Category: Nigerian Tribune

Sokoto State Government has completed and commissioned several rural road projects as part of efforts to connect farming communities and ease the transportation of agricultural produce across the state.

The Special Adviser to Governor Ahmed Aliyu on Rural Roads Development, Hon. Malami Muhammad Galandachi, disclosed this while highlighting the administration’s achievements in the sector.

Galandachi said the government had identified, designed and awarded contracts for about 1,365 kilometres of rural roads, with projects currently at different stages of completion.

He said while some of the roads had been completed and commissioned, others were awaiting commissioning, with construction work continuing on several others.

‘We have identified, discovered, designed and awarded contracts for about 1,365 kilometres, which are all at various levels of completion,’ he said.

‘Some are completed and commissioned, some are completed and waiting for commissioning, and some are at various levels of completion.’

According to him, the completed projects are located in different parts of the state and include feeder roads, surface-dressed roads and asphalt roads.

Galandachi cited the 23-kilometre road linking communities around Tambuwal, stretching from Dogondaji through Napa Guda and Yagawal to Tambuwal, as one of the completed projects.

He also listed the 21.18-kilometre road from Afag Alasan to Optimal Liman in Tambuwal, as well as a 14.7-kilometre asphalt road linking Nizawiya, Ngongoriyaya, Ngoromedaji and Ngongonduko communities.

The special adviser said the improved road network had begun to ease transportation challenges faced by rural residents, particularly farmers who previously found it difficult and expensive to move their produce to markets.

He cited onion-producing communities as an example, saying transportation costs had dropped significantly following the improvement of access roads.

‘Before we started this road, a bag of onions from Sete to Gada was N10,000. Now, trailers can go there and load directly,’ he said.

Galandachi disclosed that the government had also identified an additional 530 kilometres of rural roads for development, bringing the total network covered under the programme to approximately 1,895 kilometres.

He said the investment was aimed at providing easier access to farms, markets, schools and healthcare facilities across rural communities.

‘The importance of roads cannot be overemphasised. Without roads, you cannot go to school; without roads, you cannot go to hospital; and without roads, you cannot carry your food from the farm to the market,’ he said.

The adviser also revealed that construction was ongoing on three markets in Illela, Gada and Bodinga.

He said the markets, which were at different stages of completion, would feature grain markets, abattoirs and other facilities designed to support commercial activities and improve the local economy.

Galandachi, however, appealed to residents to protect the completed roads and other public infrastructure, warning against vandalism, digging up roads and the construction of unauthorised speed bumps.

‘This is public money. If it is yours or mine, nobody will allow that to happen,’ he said.

‘We are not going to take it lightly if anybody is caught trying to misuse the road.’

He assured residents that the administration would sustain its investment in rural infrastructure, stressing that improved road connectivity was essential to unlocking economic opportunities and improving the livelihoods of communities that had waited for decades for government intervention.

Election cycles are when politicians and spin doctors go down memory lane to exhume ghosts of the past. Anything to get at the opponent. Anything to gain the advantage. Suddenly, we are being told again how the leader of the Yoruba, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, ‘betrayed’ his Igbo counterpart, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, and how the so-called 1951 carpet-crossing in the Western Regional House of Assembly resulted in the loss of trust and confidence between the Yoruba and Igbo that have refused to go away. The much talked-about ‘handshake across the Niger’ is said to have become elusive since that time. Will the political gulf between two of the country’s biggest ethnic groups ever be bridged?

The starting point, according to some analysts, is to first unearth the truth. Was there really anything remotely resembling carpet-crossing in the Western Regional House of Assembly in 1951? And was Zik coasting home to victory – to become premier of the Western Region on the ticket of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) – but for the carpet-crossing? Did Chief Awolowo orchestrate the carpet-crossing to upstage Zik and become premier of the Western Region instead? Did Zik and, by extension, the Igbo, in retaliation, prefer afterwards to ally with the North instead of Awo or the Yoruba?

The 2023 presidential election rested on the tripod of North (Fulani), East (Igbo), and West (Yoruba). The Yoruba man, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, carried the day. Atiku Abubakar (Fulani) and Peter Obi (Igbo) lost the election. The election proved that in the absence of a handshake across the Niger, either of the East (Igbo) and the West (Yoruba) can still achieve the goal of cornering the presidency if they succeed in building an alliance with the North. Tinubu’s success hinged on that realisation; conversely, Atiku and Obi’s failure was explained by their inability to work together. True, then, is the saying that the failure of the children of the serpent to move in groups is what makes them easy prey for adversaries. Once bitten, twice shy, but have Atiku and Obi learnt any lessons? Has morbid ambition not blindfolded them to the stark reality of another failure if they choose, again, to hunt separately?

Failure is not only an orphan, it comes as well with lorry-loads of excuses, many of which are manufactured ahead of time. One such excuse – if Obi fails again in 2027 – is 1951! But what actually happened in 1951? Below is an account for readers to peruse. Titled ‘NCNC DID NOT WIN THE 1951 WESTERN REGION ELECTIONS’, it runs thus: ‘UNLIKE the Fulanis and the Ibos whose everlasting desire is to dominate Nigeria from Sokoto to Lagos, Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, the Yorùbá have never been comfortable with the Nigerian Union. Their noble desire is for a peaceful separation. This was the reason for Awolowo’s proposal for a SECESSION CLAUSE in the constitution. While it was supported by Ahmadu Bello, it was strongly opposed by Azikiwe because it didn’t conform to the domineering ambition of the Ibos. The colonial masters supported Azikiwe’s position because it fitted into their own agenda to keep us perpetually chained to them.

