Category: The Nation – Nigeria

The member representing Akpabuyo/Bakassi/Calabar South in the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Joseph Bassey has collaborated with the Cross River State Government to offer free medical services to thousands of his constituents across Akpabuyo, Bakassi, and Calabar South.

The free medical outreach, which took place from October 8-10, 2025, at the headquarters of each council, provided essential healthcare services to the constituents.

Speaking at the end of the outreach, Hon. Bassey emphasized that healthcare provision for his constituents is a priority of his representation.

According to him, the free medical outreach targeted thousands of constituent members in Akpabuyo, Bakassi, and Calabar South, offering services such as free surgeries, eye checkups, malaria and typhoid testing, and distribution of medication.

Hon. Bassey assured his constituents of his commitment to their healthcare and socio-economic well-being.

Chairman of Calabar South LGA, Hon. Patrick Archibong, commended Hon. Bassey for always reaching out to members of his constituency at the grassroots level, adding that the free medical outreach has brought succour to the people of the Federal constituency.

Beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the lawmaker for prioritizing their health and well-being, assuring him of their support in his future endeavours.

The people of Sokoto State are no strangers to false promises and hollow campaigns of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They have seen the decay of abandoned roads, housing estates, and the silence over the water crisis, and the bitter reality for pensioners who waited fruitlessly for their entitlements to be paid. They are not gullible. What they demanded from former Governor Aminu Tambuwal was simple: functioning services, accountable government, and the provision of services.

But the PDP’s propaganda machine would want to make you believe otherwise. In desperate defiance of its own underwhelming record, the Sokoto Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), along with its stooges, is orchestrating a crude campaign to discredit the APC’s achievements and rehabilitate the tarnished legacy of former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. They are consistently recycling stale narratives and deploying digital spin in the hopes of confusing the public. Yet, the wounds from years of administrative negligence still fester, and the people refuse to be confused.

One of the gravest moral failures of the Tambuwal era is the unpaid pensions and gratuities owed to thousands of retirees of the Sokoto State public service. For years, these citizens, many of them low-income workers who had given decades of loyal service, were left in limbo while state coffers were diverted towards Aminu Tambuwal’s presidential aspirations. That is not a policy misstep; it is an affront to the social contract. The failure to pay these benefits speaks to a deeper disorder: fiscal irresponsibility, budgetary malfeasance, and a governance philosophy that prioritized political ambition over human dignity.

If the PDP thinks it can sweep over this betrayal with a wave of online slander, it is sorely mistaken. Sokoto families know the difference between rhetoric and reality, and for many, the pain of unpaid pensions or lost incomes is raw and personal.

Tambuwal’s mismanagement was no accident of context; it was systemic. Under his watch, many flagship projects initiated by the Aliyu Wamakko administration were never completed. Funds meant for infrastructure, health, water supply, and education were disbursed, redirected, or left idle. What remained, until the coming of Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s administration, in many parts of the state were abandoned projects with flooded foundations and several unfulfilled promises.

Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s administration, by contrast, has embarked on a mission to restore trust in the government through visible projects. The Commission of Inquiry, led by Muazu Abdulkadir, has uncovered a compelling pattern: many contracts were inflated without deliverables, project scopes were repeatedly altered midstream, and public funds were dissipated through lack of oversight. Rather than slippery excuses, the people now see a responsive government delivering roads, housing estates, water supply projects, etc.

Let us examine some of the marquee projects left behind by Tambuwal, so we can truly appreciate the scale of the task inherited by the current APC government.

The Rijiya Flyover was launched with great publicity as a legacy project that would ease traffic and boost connectivity. Yet the structure was left abandoned, girders suspended, drainage incomplete, and the promises dead in the water. Soberingly, no follow-through or corrective plan was evident until the current government stepped in. Governor Aliyu’s team re-assessed the site, allocated funding, and reengaged contractors. Today, work is progressing steadily towards completion, and the flyover is no longer a monument to neglect but a testimony to governance.

