Category: The Nation – Nigeria

Barau FC head coach, Ladan Bosso, has praised his players for their resilience and determination following the club’s first-ever victory in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).

In the battle between two newcomers, Barau defeated Kun Khalifat 3-1 in a Matchday 6 clash at the Enyimba International Stadium, Aba, to register their maiden win of the season.

An elated Bosso lauded the collective effort behind the result.

‘Actually, I am so happy with the result. Our club proprietor, the general manager, my coaching staff, officials, and players all did well to secure this victory,’ he said.

He added that the team would build on the performance, remain focused, and prepare strongly for their next challenge.

The win lifts Barau FC to 18th place on the table with five points from as many matches.

They will next host Warri Wolves on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kofarmata, in Matchday 7.

Women’s national team wrestling coach, Purity Akuh, has pledged total commitment to the development and growth of wrestling after securing a seat as the South West zone representative seat in the board of Nigeria Wrestling Federation(NWF).

Speaking to journalists after the election, Purity vowed to support wrestling in the South West after he pulled the available six votes from the six states in a dominant fashion.

The UWW Educator noted that sports is a veritable instrument of reducing crime and unemployment if optimally pursued, hence his total drive to see it develop in the South West.

‘As you know, sports generate big foreign exchange for countries all over the world. This and many other embedded issues surrounding and affecting sports, particularly in wrestling, will be addressed passionately and with all sincerity of purpose,’ he stated.

He thanked the President Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Honourable Daniel Igali, who was his national team coach in his wrestling days and the entire wrestling family for counting him worthy to be elected as NWF board member.

Purity also appreciated the governor of Ondo state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and the state Honourable commissioner for Sports Development for their overwhelming support

Assuring that the experience he acquired as a wrestler and having gone through technical trainings to be certified as UWW Educator will be made manifest, bringing to the NWF board technical insights among other qualities.

‘I want to thank the governor of my state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the commissioner and my mentor, Daniel Igali, for the tremendous support I have received and the people of South West in supporting this mandate. Gratitude is not enough to express how elated I am to serve at this capacity.’

‘I’m not coming to the NWF board to make up numbers, but to offer technical support and inputs. I have acquired a lot of experience during my days as a wrestler under my mentor, Honourable Daniel Igali, and also, I have gone through a lot of international professional courses and I believe these qualities will be put to work,’ he said

The Ondo State born technician assured to engage appropriate stakeholders to thoroughly and painstakingly look into all the challenges contending wrestling development in the South West with a view of overcoming them, and providing grassroots programs for the purpose of raising more talents for the nation

‘I have envisaged a sustainable development plan, detailing grassroots programs, training plan with tenacity, zeal, and dedication to reach out to raw talents in our villages with the support of every stakeholder’. Purity concluded.

There will be no economic growth in the absence of the rule of law, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof. Lawrence Fubara Anga, has said.

The Founding Partner at AELEX, a commercial and dispute resolution law firm, said the rule of law goes beyond governance.

‘The rule of law is not just a political or human rights issue.

‘It is the foundation of economic growth, investor confidence, and sustainable prosperity.

‘Without it, the aspirations for positive transformation cannot materialise,’ Anga said.

He spoke during a briefing on the firm’s 19th Annual Lecture, billed for October 14, 2025, with the theme ‘Rule of law and economic development: the Nigerian experience.’

The flagship intellectual forum, which has become a fixture on Nigeria’s legal and business calendar, will feature former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) as keynote speaker.

Anga said the lecture serves as part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility and provides government, business leaders, and the public with critical insights into national challenges.

He further noted that: ‘People don’t always agree, but they generally engage honestly. That credibility is what makes this forum unique.’

He added that AELEX intends to compile a summary of discussions from the lecture and make them available to government institutions for policy consideration.

Managing Partner, Mr. Adedapo Tunde-Olowu (SAN), described the annual lecture as a platform dedicated to fostering dialogue at the intersection of law, governance, economics, and society.

‘Over nearly two decades, the AELEX Annual Lecture has earned its reputation as one of the most respected intellectual gatherings.

‘It has provided a space for rigorous debate, shaping conversations that influence both national and continental development,’ he said.

Since its inception, the lecture series has hosted global thought leaders, including Judge Mervyn King S.C., Prof. Patrick Lumumba, Mr. John Githongo, Professor Frederic Jenny, and Dr. Kwabena Donkor.

This year’s panel of discussants will bring together leading voices across law, business, and public affairs. Confirmed participants include Dr. Chinyere Almona, Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), Chairman of Bi-Courtney Group; Mr. Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Ltd.; and Dr. Reuben Abati, journalist and public affairs analyst.

