Category: Nigerian Tribune

One of the easiest mistakes in political communication is to begin a politician’s story from the day he receives an appointment.

It creates an obvious credibility problem. Suddenly, every previous action is repackaged as evidence that the individual was always destined for the new responsibility.

The stronger case is chronology. In the case of Senator Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari, that chronology is particularly relevant to his appointment as Director-General of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 campaign.

Months before the Presidential Campaign Council was announced, Yari had already publicly associated himself with political mobilisation for Tinubu.

In March 2026, reports announced the establishment of the Renewed Hope Network, a political movement associated with Yari and designed to mobilise support across different constituencies for the administration and the President’s re-election project.

According to reports at the time, the organisation emerged following consultations with political stakeholders, youth organisations, women’s groups, grassroots leaders and former elected officials across the country.

Later that month, the Yari-backed organisation mobilised supporters around the APC national convention in Abuja.

These developments occurred well before August 22, when Yari was formally announced as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

That sequence matters. It provides a factual basis for discussing continuity rather than manufacturing retrospective loyalty after an appointment.

Politics inevitably generates friendships of convenience. Individuals who had displayed little interest in a political project can suddenly discover extraordinary enthusiasm once appointments become available.

Consequently, one useful measure of political commitment is what happened before there was an office to occupy.

This does not mean loyalty should replace competence as the defining consideration for an important campaign position. Indeed, unquestioning loyalty without organisational ability can become a liability.

But the combination of prior political identification and relevant organisational experience is legitimately worthy of examination.

Yari’s own position is particularly interesting because he is not coming into the campaign organisation exclusively as a presidential loyalist.

His political CV predates the Tinubu presidency by many years. He has been a party administrator, federal legislator, two-term governor, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and senator.

The significance of his pre-appointment mobilisation, therefore, lies in how it intersects with this longer political experience. Campaigns require trust because substantial political authority must be delegated.

A director-general will interact with governors, senators, ministers, party leaders, regional coordinators and support organisations, often taking decisions or resolving disagreements without the presidential candidate being personally involved.

The candidate must consequently have confidence not only in the DG’s competence but also in his commitment to the political enterprise. This is where the chronology of Yari’s recent political activities becomes important.

His association with the Renewed Hope mobilisation effort offers documentary material for a credential-based examination of that relationship.

Rather than repeatedly proclaim that Yari is ‘loyal’, a credible communication strategy should simply put the timeline before the public.

Dates are more persuasive than adjectives. Photographs are stronger than slogans. Contemporaneous newspaper reports carry more credibility than retrospective testimonies.

Statements made before an appointment are usually more useful than extravagant declarations made afterwards. That should be the governing philosophy in documenting this aspect of Yari’s political story.

Nigeria already has enough personality cults. What serious political communication requires is an accessible record from which citizens can draw their own conclusions.

The case for documenting Yari’s relationship with the Tinubu political project should therefore not be built around emotional declarations of devotion.

It should rest on evidence of what he supported, when he supported it, the organisations he established or backed, the engagements he undertook and the political resources he committed.

In political communication, chronology can be a formidable witness. And in Yari’s case, the chronology began speaking before the appointment arrived.

Dolly Parton was just simply a singer, a country musician; she was a force of nature that held her own niche against the most formidable of stars. At 80, she had lived a most meaningful and significant life. And that significance will be measured in the imprint her life, and most importantly her music, have left in the lives of millions all across the world. She was not a musician that was constrained by the limitation of country music, compared to, say, hip-hop or rap in the American music scene. Dolly Parton had a space of influence that reached far and wide.

The root of country music provides the beginning reflection about the depth of connection anyone could have with a country musician and the contents of her songs. With many traditional elements ranging from American folk music and African-American spirituals, to Irish gospel music and vaquero western music, country music combined critical components that make it a unique genre all by itself. It is a genre that is well-suited to the elevation of family values which Dolly Parton benefitted from. She grew up within a family that took music seriously as both a valuable and spiritual endeavour. She grew up singing folk songs that carry the burdens of family and communal aspirations and virtues, as well as the reckoning of what life means and brings. And yet, she had to make a decision to stay grounded in country music that does not appeal to the vast majority of people the same way other genres do. And yet, Parton not only stayed with that genre, but also revolutionised how people will take her own brand of country music.