The 40 Million Litres per Day Water Scheme, conceived by Aliyu Wamakko’s administration to quench the perennial thirst of Sokoto’s metropolis, was fragmented into six separate projects, with a total budget of N14.1 billion for ease of construction. Under Tambuwal’s presidency of the state, not one of these six projects was completed. Pipes were unused, reservoirs lay idle, and communities continued to queue for water or fetch water from rivers. Within two years, Governor Aliyu’s administration completed and commissioned the Tamaje and Old Airport segments alone, delivering 24 million litres daily to residents.

Meanwhile, the remaining phases are advancing, with some already at roughly 70% completion. The contrast could not be starker: two years of consistent execution versus eight years of stalled blueprints.

The Sokoto Independent Power Project (IPP) was another ambitious project that floundered under Tambuwal. Funds were approved, receipts signed, but actual progress remained elusive. Under the current administration, N950 million was immediately injected to revive the project; the site is now approximately 90% complete, and final linkage to the TCN substation is in sight. Where Tambuwal left power hanging, Governor Aliyu is delivering connectivity.

Education, health, and rural development also bear the scars of neglect of the Aminu Tambuwal administration. Schools were roofless, hospitals lacked equipment and basic medicines, and there were delays in payment of salaries. Under Tambuwal, ‘projects’ existed only on paper. The current administration has refurbished dozens of schools, delivered medical equipment to rural health centers and general hospitals, and reinstated health outreach programmes. In many cases, communities-like the one that suffered from flooding and several others that never benefited from projects-are beneficiaries of critical infrastructure like roads, solar-powered lights, and solar-powered boreholes for the first time in years.

And the pensioners? The leaky pipeline of unpaid entitlements persisted year after year under the old guard. Teachers, civil servants, retired health workers-all were left in financial limbo. Some died waiting for their pensions, which never came; others struggled in old age on the benevolence of their friends. This failure is not ancillary, as the PDP would prefer you believe-it is central. It underlines the governing philosophy of Aminu Tambuwal that placed his presidential ambitions and politics over people.

Aliyu’s administration did not treat these challenges as a footnote. Clearing the backlog of unpaid pensions and gratuities became one of the first priorities of his government. Structured payment plans, supplementary funding, and proactive engagement with retirees have signaled to Sokoto’s senior citizens: you will never be forgotten again.

What the PDP’s misinformation blitz has refused to address is the emotional and human cost of its negligence-families that went without food, children deprived of education because public services failed, citizens forced to pay for infrastructure that should have been free-especially with the education levy imposed by Aminu Tambuwal. No amount of rhetorical spin can restore a barren well, repair a collapsed road, or substitute for a pension check that never came.

Still, the PDP persists in recycling old campaign materials, sharing archival video clips, and invoking Tambuwal-era intentions as though they were accomplished. Their play is simple: confuse the memory, obscure accountability, and muddy the waters. But the people of Sokoto remember. They recall rural roads that were ignored and health posts that never functioned.

Their propaganda is not just insulting-it borders on contempt, as if the citizens have short memories or no capacity to judge. It is a tacit admission of weakness by a party that knows its record cannot stand scrutiny. The PDP is banking on noise, not substance; illusions, not delivery.

Contrast that with the performance of Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s government. In less than two years, over 250 visible and verifiable projects have been completed or are ongoing across every sector-education, health, water, roads, electrification, agriculture, and social welfare. No longer are public works announcements trapped in press releases. They are tangible in communities across Sokoto State. Schools have been refurbished and reopened, clinics supplied with essential medicines, boreholes drilled, diagnostic equipment delivered to hospitals, and roads constructed.

The APC-led government has also revamped procurement protocols, instituted transparent budgeting procedures, and begun to discipline lax contract enforcement. In short, the governance machinery is being retooled for accountability, not optics. The difference is not just in what is built, but in how it is built-with checks, monitoring, and responsiveness.

In the coming 2027 election, the PDP is attempting to rebrand itself on the same pallet of abandoned promises. But a party that hinges its appeal on an eight-year disaster is offering nothing new. Its core message is: ‘Vote for us again, forget that we failed’.

There has been a lot of public commentaries on the state of the Nigerian economy in the last 28 months, from the sublime to the outrightly ridiculous.

