Category: Nigerian Tribune

Swift Telephone Network Limited (STN) has acquired a Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

According to the Communication Adviser, Chief Tajudeen Kareem, ‘This marks the beginning of a new chapter for one of Nigeria’s most resilient indigenous telecom companies.

STN was founded in 1998 under the visionary leadership of late Barr. (Mrs) Clara Adetuyi. He said STN began as a modest umbrella and table calling spot to support the NUGA Games. For Mrs Adetuyi, the word ‘Impossible’ never existed.

‘By 1999-2000, STN introduced voicemail services to the University of Lagos community, the first of its kind.

‘In 2003, STN became the first provider of digital landline services in Yaba, at a time when neither NITEL nor other operators had deployed digital telephony there.

‘That same year, STN helped power WAEC Direct, enabling millions of candidates to check results.

STN went on to provide landline services to the Nigerian Military, World Health Organisation and major government parastatals. In 2005, STN chose independence and secured its own operational licences from the NCC. The name change was approved in 2008.

However, like many Nigerian businesses, STN faced challenges, as its operations ceased in November 2010, following infrastructure loss and boardroom issues.

‘On 22 February 2022, STN formally submitted its application for the Unified Access Service Licence. After years of planning, regulatory engagement, and persistence, the UASL has now been granted by the NCC.

‘This licence is not the destination. It is the bridge. From a small business centre in 1998 to a UASL operator in 2026. The journey has been long. But the journey has never stopped,’ said Managing Director/ CEO, Oluwole Adetuyi.

The statement added that ‘Our ambition is clear. To build a telecommunications company that is proudly Nigerian in its roots, global in its outlook, and transformational in its impact.’

‘We want to connect people to opportunities, businesses to customers, and Nigeria to the possibilities of the digital future’, said STN’S Director, Legal and Regulatory Services, Yetunde Okafor. STN will announce strategic partnerships and roll-out plans in the coming weeks.’

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Sokoto State, has announced October 9, 2026, as the commencement date for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards by registered voters in the state.

The commission urged eligible citizens to collect their PVCs at designated centres and rely only on official INEC channels for information concerning the electoral process.

INEC made this known in a statement issued on Thursday by its Public Affairs Officer, Hassan Sarki Gendane, as Nigeria marked its 66th Independence Anniversary.

The commission also called on citizens to maintain peace, respect the rule of law and participate actively and responsibly in the electoral process.

According to the statement, INEC remains committed to conducting elections in accordance with the law and ensuring that every vote is properly accounted for.

It urged voters to have confidence in the electoral process and stressed that citizens have the right to freely choose their preferred candidates.

The commission congratulated Nigerians on the Independence Anniversary and called for continued support for democratic institutions and the strengthening of democracy.

The Presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr Gbenga Hashim, has challenged Nigerians to reject the idea that the country must remain a third-class nation, urging citizens to take greater ownership of Nigeria’s future ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

In an Independence Day message released in Abuja, yesterday, Hashim explained that Nigeria’s prolonged underdevelopment was not the result of a lack of resources, but of the failure to deploy the country’s enormous human, natural and institutional capacity for transformation.

He identified poverty, human trafficking, insecurity, institutional capture, the weakening of the civil service and the breakdown of security infrastructure among the factors holding the country back despite its enormous potential.

Hashim maintained that Nigeria’s young population should be transformed from a development challenge into the country’s greatest economic advantage through skills, education, employment and productive opportunities.

‘Nigeria is not a poor country. We have behaved like a poor country because we have consistently underutilised the enormous capacity available to us,’ he said.

He said the consequences of poor governance extend beyond economic statistics, affecting the security, dignity and future of ordinary Nigerians.

According to him, human trafficking, unemployment and insecurity thrive where citizens lack economic opportunity and institutions are too weak to protect vulnerable people.

‘You cannot permanently defeat trafficking without defeating the conditions that make human beings vulnerable to trafficking,’ said Hashim.

The Accord candidate insisted that the 2027 election should provide Nigerians with an opportunity to take greater responsibility for determining the country’s direction.

He urged voters to demand clear visions, measurable targets and accountability from political candidates rather than allowing elections to be reduced to personalities, ethnicity, religion or political slogans.

‘Nigeria belongs to Nigerians. We must stop behaving as spectators in the affairs of our own country,’ he said.

Hashim argued that an Accord administration would target the transformation of Nigeria into a $4 trillion economy within 8 years, an economy driven by increased production, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, technology and services.

He added that Nigeria must move from an economy focused largely on distributing resource revenues to one that creates wealth through production and value addition.

Hashim reiterated his proposal to raise Nigeria’s crude production to at least four million barrels per day within 24 months of an Accord administration.

According to him, the target would be pursued through the recovery of commercially viable shut-in oil wells, improved security, investment in production infrastructure, better crude evacuation and reforms to petroleum production costs.

He equally stressed that additional crude production must become a foundation for domestic industrialisation.

‘Four million barrels a day cannot simply mean four million barrels exported. Nigerian crude must power Nigerian industry,’ he said.

Hashim also reaffirmed his proposal for ?605 per litre as the starting sustainable petrol price, with a longer-term objective of reducing the price towards ?200-?300 per litre.