That brand had to undermine not just the baggage of racism that country music was initially made for. It also had to challenge the thematic trope of love and the patriarchal perception of women that the male-dominated genre was working with. Dolly Parton changed all that. From her first album, Hello, I’m Dolly to ‘Jolene,’ Parton began to systematically design her own understanding of country music that would make her one of its biggest stars. Indeed, she became so successful that millions who did not like country music love Dolly Parton’s version of it. And this is in no small measure due to her dogged commitment to deepening the scope and nuances of the thematic issues that characterise country music. She consistently reconfigured the image of the woman as exemplified in one of her evergreens, ‘Just Because I’m a Woman.’ With ‘Jolene,’ one of Dolly Parton’s most memorable songs, we come face to face not only with Parton’s creativity and humour, but also her ability to turn normal feeling-of joy, jealousy, envy, fear and anxiety-into universal concerns that everyone listens to in song and can relate with. There was actually a red-haired bank teller who became interested in Dolly Parton’s husband, but her name was not Jolene. That name belonged to an eight-year-old red-haired girl who asked for Parton’s autograph. The combination of the girl’s name, the bank teller flirting with her husband, and the similarity in red hair gave birth to one powerful song that many women-and men-could understand as not just an uncommon experience in love affairs but as an emotional burden that must be endured.

I arrived at Dolly Parton from a deep connection with her lyrical narration of faith, family, country life, love and root. I had reasons to relate with memorable hit tracks like ‘The Seeker,’ ‘Sacred Memories,’ ‘Don’t Make Me Have to Come Down There,’ ‘Hello God,’ ‘In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad),’ ‘Poor Folks’ Town,’ ‘9 to 5,’ ‘Coat of Many Colors,’ ‘Jolene,’ and more. My favourites are definitely ‘Coat of Many Colors,’ ‘Hello God,’ ‘Sacred Memories,’ and her many ballads to love and loving. These were songs that resonate with my own trajectory of coming of age in a small town like Aáwé and my abiding connection with it; my sense of the deep awareness of my parents raising us as children; their determination to give us the best education rooted in values despite their grounding poverty, and my own attempts to understand the emotion of love, and more. There is also the rhythmic angle that Dolly Parton added to my search for the mystery of God and the Christian faith.

From her music, her background, her faith and other trajectories of living, Dolly Parton demonstrated the struggles of a woman who would make something tangible out of her life and become a success against all the odds that life could put on her path. From the context of crippling poverty and a lowly family upbringing in Tennessee, Parton began life with a deficit. Music could have become not just a measure of temporary joy but the framework for future aspirations that has God as a constant source of hope. Poverty and destitution would inevitably not be too significant a challenge to override her dignity and capacity to keep surging forward.

When I first heard ‘Coat of Many Colors,’ I had a moment of instant connection with Dolly Parton’s poor background and the deep philosophical essence of the track. Wealth, joy and worth are not what we often think them to be, says the song. The worth of that coat, for Parton, derives from the care, affection and love with which her mother weaves and lightens an old rag with many colours. Wealth is not due to the economic scale that society places on material possessions and the validation that comes with it; rather, for her, it derives from the state of one’s spirit, and the choice one has to make about one’s state and status in life: ‘One is only poor if they choose to be.’ And with this core message, it does not matter anymore whether her friends at school made fun of her or created a framework of social exclusion. It was sufficient for her that her mother sewed the rags of many colours into a suitable garment with love and devotion.