‘In pursuit of his conquest, Azikiwe made immense effort through the NCNC to be the Premier of the Western Region when it was time for the elections in 1951. However, when the NCNC lost out, instead of Azikiwe nobly accepting defeat, he went to town through the propaganda machinery of his newspaper, The West African Pilot, to claim that NCNC won but the results were manipulated to favour the Action Group (AG).

‘Anyway, the following are the accurate records, as against beer parlour and Ochanja market concoction. The stubborn fact of history that propagandists will not talk about is that the continuous false claim of NCNC’s victory in the 1951 Western Region election was challenged in court in 1959 by Awól?´w?`, Akintola and Rotimi Williams in suits No. 1/58/59, 1/50/59, 1/60/59. Judgement was passed against Azikiwe and The West African Pilot for their false claims that NCNC won the elections but were denied victory by the illegal activities of the litigants. The court ruled that the claim was false and libellous. Each of the litigants was awarded £3,500 as damages with £250 as cost in 1961. This made a total of £11,250 against the accused.

‘Yet, 10 years later in 1971, Azikiwe still wrote in his book ‘MY ODYSSEY’: ‘The NCNC was under the impression that it had won 43 seats out of 80’ but 20 of the legislators whom they ‘regarded as members, supporters or sympathisers’ aligned themselves with the Action Group!’ (Witness the way the allegations were cleverly, deceptively, and maliciously couched!).

‘For goodness’ sake, what has your illusory impression got to do with the reality on ground? Unfortunately, this lie from the pit of hell was also echoed by the likes of M. T. Mbu and Ozumba Mbadiwe and it has become the sing-song of the Ibos (till) today.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE FACTS OF HISTORY

‘The first political party in Nigeria was the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) formed by Herbert Olayinka Macaulay (a Yoruba man) on June 24, 1923. It was formed to demand for self-government from the colonialists. It existed till it transformed to the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944 after Ahmadu Bello formed the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) in August 1943.

‘All southern politicians and political leaders of all tribes (including Awolowo) were in NCNC until 1946 when Macaulay died and Zik took over. Within three years of Zik’s takeover, all key political positions in the NCNC had been thoroughly Ibolised (to the extent that, today, NCNC is only remembered as an Ibo party).

‘When Awo realised that his progressive vision for Nigeria could not be realised under an Ibo-controlled NCNC and the parochial leadership of Azikiwe, he decided to transform his ?gb?` ?m? Odùduwà to the Action Group (AG) registered on 21st March, 1951. Very many Yorùbá and some Mid-Westerners joined the AG while many Yorùbá still remained in the NCNC.

‘However, many Ìbàdàn indigenes who also left the NCNC with Awo grouped together as Máb?láj?´ Grand Alliance and decided to register on June 21, 1951 as Ibadan Peoples Party (IPP) with Augustus Meredith Adisa Akinloye as their leader. It was under this banner that they contested the September 1951 elections. They never contested as NCNC candidates.

THE ELECTIONS

‘Mr Harold Cooper was the colonial government’s Public Relations Officer. In early August 1951, he requested all the political parties wishing to field candidates for the September elections to submit the names of (their) candidates… In the West Regional Assembly, 80 seats were to be contested for, but elections in 5 seats for Lagos and 3 seats for Mid-West were postponed due to security reasons. Therefore, 72 seats were contested on 24th September, 1951.

‘AG won 38 of the seats. The 5 Lagos seats which were contested for on November 20, 1951 were all won by NCNC candidates. The 3 seats of Mid-West that were conducted on December 6, 1951 were all won by Otu Edo candidates. This completed the 80 seats. The rule was that the party with at least 41 seats shall form the government… Three AG Secretaries and another candidate under AG who contested as independent candidates won. Total = 4. Thus, the total number of AG candidates for the assembly was already 42…

‘Therefore, without a coalition, AG had crossed the winning line and were already qualified to form the government of the Western Region. Candidates of other parties that joined AG did so with common sense and the desire to partake in the government of the ruling party rather than aligning with the opposition. Even if they all joined with NCNC, their maximum number of 38 wouldn’t nullify AG’s position as the winner.

‘Note that the (non-AG) candidates were not NCNC members as at the time of the elections and did not contest under NCNC. They won their elections as candidates of their own independent parties. Their joining (forces) with the AG was not an overnight decision. The elections were concluded on December 6, 1951 and the assembly was inaugurated on January 7, 1952. Negotiation took place long before the inauguration…

‘Yet, Zik went public, without any proof whatsoever, to claim that many of the candidates that were declared winners under the AG were NCNC candidates! He said all 6 IPP members were really NCNC candidates. He also claimed that the other party candidates that declared for AG were NCNC members who ‘cross carpet’. When? How? No explanations! No evidence!

‘This made Mr Cooper call a post-election news conference in Lagos where he said: ‘Of the winning candidates, the names of 38 were on the list sent to me by the Action Group. The six successful candidates at Ibadan were all among those who had been identified to me as representing the Ibadan People’s Party. No claim of any kind had reached us about the party affiliation of the remaining successful candidates.”

‘These are not invented tales. The records of all elections conducted by the colonial administration are available at the National Archives in Nigeria and in the archives of the Colonial Administration office in London. They are accessible to any diligent enquirer.’

Now, shouldn’t an information as detailed as the one provided above be enough to lay to rest, once and for all, the tales by the moonlight of how so-called carpet-crossing allegedly engineered by Awo robbed Zik of the coveted prize of the premiership of the Western Region in 1951? And should such wild but unsubstantiated claims still continue to influence Yoruba/Igbo relations?

Former Cross River State governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, Donald Duke, has declared that Nigerians were better off under military rule, arguing that 27 years of civilian government have imposed enormous costs without delivering corresponding improvements in their lives.