The 2025 edition will also address pressing issues such as property rights, sanctity of contracts, regulatory powers, and dispute resolution mechanisms, all of which are central to Nigeria’s economic revival efforts.

To extend participation beyond the physical venue, proceedings will be streamed live on the firm’s YouTube channel, @AELEXPARTNERS, allowing a global audience to engage in the dialogue.

The AELEX Annual Lecture has grown into a non-partisan platform where diverse voices exchange ideas without fear of partisanship.

The Edo State Executive Council has approved a supplementary budget of N125 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, representing 18 percent of the N675.2 billion budget earlier signed into law.

Governor Monday Okpebholo presided over the emergency executive meeting, where the supplementary spending plan was adopted.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, Commissioner for Finance Emmanuel Okoebor said the supplementary budget includes about N12 billion (5 percent) for recurrent expenditure and N113 billion (25 percent) for capital expenditure.

He noted that the adjustment reflects the government’s commitment to infrastructure development, with the revised 2025 budget now allocating 70 percent to capital projects.

According to him, ‘It clearly shows that the government is concerned about infrastructural development, making Edo people happy. We have done about 254KM of road across the state, and many more construction works are ongoing.

‘Recurrent expenditure has about a 5 percent increment as the increase in minimum wage necessitated that increment, including a lot of employment that the present administration did in the hospital management board for over 1000, and it needs to be captured.

‘The budget has been increased by N125 billion, which is about 18 percent, and capital expenditure by about 25 percent, from N450 billion to N563 billion.’

Commissioner for Information and Communication, Paul Ohombamu, said the supplementary budget would be forwarded to the Edo State House of Assembly for legislative consideration and passage.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of three new heads of federal agencies, underscoring his administration’s commitment to strengthening key institutions across different sectors.

In a statement on Tuesday by the Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Segun Imohiosen, the President named Bello Bawa Bwari from Niger State as the new Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency.

His appointment is for an initial term of four years, effective September 18, 2025, in line with the provisions of the National Biosafety Management Agency Act, 2015.

Also, Hon. Barr. Aminu Junaidu from Zamfara State has been appointed Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Investment and Security Tribunal.

He will serve a five-year term beginning September 18, 2025.

Also appointed is Olayiwola Awakan, who will head the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) as Director-General for an initial four-year term with effect from September 2, 2025.

According to the statement, the appointments reflect President Tinubu’s determination to reposition strategic agencies to deliver effectively on their mandates.

The President tasked the new appointees to bring their expertise to bear in advancing the growth and development of their respective institutions, stressing that their performance would contribute significantly to the nation’s progress.

Former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu, has called on Nigerian leaders at all levels, to rise to the responsibility of delivering on the long-deferred hopes of citizens, saying the burden of failed leadership continues to weigh heavily on the people.

In his Independence Day message to Nigerians on October 1, 2025, Kachikwu reflected on the country’s journey since independence, urging a sober evaluation of its achievements and failings.

‘Independence Day is our national day of individual and collective evaluation of our nationhood. We look at how far we have come and the whys and wherefores of our mistakes and missteps,’ he said.

Kachikwu lamented that the sacrifices of Nigeria’s founding fathers had yet to translate into the nation they envisioned.

‘On this day, I can’t help but think of the sacrifices of our heroes past and wonder what they would say if they saw the Nigeria they laboured and sacrificed for in the here and now of October 1st, 2025,’ he noted.

He further praised ordinary Nigerians for their resilience despite years of unfulfilled promises, saying, ‘The majority of our people who are helpless and hapless are the burden bearers of decades of mostly failed leadership.

‘In their voicelessness they continue to carry the weight of our nation’s many problems, for were they to ever vent their collective frustrations, our country would implode’

‘As they search fruitlessly for their inheritance in the promise that was and is Nigeria, they continue to sacrificially tolerate and forgive the many failed promises of our leaders.

Today, I celebrate the heroism and patriotism of the Nigerian people who have kept the peace in spite of hope deferred. The good book says hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12).’

While wishing Nigerians a peaceful celebration and renewed hope in the nation, Kachikwu emphasized that many Nigerians were questioning whether current leaders could truly deliver the Nigeria of their dreams.

‘The question most Nigerians are asking of their leaders today is when will their desires come? When will the Nigeria of their dreams emerge? When will this nation work for everyone irrespective of tribe, tongue and religion?