The universal theme of marginalisation is one I found relatable, especially growing up as I did in a small town and not having the best that the world and one’s parents could possibly want to offer. With the track titled ‘My Tennessee Mountain Home,’ it feels like I could swap childhood stories of a humble beginning with Dolly Parton. My homes at Okeho and Aáwé were both similar to her family’s small cabin apartment in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Her humble beginning mirrors my own postcolonial upbringing in a town that suffered huge infrastructural deficits with reliable electricity, modern highway, good water system and other significant elements that could have made the growing up of a child memorable in a different way. And yet, that growing up for me, and for her, was as memorable as what an idyllic country environment could afford in terms of peace, pure joy and an environment to develop mental, physical, spiritual and cultural characteristics without the ills of urbanisation and modernity.

I suspect that Dolly Parton’s sense of the divine emerged from her rural coming of age. ‘Sacred Memories’ and ‘Letter to Heaven’ are just two of some of Parton’s memorable articulations of her awareness of divine influence and direction. The beauty of this awareness, expressed in ‘The Seeker,’ is her ability to find the divine in a spiritual commitment to self, family and community. Dolly Parton’s understanding of the divine and the spiritual finds resonance in her commitment to her roots and the philosophical insights that such a commitment brings. You will look in vain for any hard theology about faith, heaven, hell, sacrament, etc. that clutter the mind. Sacredness is not a function of organised religious and institutional dogmas. On the contrary, it comes from a life imbued with humaneness, empathy, compassion and communal spirit of oneness and service. In other words, Parton’s spiritual songs connect to a secular vision of the relationship between an individual and the community that enables us to see how her religious upbringing allowed her to grow her own understanding of what it means to be a spiritual being growing up within a family and communal setting where love, devotion, dignity and commitment constitute the hallmark of the manifestation of God’s presence and move.

In Dolly Parton’s corpus of singles and albums that spans over six decades, we have been blessed with a songwriter-or more precisely a songteller, to copy the title of her autobiography-whose songs and tracks chart several ‘simple little songs’ that tell simple stories about the life, death, joy, emotions, family, religion, God, love and other crucial events and incidences in the everyday life of humans. With the guitars, banjos, fiddles, mandolins and a great voice and charismatic personality, Dolly Parton turned songs into stories and spoke to the challenges, aspirations and experiences of millions of people across continents. She challenged us all to live simply, spiritually and with a deep sense of our commitment to parents and community. This, for me, constitutes her truest legacy, beyond the millions of copies that her many songs and albums sold over the decades she was active in music. She did not only cling to country music in defiance of its rejection, she forces us into an intimate consciousness of its capacity to force us to reflect about life, about death and about the afterlife. Rest well, dear Dolly.

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) neutralised 152 terrorists, arrested 142 suspects and recorded the surrender of 219 terrorists during operations across the North-East in August.

The Acting Information Officer of the North-East Theatre Command, Capt. Goni Isa, disclosed this in an operational update on the activities of the command during the month.

Isa said the operations, which involved ground offensives, intelligence-led actions and air operations, targeted Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram elements across the theatre.

He explained that the troops conducted 10 air interdictions and neutralised nine improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during the period.

According to him, 58 weapons and explosive items were recovered, including AK-47 and AK-49 rifles, locally fabricated firearms, a hand grenade and an RPG bomb.

Isa said the troops also recovered 1,184 rounds of ammunition, 16 mobility assets, 44 mobile phones, a Sony video camcorder and N1,794,910 in cash.

He said the operations disrupted the movement and logistics of terrorist elements across the theatre.

Isa added that the surrender of 219 terrorists provided security agencies with information on the activities, movements and logistics of the insurgent groups.

He said the recovery of weapons, ammunition and other items would support efforts to disrupt terrorist supply networks and identify collaborators.

According to him, the neutralisation of nine IEDs also reduced the threat posed to troops and civilians using major routes and rural pathways.

The operations are part of the military’s ongoing campaign against ISWAP and Boko Haram in the North-East.

As political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will not be pressured into inaugurating a presidential campaign council simply because other parties have already done so.