He said the policy would be based on lowering the actual cost of producing and delivering energy rather than returning to an opaque subsidy system.

The Accord candidate maintained that Nigeria must transform its oil and gas resources into the foundation of a globally competitive energy and industrial economy.

He proposed substantial expansion of crude production, refining, petrochemicals, gas processing, electricity generation, pipelines, storage and other energy infrastructure.

‘Nigeria must stop exporting the raw material and importing the finished value. We must capture the value chain here,’ Hashim said.

Hashim argued that affordable and reliable energy would be central to reviving Nigeria’s manufacturing sector and reducing production costs across the economy.

He equally proposed making West African integration a central pillar of Nigeria’s foreign policy, arguing that the region represents a major opportunity for Nigerian economic expansion.

He contended that Nigerian manufacturers, farmers, energy companies, financial institutions and technology businesses should be positioned to serve a much larger integrated West African market.

‘Our neighbourhood is not a burden, we are one family. West Africa is Nigeria’s strategic economic space.’

He argued that Nigeria’s rapidly growing young population could become the country’s greatest economic advantage if government invests deliberately in technical education, professional skills and productive employment.

‘Our young population should be Nigeria’s greatest economic asset. We must give them the skills and opportunities to turn their energy into wealth.’

He said renewal of the civil service and public institutions would be equally important, arguing that ambitious economic targets cannot be achieved without a competent and accountable state.

‘We cannot build a $4 trillion economy with institutions that cannot perform. The Nigerian state itself must be rebuilt.’

Hashim contended that Independence Day should remind Nigerians that political independence must ultimately be matched by economic and institutional independence.

‘The Nigeria we want cannot be outsourced. It cannot be imported. It must be built by Nigerians.’

To him, the 2027 election gives Nigerians an opportunity to choose not merely a government but a national direction.

‘We are offering the vision. We are offering the leadership. But the ultimate power belongs to Nigerians.’

He concluded that ‘our independence gave us ownership of Nigeria. It is time to exercise that ownership.’

There is a lot of misconception and misrepresentation of the truth. 2025 was the year we really took on a very big innovation, especially in the aspect of introducing the Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) into schools. The era of randomisation and serialisation of questions was introduced and, as we all know, whenever you are embarking on a new idea or process, no matter how you pilot or test it, you are likely to get what are commonly referred to as glitches. Meanwhile, we should not just look at it in isolation. There has been a corresponding drop in examination malpractice, which is a good aspect of the innovations that WAEC is now known for.

From 2024, there has been a drop in examination malpractice. Similarly, in 2025, we had a rate of 9.7 per cent in examination malpractice, whereas this year, the rate dropped to 8.59 per cent, a decline of 1.1 per cent. So, you find that when there is introduction of innovation for good, some people are easily beset by it, but the fact remains that there is a drop in the malpractice rate and a change in the pattern of assessment.This very year, I can confidently tell the whole world that the WAEC examination did not leak. The consequence of this was that the cyber rogue websites or cyber companies that engage in fraudulent activities or malpractice did not thrive, so they were angered. So, they are part of the aggrieved people fuelling this unnecessary controversy. There are records which indicate to us the impact of innovation, reluctance to change, and a drop in malpractice. You will agree with me that if there is no malpractice, no leakage, definitely performance will be affected.

In 2025, you had candidates who sat for English till almost 12 midnight in some centres. Also, this year in some centres, especially in Oyo, some parts of Osun and Kwara, candidates sat till late in the night for this exam. Can you tell us how much this technology that you are so proud of has helped in the conduct of WAEC examinations in Nigeria, when many candidates had to sit for your examination till late in the night? How will you explain this?

This is rather unfortunate and I want to say this emphatically that unless the stakeholders listen to us and adapt to change, we will continue to have issues which rather are surmountable. You will all recall that until the Federal Ministry of Education stepped in, schools were reluctant to come and register, such that registration of what should have been concluded in late 2024 was not concluded until April 2026. This is what you get when registrations are done very late. When we say, give us the entries in good time so that we will be able to prepare for all that needs to be planned for the conduct of the examination, stakeholders will not be forthcoming. When we finally close by our procedure and timing that will allow for a successful conduct of the examination, we closed the window and people went to the ministry saying, WAEC wants to disenfranchise our children and so on and so forth. So, delay in registration delays the preparation of the examination, printing and other logistics.

Secondly, the Federal Government had directed all examination bodies in the achievement test industry that all examinations must be conducted in the computer-based mode. So, all our arrangements were concluded to have computer-based testing deployed to schools that complied. It was also in late April that the government now formally informed us to carry out the examination in the mode that was carried out last year. We prepared for the schools that are ready and have the facilities and those schools indicated formally, not that it was forced down their throat. They indicated formally that they were ready and they had the facilities.

It was when examination actually commenced that WAEC had to now go to the press to start printing and that affected the logistics and conduct of examination. While all of this was going on, there was a particular day when teachers were demonstrating against the kidnap of their students and teachers. On that very day, all the supervisors, we had downed tools and before we could salvage the situation, it was late for some of the schools. Technology glitch does not occur in CB-WASSCE because the test environment is a secure one. It is certain that this kind of cutting and shutting off a candidate does not arise in the conduct of the CB-WASSCE. That is the clarification I would want to make here.