‘The people today, Sunny, I would tell you that they were better off under the military,’ Duke said during an interview. ‘At least governance was not that expensive.’

He said the assessment should be measured against the welfare of citizens and the ‘democracy dividends’ delivered since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999.

‘I’m speaking broadly now,’ he said. ‘If we focus on the well-being of the people, what we term democracy dividends, how much has been delivered?

‘We’re still having the same problems we had 27 years ago. It’s getting worse. The number of children out of school has not improved; it’s deteriorating. The healthcare system is not improving; it’s deteriorating.

‘Infrastructure deficiency over the last 27 years-are we better off? The question is: are we better off today than we were in 1999? Hardly so. Hardly so.’

Duke said Nigeria had failed to resolve the fundamental problems that existed before the return of democratic government.

‘The problems that existed before 1999-electrification, unemployment-those things are still there,’ he said. ‘And I don’t see a structured approach towards dealing with these issues.

‘This is my frustration, because there’s no problem we cannot resolve. We’re not a unique country.

‘There are peer reviews you can do. How did you solve this? How did you do that? Are we thinking through our problems?’

The former governor said Nigeria’s governance crisis was worsened by an ineffective opposition and a political system in which election results often failed to reflect the wishes of voters.

‘The opposition is terribly weakened and self-centred. Democracy is also in danger,’ Duke said. ‘The results you get from the polls often don’t reflect the views of the people.

‘So there’s a disenchantment with the system, both by the contestants and the public. Most people don’t vote because they believe their votes don’t count.’

He argued that disputed elections had weakened accountability because political officeholders who did not feel answerable to voters could easily disregard their needs.

‘Because your vote doesn’t matter, there’s a tendency to take people for a ride and disregard what is required by the people,’ he said.

Duke described Nigeria’s democratic system as a pretence, alleging that neither the legislature nor the judiciary provided effective checks on executive power.

‘We don’t have a democracy. We are pretending democracy,’ he said. ‘We’re not a democracy. You and I know that.

‘And the checks and balances from the National Assembly-you know there’s no check; there’s no balance.’

He cited the speed with which the National Assembly approved the return to Nigeria’s former national anthem as evidence of lawmakers’ failure to interrogate executive proposals.

‘We changed the national anthem in a week. Nobody was asking questions,’ he said. ‘They shouted, ‘On your mandate, we shall stand,’ abdicating their responsibilities.

‘We had a Chief Justice of this country singing, ‘On your mandate, we shall stand.’ There’s no judiciary. We all know it. But are we prepared to deal with it?’

Duke blamed the country’s elite for abandoning the political space to people who treated public office as a permanent occupation.

‘It’s a failure of the elite more than anything else,’ he said. ‘We’re elites; we’re enlightened people. But we abdicated our leadership to those whom we should be leading.

‘Politics is no longer a vocation. It’s an occupation for those people. And you can’t get them out.’

He warned that the widening divide between the rich and poor posed an increasing threat to social stability.

‘There was a time when I used to be in the National Economic Intelligence Committee and Professor Aluko used to say, proverbially, that a time is coming in this country when the rich won’t sleep because the poor have not eaten.

‘I think the time is coming.’

Duke said Nigeria’s failure was particularly painful because the country possessed the human and material resources required to transform the lives of its citizens.

‘Nigeria is exceedingly blessed,’ he said. ‘It’s sad. It’s painful that we are where we are.’

Although the much-talked-about premiere of ‘A Mama Deola Wedding Story’ has come and gone, the conversation surrounding actress Damilola Oni’s outfit is showing no signs of fading, as her red-carpet appearance continues to generate reactions across the internet.

Oni turned heads at the premiere, held at IMAX Circle Mall, Lekki, Lagos, where she arrived in a striking, heavily embellished white lace gown. The fitted outfit featured sheer detailing, long sleeves and a plunging neckline, giving the actress a bold and glamorous appearance as she posed for photographs at the event.

While the premiere brought together several Nollywood stars and entertainment personalities, it was Oni’s fashion choice that has continued to attract considerable attention online.

Following the circulation of photos and videos from the event, fans and social media users have taken to various platforms to share their opinions about the outfit. While some praised the actress for her confidence, beauty and ability to pull off a daring look, others criticised the styling, describing it as too revealing and questioning whether it was appropriate for the occasion.

The contrasting opinions have kept the outfit in the spotlight even after the curtains came down on the movie premiere.

Some fans have particularly applauded Oni’s appearance, arguing that the actress looked elegant and carried herself with confidence. Others, however, were less impressed, with comments focusing on the transparency of the lace, the neckline and the overall styling of the ensemble.

The debate has also attracted reactions from entertainment followers and colleagues, adding to the growing social-media buzz surrounding the actress.

Oni herself appeared unfazed by the attention, confidently posing in the outfit and sharing images from the occasion on social media. Her post, accompanied by the hashtag #AMamaDeolaWeddingStory, has further fuelled the conversation among her followers.

The development has once again highlighted the growing influence of celebrity fashion on social media, where a red-carpet appearance can continue to dominate conversations long after an event has ended.

With the premiere now over, Damilola Oni’s white lace ensemble appears to have created a life of its own online, with fans still debating whether the outfit was a fashion statement that paid off or a look that went a little too far.

Veteran Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie, has explained why the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo remains his favourite Nigerian politician, describing the former Western Region premier as a leader with clear vision and a strong record of development.

Edochie made this known during an interview with Isbae U on the Curiosity Made Me Ask podcast, where he also spoke about his admiration for the Yoruba people and his decades-long career in the entertainment industry.