The party said it had the sole discretion to determine when and how to organise its campaign structure, insisting that it would not copy the approach adopted by other political parties.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, stated this in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune amid growing activities by parties ahead of the 2027 polls.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) opened the window for campaign activities about three weeks ago, but the PDP is yet to announce a formal presidential campaign council or unveil its campaign programme.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), whose presidential candidate is President Bola Tinubu, has already unveiled its campaign council, while the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), which has Peter Obi as its presidential candidate, commenced campaign activities weeks ago, although an elaborate campaign council has yet to be announced.

Explaining the PDP’s position, Mohammed said the party would take decisions based on its own assessment and timing rather than respond to the activities of other political parties.

‘The PDP does not take decisions simply because of what people think or say. We make decisions when it is right for us to do so and, more importantly, when the time is right.

‘It is not about how early we act, but about how well we act and the outcome we achieve,’ he said.

Mohammed added that the party would communicate its plans to Nigerians at the appropriate time.

‘At the appropriate time, we shall speak to Nigerians,’ he added.

The PDP’s position comes amid uncertainty over its direction ahead of the election, particularly following the decision of the party’s national leader and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to support Tinubu’s re-election bid.

There are also questions surrounding the future of the party’s presidential candidate, Senator Sandy Ojang Onor, with sources claiming that the National Working Committee, led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, is awaiting further directives from the party’s leadership.

A source within the party told the newspaper that little progress had been made on the campaign because of the ongoing political calculations involving Wike.

‘I think the party is waiting for that critical moment for things to be sorted out.

‘It may be that the PDP will downplay its own presidential interest, while fully backing Tinubu, but will contest all other offices; governors, National Assembly and so on,’ the source said.

APM begins campaign Monday

Meanwhile, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has announced the formal commencement of its 2027 presidential campaign, with its candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, scheduled to inaugurate the party’s presidential campaign office in Abuja on Monday (today).

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, disclosed this, saying the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Office would serve as the national coordinating hub for the campaign.

Yusuf said the campaign would be issue-based and people-driven, with emphasis on Makinde’s policy choices and record in governance.

Makinde is contesting the presidency alongside Alhaji Lawan Daura, the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

‘The Makinde/Daura campaign will focus on solutions while presenting the candidate’s policy choices and proven record of governance to the electorate,’ Yusuf said.

He said the APM was commencing its campaign with ‘confidence, humility and an unwavering commitment’ to provide Nigerians with what he described as a credible alternative capable of restoring hope, security, prosperity and national pride.

According to him, the emergence of Makinde and Daura as the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates had triggered increased membership and support for the APM.

Yusuf attributed the development to what he described as growing confidence in the candidates’ records of integrity and public service.

He described Makinde’s candidacy as a combination of ‘competence, youthful energy, administrative experience and broad public acceptance’ required to build a safer, prosperous, united and functional Nigeria.

The APM spokesman said Makinde had also embarked on consultations with political leaders, stakeholders and communities across the country ahead of the campaign.

He said the consultations were aimed at understanding the concerns and aspirations of Nigerians and developing a comprehensive national agenda to address the country’s challenges.

Yusuf added that the party would soon unveil a policy blueprint containing practical and measurable solutions to the problems confronting Nigerians and outlining Makinde’s vision for the country.

LP adopts ‘lethal’ campaign strategy

In the Labour Party (LP), preparations are also underway for the unveiling of its presidential campaign council, although the exact date for the launch was not immediately known.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, confirmed that preparations were ongoing and that the party would soon commence its campaign.

Asogwa said the LP would adopt a conservative but ‘lethal’ campaign strategy aimed at securing victory in the 2027 elections.

‘This campaign model will be unveiled alongside the campaign council when the fine details in the organogram are conclusively sorted,’ he told the Nigerian Tribune.

National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has cancelled the operating licence of NICON Insurance Limited and appointed Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chukwuma Machukwu Ume, as Receiver/Provisional Liquidator of the company.

The regulatory action involves the cancellation of the company’s Certificate of Registration, RIC-049, following its failure to meet prescribed regulatory requirements.