How many schools actually participated in WAEC this year and how many schools opted for CBT?

We have over 25,000 schools that enrolled for the examination and out of this number, the number that opted for the CB-WASSCE is in the region of about 200 schools.

Can you give us the percentage?

That is insignificant.

If we now have only 200 and we are claiming that we have opted for CBT, would it be appropriate to say WAEC is preparing for a CBT examination?

I told you that we had plans to do it on a larger scale until the formal directive from the Ministry came. That was why and how we found ourselves here. Otherwise, the plan is for virtually all the schools, particularly in urban and semi-urban centres, to do the exam using CB-WASSCE. It was only the rural schools which did not have access to technology that we would have conducted the pen-and-paper examination for. It was at the last minute that our plans changed based on the directive we received.

Will you say that the logistic challenges that you mentioned, the protest, among other challenges that you faced never affected the results of the students this year?

Yes, I will confirm to you emphatically that it did not affect the results.

Some schools observed that some of their students who did very well in UTME and other international exams such as IELTS, GRE and scored high grades, had some of the same candidates’ records in this year’s WAEC, something that they felt was below their competence. How do you justify that?

I am glad that I am talking to people who are in the education sector. Let me use myself as an example. When I was in Form 5, I took a look at Nigeria’s GCE question paper and I compared it with the London GCE question papers and I also compared it with Nigeria’s, the WAEC question paper. Believe me, the questions are on different standards. You will not expect the performance of candidates to be the same, too. Let me come to that one of the UTME that you mentioned. Did you know that UTME is a ranking test and not an achievement test? The conditions under which you sit UTME are different from that of WASSCE. It is an aptitude test, whereas WASSCE allows you to express what you have learnt in school. Let me also add this, that some people have a wrong impression that if you have an A1 in Further Mathematics, you should also have an A1 or even better grade than in General Mathematics. This is not true.

The logic and precepts of Further Mathematics is different from that of General Mathematics. I have a blood relation who also in his time, passed Further Maths very well, but he did not do well in Mathematics. Some people also think that if you are good in Physics, you should also be good in Mathematics. No, the two subjects are independent. They have different contents. More so, the IQ of the individuals in each of these subjects differs and their delivery and the marks obtained are bound to be different. Hence, I want to emphasise that you doing well in an international examination does not mean you will in WASSCE. If you must, you have to use our syllabus. You have to be guided by other resources like the Chief Examiner’s Report. When I was in secondary school, I bought for myself the WAEC examination syllabuses, which I used to assist myself. Today, I go to schools and I see that nobody has that.

We have even come up with an innovation to say, okay, let us give these candidates the opportunity to have a feel of what the CBT examination environment looks like. As a result, we provided a virtual examination environment for them to test themselves, as well as produced a hard copy of the past questions and answers for candidates to practise, but I heard people resisting and saying they do not need it. How can you sit for an examination without the right resources that will give you success in it?

Has the result of visually impaired candidates been released and what is the percentage?

With regard to results of candidates with special needs, I will say yes. However, we have a peculiar case in this instance. Usually, when we release results, we have those that have one issue or the other that we take time to manually resolve. It happens that the larger numbers come from this category and that is why we always make room for a form of regulated control assistance to be given to these candidates. I am sorry; I do not have the percentage record here with me because I did not expect the issue to come up. I can authentically inform you that we have released results of candidates with special needs.

There are so many private schools that have zero tolerance for examination malpractice that recorded poor results for the first time in their many years of participating in your examination. Don’t you think it is high time for a third-party review of WAEC results before they are released?

Let me quickly clarify here that I did not say that private schools failed because of exam malpractice. I never made such statement. I only said the road to malpractice has been closed against schools that are used to engaging in exam malpractice and that their performance will definitely be affected there. I did not direct the statement to either the public or private schools. However, we know that there are schools that thrive on malpractice and we are on the lookout for them. We are always monitoring them to hold them when we have evidence. So even when we see you or we do not see you and we have made the condition difficult for you not to perpetrate malpractice. I said there was no leakage, there was randomization, there was serialization. Why would they not fail when they are used to copying and committing other forms of exam malpractice? This goes across all the schools. It is not only in a few select school.

On how WAEC is being marked, our procedure is standard. We follow the best practices in assessment. In fact, let me even say that for this very last examination, we improved supervisors and examiners’ remuneration. Even before this year, WAEC remuneration, compared to others, if not the best, is one of the best. We did not stop there. This year, we ensured that anyone who would mark our script had his or her certificate verified to ensure that we have qualified people to work with. Apart From that, we also have checking activity to ensure that there is adequate transfer and proper computerisation. In any examination where you have humans marking it, there could be some level of subjectivity. The only instance where you can remove subjectivity is when you deploy the zombies or the computer to mark either through the E-marker, or most importantly, the AI, which we have not yet deployed.

This now calls for Nigerians to begin to pray and get prepared for objective methods because as long as assessment has the human aspect directly involved in it, there is going to be some force of subjectivity. For anyone who feels that the scores are not a true reflection of the performance, the right and the only thing, the best thing to do, is to apply and we will do the needful. We have been doing it over the years.

