Category: The Nation – Nigeria

Nigerian filmmaker Dr Donald Oluchukwu Iheonunekwu’s film, ‘Osu,’ has emerged as the Best Indigenous film in Toronto, Canada.

The film won Best Indigenous Film at the Brampton International Nollywood Film Festival (BINFF) – part of the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF) ecosystem.

For Iheonunekwu, the award is more than personal.

‘This award is dedicated to the Igbo language. We have to do more for our culture,’ he said.

Iheonunekwu has anchored his filmmaking on the belief that indigenous languages survive when they are lived and when stories are told through them.

Rather than blame the status quo, he chose cinema as his contribution to keeping Igbo visible and relevant – producing films substantially in Igbo and documentaries exploring Igbo history and civilisation.

His documentary ‘Journey to Igbo Civilisation’ won Best Documentary at the Abuja International Film Festival in 2022 and repeated the feat at VILLAFEST in 2023.

Another defining chapter came during his first visit to Kigali, Rwanda, where he encountered stereotypes about young Igbo men.

He turned the experience into ‘A Trip to Kigali,’ shot in Lagos and Kigali, which explores identity, perception and how Africans view each other. He served as actor, co-director and producer on the project.

The film won Best Narrative Feature at the 2026 TAFF International Film Festival in Dallas and also clinched a Best Actress award.

‘A film can do more than entertain; it can challenge stereotypes, preserve culture and reshape global perceptions,’ he noted.

His latest honour, ‘OSU,’ tackles one of the most difficult subjects in Igbo social history – the Osu caste system, which for generations subjected people and their descendants to discrimination and exclusion due to inherited status rooted in traditional religious practices.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Rt. Hon. Shehu Usman Bawa, popularly known as ABG, has called on residents of the state, particularly those in Southern Kaduna, to support the party’s bid to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 governorship election.

Bawa made the call on Friday in Kafanchan while addressing PDP leaders, supporters and stakeholders from the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District, also known as Zone 3. The meeting gave the governorship candidate and his running mate, Hon. Amos Adamu Gandu, an opportunity to interact directly with party members and hear their concerns ahead of the election.

The former federal lawmaker urged politicians seeking elective office to avoid making promises they cannot fulfil, stressing that political leadership should be anchored in accountability, transparency and responsibility. He said elected officials must remain mindful of their obligations to the people who entrusted them with power.

Bawa pledged that, if elected governor, his administration would adopt a bottom-up approach to governance, with the needs and aspirations of communities forming the basis of government policies and programmes. He said his administration would prioritise grassroots development and ensure that ordinary citizens had a stronger voice in determining government priorities.

The PDP candidate also called on residents across the state to join what he described as the effort to ‘rescue Kaduna’ from what he characterised as bad leadership under the APC administration. He said the PDP would present an alternative governance agenda focused on addressing citizens’ concerns and improving their welfare.

According to him, his administration would ensure that government programmes were designed around the realities confronting communities, particularly those at the grassroots. He urged the people of Southern Kaduna to remain actively involved in the political process and to support the party’s candidates at the 2027 polls.

Speaking at the gathering, Kaduna State PDP Chairman, Chief Edward Percy Masha, said the meeting was organised to enable Bawa and his running mate to interact with party members and stakeholders across Southern Kaduna and to familiarise themselves with people’s concerns. Masha said the party was prepared to challenge the APC for political control of the state.

The PDP chairman urged members to remain united and committed as the 2027 elections approach, stressing the importance of cooperation among party leaders, candidates, former aspirants and supporters. He also criticised the current administration for what he described as increasing hardship among citizens, saying the opposition party would continue to raise issues it considered government shortcomings.

Masha further alleged that the Kaduna State Government had failed to fulfil a promise he said was made before the 2023 elections concerning the payment of entitlements to disengaged traditional leaders, district heads and teachers. The allegation was made at the party gathering and was not independently established.

Earlier, the PDP Zonal Chairman, Hon. Yusuf Danjuma Akuso, described Bawa as a ‘fine gentleman’ and expressed confidence in his candidacy. He urged party supporters across the zone to remain committed to the PDP and work towards strengthening its structures ahead of the election.

The immediate past PDP chairman in the state, Hassan Hyat, also alleged that some citizens had been sidelined in the distribution of government programmes and benefits, claiming that the situation was different under previous PDP administrations. He urged residents to support the party’s bid to return to power, saying it would work towards addressing what he described as challenges confronting the people.