The Receiver/Provisional Liquidator has subsequently issued a public notice directing policyholders, creditors, business partners, as well as the Federal, state and FCT governments and land registries to channel all matters relating to the affairs, assets and business of NICON Insurance Limited (In-Liquidation) to his office.

The notice also warned that transactions, contracts, commitments or other dealings purportedly undertaken on behalf of NICON Insurance Limited (In-Liquidation) would not be recognised or honoured without the ratification of the Receiver/Liquidator.

The development effectively transfers control of the company’s affairs to the appointed Receiver/Provisional Liquidator, who is expected to secure its assets and records, establish its liabilities and oversee the winding-up of its operations in accordance with applicable laws.

NAICOM’s action is linked to the enforcement of the new capital requirements introduced under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.

The commission had directed insurance operators to meet the revised minimum capital requirements within the stipulated recapitalisation period.

NICON Insurance was among the operators that failed to satisfy the prescribed requirements within the regulatory deadline, leading to the cancellation of its licence.

With the appointment of the Receiver/Provisional Liquidator, the next stage will involve taking control of the company’s assets and records, determining legitimate liabilities and ensuring that the winding-up process is conducted in an orderly manner.

The Receiver is also expected to liaise with NAICOM on matters arising from the liquidation and submit periodic reports on the progress of the process.

The liquidation exercise is expected to focus on protecting the interests of policyholders, creditors and other stakeholders, particularly through the verification and settlement of legitimate claims and liabilities.

The appointment of a Receiver/Provisional Liquidator constitutes a significant regulatory intervention, as it removes the affected company’s affairs from normal management and places them under the control of an officer mandated to preserve and realise its assets for the settlement of lawful obligations.

The move is also intended to prevent unauthorised dealings in the company’s assets and ensure that transactions carried out during the liquidation process are properly controlled.

NAICOM has maintained that enforcement of the recapitalisation requirements is aimed at strengthening the financial capacity of the insurance industry and ensuring that only adequately capitalised operators remain in business.

The commission recently announced that 43 insurance and reinsurance companies had successfully met the new minimum capital requirements at the end of the recapitalisation exercise.

The cancellation of NICON Insurance’s licence therefore marks the commencement of the formal process of winding up the company’s affairs, subject to applicable legal and regulatory procedures.

Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has said one of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s most consequential contributions to Nigeria was his determination to keep the country’s political space open.

Sani recalled that the late pro-democracy activist spearheaded the legal battle against stringent conditions introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for political associations seeking registration as political parties.

The governor stated this on Saturday in Kaduna at the public presentation of a book titled, Gani Fawehinmi And Uba Sani, A Tale Of Mentor And Mentee.

He recalled that many human rights and pro-democracy activists became deeply disillusioned with the democratic process at the time, but Fawehinmi refused to allow frustration to turn into despair.

”At a serious meeting, we told Chief Fawehinmi, our leader, that we were beginning to lose faith in democracy. But he would not permit frustration to become despair.

” He told us to have faith in the judiciary, faith in the rule of law and faith in democracy itself. Rather than abandon the democratic process, we would use the democratic process to defend democracy,” he argued.

According to Sani, Fawehinmi and Alhaji Balarabe Musa subsequently approached the court, with the legal battle lasting more than two years before the Court of Appeal delivered judgment.

”I recall that the ruling was delivered by Justice Dahiru Mustapha in 2002. INEC appealed to the Supreme Court, but in January 2003, the Supreme Court again ruled in our favour,” he added.

The governor said the court victory had far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s political development.

Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State pointed out that the verdict ”opened the political space in Nigeria and paved the way for the emergence of more political parties.”

He urged Nigerians to remember the contributions of those who fought for political plurality and citizens’ right to organise politically.

”Therefore, whenever we celebrate political plurality in Nigeria, whenever new parties emerge and whenever citizens exercise their rights to organise politically, we should remember those who fought to make that space possible.

”Many of those proudly identifying with all sorts of political platforms today, may not know that the freedom they exercise was secured through difficult struggles by people like Chief Gani Fawehinmi. Democracy has a history, and every freedom has a cost,” he said.