Although he said he was not interested in politics, Pete Edochie singled out Awolowo as the politician he admired most.

‘I am not into politics, but if you asked me who is my favourite politician, I will tell you it is Awolowo. There is a reason for it,’ he said.

Edochie explained that what distinguished Awolowo was his ability to clearly present his plans and explain how they would be funded.

‘Awolowo will tell you, ‘I am going to build this thing, it will cost this amount, and this is where I will get it.’ There have been no politician to achieve that,’ he said.

The actor also credited Awolowo with introducing several initiatives that were not previously available in Nigeria, particularly television broadcasting and free primary education.

‘Awolowo introduced so many things in Nigeria that were not there previously. He brought television to Nigeria in 1959, and we in the East started using TV in 1960. He also introduced free primary education,’ he said.

Edochie expressed regret that Awolowo never became president of Nigeria.

‘Regrettably, he never became president,’ he added.

The veteran actor also spoke warmly about the Yoruba people, noting his family’s connection to the ethnic group.

‘I love the Yorubas a lot, one of my sons is married to a Yoruba girl,’ he said.

Smoking could significantly reduce a person’s chances of having a baby, with new evidence linking tobacco use to infertility in women, poor sperm quality and sexual dysfunction in men, as well as lower success rates for fertility treatment.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that these reproductive health risks may also extend to non-smokers exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke.

The warning comes as the global health body publishes a new summary of evidence on tobacco use and fertility.

Infertility is already a major global health concern. About one in six people of reproductive age experience infertility during their lifetime. It is defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy after at least 12 months of regular, unprotected sex.

Research cited by the WHO indicates that smoking can have a significant impact on female fertility.

A systematic review of studies conducted between 2000 and 2026 found that women who currently smoke tobacco had a 40 per cent higher risk of infertility than women who did not smoke. The review also indicated that quitting smoking may reduce the risk.

Women who had smoked previously but had quit were found to have a 25 per cent lower risk of infertility than women who continued to smoke.

The WHO added that the impact of tobacco on fertility is not confined to women.

A review of 44 studies involving more than 60,000 men found that smoking was associated with a range of reproductive problems, including abnormal semen and sexual dysfunction.

Male smokers were more likely to experience erectile dysfunction and ejaculation problems. Smoking was also associated with reduced sperm motility, abnormal sperm shape, and the absence of sperm in semen.

These problems can make conception more difficult for couples trying to start a family.

For people turning to fertility treatment, smoking may further reduce their chances of success.

The WHO summary cites research involving 21 studies that found cigarette smoking was associated with fewer pregnancies and live births following assisted reproductive treatment, including in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The evidence suggests that smoking could roughly halve the chances of a successful fertility treatment outcome. Waterpipe smoking, including hookah and shisha, may also affect male fertility.

People do not necessarily need to smoke themselves to be exposed to potential reproductive risks.

Women exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke may have a higher risk of infertility and a lower chance of becoming pregnant during each month they try to conceive.

The WHO said evidence on newer products, including e-cigarettes, waterpipes and smokeless tobacco, is still emerging.

While the evidence is strongest for conventional cigarettes, the organisation warned that other tobacco and nicotine products could also pose risks to fertility.

The WHO is urging healthcare professionals to speak to individuals and couples planning a pregnancy about the reproductive effects of tobacco use and provide evidence-based support to help them quit.

It also recommends that brief advice on quitting should be routinely offered to all tobacco users in healthcare settings.

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed that local pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria has increased by 25 per cent following the implementation of its 5+5 policy and Ceiling List initiative.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the regulatory measures had also contributed to a shift in the ratio of imported to locally manufactured pharmaceutical products from 70:30 in 2019 to 50:50 in 2025.

Adeyeye disclosed this at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) organised Invest in Nigeria Conference and Expo 4.0, where she urged investors from more than 43 countries participating in the event to take advantage of the Federal Government’s reforms and invest in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

She said the number of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in the country had risen from 174 to 190, while 176 pharmaceutical companies had undergone facility layout reviews and approvals by NAFDAC as of June 2026.

According to her, 70 of the companies whose layouts were reviewed were existing manufacturers, while 106 were new companies, a development she said reflected growing confidence in local pharmaceutical production.

The NAFDAC boss explained that the 5+5 policy, introduced in 2019, was designed to phase out the importation of selected medicines that could be produced locally.

She said products covered by the policy were prohibited from being imported into the country and could only be manufactured locally, with companies required either to establish manufacturing facilities or engage suitably qualified Nigerian manufacturers through contract manufacturing arrangements.

Adeyeye said the Ceiling List had further strengthened the policy by increasing the number of products restricted from importation from nine in 2020 to 36.

She said the two initiatives had resulted in a 70 per cent decline in the importation of drug products covered by the measures, while encouraging more companies to establish or expand manufacturing operations in Nigeria.

The NAFDAC DG also disclosed that the number of companies involved in contract manufacturing had risen sharply from 10 in 2019 to 87 in 2026.

She said the growth in contract manufacturing was helping companies utilise existing production capacity while reducing dependence on international supply chains.

‘The rise in contract manufacturing reflects a strategic move toward sustainable and scalable local operations,’ Adeyeye said.

She added that existing manufacturing facilities were undergoing retrofitting and upgrades to meet current Good Manufacturing Practice standards.

Adeyeye said 37 existing manufacturers were currently undertaking construction and upgrades, while 28 others had completed construction and commenced operations.

She also attributed part of the growing investment in the sector to the Presidential Executive Order providing zero tariffs, excise duties and Value Added Tax on imported machinery, equipment and raw materials for local healthcare manufacturing.