Former Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Nuhu Bajoga, also criticised the current administration, describing it as a ‘government of deceit’, and urged PDP supporters to remain mobilised ahead of the 2027 elections. PDP leaders, supporters, and stakeholders from communities across Southern Kaduna attended the meeting as the party intensifies its mobilisation and organisational activities ahead of the general elections.

Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold has identified the lack of proper artist development as one of the major gaps in the contemporary music industry.

The singer observed while reflecting on the career trajectory of emerging artists and the tendency for some to disappear from the scene after recording a major hit.

According to Adekunle Gold, having a successful song is not enough to sustain an artist’s career, stressing the importance of developing the skills and knowledge required to function effectively as a professional artist.

‘What is lacking now is artist development. A lot of new artists now have one major hit, and they are gone. Maybe a label has given them some money, and they start to feel on top of the world.’

He noted that some emerging artists lack the necessary skills to perform, communicate with the media and conduct themselves professionally beyond the success of a hit record.

‘You don’t know how to perform, you don’t know how to answer interview questions and even how to be an artist, aside from just having one major hit.’

The ‘High’ singer stressed that artists need to take responsibility for their own growth and develop themselves beyond making music.

‘I think that’s one thing that is very important now. Artists have to develop themselves.’

The race for Ogun State Government House in 2027 is gradually assuming the character of a political duel between two familiar figures – All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Oladipupo Adebutu. Both men have been here before.

Adebutu contested the 2023 governorship election and lost narrowly to incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun. Adeola, meanwhile, is the serving senator representing Ogun West and now carries the banner of the governing APC.

But 2027 is shaping up to be a different contest. The battle is no longer simply about which senatorial district should produce the next governor. It is increasingly about party structures, personal political networks, zoning, and the strength of competing tickets and, most recently, the contentious question of indigeneship.

The latest controversy centres on Adeola’s ancestry

Adebutu and PDP chieftain Folake Marcus-Bello have challenged Adeola over claims that he is not an indigene of Ogun State. Adebutu says he has evidence to support the allegation, while Adeola, through his media adviser, Kayode Odunaro, has threatened legal action against those making the claim.

The dispute has injected a new identity question into an election already heavily influenced by Ogun’s three political blocs – Ogun West/Yewa, Ogun Central/Egba and Ogun East/Ijebu-Remo.

Yet, the controversy raises an important distinction: political indigeneship and constitutional qualification are not necessarily the same thing.

Constitution, indigeneship and the political argument

Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution sets out the qualifications for election as governor. A candidate must be a Nigerian citizen by birth, at least 35 years old; he or she must be a member of and sponsored by a political party, and must have a School Certificate level or its equivalent at least.

The section does not list ‘being an indigene of the state’ as a separate qualification.

However, Section 318’s definition of ‘belong to’ a state refers to a person whose parent or grandparent was a member of a community indigenous to that state.

That distinction could become significant if the current political dispute eventually reaches the courts.

For now, however, the argument remains largely political.

Adeola’s opponents are questioning his ancestral connection to Ogun, while his camp rejects the allegation. Neither side has obtained a judicial determination on the issue.

And that leaves the controversy as another weapon in a campaign in which identity, zoning and political entitlement are already deeply intertwined.

Adeola: APC structure, zoning and the roots question

Adeola’s most obvious advantage is the platform beneath him.

The APC is the governing party in Ogun and has already settled on him as its governorship candidate.

The party adopted him as its consensus candidate in April, and the process was subsequently affirmed through the party’s primary exercise across the state’s 20 local government areas. Governor Abiodun has publicly backed his candidacy and presented him to party stakeholders in Ogun West.

More importantly, the APC has wrapped the Adeola candidacy in the argument of political rotation.

Ogun West has never produced a governor since the creation of the state. Abiodun has repeatedly described the decision to support an Ogun West candidate as an attempt to correct that longstanding imbalance.

That gives Adeola a powerful political message: After decades of waiting, it is Ogun West’s turn.

The APC has also sought to broaden the ticket beyond Ogun West.

Adeola’s running mate is Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun, a chartered accountant from Ogun East. Her selection was announced after consultations among APC leaders and stakeholders.

The political calculation is clear: an Ogun West governorship candidate paired with an Ogun East deputy offers the APC an opportunity to present the ticket as broader than one senatorial district.