Sani advised activists, politicians across different parties and academics to periodically come together to honour those who fought and made sacrifices for democracy in Nigeria.

He described Fawehinmi as more than a fighter for political freedom, saying the late activist was ”a profoundly committed pan-Nigerian who believed that the greatness of Nigeria depended on the development of every part of the country.”

According to him, Fawehinmi also believed in ”the empowerment of every citizen, regardless of region, ethnicity, religion or social standing.”

The governor said education was another of Fawehinmi’s deepest convictions, which informed the establishment of the Gani Fawehinmi Scholarship Foundation, where he was entrusted with the responsibility of serving as Northern Coordinator.

”I persuaded him to institute a major scholarship programme for brilliant but indigent university students in Northern Nigeria because educational deprivation was particularly severe in our region at the time,” he added.

Sani disclosed that the scholarship programme awarded assistance to more than 1,000 indigent students across Northern Nigeria.

He recalled that officials travelled across universities in the region to identify deserving beneficiaries.

”Many of those beneficiaries have since become medical doctors, lawyers, academics, engineers and professionals who are contributing meaningfully to national development,” he said.

The victory of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, in the August 15, 2026 governorship election has remained unchallenged at the tribunal after the constitutional 21-day period for filing petitions expired without any petition being lodged.

The deadline for challenging the election result elapsed on Saturday, with none of the 14 political parties defeated in the poll approaching the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to contest the outcome.

Adeleke, who contested the election on the platform of the Accord, was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) State Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole.

He secured 511,067 votes, defeating his closest rival, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who recorded 444,815 votes.

A total of 15 political parties participated in the governorship election.

The tribunal office was opened at the premises of the State High Court in Oke Fia, Osogbo, shortly after INEC announced the election results to receive petitions arising from the poll.

However, with the constitutionally prescribed 21-day period now over, no petition has been received by the tribunal.

The development comes days after Oyebamiji publicly congratulated Adeleke on his victory and said the election outcome would not mark the end of the APC’s activities in the state.

Oyebamiji, while addressing APC leaders, members and supporters in Osogbo last Saturday, urged the party to shift its attention towards preparations for the 2027 general elections.

He called on members to strengthen the party’s structures, unite across its various tendencies and begin grassroots mobilisation ahead of the next electoral cycle.

The APC governorship candidate also urged party members to mobilise support for the re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other APC candidates seeking elective positions in Osun State in 2027.

While congratulating Adeleke on the victory declared by INEC, Oyebamiji encouraged APC members not to lose confidence in the party or abandon democratic principles because of the election result.

He said the party’s priority should now be to consolidate its existing structures, expand its grassroots reach and improve unity among its members.

Oyebamiji also reflected on the period after his emergence as the APC governorship candidate in December 2025, saying different factions within the party had set aside their differences to pursue a common objective.

He said the party’s campaign reached various communities and engaged groups including civil servants, retirees, artisans, students, youths, entrepreneurs, women, professionals, sporting groups, persons living with disabilities and religious organisations.

The APC candidate commended members and supporters for their loyalty, resilience and commitment during the campaign and election, saying their efforts had contributed to strengthening the party despite its defeat.

He further appealed to Adeleke, as the Chief Security Officer of the state, to ensure the safety of residents and protection of their property regardless of political affiliation.

Oyebamiji also condemned alleged harassment, intimidation and attacks against APC members, supporters and their businesses, describing such actions as threats to peace, development and investment in Osun State.

The First Baptist Church, Idiikan, Ibadan, Oyo State, has called for collective efforts by citizens, religious institutions and government to tackle the growing insecurity in Nigeria, saying the responsibility should not be left entirely in the hands of government.

The church’s Senior Pastor, Reverend Dr Solomon Oyelami made this call at a press conference held to commemorate the church’s 120th anniversary.

According to him, insecurity had developed gradually and had now become a challenge requiring the involvement of everyone.