Indeed almost as soon as President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 29 2023 and made his ‘subsidy is gone’ announcement, it looked like all hell was let loose in the aftermath of the decision.

Presidential candidates who described fuel subsidy as ‘criminality’ on the campaign trail and vowed to stop it ‘immediately’ suddenly became the lead choristers of the public recriminations.

it was at a time that prices of goods and services literally went through the roof in reaction to the inevitable rise in fuel price and things became tougher for the average Nigerian, and not surprisingly, we began to hear words like ‘hunger in the land’. And trust politicians, they swooped in to capitalize on the public outrage.

But any unbiased and well-read Nigerian should have known that the cost-of-living crisis was an expected reaction to the shock therapy of removing a scheme that had been institutionalized in the country for decades.

Ironically, some of the opposition figures who were leading the charge against the President and his reforms were also praising another President in a different clime, Javier Milei, who was experimenting with tougher reforms in Argentina.

Now, twenty eight months down the line, those politicians are still holding on to their position.They are refusing to acknowledge what sovereign credit rating agencies, international bodies like the World Bank, as well as global investors and renowned economists have been saying, all in the name of politics.

Few months ago, the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was in Nigeria and after a courtesy call on the President told the media that the Tinubu administration ‘has to be given the credit for the stability of the economy’. She added that President Tinubu’s economic reforms ‘have delivered much-needed stability’ and ‘have been in the right direction’.

But what we saw from naysayers in the political space was a rat race to interpret what the notable economist said, in a bid to water down comments that put a lie to what they have been putting in the media space.

Only recently, Mr Adebayo Ogunlesi, the founder of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and a leading executive of Blackrock, a global investment firm with assets in excess of $12 trillion across the world, expressed the willingness of his company to extend its footprints to Nigeria.

Speaking after his latest meeting with President Tinubu, Ogunlesi was emphatic that Nigeria is now an exciting place to be for investors, adding that Blackrock would be interested in investing in energy (LNG plants) and the aviation sector as well as in the ports especially as one of his companies has investments in ports in Benin and Togo, but none in Nigeria.

It should be of interest to Nigerians that Ogunlesi pointed out that his investment plans were fired by the series of Tinubu reforms including the removal of fuel subsidy, a liberalised foreign exchange market and the overhaul of outdated tax laws, which according to him have resulted in ‘fundamental transformation’ of the economy.

So when President Tinubu said in his Independence Day broadcast that the worst was over after 28 months of stabilizing the economy, this was the point he was making.

Conversely, there are people in the public space who insist that the same reforms are a disincentive for investments and investors, and a blight on economic growth. One of them, Peter Obi, a former Presidential candidate who is angling for another shot at the Presidency, painted a bleak picture of the economy that was clearly at odds with that of Adebayo Ogunlesi.

This now takes us to the title of this piece, ‘whose report on the economy shall we believe?’ As much as it looks and sounds like a rhetorical question, it is clearly food for thought for Nigerians.

Would our people believe a global investment icon with a track record who is keen on putting funds into the economy or a politician who has opted for selling gloom and despair as a political strategy?

It is actually easy to see when politicians, especially those in the opposition play politics, so the onus is on Nigerians to call them out for who they are.

DR. Adewale Kolapo Kareem (AKK), the 2027 Oyo State APC gubernatorial aspirant, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his Renewed Hope Agenda, describing it as a transformative national vision that is restoring confidence, fostering innovation, and empowering Nigerian youths at home and abroad.

Speaking in London after attending the grand finale of the NextGen Innovation Challenge, Dr. Kareem praised the administration’s commitment to youth development and technological advancement, saying the Renewed Hope Agenda ‘is rekindling the Nigerian spirit of creativity, enterprise, and excellence.’

He emphasized that the success of Al’amin Muhammed Idris, the Kaduna-born CEO of Interface Africa who emerged overall winner of the £1.5 million challenge, reflects the positive impact of policies that prioritize innovation and entrepreneurship. Idris’ firm, Interface Africa, was celebrated for pioneering affordable solar financing solutions for small businesses across Africa, improving energy access and driving economic inclusion.