The NAFDAC boss said the government policy had provided additional incentives for investors and was contributing to the shift from dependence on imported medicines towards domestic production.

‘There has been a marked increase in foreign investment, particularly in the medical devices sector,’ she said, adding that international investors were entering joint ventures with Nigerian firms to establish local manufacturing facilities.

She said the country was also witnessing increased technology transfer of formulations for which local manufacturing capacity already existed.

Adeyeye disclosed that 16 new pharmaceutical manufacturers and six new medical device and in-vitro diagnostics manufacturers had emerged, with the new facilities aligning with regulatory requirements, including the installation of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and other critical infrastructure.

She put the overall impact of the 5+5 policy and Ceiling List at 28 newly developed and retrofitted companies and 16 new facilities, totalling 44 companies and facilities and resulting in a 25 per cent increase in local manufacturing.

Adeyeye said NAFDAC would continue to support manufacturers through regulatory handholding and Corrective and Preventive Action clinics to help companies address compliance challenges.

She said the agency was also extending its local manufacturing strategy to the food and cosmetics sectors through Global Listing Re-evaluation, aimed at identifying products that could be manufactured locally and encouraging investment in their domestic production.

The NAFDAC DG urged stakeholders to collaborate with the agency in implementing the government’s local manufacturing policies, stressing that strengthening domestic production was critical to Nigeria’s food and drug security.

‘The increase in local manufacturing is in tandem with the Executive Order of the Federal Government. We should embrace it,’ she said.

Veteran Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Toyin Adegbola, is currently leading colleagues, family members, friends and well-wishers in celebrating veteran actress and theatre practitioner, Chief (Mrs) Grace Owoola Oyin-Adéjobi, popularly known as Iya Osogbo, as she clocks 96.

Iya Osogbo is set to mark the remarkable milestone with a special birthday celebration and the launch of her biography on Sunday, September 13, at the University of Ibadan International Conference Centre.

The event is expected to celebrate the life, career and enduring legacy of the veteran actress, whose contributions to Nigerian theatre, arts and culture have spanned several decades.

Iya Osogbo is also being recognised for her promotion of Christian values, moral principles and nation-building through her career and public life.

Toyin Adegbola has maintained a close relationship with the veteran actress and has continued to demonstrate her love and respect for her over the years.

The younger actress was previously among colleagues who celebrated Iya Osogbo on her 92nd and 93rd birthdays, joining others in offering prayers and sharing memorable moments with the theatre icon.

Her continued association with Iya Osogbo has further highlighted the enduring bond between veteran practitioners and younger generations within the Yoruba film and theatre industry.

The Oyo State deputy governor, Mr Bayo Lawal, is also expected to grace the occasion. His presence is expected to add further significance to the celebration, which is anticipated to attract notable personalities from the arts, entertainment and public sectors.

As Iya Osogbo clocks 96, the celebration is expected to go beyond a birthday ceremony to honour a woman whose life and career have contributed significantly to the preservation and development of Nigerian theatre and Yoruba cultural heritage.

The launch of her biography will equally provide an opportunity to document her remarkable journey and preserve the story of her contributions for present and future generations.

Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) is set to move beyond simply financing university and other tertiary education courses by increasingly linking student funding to skills in demand and employment opportunities in the Nigerian economy, its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, has said.

Sawyerr said the Fund was studying the courses being funded and the employment prospects available to graduates as part of a broader effort to ensure that government’s investment in student education produces skills required by the economy.

He disclosed this on Channels Television’s Politics Today, saying NELFund was now beginning to analyse the growing demand for its loans and determine whether the courses being financed correspond with Nigeria’s future workforce needs.

‘As we move forward, as we see how the demand is growing, we are now starting to analyse the figures. We are starting to try to understand what it is we are paying for,’ he said.

According to him, the Federal Government’s wider education reforms, including efforts to set standards, strengthen accreditation and determine the courses required for national development, would influence the direction of NELFund’s funding.

‘We will fit into that scheme and fund, alongside those initiatives, the actual programmes that are going to make a difference in Nigeria,’ he said.

Sawyerr said the Fund would increasingly ask two critical questions: ‘What sort of jobs are available? What sort of skills are required to get those jobs?’

He stressed that the intention was not to continue financing tertiary education without considering what happens to beneficiaries after graduation.

‘We are not just going to be paying for courses going forward,’ he said.

The NELFund chief said the student-loan model itself could encourage beneficiaries to think more carefully about the courses and institutions they choose because they would eventually be required to repay the money.

‘If you have to pay back money for something that you have borrowed, you are likely to be more considered about the course you are going to take,’ he said.

‘You are likely to look more closely into what sort of job opportunities there are thereafter.’

He said this could ultimately encourage students to pursue programmes with stronger employment prospects while creating competition among tertiary institutions to attract students whose education is being financed through NELFund.

‘One of the other things you are going to see over time-and this doesn’t happen overnight-is competition between institutions to attract the funding that NELFund is backing students with,’ Sawyerr said.

The Fund’s planned shift toward employability comes as NELFund records rapidly growing demand for its intervention.

Sawyerr said the Fund had received about 1.8 million applications, of which 1.659 million had been processed, with just under one million students becoming beneficiaries.

He said about N355 billion had so far been disbursed to government-owned tertiary institutions and students.

The amount comprises N162 billion in student upkeep and N192 billion in institutional charges across 319 government-owned institutions.

NELFund currently spends about N16 billion monthly on upkeep, with each beneficiary receiving N20,000.

Sawyerr said the scale of the intervention meant the Fund could no longer be viewed merely as a mechanism for settling students’ fees.