But Adeola faces a challenge that zoning alone cannot resolve.

The indigeneship controversy threatens to shift the conversation from ‘whose turn is it?’ to ‘who is genuinely from here?’

His campaign therefore has to fight on two fronts – defend the legitimacy of his Ogun roots while persuading voters outside Ogun West that his candidacy represents a statewide project.

That is where the election could become more complicated.

Adebutu: 2023 experience and the opposition test

Adebutu brings something equally important to the contest: electoral experience.

In 2023, he came within 13,915 votes of defeating Abiodun.

The official figures put Abiodun at 276,298 votes, Adebutu at 262,383, and ADC candidate Biyi Otegbeye at 94,754. Abiodun won 12 of the state’s 20 local government areas while Adebutu won eight.

Those numbers remain politically significant. They demonstrate that Adebutu already has a substantial electoral base across Ogun and that the PDP was capable of mounting a serious challenge to the APC.

His 2027 ticket also has a statewide dimension. Lateefah Sowunmi-Kolapo is his running mate, and the PDP has begun moving its campaign machinery into the field.

On September 10, the party formally flagged off its governorship campaign in Abeokuta, with supporters from the state’s 20 local government areas in attendance. Adebutu unveiled a seven-point agenda covering local government autonomy, education, health, agriculture, security, youth and women’s empowerment.

But the PDP’s central challenge is translating its candidate’s personal network and 2023 performance into a disciplined statewide party structure.

The party also has to prevent the opposition vote from becoming fragmented again.

In 2023, the presence of ADC’s Otegbeye was significant. His 94,754 votes represented a sizable third force in an election ultimately decided by a much smaller margin.

Whether the 2027 opposition landscape produces a similar fragmentation could become an important feature of the contest.

Party structures: APC’s machinery, PDP’s mobilisation

The APC starts with the advantage of incumbency.

Its political machinery stretches from the state government and party leadership to local government and ward structures.

The party has also been able to publicly display support for Adeola across the three senatorial districts. Ogun Central APC stakeholders, for example, endorsed the senator after similar backing from Ogun East and Ogun West. But political endorsements are not the same as votes.

The APC’s real challenge will be maintaining cohesion among politicians who may have preferred other aspirants before Adeola emerged.

Indeed, Abiodun himself warned party members that selecting a candidate was not the same thing as winning the election and urged them to return to their wards to mobilise.

The PDP faces the opposite challenge.

It must demonstrate that its growing campaign activity can become a durable grassroots structure.

Adebutu’s September campaign launch was an attempt to show that the party has statewide reach. But the crucial test will come at ward level, where voters are contacted, local grievances are understood, and election-day organisation is built.

In other words, the 2027 contest will not be won by rallies alone.

The indigeneship war

The most explosive development in recent weeks has been the dispute over Adeola’s origin.

Adeola challenged Marcus-Bello and suspended APC member Abayomi Hunye to provide evidence for claims that he is an indigene of Ekiti State rather than Ogun. He threatened legal action if they failed to substantiate their allegations.

Adebutu has now entered the dispute, challenging Adeola to take him to court and insisting that he has evidence supporting his position.

The controversy could prove politically useful to both sides.

For Adebutu, it provides an opportunity to question the foundation of Adeola’s Ogun West candidacy.

For Adeola, the dispute provides an opportunity to portray his opponents as attempting to derail an Ogun West candidate through an identity controversy.

But there is a larger question. Will Ogun voters make ancestry a decisive issue in 2027?

That cannot be answered by either campaign. It will depend on how voters interpret the competing claims and, ultimately, whether the controversy survives beyond the political arena into a legally determined dispute.

Beyond zoning

This is where the Adeola-Adebutu contest could become particularly interesting.

For Adeola, zoning provides the strongest political narrative: Ogun West has waited for decades and now has a candidate backed by the ruling party.

For Adebutu, the counterargument is that voters should not be bound by an informal rotational arrangement.

Neither position automatically determines the election. Zoning can mobilise a region, but a governorship election requires votes across the state. That means Adeola needs more than Ogun West.

He needs meaningful support in Ogun Central and Ogun East.

Adebutu faces the same arithmetic

He needs to build on his 2023 performance while persuading voters in Ogun West that the election should be decided by performance, programmes and individual choice rather than geographical rotation.