Kareem lauded the President for backing initiatives that open doors for young innovators to compete globally, noting that programs such as the NextGen Innovation Challenge, organized by the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) under the leadership of Dr. Kazeem Kolawole Raji, have created opportunities for over a hundred projects across HealthTech, AgriTech, FinTech, Clean Energy, and Artificial Intelligence.

‘President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is not just a slogan; it is a strategic framework that is igniting the creative power of Nigerian youths,’ Dr. Kareem stated. ‘The government’s support for innovation is producing tangible results, from new businesses to clean energy access, and positioning Nigeria as a hub for digital transformation in Africa.’

During the event, Kareem also met with the APC UK Chairman, Barrister Fayemi, and other stakeholders, including the Mayor of Barking and Dagenham, where he discussed strategies for innovation-driven governance and diaspora engagement in national development.

The Oyo APC hopeful reiterated his belief that technology and innovation will be central to his vision for Oyo State, promising to align his development agenda with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope philosophy by investing in education, digital skills, and clean energy.

‘Oyo’s future will be built on innovation, not imitation,’ Kareem affirmed.

‘We must translate the Renewed Hope Agenda into local action that empowers our youths, strengthens our economy, and delivers inclusive growth.’

The event concluded with renewed calls for collaboration among government institutions, private sector leaders, and diaspora professionals to accelerate Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem and sustain the momentum of the Renewed Hope vision.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) yesterday paraded 12 notorious armed robbery suspects responsible for the death of Ms. Somtochukwu Christella Maduagwu, a journalist with Arise News, and Mr. Barnabas Danlami, a security guard.

The incident occurred during a robbery operation at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Mabushi, Abuja, on September 29, 2025.

Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, while parading the suspects at the FCT Police Command Headquarters, Garki, Abuja, said it was necessary to keep the public accurately informed on the significant progress recorded in the ongoing investigation.

Hundeyin said: ‘Following the incident, operatives of the FCT Police Command immediately launched a coordinated intelligence-driven investigation.

‘Through diligent efforts and extensive digital intelligence analysis, 12 suspects linked to the robbery have been successfully arrested.

‘They are: ‘Shamsudeen Hassan; Hassan Isah (22); Abubakar AlKamu a.k.a. Abba (27); Sani Sirajo a.k.a. Dan Borume (20); Mashkur Jamilu a.k.a. Abba (28); Suleiman Badamasi a.k.a. Dan-Sule (21); Abdulsalam Saleh a.k.a. Na-Durudu; Zaharadeen Muhammad a.k.a. Gwaska (23); Musa Adamu a.k.a. Musa Hassan (30); Sumayya Mohammed a.k.a. Baby (27); Isah Abdulrahman a.k.a. Abbati (25) and Musa Umar a.k.a. Small (31).

‘Exhibits recovered from the suspects include: One locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, one locally made pistol, one pump-action gun, 36 rounds of 9mm live ammunition, two live cartridges, four mobile phones, two sharp knives, one cutlass and two flashlights.

‘Investigations revealed that the fatal shot which claimed the life of the security guard, Mr. Barnabas Danlami, was fired by one of the suspects, Shamsudeen Hassan, who stated that he shot the guard when the latter attempted to prevent them from gaining access to the apartment complex.

‘It was further revealed that their firearms were sourced from a yet-to-be-identified supplier in Niger Republic, and that they had taken part in other armed robbery operations within Katampe I, Apo, Zuba, and other parts of the FCT.

‘The Nigeria Police Force extends its deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of Ms. Somtochukwu Christella Maduagwu and Mr. Barnabas Danlami, assuring that justice will be pursued to its logical conclusion.

‘The Force remains resolute in ensuring that all individuals connected to this grievous crime are prosecuted in accordance with the law. We commend the exceptional professionalism, courage, and dedication of the operatives of the FCT Police Command, whose painstaking efforts led to these arrests and recoveries.

‘Members of the public are urged to remain vigilant and continue to support the Police with timely and credible information that will aid in the prevention and detection of crime.