Let me also say that when you apply for review, is the scores could go up or it could go down. So, it is not a guarantee that if you apply, your candidate score will go up. It could go down depending on the assessment. Yes, we have a marking scheme, which is supposed to guide us. All papers are important. To some people, mathematics is more important, some go into the exam hall just to pass Music. For some, it is just to pass Food and Nutrition.

Is the review free? How much does it cost per script?

Definitely, there is a fee but I cannot quote the amount right now. Anywhere in the world, not only with WAEC, there is always a fee to pay if you apply for a review. It is not free of charge.

We would be glad to know the exact amount; you as the head should have it at your fingertips?

It is about N6,000 per script. Yes!

What happens after a school has paid for a review and it was discovered that the error is from WAEC, will they get a refund? And what will be the lot of students whose moving ahead in life is guided by the initial wrong markings?

Yes, of course. You see, WAEC does not operate in isolation. Our practice is the same as is done by other examination bodies worldwide. Serious money goes into the review exercise, but most times, many of the cases do not even warrant the stress. From the statistics I have, which I said will soon be given out, many of the schools are just agitating because they heard that there are marking issues, whereas there are really no issues.

Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) has directed civil servants across the Federal, State and Local Governments to commence a three-day warning strike from midnight on Friday, October 2, 2026, following the expiration of the deadline earlier given to the Federal Government to address its demands.

The directive was contained in a circular signed by the National Secretary of JNPSNC, Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga, and addressed to the National Presidents and General Secretaries, as well as State Chairmen and Secretaries of the council.

The council recalled that its national leadership had earlier resolved to commence the three-day warning strike if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu failed to address the issues contained in its letter to him dated September 21, 2026.

It had given the President till October 2 to heed and implement its demand that the Federal Government either reduce the price of fuel to N500 per litre or approve an immediate wage award for workers to cushion the impact of the high cost of transportation and goods and services resulting from the recent fuel price increase.

The council said the deadline had now elapsed without the demands being addressed, prompting the commencement of the warning strike.

‘Consequent upon the above, the strike shall start with effect from midnight of Friday 2nd October, 2026 to Sunday October 4th, 2026,’ JNPSNC stated.

Directing workers across the three tiers of government to join the action, the council said the prevailing economic hardship was affecting workers, their dependants and vulnerable Nigerians.

‘In the same vein, all Public Servants in the services of Federal, State and Local Governments are to join the warning strike because an injury to one is an injury to all,’ it stated.

The council said the worsening economic situation had made life increasingly difficult for workers and other Nigerians, particularly against the backdrop of rising transportation costs and the increasing prices of goods and services.

‘The economic and mental hardships are becoming unbearable and frustrating,’ it stated.

JNPSNC consequently directed its national and state structures to commence immediate mobilisation of public servants for the three-day warning strike.

‘The time to act and mobilise workers for the three days warning strike is now,’ the council declared.

The warning strike is scheduled to commence at midnight on Friday, October 2, and run through Sunday, October 4, 2026.

The council urged its leadership structures to disseminate the directive to workers across the country.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has sponsored 120 inmates of the Medium Security Correctional Centre, Kuje, of the Nigerian Correctional Service for the National Examination Council (NECO) and National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) examinations.

The philanthropic gesture by the Speaker, which held at the facility, was part of the activities marking his 61st birthday on Thursday.

This is just as inmates who benefitted from Speaker Tajudeen’s scholarships last year and scored distinctions in their exams commended him for identifying with them.

A team from the Speaker’s Office, which delivered the message to the inmates through the management of the correctional centre, noted that the ceremony was special to the Speaker, hence the gesture.

‘I leave you with three words: Believe. Learn. Rebuild. Believe that your future can be better. Learn everything that can make you a better person. And when the opportunity comes, rebuild your life and make a positive contribution to society,’ the Speaker noted.

The highlight of the event was the announcement that the Speaker would register 120 inmates for this year’s NABTEB and NECO examinations in continuation of his commitment to ensuring that incarceration does not become a barrier to education, personal development, and the opportunity to build a better future.

‘Let this occasion remind us that no human being should be defined only by his worst moment,’

his message, delivered by the Special Assistant on Humanitarian Affairs, David Igbe Okponya, read further.

He enjoined the inmates not to see their present circumstance as their final destination, noting that ‘whatever brought you here is part of your history, but it does not have to define the rest of your life.

‘Use your time here wisely. Read, study, learn a trade, acquire a skill, and build your character. When the opportunity comes for you to return to your communities, return prepared to contribute positively to your families and to Nigeria.’

There were also testimonies by previous beneficiaries as well as the cutting of the birthday cake with the inmates.

An inmate simply identified as Adeolu, who benefited from the examination sponsorship last year, said ‘a big thank you’ to the Speaker, whom he described as ‘the foundation builder-that is what we call him in here.’

Another former beneficiary simply identified as Chikwendu gave his testimony of how he switched from science to art, sat for the NECO examination sponsored by Speaker Abbas and got seven distinctions.

He said: ‘Last year, you were here to plant a seed. I want you to know that, that seed has germinated. We are indebted to our father, the Right Honourable Speaker.’

