Act, NIS2 and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), he said organisations that establish governance before deploying AI often innovate more quickly because decision-making becomes clearer.

‘What I observed was the opposite,’ he said. ‘The anxiety driving reckless speed dissolved once governance was embedded. In its place was permission to move faster.’

He contrasted Goldman Sachs’ structured AI deployment, which reportedly enabled more than 46,500 employees to use its AI platform while improving productivity and reducing client onboarding times, with the case of US pharmacy chain Rite Aid, whose AI facial recognition programme resulted in enforcement action by the US Federal Trade Commission after governance failures.

Aluko warned that African organisations serving European clients or processing data subject to European Union regulations must also prepare for the requirements of the EU AI Act, which provides for penalties of up to pound 35 million or seven per cent of global annual turnover for serious breaches.

He also highlighted the importance of developing AI skills within organisations, particularly among managers responsible for translating AI capabilities into business decisions.

Referring to his experience coaching 78 engineers and 50 engineering managers at UK-based education technology company Multiverse, as well as leading the Beyond Limits Tech Startup Fellowship across 30 countries, Aluko said many organisations underestimate the human capability required to implement AI successfully.

‘The translation sits in the manager layer and it is where most enterprise AI training never reaches,’ he said.

He cited DataCamp’s 2026 State of Data and AI Literacy Report, which found that although 82 per cent of organisations provide AI training, 59 per cent still report critical skills shortages.

Concluding his presentation, Aluko presented business leaders with a 12-question diagnostic covering leadership, governance and workforce capability.

‘The difference between the six per cent and the 88 per cent was never going to be technology,’ he said.

‘It was always going to be the quality of one decision about what AI fundamentally is. The organisations that make that decision clearly do not just use AI better. They become a different kind of organisation entirely. That is the distance between adoption and leadership. And it is available to any organisation willing to close it.’

Aluko is the founder of Hikestack, an innovation studio operating across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Over the past decade, he has worked across organisations including Deloitte, NITDA Nigeria, Beyond Limits, Skillharvest and Multiverse UK, leading AI, cybersecurity and technology initiatives across more than 30 countries.

Ebonyi Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has disclosed that Hunan and Jiangxi governments have pledged to partner with the State on development after a fruitful 9-day visit to China.

Nwifuru disclosed this in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Monday Uzor, on Sunday while addressing worshippers at the Government House Chapel in Abakaliki after he returned from a 9-day trip to China.

According to him, the delegation held ‘robust interactions’ with foreign investors and was warmly received by officials of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

‘The outcome of our visit to China was fruitful. The grace of God upon our life made it possible for us to achieve a lot,’ Governor Nwifuru said.

‘During the visit, we were received by the government of Hunan, Jiangshi. At China, the government made a tremendous remark about their interest to invest and join us to develop Ebonyi.’

The Governor attributed the ‘huge political and economic mileage’ recorded by his administration in the last three years to divine intervention and the collaboration of stakeholders.

‘We are not perfect, but we pray for more grace to keep pushing for the great interest of this state,’ he said.

‘It is the grace of God that has been protecting us and guiding us. Your prayers have been helping us. With your practical support, we have made tangible progress.’

He described Ebonyi as ‘the safest’ state and assured both foreign and local investors of a conducive environment to do business.

Governor Nwifuru commended the Apostolic Administrator of Abakaliki Catholic Diocese, Bishop Ernest Obodo, for fostering harmony between the state and the church.

‘Let me sincerely thank our dear Bishop. I have observed that the Bishop is very calm, peaceful and is a man after God’s own heart and we thank him for coming to worship with us here,’ he said.

The Governor also used the opportunity to dispel speculations about 2027 politics, saying his administration remains focused on governance.

‘The wheel of governance is running smoothly till 2031. Let us not worry for nothing, let us continue to believe in God,’ he stated.

RENOWNED financial literacy advocate and author, Yemisi Lucy Adepoju, has intensified her campaign to promote financial independence with the Ibadan edition of the review and launch of her book, Broke After Payday?, held at Roving Heights Bookstore, Awolowo Road, Ibadan.

Speaking during the event, Adepoju described the book as a practical guide designed to transform readers’ financial lives. She said it addresses every aspect of personal finance, from financial health to wealth creation and long-term financial freedom.

‘You cannot read this book and remain the same. It takes care of all aspects of financial life, financial health and financial freedom,’ she declared.

Adepoju revealed that the Ibadan event is the third stop on a nationwide tour, following successful outings in Lagos and Abuja. According to her, the campaign will continue in cities including Warri and Port Harcourt and across Northern Nigeria before expanding beyond the country’s borders.

She disclosed plans to take the financial literacy movement into 400 organisations, where employees will receive practical financial education through the book.

‘Our goal is to change the narrative. We want Nigerians and Africans to grow wealth, understand how to multiply money and ultimately enjoy financial freedom,’ she said.

Beyond Nigeria, the author said preparations are underway to launch the initiative in Ghana, Kenya, Kigali, the United Kingdom and Canada, noting that the book is already attracting global attention. She added that its foreword was written by financial experts in Australia, while copies are already being purchased in several countries through Amazon.

She described the growing international acceptance of the publication as the evolution of ‘a Nigerian movement, an African movement and now a global movement’.

Adepoju also disclosed that discussions have begun on adapting Broke After Payday? into a movie because of its unique storytelling approach.

‘People are used to financing books that read like textbooks, but this one is written like a story, and that’s what makes it different,’ she explained.

Speaking on what inspired the project, the financial expert recounted years of witnessing workers trapped in debt despite earning good salaries.

‘I’ve seen people earning as much as ?500,000 but taking home just ?30,000 because loan repayments consume their salaries. I’ve seen workers who survive on soaked garri because of poor financial decisions. Those experiences moved me to write this book,’ she said.

According to her, the mission goes beyond selling books.

‘This is not just about writing a book or making money. It is about changing people’s stories and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to enjoy financial freedom.’

Addressing concerns about Nigeria’s declining reading culture, particularly among young people, Adepoju said she intentionally adopted a storytelling style to sustain readers’ interest.

‘Everybody loves a good story. That’s why chapter titles are conversational, like ‘Who Chop My Salary?’ Once people start reading, they want to know what happens next, and before they know it, they’ve learnt valuable financial lessons.’

She added that she would complement the book with engaging digital content and videos to further reach younger audiences with shorter attention spans.

Broke After Payday? is Adepoju’s first printed publication after previously authoring several e-books, further cementing her commitment to making financial literacy practical, relatable and accessible to all.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has scheduled Saturday, August 1, 2026, for a statewide mock accreditation exercise ahead of the August 15 Osun State governorship election.

The exercise is to test the Commission’s readiness and assess the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the poll.

In a statement signed by the Head of Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity, Mr. Ariyo Rufus, on behalf of the Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, on Sunday, INEC said the mock accreditation will mirror Election Day procedures, but without actual voting.

According to the Commission, selected polling units across the three senatorial districts will participate.

The selected local governments are,

Osun Central: Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun, and Boripe; Osun East: Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade, and Obokun; and Osun West: Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South, and Ejigbo.

INEC, however, called on registered voters in the selected polling units to turn out with their valid Permanent Voter Cards for accreditation.

‘The exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the BVAS under conditions similar to those on Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,’ the statement read.

The Commission also reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election on August 15, 2026.