‘From generation to generation, father after father has sold the promise of a better Nigeria to son after son. Today, they collectively ask their leaders; are you the ones to usher in a better Nigeria or should we look to another?,’ he noted.

The federal government and major players in the agricultural sector have launched a crackdown on breeders, wholesalers, and retailers involved in the sale of substandard seeds.

According to them, seed security is fundamental to achieving food security, stressing that fraudulent dealers often deceive farmers into purchasing seeds they claim are high grade, but which in reality are inferior.

Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Abdullahi Sabi, speaking on Tuesday in Abuja while hosting the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Evaluation Mission Team, warned that Nigeria cannot achieve food sufficiency with poor-quality seeds despite heavy investment in the sector.

‘If we must guarantee food security, farmers must have access to quality and affordable seeds at all times. That is the reason behind this initiative,’ Sabi said.

He added that Nigeria is eager to strengthen global collaboration, noting that the country’s current yield gap is troubling.

‘We believe we can do better. Sometimes, the failure to meet our yield potential is because what farmers plant as seeds are not truly seeds, and even when they are, their quality is questionable.’

Director-General of the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Fatuhu Mohammed, also vowed to end the malpractice, noting that the circulation of fake seeds has cost Nigeria millions of dollars in lost food production.

He lamented that, unlike countries such as the United States and Israel, where seed councils are regarded as vital national institutions, Nigeria has failed to give its council the same priority.

‘In the U.S., the seed council is considered a national asset. In Israel, they do not joke with seed quality. Unfortunately, here we take it lightly,’ he said.

Mohammed disclosed that weekly inspections will be carried out across the six zones of the country to prevent adulterated seeds from reaching farmers. The monitoring exercise, he said, will involve agro ranchers, 36 state coordinators, and operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

He further urged the public to report anyone selling fake seeds, stressing that the campaign requires collective responsibility.

‘We are strengthening compliance monitoring and enforcement. If you see someone trading fake seeds and fail to alert security agencies, you are not only harming yourself but also the country,’ he said.

The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to align its actions with judicial directives and provide clear, consistent communication to prevent further confusion and unrest among constituents in Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State.

The group noted that the situation emphasises the importance of accountability in electoral processes and the necessity of adhering to legal frameworks established by higher courts.

The national spokesman of IYC, Amb. Binebai Yerin Princewill, noted in a statement on Tuesday, that there is a notable discord between statements issued by INEC officials, with reports of the delineation exercise in Warri Federal Constituency being both suspended and not suspended.

He said this inconsistency raises questions about the internal communication and hierarchy within the INEC.

The IYC spokesman expressed concern over the apparent lack of clarity in INEC’s policies and the potential for public misinformation.

He recalled that a landmark ruling on December 2, 2022, declared the current delineation in Warri Federal Constituency as fraudulent and ineffective, mandating a comprehensive re-delineation by INEC. The IYC posed a critical question regarding the legality and appropriateness of INEC’s continuous voter registration in an area where the Supreme Court had deemed the electoral wards and units non-existent.

Princewill said, given the tension arising from INEC’s inconsistent handling of the re-delineation and voter registration process, the IYC is advocating for clarity in communication from INEC and adherence to the Supreme Court’s ruling.

He argued that until INEC implements its field report regarding the re-delineation in Warri Federal Constituency, it lacks the authority to conduct any voter registration in that area.

Princewill asserted, ‘Let it be known that the delay tactics employed by INEC in implementing its draft report won’t work, as it must not take the commission an eternity to put things together in Warri Federal Constituency. The Ijaw Youth Council will surely resist it with every fibre of its being.

‘INEC’s intentional delay and extension of the continuous voter registration exercise to Warri Federal Constituency is nothing short of contempt of court and an affront to the Nigerian judiciary in particular. If the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot fix an issue with a legal backing in just one federal constituency in Nigeria, what then will be the hope of Nigerians putting their trust in a credible election in Nigeria by the same INEC?

‘While we have continued to preach peace and the unity of Nigeria, the relevant authorities must be seen doing the right thing by not throwing this lovely and peaceful nation into another form of unrest on account of this.’

Activist lawyer , Femi Falana (SAN), yesterday urged the judiciary to urgently determine the constitutional validity of the emergency rule recently lifted in Rivers State.

Falana warned that leaving the matter unresolved would set a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.

Falana, in a statement issued yesterday, warned that without a judicial pronouncement, Section 305 of the Constitution-which empowers the President to declare a state of emergency-could be abused to settle political scores.