The Education Desk Officer, DSC Adikwu Owoicho, in his overview, disclosed that over 2,000 inmates have been registered for various educational programmes in the FCT Command, with those registered in 2025 recording encouraging performance in both NABTEB and NECO examinations.

‘The Speaker is taking the lead in the number of NECO and NABTEB registration sponsorships nationwide. The NGOs are doing their best, but the Speaker is taking the lead,’ he said.

Earlier, the Controller of Corrections, FCT Command, Christopher Peter Jen, who represented the Comptroller General of Corrections, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, MFR, in his welcome address, commended the Speaker complementing the efforts of the NCoS to empower inmates as part of its reformatory efforts.

The CGC described education as a critical pillar of the reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration mandate of the Service. He also advocated for employment opportunities for reformed inmates, noting that they have been reformed and are ready to contribute meaningfully to national development.

In his remarks, the representative of the Deputy Controller General in-charge of Inmates Training and Productivity (ITP), SC Igomu Augustine, appreciated the organizers for remembering the inmates and for supporting the Service to make inmates productive and useful upon re-entry into the society, adding that the Speaker is taking the lead in the registration of inmates for NECO examinations across custodial centres.

It was a symbolic moment when the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, formally passed the hosting mantle to Senegal after Nigeria hosted the 35th Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Annual General Assembly, Regional Conference and Exhibition, in Abuja.

With the handover, attention has now shifted to Dakar, where Senegal is expected to build on the momentum generated in Abuja when it hosts the 36th ACI Africa Annual General Assembly, Regional Conference and Exhibition in the country.

From 20-26 March 2027, Senegal, represented by LAS (Limak-AIBD-Summa), the operator of Blaise Diagne International Airport, is expected to organise the event.

The Abuja event, which attracted more than 500 airport professionals, policymakers, aviation experts, technology providers and other industry stakeholders from across Africa and beyond, was held from September 19 to 25, under the theme: ‘Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience.’

For one week, Abuja became a meeting point for Africa’s airport operators, regulators, policymakers, technology providers and aviation professionals.

The discussions centred on some of the most consequential issues confronting the continent›s airports, including operational efficiency, digital transformation, infrastructure modernisation, sustainability, passenger experience and resilience.

FAAN’s hosting of the event also placed Nigeria’s airport management system and infrastructure under the spotlight, providing an opportunity for the country to showcase its aviation capabilities while engaging with developments taking place across the continent.

Although Senegal is now in the picture, the transition from Abuja to Dakar should not be regarded merely as the routine movement of an annual aviation conference from one host country to another.

Rather, it should represent a continuation of the conversation and, more importantly, a test of whether African airports can translate conference resolutions, technical presentations and policy discussions into measurable improvements on the ground.

ACI Africa exists to promote cooperation, professional excellence and the exchange of knowledge among airports across the continent. Its annual conference therefore provides an important platform for airport executives, regulators, policymakers and industry partners to compare experiences, examine emerging technologies and develop common approaches to shared challenges.

For Nigeria, hosting the 35th edition was an opportunity to present its airport infrastructure and aviation capabilities to the African and international airport community.

FAAN had positioned the Abuja conference as a platform for bringing together airport CEOs, civil aviation authorities, policymakers, technology innovators and other stakeholders. The programme featured high-level discussions, technical workshops, exhibitions, business-to-business engagements and sessions focusing on smart airport technologies, climate-resilient infrastructure, passenger experience, safety innovation and public-private partnerships.

For Nigeria, the discussions were particularly relevant. The country has one of Africa›s largest aviation markets and a network of airports serving major commercial and population centres. Yet, airport development continues to face familiar challenges, including infrastructure renewal, congestion at strategic gateways, passenger processing, surface access, commercial sustainability, funding constraints and the need to maintain international standards amid local economic realities.

The Abuja conference therefore offered Nigeria more than an opportunity to host an international aviation gathering. It provided a platform for Nigerian airport managers and other industry stakeholders to examine their systems against developments elsewhere in Africa and to identify areas where operational and technological improvements could be accelerated.

The real measure of Abuja, however, should not be the number of delegates who attended, the number of organisations represented or the scale of the exhibition. It should be what changes after the conference.

Having received the hosting rights, Senegal now has the opportunity to take the issues raised in Abuja and examine them within its own airport-development experience, while providing the wider African industry with another opportunity to assess what works, what does not and what can be replicated.

Abuja has passed the baton to Dakar. The responsibility now is to ensure that the baton carries forward not just the memory of a successful conference, but a measurable programme of action.

The Presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr Gbenga Hashim, has challenged Nigerians to reject the idea that the country must remain a third-class nation, urging citizens to take greater ownership of Nigeria’s future ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

In an Independence Day message released in Abuja, yesterday, Hashim explained that Nigeria’s prolonged underdevelopment was not the result of a lack of resources, but of the failure to deploy the country’s enormous human, natural and institutional capacity for transformation.

He identified poverty, human trafficking, insecurity, institutional capture, the weakening of the civil service and the breakdown of security infrastructure among the factors holding the country back despite its enormous potential.

Hashim maintained that Nigeria’s young population should be transformed from a development challenge into the country’s greatest economic advantage through skills, education, employment and productive opportunities.