‘In closing, the Nigeria Police Force assures the public that investigations remain ongoing and that more updates will be provided as further facts are uncovered.’

At first, I was going to pay no attention, whatever, to his scurrilous write-up, seeing how uncannily his hectoring resembled that of his late stable-mate, the equally rude, Ilawe – born, one time minister of the Federal Republic, Dr Bode Olowoporoku.

I and Bode, who thought nothing of politically up – ending his Uncle, the Honourable Pa Akomolafe, who gave him ‘life’ when as a child, his mother allegedly became incapacitated to be a commissioner in the Pa Adekunle Ajasin government from which he was later sacked, were friends at the Great Ife (University of Ife, Ile – Ife) but I just couldn’t stand his ways, and whiles, as a chapter in my new book clearly shows.

He was simply too rough and he knew I detested his ways.

I am, therefore, not writing like this because he is not around to defend himself.

No human being will escape death. Mbanu, as Igbos would say.

I had read, and mentally threw into the dustbin, Dr Arowosege’s absolutely unmerited put down of Chief Oladeji Fasuan who, without a scintilla of doubt, is one of the few remaining titans of our Land of honour – Ekiti.

That though, was until I kept running into the Arowosoge verbiage severally, and then, my U- S based friend, Jide Oguntuase forwarded the same trash to me asking, since he knows my intimate closeness to Papa, whether I would let the idiotic diatribe go unreplied.

Each of Arowosoge’s line crawled with insult, his thoroughly abrasive language failing to show he went to school at all or have any respect for elders.

This last bit was, however, the part that did not surprise me at all because, if one is not careful, he could summarily conclude that such behaviour is Ilawe-sque. Fortunately not me, as I have terrific Ilawe sons and daughters who I have related with for ages and who are paragons of what Yorubas call Omoluabi.

Among these, please permit me to mention His Lordship, Bishop Femi Ajakaiye, the Catholic Bishop of Ekiti, who called, all the way from the UK, to greet and pray for me on my 80th birthday, the eminent duo, my ever worthy Aburos, and

Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), Elder Dele Adesina and Femi Falana, each of who already, deservedly, have a signed hard copy of my forthcoming book well ahead of its official presentation. Also count among these worthy Ilawe’s,

eminence greese, my long- time friends, Professors Idowu Odeyemi and Bode Asubiojo, the respected Prince Adefolalu, the no less regarded Sina Awelewa, as well as my younger friends – Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Gbenga Araoye, Tokunbo Omolase, the gifted commentator on national affairs,

and my incredible Great Ife mates and friends, Kayode and Funke(Mr and Mrs) . The list is simply inexhaustive.

But juxtapose these decent human beings with the inflammable minority of Ilawe political rabble rousers, among them the late Olowoporoku and the instant irritant, Arowosoge.

I will be loathe to count Idowu Odeyemi(Senior) among them despite what you will soon be reading below). If one is not careful, you could quite easily, but wrongly, conclude that Ilawe – an otherwise large, and respectable town – breeds many of these moral outcasts – the types who would look a whole Chief Fasuan in the face and vomit the kind of inanities the ill- educated Arowosoge hauled on him.

As I used to say: ki la gbe, ki le ju? What are these Ilawe outcasts fighting over, that they won’t accord Papa Fasuan the slightest regard?

Before I welcome the reader to a precursor of the instant case, that is,. when Idowu Odeyemi(Senior) also of Ilawe, flaggelated, and poured no less venom on Chief Fasuan, I urge every true born citizen of Ilawe – Ekiti to please find, retrieve and read Arowosoge’s idiotic nonsense on Pa Fasuan. If the reader has more time at his disposal, he could go back 17 years to also read the Senior Odeyemi on the same subject as contained in my article of 23 September , 2007 in reply to him. You will not but wonder what these Ilawe self appointed emissaries are fighting over, noting in particular, that both are an absolute political minority in Ilawe.