He said its growing role provided an opportunity to understand the relationship between education, skills and the labour market and to ensure that public funds were increasingly directed towards programmes capable of producing useful skills for the economy.

The NELFund boss also linked the success of the initiative to the government’s ability to create jobs for graduates.

He explained that beneficiaries would not be required to begin repaying their loans until two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps, provided they had secured employment.

‘If they don’t have a job, they don’t pay,’ he said.

According to him, employers are expected to deduct 10 per cent of the beneficiary’s salary for repayment, while deductions would stop if the individual loses employment.

Sawyerr said government’s efforts to make Nigerians employable and attract investment should therefore be viewed alongside the student-loan programme.

‘When people are employable, more investment flows into the country,’ he said.

He argued that increased investment would create more jobs, enabling graduates to earn incomes and repay the loans they received to obtain their education.

The NELFund chief described the approach as a potentially transformative programme if properly implemented across government.

‘It’s a genius programme if it’s implemented properly by all arms of government,’ he said.

As six opposition parties, through the G-100 group, begin talks on a Single-Term Transition Charter, the prospect of a united challenge to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is generating optimism. But unresolved ambitions, competing structures and the power of incumbency could yet frustrate the opposition’s bid for the presidency, reports MUIDEEN OLANIYI.

THE opposition’s search for a common strategy ahead of the 2027 presidential election appears to have entered a new phase, with six political parties agreeing to begin structured negotiations on how they can cooperate to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

At the centre of the latest initiative is a proposal for a Single-Term Transition Charter, alongside a broader framework for opposition unity and the emergence of a common presidential candidate. The development followed the G100 First Summit of Party Leaders and Stakeholders held at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on August 31, 2026.

Representatives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) agreed to establish structures for negotiating cooperation ahead of the 2027 general election. The initiative is significant because it comes at a time when opposition politicians are increasingly convinced that the possibility of defeating the APC may depend less on the popularity of individual candidates than on their ability to prevent another division of opposition votes.

The experience of the 2023 presidential election remains a major reference point. While the APC’s Bola Tinubu emerged victorious, the opposition vote was divided principally among Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and other candidates.

For opposition leaders, that outcome provides both a warning and an opportunity. The warning is that a fragmented opposition can lose an election despite commanding substantial popular support. The opportunity is that if those votes can be consolidated in 2027, the APC could face a much more formidable challenge. But achieving that objective is considerably more complicated than agreeing on the need for unity.

Building the table before negotiating the seats

In his opening remarks on behalf of G100, Mallam Salihu Moh. Lukman argued that the opposition must first create the structure for cooperation before negotiating candidates and positions. His central message was that the parties should ‘build the table before negotiating the seats.’

According to him, the experience of 2013 to 2015 demonstrated that political parties that had reasons to distrust one another could still negotiate rules and reach an agreement in the larger national interest. That process eventually produced the coalition that defeated an incumbent president in 2015.

But, according to Lukman, the opposition failed to repeat that experience in 2023. He noted that the winner of the 2023 presidential election secured just under nine million votes, while two opposition candidates obtained approximately seven million and six million votes respectively.

‘That is not a conspiracy. Nobody stole thirteen million votes. We divided them ourselves, in public and we did it knowing exactly what the consequence would be,’ he said.

The lesson, he argued, is essentially mathematical: if opposition parties divide their votes among several candidates, the ruling party can prevail with a smaller share of the overall electorate than would otherwise be necessary. Lukman said the G100 had held separate and confidential consultations with the six parties and found a broad consensus that the division of opposition forces had contributed to the 2023 outcome.

‘What has been missing is not analysis. It is a table,’ he said.

He clarified that the summit was not asking any party to dissolve or surrender its identity, nor was it asking presidential candidates to immediately withdraw from the race.

‘It is not asking any party to dissolve. It is not asking any party to disappear into another party. It is not asking any candidate to stand down,’ he said.

Rather, the objective was to create a credible platform for negotiations.

‘The immediate objective is not to compel any party to surrender its identity, candidate or legitimate interests. It is to create a credible table around which those interests can be negotiated,’ Lukman said.

The summit subsequently established three proposed standing organs – the Central Leadership Committee, Publicity and Communication Committee and Legal Committee – as well as five working groups.

The working groups are expected to prepare documents on a National Covenant for Democratic Renewal, Single-Term Transition Charter, National Reform Programme, Framework for Opposition Unity and Roadmap to a Common Presidential Candidate. Each working group has four weeks to produce a document for consideration at a second summit.

Lukman said the process should ultimately aim at producing ‘a Government of National Competence, built on competence, integrity, national inclusion, and fair representation of every party that contributes to the effort.’ That structure gives the latest initiative a more organised appearance than previous calls for opposition unity. But organisation on paper is only the beginning.

Why the opposition is optimistic

There are several reasons for the growing optimism among opposition politicians. The first is dissatisfaction with the state of the country.

The opposition parties have repeatedly pointed to insecurity, rising living costs, unemployment and what they describe as declining living standards as evidence of growing dissatisfaction with the APC administration.

Unlike the 2023 election, when voters were making judgements largely on expectations and promises, opposition leaders argue that Nigerians will enter the 2027 election with a clearer record against which to assess the incumbent government. ADC National Vice Chairman, South-South, Chief Usani Uguru, captured this argument when he said the 2027 contest would be based on ‘actual performance indices.’

‘In 2023, it was speculative of performance indices. Today, we have actual performance indices, and every one of us will agree that today we have a better judgment than the past,’ he said.

For the opposition, this provides a potentially powerful electoral weapon.