‘Nigeria is not a poor country. We have behaved like a poor country because we have consistently underutilised the enormous capacity available to us,’ he said.

He said the consequences of poor governance extend beyond economic statistics, affecting the security, dignity and future of ordinary Nigerians.

According to him, human trafficking, unemployment and insecurity thrive where citizens lack economic opportunity and institutions are too weak to protect vulnerable people.

‘You cannot permanently defeat trafficking without defeating the conditions that make human beings vulnerable to trafficking,’ said Hashim.

The Accord candidate insisted that the 2027 election should provide Nigerians with an opportunity to take greater responsibility for determining the country’s direction.

He urged voters to demand clear visions, measurable targets and accountability from political candidates rather than allowing elections to be reduced to personalities, ethnicity, religion or political slogans.

‘Nigeria belongs to Nigerians. We must stop behaving as spectators in the affairs of our own country,’ he said.

Hashim argued that an Accord administration would target the transformation of Nigeria into a $4 trillion economy within 8 years, an economy driven by increased production, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, technology and services.

He added that Nigeria must move from an economy focused largely on distributing resource revenues to one that creates wealth through production and value addition.

Hashim reiterated his proposal to raise Nigeria’s crude production to at least four million barrels per day within 24 months of an Accord administration.

According to him, the target would be pursued through the recovery of commercially viable shut-in oil wells, improved security, investment in production infrastructure, better crude evacuation and reforms to petroleum production costs.

He equally stressed that additional crude production must become a foundation for domestic industrialisation.

‘Four million barrels a day cannot simply mean four million barrels exported. Nigerian crude must power Nigerian industry,’ he said.

Hashim also reaffirmed his proposal for ?605 per litre as the starting sustainable petrol price, with a longer-term objective of reducing the price towards ?200-?300 per litre.

He said the policy would be based on lowering the actual cost of producing and delivering energy rather than returning to an opaque subsidy system.

The Accord candidate maintained that Nigeria must transform its oil and gas resources into the foundation of a globally competitive energy and industrial economy.

He proposed substantial expansion of crude production, refining, petrochemicals, gas processing, electricity generation, pipelines, storage and other energy infrastructure.

‘Nigeria must stop exporting the raw material and importing the finished value. We must capture the value chain here,’ Hashim said.

Hashim argued that affordable and reliable energy would be central to reviving Nigeria’s manufacturing sector and reducing production costs across the economy.

He equally proposed making West African integration a central pillar of Nigeria’s foreign policy, arguing that the region represents a major opportunity for Nigerian economic expansion.

He contended that Nigerian manufacturers, farmers, energy companies, financial institutions and technology businesses should be positioned to serve a much larger integrated West African market.

‘Our neighbourhood is not a burden, we are one family. West Africa is Nigeria’s strategic economic space.’

He argued that Nigeria’s rapidly growing young population could become the country’s greatest economic advantage if government invests deliberately in technical education, professional skills and productive employment.

‘Our young population should be Nigeria’s greatest economic asset. We must give them the skills and opportunities to turn their energy into wealth.’

He said renewal of the civil service and public institutions would be equally important, arguing that ambitious economic targets cannot be achieved without a competent and accountable state.

‘We cannot build a $4 trillion economy with institutions that cannot perform. The Nigerian state itself must be rebuilt.’

Hashim contended that Independence Day should remind Nigerians that political independence must ultimately be matched by economic and institutional independence.

‘The Nigeria we want cannot be outsourced. It cannot be imported. It must be built by Nigerians.’

To him, the 2027 election gives Nigerians an opportunity to choose not merely a government but a national direction.

‘We are offering the vision. We are offering the leadership. But the ultimate power belongs to Nigerians.’

He concluded that ‘our independence gave us ownership of Nigeria. It is time to exercise that ownership.’

OPPOSITION, at its best, is democracy’s conscience, a disciplined force that interrogates power, enriches public debate, and offers citizens a credible alternative. In Oyo State today, however, both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation appear to have drifted far from that noble responsibility. What should be principled engagement has been reduced to a cycle of accusations, theatrics, and unfocused hostility. In place of ideas, they offer indignation; in place of solutions, spectacle. Rather than strengthening democratic discourse, they diminish it and, in doing so, undermine their own claim to leadership. Increasingly, their conduct follows a predictable pattern: reflexive allegations that collapse under scrutiny. Claims are announced with theatrical certainty, yet when evidence is demanded, none is produced. Assertions replace facts; outrage substitutes for insight. The result is an opposition bloc that weakens itself rather than enriching the democratic process. One of their most persistent claims is that Governor Seyi Makinde has ‘paralysed’ local government administration. Yet the facts on the ground tell a different story. Local governments continue to meet their obligations: salaries are paid, projects are executed, and essential services are delivered. Roads are being rehabilitated, primary health centres are functioning, community facilities are being upgraded, and grassroots interventions have not stalled.