Or could it be the rumoured neglect of Ilawe by consecutive Ekiti governments? If so, Ilawe should simply wake up, buckle up and emulate Ikere-Ekiti which, by dint of hard work, and the citizens’ untramelled love for their town, have turned Ikere- Ekiti to the fastest developing town in the whole of Ekiti state. Arowosoge and his ilk certainly do not represent the redoubtable Ilawe we know and respect. Welcome then to my article:’Standing History on The Head’, of 23 September, 2007, now captured on pages 59 – 61 of my 619 – page book:’SIMPLY A CITIZEN JOURNALIST (Amazon Link-https://a.co/d/dXnfY77).

It reads as follows while, in the meantime, awaiting Arowosoge’s promised hagiography: Chief Idowu Odeyemi is my friend of over two decades though details of that friendship

need not delay us here. He knows that I hold him in high regards. I was, therefore, completely taken aback by the amount of vitriol, if not banality, displayed in his riposte

to Chief Deji Fasuan’s piece on the creation of Ekiti which appeared in your flagship, The Nation on Sunday, September 2, 2007.

I am not unaware that given the melodramatic, even rancorous Ekiti politics, the paths of these two gentlemen may have crossed variously. Unfortunately, in Ekiti today, it is politics or nothing, which explains our condition. But even when that is conceded, I still could not find, in Chief

Fasuan’s article, the pillars on which Idowu sought to erect that level of venom, most of it personal insults unbecoming of a journalist of many years. To make his point, which he subsequently did not, Chief Odeyemi need not have resorted to such scurrility. It was tantamount, in my view, to the occasion when the Yoruba would say, Ki la gbe, ki loju? It is analogous too, to hauling a bag of cement at a petty thief who stole a biro pen. It will be intolerable if he were fighting his own case but totally reprehensible when it turns out he was no more than a surrogate fighter; crying more than the bereaved.

I personally believe that with his contributions to the success of the PDP in the April elections, he no longer needs to be anybody’s good boy to land a juicy federal appointment.

And by the way, what is the casus belli? Fasuan had written that Chief Afe Babalola was not allowed to speak for more than six and a half minutes before he was (rather rudely, in his words) stopped from further presentation at the Mbanefo Panel on States and Local Government Creation. From my reading of that portion of the offending article, which I have since read all over again, I could not see any denigration of Chief Babalola by the writer who had, rather than wear any air of indispensability in the struggle, as is being conjured by Odeyemi, went to great lengths in naming names, even of Obas, and all those who contributed in one way or the other to the eventual success of the project. It was, therefore, in very bad taste, when Odeyemi sought to flagellate, or indeed, ridicule the elders who had to sleep on the road on their way back from Abuja when their vehicle ran out of fuel. He should be humble enough to apologise. In all, his diatribe was unnecessary; the language needlessly acerbic just as the personal insults, which decency forbids me to repeat on this page, were totally undeserving of a man who gave his all to a peoples’ collective struggle.

It becomes more irritating when you discover that Chief Odeyemi had, in fact, stood history on the head in his reading the events leading to the creation of Ekiti State as his views are at variance with the overall impression of the generality of Ekiti people, many of who wrote to thank Chief Fasuan.

Here was a man whose perspicacity and total devotion to a cause provided the sterling leadership to crown the long-standing struggle of Ekiti people to a glorious end at a time when the much more politically (and economically) connected Ijebus, whose son was in fact number two in government at the material time, could not realize their equally well- deserved state. I will like to crave Chief Fasuan’s permission to quote, at some length, from his well-written book, ‘Creation of Ekiti – The Epic Struggle of a People’, especially some of the about thirty letters addressed to him by appreciative Ekitis, either individually or as groups.

Given the current level of revisionism, I thank God who laid it on Chief Fasuan’s heart to commit his experiences during that era into a book.

Writing on the 1st of October, 1996, the Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti and paramount ruler of Ijero kingdom wrote as follows: ‘Myself, all Obas and chiefs in Ijero kingdom and our entire sons and daughters, home and abroad, join all Ekiti in thanking Almighty God for the creation of our dream state. We are also pleased to congratulate you as the chairman and all members of the committee for the creation of Ekiti-State. We commend you for your hard work, resourcefulness and perseverance. It is our hope that all Ekitis will maintain and even strengthen the age-long unique homogeneity and peaceful co-existence. To God be the glory for this great thing He has done for us all. Once again, please accept our congratulations.’ Their Royal Highnesses, Oba J.O.