The running mates therefore matter. Adegunwa-Balogun gives the APC ticket an Ogun East connection. Sowunmi-Kolapo gives the PDP ticket another dimension of representation.

But neither running mate can substitute for a statewide campaign.

Ogun voters: The final equation

The decisive factor remains the electorate. Ogun’s political landscape is not a simple three-way senatorial calculation.

Ogun Central, with Abeokuta at its heart, carries enormous political and administrative significance. Ogun East has its own deeply rooted Ijebu-Remo political networks. Ogun West brings the Yewa-Awori question, the historical demand for power rotation and rapidly changing demographics.

The industrial and commercial growth of areas such as Ado-Odo/Ota has also increased their importance in the state’s electoral calculations. Recent political analysis has described Ado-Odo/Ota as a major concentration of voters in Ogun West. But Ogun voters are not a monolith.

For many, the 2027 election will be judged against issues that have little to do with ancestral origin: roads, employment, education, healthcare, security, workers’ welfare, local government administration, business conditions and the cost of living.

That is where the battle could move next.

The battle ahead

Adeola and Adebutu have already established their principal arguments. Adeola has zoning, incumbency and the APC structure. Adebutu has the experience of a near-upset in 2023, an established political network and a PDP campaign seeking to rebuild opposition strength. But both face vulnerabilities.

Adeola must manage the indigeneship controversy, maintain APC cohesion and convert Ogun West’s zoning argument into support across the state.

Adebutu must demonstrate that the PDP can build a sufficiently strong statewide organisation and avoid another fragmentation of the opposition vote.

The 2023 result shows just how finely balanced the contest can become. The APC won with 276,298 votes against Adebutu’s 262,383 – a difference of only 13,915 votes.

But the political map has changed since then. Abiodun is not on the ballot. Adeola is now the APC’s candidate. Adebutu is back for another attempt. The opposition landscape has shifted.

And the indigeneship question has added an entirely new layer to the contest.

That is why Ogun 2027 may ultimately be less about who is next in the zoning queue and more about who can build the broadest coalition of voters beyond his strongest political base. The battle is no longer simply Ogun West versus the rest.

It is Adeola versus Adebutu – across Ogun.

Civil servants under the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Delta State on Friday shut the entrances to the Prof. Chike Odozien Secretariat in Asaba, protesting the death of a director following an alleged confrontation at the complex.

The workers demanded an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Unity Adeda, a Director in the Ministry of Secondary Education, who reportedly died in hospital on Friday, a day after an alleged incident of beating.

The protest also focused on the safety of civil servants, with the workers asking the state government to provide assurances that they could perform their duties without fear before returning to work.

Sources familiar with the incident alleged that Adeda was involved in a confrontation with a certain Commissioner during which the director was allegedly assaulted.

The sources further alleged that the commissioner had asked Unity whether he knew him, to which the director reportedly replied that he did not.

The allegation of assault has not been independently established, while the circumstances surrounding the confrontation and Unity’s subsequent death remain subject to investigation.

Addressing the protesters, the Delta State NLC Chairman, Comrade Goodluck Ofobruku, said the union was concerned about the safety of workers and would engage the state government on the matter.

Ofobruku said labour would pursue an amicable resolution but insisted that workers must be assured of their safety before resuming duties.

He said workers could return on Monday if the government addressed their concerns, but would stay away if no satisfactory assurances were given.

‘We must assure workers that they are safe in their places of work. And whoever is responsible for this beating that led to his untimely death must be brought to book before we come back,’ Ofobruku said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Joint Civil Service Negotiating Council, Comrade Benson Efeotor, said the council was working to establish the circumstances surrounding Adeda’s death.

Efeotor said he had visited the Ministry of Education and made inquiries about the deceased, who he said worked at the Science Centre.

He appealed to the workers to remain calm and avoid violence or destruction of government property while discussions with the state government continued.

The Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, assured the workers that the government would not conceal the outcome of any investigation.

Aniagwu said the immediate priority is to establish what happened and determine the actual cause of Adeda’s death through appropriate investigation and medical examination.

‘There are different conjectures as to what may have led to the death of our brother who passed away in the hospital. Perhaps, the autopsy would be able to establish what transpired and indeed medical examination will determine the cause of death,’ he said.

The commissioner assured the workers that the findings would be made public and that appropriate action would follow.