President Bola Tinubu had on September 17, 2025, announced the cessation of emergency rule in Rivers State and reinstated Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other elected officials. President Tinubu in his broadcast acknowledged the controversy generated by his proclamation.

The President, however, noted that over 40 cases were instituted in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Yenagoa to challenge the declaration.

‘That is the way it should be in a democratic setting,’ Tinubu said, adding that some of the suits remain pending in court.

Falana, however, insisted that the judiciary cannot sidestep its responsibility as it did in earlier cases involving emergency rule.

He cited that in Attorney-General of Plateau State v Attorney-General of the Federation (2006), the Supreme Court struck out a suit challenging the suspension of state officials on the grounds that the emergency rule had expired, rendering the case academic. Similarly, he said that in Attorney-General of Ekiti State v Attorney-General of the Federation, the apex court declined jurisdiction.

Falana, however, contended that the Rivers’ cases are different because they raise ‘live constitutional issues’ that go beyond the restoration of Governor Fubara and other officials.

He said: ‘the pending suits question the President’s powers to suspend elected state officials, appoint a sole administrator, dissolve state executive bodies, and even conduct local government elections without due process.

‘These matters involve the interpretation of sections 1(2), 5(2), 11, 176, 180, 188, and 305 of the Constitution, and they cannot be dismissed as speculative.’

Falana also cited the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who had earlier described the Rivers declaration as a ‘clear signal’ to other crisis-ridden states, and urged critics to allow the courts to make a final determination.

‘The Bola Tinubu administration has thrown a challenge to the judiciary,’ Falana said.

‘The courts must take it up without further delay. Otherwise, the sword of Damocles will continue to hang over the heads of elected governors’, he warned.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order restraining Prof. Pat Utomi and his associates from proceeding with their plan to establish a shadow government/cabinet in the country.

Justice James Omotosho issued the order yesterday in a judgment on a suit filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) with Utomi as the sole defendant.

Justice Omotosho declared the idea of a shadow government/cabinet is unconstitutional and a concept alien to the nation’s presidential system of government.

The judge held that Utomi and his associates cannot hide under the rights to freedom of association and expression to engage in unlawful activities.

He hailed the plaintiff for filing the suit and held, among others, that it was within the powers of the DSS, being a premier national security agency, to take steps to prevent acts capable of threatening the nation’s internal security.

Justice Omotosho upheld the argument by the lawyer to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), that the move by Utomi and his associates to form a shadow government/cabinet was intended to create chaos and destabilise the country.

The judge also agreed with the plaintiff that not only was the planned shadow government an aberration but that it also constituted a grave attack on the Constitution and a threat to the democratically elected government currently in place.

He held that such a structure, styled as a shadow government/cabinet, if left unchecked, may incite political unrest, cause intergroup tensions, and embolden other unlawful actors or separatist entities to replicate similar parallel arrangements, all of which pose a grave threat to national security.

Justice Omotosho held that although the defendant is entitled to enjoy the rights to freedom of expression and to associate, such rights are not absolute.

He further held that the two rights being claimed by the defendant can legally be violated in some instances, particularly where there is a need to protect society from anarchy and the breakdown of law and order.

The judge held that, in the interest of the security of the country, such rights (freedom of expression and association) do not exist for the defendant, warning that the court would not sit idly by and allow the defendant to cause confusion in the country.

According to him, the planned shadow government/cabinet by Utomi and others portends a danger to the stability and safety of the country.

He said that although Utmi claimed to be running a civil society organisation, his decision to form a shadow government was a nullity.

The judge averred that there are existing avenues through which people could criticise the government, which the defendant could explore, but not to take unconstitutional steps, like forming a shadow government/cabinet.

Justice Omotosho also faulted the forum adopted by Utomi and his associates, noting that Big Tent Limited, a limited liability company under which the defendant claimed to be operating, cannot be used as a vehicle for political purposes, as was done in this case.

The judge said should Utomi and his associates wish to set up a platform to criticise and monitor the government, they should either form a political party or join an existing one, not use a limited liability company for political purposes.

He issued an order declaring the purported shadow government/cabinet being planned by Utomi and his associates as unconstitutional and amounting to an attempt to create a parallel authority not recognized by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Justice Omotosho also declared that under Sections 1(1), 1(2) and 14(2)(a) of the Constitution, the establishment or operation of any governmental authority or structure outside the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). is unconstitutional, null, and void.

The judge issued an order of perpetual injunction, restraining Utomi, his agents and associates ‘from further taking any steps towards the establishment or operation of a shadow government, shadow cabinet or any similar entity not recognized by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).