This allegation is not rooted in the performance of the councils but in the opposition’s need to sustain a narrative of dysfunction where none exists. It collapses under basic verification, yet is repeated with the confidence of a script rehearsed for effect rather than truth. This is not oversight; it is political theatre and not even a convincing one. In effect, the APC is telling the public that it has nothing to offer. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the APC and the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation’s approach is not the allegations themselves, but the silence that follows when the question turns to their own vision. For all the press releases, briefings, and indignation, neither the party nor its candidate has told the people what they would do differently if entrusted with power. There is no blueprint. No policy direction. No economic plan. No governance philosophy. No roadmap for security, education, infrastructure, or youth development. Just noise. Opposition is not merely about pointing out what is wrong; it is more about illuminating what could be right. Yet the opposition has offered nothing, not even a sketch of the future. This vacuum is worsened by the APC’s internal dilemma: its standard bearer, Barrister Sharafadeen Alli, lacks the stature, clarity, and policy grounding required to inspire confidence across the state.

Political analysts often observe a familiar pattern: when a party lacks a coherent agenda, credible policies, or a strong candidate, it substitutes substance with spurious allegations. Noise becomes a shield for emptiness; outrage becomes a distraction from the absence of ideas. This pattern is unmistakable in the behaviour of the APC and the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation. Their barrage of accusations is not evidence of vigilance; it is evidence of a vacuum. Instead of presenting solid plans or strong alternatives, they resort to sensational claims that collapse under scrutiny. In politics, this is not a strategy, it is a confession of incompetence and unpreparedness. A campaign confident in its candidate speaks of ideas and possibilities. A campaign uncertain of its candidate resorts to noise. The absence of a coherent vision is not a trivial flaw; it is a fundamental failure. A political organisation seeking to govern must articulate what governance under its leadership would look like. It must present a philosophy, a direction, a plan. It must show that it understands the complexities of the state and has the capacity to address them. When a campaign cannot do this, it forfeits the right to be taken seriously.

This contrast becomes even sharper when placed beside the consistent elucidation of plans by the Allied People’s Movement (APM) candidate, Honourable Bimbo Adekanmbi. While the APC and the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation rely on allegations, the APM candidate has repeatedly articulated clear, structured, and people-centred proposals for the future of Oyo State. His engagements focus on policy, not theatrics; on solutions, not sensationalism. Where the opposition offers noise, Adekanmbi offers direction. Where they recycle accusations, Adekanmbi outlines programmes. Where they evade scrutiny, he welcomes it with detailed plans. Adekanmbi’s contributions have reinforced the seriousness of the APM’s agenda. In education, he emphasises modernised learning environments, teacher retraining, and curriculum upgrades that prepare students for a competitive global economy. His focus on STEM, digital literacy, and school infrastructure stands in sharp contrast to the opposition’s fixation on allegations. On capacity development, he outlines programmes aimed at equipping young people with practical skills, from vocational training to entrepreneurship, ensuring that Oyo’s workforce is prepared for emerging opportunities. His advocacy for strengthened primary healthcare, improved hospital facilities, and community-based interventions demonstrates a clear understanding of the state’s needs. These proposals show what governance looks like when grounded in data and compassion, not theatrics.

Similarly, Adekanmbi has repeatedly stressed the importance of positioning Oyo State as a digital-economy hub through broadband expansion, tech-startup incubation, digital-skills training, and partnerships with private-sector innovators. These ideas reflect a modern, future-ready vision, the very thing the APC has failed to articulate. Adekanmbi’s clarity underscores a simple truth: serious politics is about ideas, not accusations. His coherence only magnifies the emptiness of the APC’s approach. History offers a warning. This was the fatal flaw that weakened the UK Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn. Between 2015 and 2019, Labour perfected the art of destructive opposition: loud, accusatory, ideologically rigid, and internally divided.

It hurled allegations at the ruling Conservatives but failed to offer coherent alternatives. It embraced ideological grandstanding instead of practical governance. And when voters finally asked, ‘What will you do differently?’ Labour had no answer.

The result was historic: Labour suffered its worst electoral performance since 1935 because voters concluded that ‘The Labour people are not serious.’

Oyo APC and the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation are now walking that same path.

Every unsubstantiated allegation chips away at their credibility.

Every burst of drama shrinks their relevance.

Every moment spent shouting instead of explaining signals to voters: ‘These APC people are not ready to govern.’

Internal disunity only deepens the problem. The party is battling schisms, contradictory public statements, and leaders undermining one another. Instead of presenting a united front, the opposition is divided and reactive, more focused on internal supremacy than public service. This is not the posture of a party determined to win an election; it is the posture of a bloc preparing for a catastrophic defeat.

Desperation is not a strategy; it is a symptom. And the desperation now visible in the APC and the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation is tied directly to the weakness of their candidate. A strong candidate inspires confidence, rallies supporters, and anchors a campaign with clarity and purpose. A weak candidate forces the campaign to rely on noise, sensation, and distraction.

When a political organisation believes its candidate cannot win on ideas, it tries to win on agitation. When it fears its candidate cannot inspire hope, it tries to manufacture fear. When it knows its candidate cannot articulate a credible future, it tries to discredit the present.

But voters are not fooled. They can distinguish between genuine oversight and political theatre. They can tell when criticism is grounded in fact and when it is driven by desperation. They can see when a campaign is offering a future and when it is merely shouting at the present.