‘I can assure you that nothing is going to be swept under the carpet. It will be known what happened and then the necessary action will be taken,’ Aniagwu said.

He urged the workers to remain restrained and commended labour leaders for conducting the protest peacefully.

Aniagwu stressed that every life is important and deserves protection, irrespective of the individual’s position or relationship with others.

The Area Commander, Asaba, ACP Alex Udeze, who was at the scene, said the police were invited following the unrest and responded to maintain law and order.

The state government and labour unions are expected to continue discussions as workers await the outcome of investigations into the circumstances surrounding Adeda’s death.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Philip Ikeazor, has received the Chartered Institute of Directors’ (CIoD) Nigeria Fellowship award in Lagos.

In his goodwill message, Ikeazor, who received the award alongside other awardees, promised to uphold the principles of good governance, ethical leadership and responsible directorship in the organisations and institutions ‘in which we serve.’

He described it as a privilege to be admitted into the IoD’s Fellowship cadre.

He said he would lead with integrity, sound judgement and a clear sense of duty. ‘The conferment of the Fellowship is not only a recognition of professional accomplishment; it is also a reminder of the responsibilities that come with leadership, particularly the responsibility to lead with integrity, sound judgement and a clear sense of duty,’ he said.

Continuing, he said: ‘We are grateful for the opportunity to have benefited from the Institute’s programmes and training, which have provided us with valuable perspectives on leadership, corporate governance and responsible directorship’.

Ikeazor, who was represented at the event by CBN Director, Payments System Policy Department, Musa Jimoh, said that in an environment where institutions and businesses are increasingly required to navigate complex economic, technological and social challenges, the importance of effective governance cannot be overstated.

‘At its core, good governance is not simply about compliance with rules; it is about creating institutions that are accountable, transparent and resilient, and capable of delivering sustainable value to their stakeholders,’ he said.

He said the Institute has continued to play an important role in promoting these principles and in preparing leaders to understand the responsibilities that come with occupying positions of influence.

‘For us as newly inducted Fellows, tonight’s recognition therefore comes with a commitment. We recognise that Fellowship is not the end of a journey. Rather, it places a greater responsibility on us to demonstrate, through our conduct and decisions, the values that the Institute represents,’ he said.

Continuing, he said: ‘We commit ourselves to upholding the principles of good governance, ethical leadership and responsible directorship in the organisations and institutions in which we serve.’

‘We also recognise that leadership is ultimately measured not only by the results we achieve, but by how those results are achieved. The decisions we take, the standards we set, the people we influence and the

institutions we leave behind are all part of our leadership legacy’.

‘As Fellows of the Institute, we will endeavour to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity and to use the knowledge and experience gained through our engagement with the Institute to

contribute positively to our organisations, our professions and the wider society’.

‘We also acknowledge that the strength of any institution lies in its people. We therefore look forward to remaining actively engaged with the Institute, contributing to its continuing development and supporting its efforts to promote high standards of corporate governance and leadership.’

‘At this point, permit me to appreciate the President, Otunba Adetunji Oyebanji,F.CIoD and Council of the Institute, the Secretariat, facilitators and everyone who has contributed to the Institute’s work and to the development of the Fellows being celebrated tonight’.

The race for Ogun State Government House in 2027 is gradually assuming the character of a political duel between two familiar figures – All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Oladipupo Adebutu. Both men have been here before.

Adebutu contested the 2023 governorship election and lost narrowly to incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun. Adeola, meanwhile, is the serving senator representing Ogun West and now carries the banner of the governing APC.

But 2027 is shaping up to be a different contest. The battle is no longer simply about which senatorial district should produce the next governor. It is increasingly about party structures, personal political networks, zoning, and the strength of competing tickets and, most recently, the contentious question of indigeneship.

The latest controversy centres on Adeola’s ancestry

Adebutu and PDP chieftain Folake Marcus-Bello have challenged Adeola over claims that he is not an indigene of Ogun State. Adebutu says he has evidence to support the allegation, while Adeola, through his media adviser, Kayode Odunaro, has threatened legal action against those making the claim.

The dispute has injected a new identity question into an election already heavily influenced by Ogun’s three political blocs – Ogun West/Yewa, Ogun Central/Egba and Ogun East/Ijebu-Remo.

Yet, the controversy raises an important distinction: political indigeneship and constitutional qualification are not necessarily the same thing.