Economic hardship can generate anti-incumbency sentiment, particularly when voters believe that government policies have worsened their circumstances. But there is another side to the argument. If the economy begins to show significant improvement before the election, the same reforms that are currently unpopular could become part of the APC’s campaign argument.

Consequently, the opposition’s strongest argument today may not necessarily remain its strongest argument in 2027.

The arithmetic of opposition unity

The most compelling argument for the opposition is perhaps the simplest: arithmetic. The 2023 election demonstrated that no single opposition candidate had sufficient votes to defeat Tinubu.

But it also demonstrated that the combined votes of the major opposition candidates constituted a formidable electoral bloc. The challenge for 2027 is therefore whether the opposition can turn aggregate support into a coordinated electoral force. That is why the question of a common presidential candidate has become so important.

However, ADC’s Usani believes that even without a single candidate, opposition parties could still win if they develop the right strategy. Reflecting on the 2023 election, he said: ‘winning an election and being declared are two different things in the Nigerian democratic context.’

He argued that the political dynamics of 2027 could resemble those of 2023 and maintained that victory depends not merely on the number of candidates but on how effectively opposition parties organise their supporters.

‘The parity of concurrency of candidates today is the same as it were in 2023. And if under this contest we know that some other person won, apart from who was declared, it means even if we don’t reach a consensus, we can still win. It’s a function of strategy,’ he stated.

His argument is controversial but important. It suggests that opposition victory is not necessarily dependent on every party collapsing its identity into one platform.

Yet the counterargument is equally compelling: if several opposition candidates divide essentially the same anti-APC electorate, the ruling party may again benefit from the fragmentation.

The real challenge is therefore not simply producing more opposition candidates but finding a formula that enables their combined political strength to produce one electoral outcome.

The coalition’s greatest test: personal ambition

The biggest obstacle may not be ideology, manifesto or even regional politics. It may be ambition. Presidential politics is fundamentally a contest for power, and many of the politicians expected to play major roles in 2027 have presidential ambitions of their own.

This makes the proposed Roadmap to a Common Presidential Candidate particularly sensitive. Who becomes the candidate? How is the candidate selected?

Will the parties accept a primary, consensus or another formula? What happens if a leading candidate loses the process? What guarantees will unsuccessful candidates receive? And, perhaps most importantly, will the losing side genuinely campaign for the eventual candidate?

These questions cannot be resolved by rhetoric about patriotism alone.

The SDP National Chairman, Professor Sadiq Abubakar Umar Gombe, acknowledged the importance of sacrifice, urging opposition leaders to put aside personal ambitions and ego. He said Nigerians were prepared to vote for good governance but that the responsibility rested on opposition leaders to make the necessary sacrifices.

‘So the onus lies on us, the leaders who are entrusted with this sacred trust, to make sure that we do the needful. The first is ever we agree to come into coalition and make the necessary sacrifice between our personal ambitions, ego, and whatsoever,’ he said.

That may be the defining test of the coalition. It is relatively easy for opposition leaders to agree that Nigeria needs change. It is considerably harder for them to agree on who should lead that change.

The single-term proposal

The proposed Single-Term Transition Charter is potentially the most politically interesting component of the G100 initiative. A single-term arrangement could theoretically provide a mechanism for accommodating competing interests by assuring political actors that the presidency would not immediately become a two-term contest. It could also be presented as a transitional framework under which a coalition government would focus on institutional reforms, electoral reforms, security, economic recovery and national reconstruction before another presidential contest.

But the proposal raises its own questions. Would the arrangement be constitutionally binding? Would all coalition partners accept the same interpretation of a single term? How would succession be determined? Would the candidate who emerges agree not to seek a second term after gaining the immense political advantages of incumbency? These are not minor technicalities.

The proposal will only become politically credible if it is backed by a clear legal and constitutional framework and supported by parties whose leaders are prepared to accept enforceable limitations on their ambitions. The inclusion of the proposal in the working groups’ assignment, however, suggests that the opposition is attempting to address the issue of competing ambitions before choosing its candidate.

No single party can defeat APC alone

PRP National Chairman, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, was blunt about the scale of the challenge. ‘No party will be dishonest enough to tell you that, alone, they can defeat the APC,’ he said.

That assessment reflects the structural advantages enjoyed by the ruling party. The APC has incumbency, a nationwide political network, access to federal power and relationships with governors, legislators and political actors across the country. Opposition parties, by contrast, have different levels of organisation and varying degrees of influence across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.

Baba-Ahmed nevertheless expressed confidence that one of the presidential candidates represented at the summit would eventually become president.

‘Those who are here as presidential and vice-presidential candidates, please look behind you. Look at the cameras that are standing there. That’s the nation. The nation is paying attention to this event because one of you, by the grace of God and with the support of Nigerians, one of the presidential candidates will be President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,’ he said.

He described the coalition as a necessity rather than an indication of weakness.

‘We are not here because we are too weak. We are here because we believe the fight to get Tinubu out of power and to put one of us or all of us in power is absolutely imperative in this country,’ he stated.

Though his confidence reflects the growing belief among opposition leaders that the APC is vulnerable, vulnerability, unfortunately, is not the same as defeat.

Taking the coalition to the grassroots

Another major challenge is converting Abuja-level negotiations into grassroots political organisation. Former Niger State governor and Secretary of the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the PDP Board of Trustees, Dr Babangida Aliyu, urged the opposition to take the coalition process to the states and local governments.

His argument is important because presidential elections are not won at political summits. They are won through voter registration, mobilisation, polling-unit agents, campaign structures, logistics and the ability to protect votes on election day. Aliyu said similar meetings should be held at state and local government levels so that ordinary citizens could become part of the process.