He said while government had the primary responsibility of protecting lives and property, citizens must also assist security agencies by providing timely and useful information whenever they noticed suspicious activities.

The cleric said the church’s responsibility included educating its members, particularly youths, on moral values and working with security agencies to promote a safer society.

He added that government must also be decisive in dealing with insecurity, noting that security agencies and government could not see everything happening in every community.

Speaking on measures to prevent youths from becoming involved in cultism, kidnapping and other criminal activities, the cleric said the church was committed to preaching the word of God and inculcating sound moral values in young people.

He said the objective was to raise youths who would be guided by Christian principles and would resist immoral and criminal influences in society.

The church, which was established on August 27, 1906, is marking its 120th anniversary with the theme, ‘Joyous Celebration,’ drawn from Psalm 35:27A.

The anniversary provides an opportunity for the church to reflect on its 120 years of evangelism, education, spiritual development and service to humanity.

The church said it had also contributed to the spread of Christianity through church planting, having directly established, adopted or nurtured more than 30 Baptist churches within and outside Ibadan.

Education, healthcare projects

The church said education remained an important part of its mission, recalling that its first school was established on the day of its dedication in 1906.

It currently has First Baptist Church Private Nursery and Primary School, Idiikan, and Idiikan Baptist Comprehensive College, Fele Rab, Off Idi-Odo, Challenge, Ibadan, with an annex at Idiikan.

Looking ahead, the church said it planned to establish additional private schools to complement government efforts in education and job creation.

It also announced plans to construct the First Baptist Church, Ibadan Hospital, as part of its contribution to accessible healthcare and community development.

According to the church, the proposed hospital would not only address healthcare needs but also create employment opportunities.

The anniversary celebration, which runs from August 15 to September 6, includes seven days of fasting and prayer, the Ibadan Baptist Conference-in-Session, press conference and documentary presentation, Founders’ Day and Reunion Service, evangelism rally, Teenagers’ and Youth Night, a health programme, social visits, financial empowerment lecture, African Praise Night and the 120th Anniversary Grand Finale.

The grand finale on September 5 will feature a special fundraising for the church’s projects under the chairmanship of Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN, while the anniversary programme will conclude with a White Sunday Thanksgiving Service on September 6.

The church said the anniversary was not only a celebration of its past but also a renewed commitment to evangelism, education, healthcare, youth development and service to humanity.

It reaffirmed its determination to expand its missionary activities, establish more institutions and positively impact future generations.

The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) said on Saturday that it had disengaged some street sweepers, supervisors and a service provider over alleged indiscriminate waste dumping along the Oworonshoki-Berger axis of the state.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the authority, Dr MuyiwaGbadegesin, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

Gbadegesin said the action followed sustained investigations and surveillance of the median, which had been identified as a recurring waste hotspot.

He said investigations established the involvement of the affected sweepers in indiscriminate dumping, with the workers also confessing to the act.

He said the disengagement was aimed at reinforcing the authority’s commitment to maintaining high standards among personnel and service providers.

He warned that anyone involved in waste management must not contribute to the environmental challenges they were engaged to address.

‘Our responsibility is to keep Lagos clean, and everyone involved in that responsibility must play their part.

‘Where our investigations establish that anyone is contributing to the problem, appropriate action will be taken. There will be no exceptions,’ he said.

The LAWMA boss said the authority would continue to investigate recurring waste hotspots and sanction anyone found contributing to indiscriminate waste disposal.

He said the enforcement would be carried out irrespective of the status or role of those involved in the waste management system.

Gbadegesin urged residents, businesses and waste collectors to dispose of waste through approved channels.

He also advised residents to patronise only assigned Private Sector Participants authorised to collect waste.

The LAWMA chief stressed that waste management personnel and service providers must uphold the same standards expected of other stakeholders.

He said surveillance would be sustained along the Berger-Oworonshoki axis and other identified waste hotspots.

Gbadegesin added that further enforcement action would be taken whenever investigations established violations.

In a related development, LAWMA enforcement officials arrested two suspected illegal waste dumpers around the Berger-Oworonshoki axis.