Constitution, indigeneship and the political argument

Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution sets out the qualifications for election as governor. A candidate must be a Nigerian citizen by birth, at least 35 years old; he or she must be a member of and sponsored by a political party, and must have a School Certificate level or its equivalent at least.

The section does not list ‘being an indigene of the state’ as a separate qualification.

However, Section 318’s definition of ‘belong to’ a state refers to a person whose parent or grandparent was a member of a community indigenous to that state.

That distinction could become significant if the current political dispute eventually reaches the courts.

For now, however, the argument remains largely political.

Adeola’s opponents are questioning his ancestral connection to Ogun, while his camp rejects the allegation. Neither side has obtained a judicial determination on the issue.

And that leaves the controversy as another weapon in a campaign in which identity, zoning and political entitlement are already deeply intertwined.

Adeola: APC structure, zoning and the roots question

Adeola’s most obvious advantage is the platform beneath him.

The APC is the governing party in Ogun and has already settled on him as its governorship candidate.

The party adopted him as its consensus candidate in April, and the process was subsequently affirmed through the party’s primary exercise across the state’s 20 local government areas. Governor Abiodun has publicly backed his candidacy and presented him to party stakeholders in Ogun West.

More importantly, the APC has wrapped the Adeola candidacy in the argument of political rotation.

Ogun West has never produced a governor since the creation of the state. Abiodun has repeatedly described the decision to support an Ogun West candidate as an attempt to correct that longstanding imbalance.

That gives Adeola a powerful political message: After decades of waiting, it is Ogun West’s turn.

The APC has also sought to broaden the ticket beyond Ogun West.

Adeola’s running mate is Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun, a chartered accountant from Ogun East. Her selection was announced after consultations among APC leaders and stakeholders.

The political calculation is clear: an Ogun West governorship candidate paired with an Ogun East deputy offers the APC an opportunity to present the ticket as broader than one senatorial district.

But Adeola faces a challenge that zoning alone cannot resolve.

The indigeneship controversy threatens to shift the conversation from ‘whose turn is it?’ to ‘who is genuinely from here?’

His campaign therefore has to fight on two fronts – defend the legitimacy of his Ogun roots while persuading voters outside Ogun West that his candidacy represents a statewide project.

That is where the election could become more complicated.

Adebutu: 2023 experience and the opposition test

Adebutu brings something equally important to the contest: electoral experience.

In 2023, he came within 13,915 votes of defeating Abiodun.

The official figures put Abiodun at 276,298 votes, Adebutu at 262,383, and ADC candidate Biyi Otegbeye at 94,754. Abiodun won 12 of the state’s 20 local government areas while Adebutu won eight.

Those numbers remain politically significant. They demonstrate that Adebutu already has a substantial electoral base across Ogun and that the PDP was capable of mounting a serious challenge to the APC.

His 2027 ticket also has a statewide dimension. Lateefah Sowunmi-Kolapo is his running mate, and the PDP has begun moving its campaign machinery into the field.

On September 10, the party formally flagged off its governorship campaign in Abeokuta, with supporters from the state’s 20 local government areas in attendance. Adebutu unveiled a seven-point agenda covering local government autonomy, education, health, agriculture, security, youth and women’s empowerment.

But the PDP’s central challenge is translating its candidate’s personal network and 2023 performance into a disciplined statewide party structure.

The party also has to prevent the opposition vote from becoming fragmented again.

In 2023, the presence of ADC’s Otegbeye was significant. His 94,754 votes represented a sizable third force in an election ultimately decided by a much smaller margin.

Whether the 2027 opposition landscape produces a similar fragmentation could become an important feature of the contest.

Party structures: APC’s machinery, PDP’s mobilisation

The APC starts with the advantage of incumbency.

Its political machinery stretches from the state government and party leadership to local government and ward structures.

The party has also been able to publicly display support for Adeola across the three senatorial districts. Ogun Central APC stakeholders, for example, endorsed the senator after similar backing from Ogun East and Ogun West. But political endorsements are not the same as votes.

The APC’s real challenge will be maintaining cohesion among politicians who may have preferred other aspirants before Adeola emerged.

Indeed, Abiodun himself warned party members that selecting a candidate was not the same thing as winning the election and urged them to return to their wards to mobilise.

The PDP faces the opposite challenge.

It must demonstrate that its growing campaign activity can become a durable grassroots structure.