Opposition, when exercised with integrity, is one of democracy’s highest duties. It demands clarity of purpose, steadiness of vision, and a commitment to the public good that rises above partisan impulse. When a political party abandons these obligations and embraces a politics of accusation, noise, and internal discord, as the APC has done, it does not weaken the government; it weakens itself.

With its theatrics and noise, it is clear that the Oyo APC is warming up for another four years in the cold as an opposition party as APM’s Bimbo Adekanmbi coasts home to victory.

The National Universities Commission [NUC] has called for stronger feedback from employers and industry to ensure that university curricula remain responsive to labour-market needs and equip graduates with relevant entrepreneurial and practical skills.

Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, made the call in Abuja, at a two-day Entrepreneurship Institutional Readiness Workshop, organised by the commission in collaboration with the British Council.

Ribadu, who was represented at the workshop by the Director, Research, Innovation and Information Technology, Mal. Lawal Mohammed Faruk, also urged universities to increase investment in innovation hubs and adopt data-driven assessments to guide curriculum review and improve entrepreneurship education.

He stressed that entrepreneurship should not be treated as an isolated course or activity, but as a holistic enterprise embedded across university systems.

He said the commission has established benchmarks for monitoring Entrepreneurship Development Centres in universities, with emphasis on quality control, effective mentorship, sustainable funding and stronger university-industry partnerships.[EDCs]

Ribadu recalled that entrepreneurship education received a major boost following the Federal Government’s directive for universities to establish functional EDCs, leading to a significant expansion of entrepreneurship education across the Nigerian University System.

He said that whereas only about seven institutions had standardised entrepreneurship courses at the time, the sector had since evolved with a clearer operational framework for quality assurance.

The NUC boss said the commission had continued to support universities through funding, capacity building, infrastructure and staffing interventions.

He added that recent curriculum reforms under the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards [CCMAS] had provided universities with greater flexibility to respond to emerging skills needs.

Ribadu noted that 30 per cent of the CCMAS curriculum content was left to the discretion of individual universities, allowing them to introduce high-demand practical skills such as software engineering, data analytics and sustainable business models.

He said assessment was also moving beyond conventional theoretical examinations to practical outcomes, including prototyping, pitching and business-plan execution.

The Executive Secretary reaffirmed the NUC’s commitment to compliance and assessment visits to ensure that entrepreneurship programmes remained relevant to industry and capable of helping graduates transition from job seekers to job creators.

He further emphasised the need for stronger collaboration among universities, employers and industry in shaping entrepreneurship education and ensuring that graduates acquire competencies required in the world of work.

Speaking at the workshop, the facilitator, Mr Daniel Emenahor, who supports international partnerships between British and Nigerian universities, said the programme was designed to facilitate practical solutions for strengthening entrepreneurship education in Nigerian universities.

The British Council Nigeria representative, Ms Donna McGowan, commended the NUC for its leadership in advancing entrepreneurship education and sustaining its partnership with the council.

She urged universities to use the opportunity to strengthen entrepreneurship education and make it an integral component of institutional development.

McGowan said universities had an important role not only in preparing young people for employment but also in enabling them to develop innovative solutions to societal challenges and create opportunities for others.

She said the major challenge was to move entrepreneurship beyond being merely a centre, course, competition or annual event to becoming an integral part of university operations.

She disclosed that the framework being explored at the workshop focused on six interconnected dimensions: Strategy, Environment, Partnerships, Pedagogy, Implementation and Impact.

According to her, a university could have a renowned entrepreneurship centre, but without institutional support, meaningful partnerships, appropriate teaching approaches and measurable outcomes, its impact would remain limited.

She therefore urged participants to examine existing practices, identify what works and the barriers confronting their institutions, and develop practical actions that could be implemented.

A major highlight of the workshop was the presentation and validation of the new Operational Guidelines for Entrepreneurship Development Centres in Nigerian Universities by the lead resource person and Professor at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Gbemisola Oke.

Oke said the guidelines had undergone several reviews and consultations involving the NUC and the British Council, resulting in what she described as a more streamlined framework.

She said the document provided guidance on the definition and functions of EDCs, staffing, infrastructure, funding sources, monitoring and evaluation.

The professor said the guidelines positioned EDCs within a university-wide entrepreneurship ecosystem rather than as standalone units, with every part of the university expected to contribute to entrepreneurial learning and development.

She said the objectives of the guidelines included providing a uniform national framework for EDCs, embedding entrepreneurial competencies across academic programmes in line with the CCMAS and global frameworks, strengthening university-community and university-industry linkages, and institutionalising a culture of innovation, monitoring and evaluation.

Oke said the framework drew from global best practices, including the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework and the Triple Helix Model of University-Industry-Government collaboration, while being adapted to Nigeria’s Agenda 2050, the National Development Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals.

She explained that the new approach represented a shift from a centrally taught, standalone entrepreneurship course to a cross-cutting capability integrated across disciplines.

The framework, she said, would cover the full cycle from research and invention through intellectual property protection, licensing, commercialisation and revenue generation.

She added that assessment under the new guidelines would increasingly focus on practical outcomes such as patents, prototypes and business creation, supported by appropriate intellectual property policies, infrastructure and incentive mechanisms.