‘So I expect that after this meeting, a directive should go out, that similar meetings should be held at the state level, and if possible, at the local government level. So the people will become very conscious of what needs to be done to be able to achieve our objective,’ he said.

This may be one of the most important recommendations arising from the summit. A coalition negotiated only among national politicians may produce an impressive communiqué but fail at the polling unit. For the opposition to defeat an incumbent president, its coalition must become a functioning electoral machine.

The power of incumbency

Even the opposition’s strongest supporters acknowledge that defeating an incumbent president will not be easy. Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Fred Agbedi, warned that the APC would benefit from the ‘paraphernalia of office.’ He said the opposition should understand the nature of the challenge ahead.

‘Understand that we have a president who says that all is fair in politics, and the president who says that all is fair has the paraphernalia of office, which we don’t have. Take note,’ he said.

That advantage should not be underestimated. Incumbency provides a ruling party with visibility, political structures and the ability to point to government projects and policies. By 2027, the Tinubu administration will also have an opportunity to campaign on whatever economic, infrastructure and institutional achievements it can demonstrate.

The opposition must therefore do more than tell Nigerians that the APC has failed. It must convince voters that it has a better alternative. That means a credible economic programme, a convincing security strategy, institutional reforms, job creation policies and a clear plan for managing Nigeria’s diversity.

The proposed National Reform Programme could become particularly important in this regard. If it produces a detailed and coherent alternative to the APC’s policies, the opposition could transform its campaign from one based largely on rejection of Tinubu into one based on a positive vision for Nigeria.

The credibility question

Another challenge is public trust. Nigerian voters have witnessed several political alliances collapse after elections or after politicians achieve their immediate objectives. Consequently, an opposition coalition promising a ‘rescue mission’ must explain why it should be trusted to remain united after victory.

This is where the Single-Term Transition Charter and National Covenant for Democratic Renewal could become significant. If properly negotiated and publicly disclosed, they could provide voters with a measure of certainty about what a coalition government would do after taking power. But if the documents remain political slogans without measurable commitments, they may have little electoral impact.

APM National Chairman, Dr Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, urged the opposition to avoid allowing personal and partisan interests to derail the process. ‘We are here because we all believe in the project Nigeria, not because of our individual interest. And for us to succeed in doing what we have to do, we must look beyond our individual interest, our party interest,’ he said.

That appeal captures perhaps the central dilemma facing the opposition.

2027 will also be about election management

The opposition’s strategy must extend beyond winning votes. It must also be capable of protecting those votes. Usani’s assertion that ‘winning an election and being declared are two different things in the Nigerian democratic context’ reflects a persistent opposition concern about the electoral process. Whether or not one accepts his interpretation of the 2023 election, the point highlights the importance of election-day organisation.

Opposition parties will need strong polling-unit structures, trained agents, effective collation systems and the capacity to challenge irregularities through lawful channels. The coalition’s Legal Committee could therefore become as important as its political committees.

Can the opposition repeat 2015?

The 2015 election remains the opposition’s strongest historical evidence that an incumbent president can be defeated through political realignment. The APC itself was created from an alliance of opposition forces that brought together politicians and structures from several parties.

The lesson for the current opposition is obvious: political differences can be overcome when the parties recognise that their separate ambitions may be less valuable than their combined strength. But there is an important difference between 2015 and 2027.

The APC coalition that defeated the PDP was eventually consolidated into a single political party. The current opposition initiative appears to be pursuing cooperation among separate parties without necessarily requiring them to dissolve into one organisation. That makes the current experiment more complicated.

A narrow window for opposition unity

The G100 initiative has therefore created a significant opportunity, but also a race against time. The parties have agreed to five working groups, and their reports are expected within four weeks. The next stage will reveal whether the summit produced more than political rhetoric.

The crucial issues will be whether the parties can agree on the principles of cooperation, how the presidential candidate will emerge, how competing ambitions will be managed, how resources will be shared and how the coalition will be taken to the grassroots. The six parties have already acknowledged that the process requires decisions that only their leaders can take. That is perhaps the most important admission of all. The technical committees can draft documents, but political leaders must ultimately make sacrifices.

Between optimism and reality

The opposition’s optimism about 2027 is not without foundation. There is evidence of widespread dissatisfaction with aspects of the government’s performance. The 2023 election demonstrated that the opposition collectively commands a substantial voting population. The G100 summit has also shown that several opposition parties are willing, at least in principle, to sit around one table and discuss cooperation. But none of these guarantees victory.

The opposition faces the same problem that confronted it in 2023: how to convert widespread dissatisfaction into a single, coherent electoral alternative. Its greatest enemy may therefore be fragmentation. If the major opposition figures and parties ultimately pursue separate presidential ambitions, the opposition could once again divide its votes and allow the APC to benefit.

If, however, the parties succeed in negotiating a credible common platform, agree on a candidate through a transparent process, take the coalition to the grassroots and present Nigerians with a persuasive alternative, the 2027 election could become one of the most competitive presidential contests since the return to democratic rule in 1999. For now, the optimism expressed at the G100 summit is best understood as possibility, not inevitability.

ADC’s Usani may be right that opposition victory is possible even without a single candidate. But the argument advanced by Lukman and other coalition advocates remains more compelling politically: if the opposition wants to maximise its chances, it must first build the structure that allows its competing strengths to work together. As Lukman put it, the parties must ‘build the table before negotiating the seats.’

The success or failure of that table may ultimately determine whether the opposition enters 2027 as a collection of ambitious parties or as a credible alternative government-in-waiting. And that is the real test ahead: not whether the opposition can agree that Nigeria needs change, but whether its leaders can sacrifice enough of their individual ambitions to make that change electorally possible.