Adebutu’s September campaign launch was an attempt to show that the party has statewide reach. But the crucial test will come at ward level, where voters are contacted, local grievances are understood, and election-day organisation is built.

In other words, the 2027 contest will not be won by rallies alone.

The indigeneship war

The most explosive development in recent weeks has been the dispute over Adeola’s origin.

Adeola challenged Marcus-Bello and suspended APC member Abayomi Hunye to provide evidence for claims that he is an indigene of Ekiti State rather than Ogun. He threatened legal action if they failed to substantiate their allegations.

Adebutu has now entered the dispute, challenging Adeola to take him to court and insisting that he has evidence supporting his position.

The controversy could prove politically useful to both sides.

For Adebutu, it provides an opportunity to question the foundation of Adeola’s Ogun West candidacy.

For Adeola, the dispute provides an opportunity to portray his opponents as attempting to derail an Ogun West candidate through an identity controversy.

But there is a larger question. Will Ogun voters make ancestry a decisive issue in 2027?

That cannot be answered by either campaign. It will depend on how voters interpret the competing claims and, ultimately, whether the controversy survives beyond the political arena into a legally determined dispute.

Beyond zoning

This is where the Adeola-Adebutu contest could become particularly interesting.

For Adeola, zoning provides the strongest political narrative: Ogun West has waited for decades and now has a candidate backed by the ruling party.

For Adebutu, the counterargument is that voters should not be bound by an informal rotational arrangement.

Neither position automatically determines the election. Zoning can mobilise a region, but a governorship election requires votes across the state. That means Adeola needs more than Ogun West.

He needs meaningful support in Ogun Central and Ogun East.

Adebutu faces the same arithmetic

He needs to build on his 2023 performance while persuading voters in Ogun West that the election should be decided by performance, programmes and individual choice rather than geographical rotation.

The running mates therefore matter. Adegunwa-Balogun gives the APC ticket an Ogun East connection. Sowunmi-Kolapo gives the PDP ticket another dimension of representation.

But neither running mate can substitute for a statewide campaign.

Ogun voters: The final equation

The decisive factor remains the electorate. Ogun’s political landscape is not a simple three-way senatorial calculation.

Ogun Central, with Abeokuta at its heart, carries enormous political and administrative significance. Ogun East has its own deeply rooted Ijebu-Remo political networks. Ogun West brings the Yewa-Awori question, the historical demand for power rotation and rapidly changing demographics.

The industrial and commercial growth of areas such as Ado-Odo/Ota has also increased their importance in the state’s electoral calculations. Recent political analysis has described Ado-Odo/Ota as a major concentration of voters in Ogun West. But Ogun voters are not a monolith.

For many, the 2027 election will be judged against issues that have little to do with ancestral origin: roads, employment, education, healthcare, security, workers’ welfare, local government administration, business conditions and the cost of living.

That is where the battle could move next.

The battle ahead

Adeola and Adebutu have already established their principal arguments. Adeola has zoning, incumbency and the APC structure. Adebutu has the experience of a near-upset in 2023, an established political network and a PDP campaign seeking to rebuild opposition strength. But both face vulnerabilities.

Adeola must manage the indigeneship controversy, maintain APC cohesion and convert Ogun West’s zoning argument into support across the state.

Adebutu must demonstrate that the PDP can build a sufficiently strong statewide organisation and avoid another fragmentation of the opposition vote.

The 2023 result shows just how finely balanced the contest can become. The APC won with 276,298 votes against Adebutu’s 262,383 – a difference of only 13,915 votes.

But the political map has changed since then. Abiodun is not on the ballot. Adeola is now the APC’s candidate. Adebutu is back for another attempt. The opposition landscape has shifted.

And the indigeneship question has added an entirely new layer to the contest.

That is why Ogun 2027 may ultimately be less about who is next in the zoning queue and more about who can build the broadest coalition of voters beyond his strongest political base. The battle is no longer simply Ogun West versus the rest.

It is Adeola versus Adebutu – across Ogun.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Drug Enforcement Authority (NDEA) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to strengthen cooperation against drug trafficking between the two countries.

According to a statement from the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the MoU was signed on Saturday, on the sidelines of the ongoing 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), described the agreement as the culmination of years of steady engagement between the two agencies.

He said the pact would deepen intelligence-sharing and joint enforcement action along the Nigeria-UAE corridor.