‘One of the suspects, identified as TimileyinOjo, a load carrier, allegedly used a wheelbarrow to dump waste on the road median.

‘The second suspect, identified as a suspected cart pusher, was allegedly involved in unauthorised waste collection within the area.

‘The suspects were taken to the Oshodi Task Force Office (Mobile Court) for further investigation and prosecution under relevant environmental laws,’ he said.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has promised to tackle the housing deficit confronting police personnel, particularly officers in the rank and file.

Disu made the commitment during an inspection tour of police barracks and housing projects in Lagos State over the weekend, where he said the Nigeria Police Force would maximise funds available through the Police Mortgage Bank and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to address the accommodation needs of its personnel.

The IGP said the Force was already engaging strategic partners to unlock mortgage financing and other funding opportunities for the construction of affordable and decent homes for police officers.

‘We have a lot of money in the Police Mortgage, in the Federal Mortgage Bank, and we should take full advantage of it,’ he told journalists.

Disu said priority would be given to junior officers because they constitute the bulk of personnel deployed daily for policing duties across the country.

He explained that access to decent accommodation was not merely a welfare issue but also an important component of police effectiveness, noting that officers needed a stable environment where they could rest and prepare for the demanding task of protecting lives and property.

The IGP said the Force would work with private developers and other partners to convert available financing opportunities into actual housing projects rather than allow funds earmarked for police accommodation to remain underutilised.

During the inspection tour, Disu expressed concern over the condition of some police barracks visited, noting that several structures had become severely dilapidated after decades of use and would need to be demolished to pave the way for modern developments.

The inspection covered parts of Ikeja and Lagos Island, with the IGP saying the condition and pace of some projects required urgent attention.

He said the visit was aimed at personally assessing the projects, engaging development partners and identifying the challenges responsible for delays in their completion.

Disu acknowledged the support of the Lagos State Government, describing the partnership as critical to ongoing efforts to improve police accommodation in the state.

He also disclosed plans to redevelop the Falomo Police Hospital by upgrading its facilities and equipment as part of a broader effort to improve welfare infrastructure for police personnel.

According to him, some abandoned portions of former barracks had become occupied by unauthorised persons following the demolition of old structures and delays in commencing redevelopment.

The IGP said the Force would immediately take steps to reclaim its properties and prevent further encroachment, invoking the Broken Windows Theory to explain how neglected public facilities could become vulnerable to further deterioration and illegal occupation.

On the relocation of officers and their families during reconstruction, Disu said the Force would conduct a comprehensive headcount and provide appropriate relocation allowances to affected occupants.

He explained that the strategy would also involve phased construction in large barracks, allowing new buildings to be developed in available spaces while existing occupants remain nearby before eventually moving into completed units.

According to him, the approach would help build confidence among personnel and reassure them that the barracks were being redeveloped for their benefit rather than being sold or converted to other uses.

The IGP expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of some projects but said he was optimistic that portions of the Ikeja development could become habitable by December or January, subject to the completion schedule agreed with the developers.

He promised to make regular visits to Lagos to monitor progress and ensure that contractors and development partners remained focused on delivering the projects.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka, said the state’s partnership with the police was designed to combine government support with private sector equity to deliver modern accommodation for police personnel.

Benson-Awoyinka, who said the initiative began while she was Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, explained that the state decided to extend its housing intervention to police officers because of their critical role in maintaining security.

She said the project had experienced delays arising from headcounts, relocation, demolition, illegal shops and other challenges associated with securing vacant possession.

However, she disclosed that full possession had now been secured at Ijeh Barracks.

The commissioner said the Lagos State Government was working with private developers to accelerate the redevelopment, adding that the swampy nature of some project sites had also required land reclamation and careful engineering to prevent structural failures.

Benson-Awoyinka expressed optimism that about 1,000 housing units could be ready for police officers at Ijeh Barracks by February 2027.

She assured that the state government would continue to work closely with the police and private developers to deliver the housing project.