Marwa disclosed that between 2021 and 2026, the NDLEA intercepted about 354.7kg of illicit drugs, including cocaine, cannabis, tramadol, rohypnol, ecstasy and khat, concealed in consignments destined for the UAE.

He said the seizures resulted in the arrest and prosecution of 47 suspects, underscoring the urgency of the new partnership.

The NDLEA boss also highlighted the agency’s nationwide record between January 2021 and July 2026, which he said included more than 91,000 arrests, including 243 drug barons; the seizure of over 15.5 million kilograms of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals; and 16,469 convictions.

He added that more than 53,000 drug users had received counselling, treatment and rehabilitation, while the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign had reached nearly 5.9 million Nigerians through community and school engagements.

Marwa said the new partnership with the NDEA would build on the exchange of liaison personnel, the sharing of operational information, and the technical cooperation already established between the two agencies.

He added that the UAE would provide Nigerian travellers with a comprehensive list of prohibited items to help guard against inadvertent violations.

In his remarks, NDEA Chairman His Excellency Sheikh Zayed bin Hamad Al Nahyan reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to working closely with Nigeria to disrupt trafficking networks that exploit the strong trade, travel and people-to-people ties between the two countries.

He described the MoU as a natural evolution of an already productive relationship between the two agencies.

Both agencies said the agreement would lead to stronger intelligence-sharing, more successful joint operations, and the dismantling of trafficking networks operating along the Nigeria-UAE axis.

They said the partnership aligned with the shared global responsibility championed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DAKA Foundation and Agba-Akin Bobajiro of Ibadanland, Dr. Kazeem Adesina Abidikugu, popularly known as (KSO), has congratulated Baba Ahmed, a strong youth mobiliser and grassroots politician, on his appointment by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as the Special Assistant on Youth Mobilisation, North Central.

Abidikugu, who is contesting for the House of Representatives in the Ibadan South East and North East Federal Constituency under the ADC platform in Oyo State, described Baba Ahmed’s appointment as well deserved.

In a statement, Abidikugu said such an appointment could not have come at a better time, when all hands should be on deck for Atiku to win the 2027 Presidential election.

According to him, given Baba Ahmed’s qualities and mobilisation abilities, he congratulates Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for fishing him out, which, according to him, was a positive appointment.

Abidikugu, a United Kingdom-based psychiatric consultant, said that, as a friend and a youth in politics, he wished Baba Ahmed the best in his new position and a wonderful tenure in office, praying that God will crown his efforts.

‘I know you are capable of excelling in your new position. I pray that the Almighty Allah will give you a sound mind and good health for you to succeed. Congratulations and wishing you all the best’.

The issue of security in the Sahel and West Africa was at the top of the agenda during a bilateral meeting between Nigeria and Mali, held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) in New York.

Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation to address shared regional challenges.

Nigeria’s delegation was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, while Mali’s delegation was led by its Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, H.E. Abdoulaye Diop.

According to a statement by media aide to the Nigerian Minister, Magnus Eze, the meeting provided an opportunity for both nations to deepen direct political consultations and exchange views on security developments in Mali, the Sahel, and the wider West African region.

Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu reaffirmed Nigeria’s longstanding historical bonds with Mali and emphasized Nigeria’s vested interest in a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Sahel. She noted that the security issues confronting the region require sustained cooperation among neighboring countries. Highlighted threats included the cross-border nature of terrorism, violent extremism, organized crime, human trafficking, small arms proliferation, and illicit financial flows, underscoring the urgent need for stronger regional mechanisms.

She also stressed the importance of African ownership in solving the continent’s peace and security challenges, while encouraging continued dialogue among Mali, West African states, and regional institutions.

The discussions encompassed a broad range of topics, including: The evolving relationship between Mali and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The political dynamics of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

African Union peace and security mechanisms.

Deepening bilateral trade, economic relations, and energy cooperation and Regional integration, mobility, and people-to-people contacts.

Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu reaffirmed Nigeria’s willingness to maintain constructive bilateral consultations with Mali and expressed interest in continued multilateral cooperation, including mutual support for diplomatic candidatures.

This engagement comes amid ongoing efforts by Nigeria to promote regional dialogue, peace, security, and integration. It builds on momentum from July 2026, when Nigeria and Mali agreed to revitalize their Joint Commission, identifying security, trade, energy, irregular migration, human trafficking, and the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) as priority areas for bilateral cooperation.