Awolola and Oba J.K Akinola representing the Ilejemeje Community wrote as follows on 9 October, 1996: ‘The entire Royal Highnesses and their people in the Ilejemeje community have considered it a deserved courtesy to send you this special congratulatory message on the occasion of the newly created Ekiti state. It needs be stressed that your un-weary efforts and enlivened spirit from the beginning of the agelong struggle up to the last moment of official declaration of Ekiti Ethnic groups as a state shall remain indelible in the ‘Blue Print’ books of Ekitiland, and not the least in the history of Nigeria. Your seriousness and great concern over divesting conditions

and total abandonment of any meaningful social, economic and cultural developments of our land were glaringly manifested in your total commitment to the issues in a most unlikely fashion which was a further proof of article of faith in the ability of Ekiti to metamorphose their own state into an egalitarian society. We pray God to further fortify you against future greater challenges of harnessing and developing Ekiti state’s natural endowments.

Finally, we join hundreds of thousands of Nigerians to rejoice with you on this epoch-making occasion of the birth of Ekiti state. Once again, please accept our joint congratulations.’

The Ekiti Parapo, Port Harcourt, on the 12th of October sent the following letter to Chief Fasuan: ‘The president and members of Ekiti Parapo, Port Harcourt, has directed me to send a congratulatory letter to you for the gallant fight you put up on the fight for the creation of Ekiti state. The Club is proud of your brilliant and effective efforts and pray that the Almighty God should compensate you.’ Chief Bade Gboyega wrote as follows: ‘Please kindly permit me to share my heartfelt joy and deep satisfaction with ‘your good self’, on the occasion of the creation of Ekiti state by 7.20 this morning. I also wish to sincerely congratulate you personally because God has thus crowned your great, tireless, commendable and historic efforts with huge success’.

Former Deputy Governor of Ondo state, Chief Akin Omoboriowo wrote: ‘I wish to congratulate you and your committee for working most selflessly, consistently and sincerely for the creation of Ekiti state in our life time.’

This writer did not allow the occasion pass without his miniscule appreciation for a job well done. On the 15th October, 1996, I wrote to Chief Fasuan as follows: I wish to put on record my sincere appreciation for your worthy contribution, in brains and sheer physical exertion, to seeing to a successful end, the long, arduous and sustained struggle for the creation of Ekiti state.

You have brought to bear on your Chairmanship of the steering committee, your now historical loyalty and devotion to cause, and your exemplary leadership qualities. While you cannot go to sleep yet, I feel positive that you can indeed, legitimately, count your blessings and thank God. Sir, now more than ever before, you will need to devote your time to nurturing, to a meaningful end i.e. the even-handed and overall development of the new state given the fact that successive governments made us a developmental backwater. I sincerely hope you will join hands with political likeminds to emerge in that pioneering team that will translate our yearnings and aspirations to fruition. In this you can count on my support and co-operation. Thank you and God bless.

Finally, I shall quote from the very long letter, call it an Epistle from my Lord Bishop, The Rt. Revd. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi, the Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West who was then of Owo Diocese, as he sought to get Ekiti leaders to seek the face of God in matters appertaining to the state.

In short, he admonished them to hand over the state to God Almighty. Amongst other things, the Bishop wrote:

‘I am sure the Lord is happy about what you have done. I personally congratulate you for your good leadership and tenacity when many people were thinking that the creation would not be possible. I am sure that the creation is a credit to you in particular and the committee in general but it is a blessing. .finally, I hope you will organise an interdenominational thanksgiving service to place the new state in the hands of God, the builder of nations. If I know the time before hand, it may be possible for me and a host of us in the sacred ministry to be there.’

I doubt they ever did, given the rolling crisis that has engulfed the state, a state that should ordinarily be a beacon to others but for which total strangers continue to enthrone their cronies as rulers. I rest my casel

Where, I ask finally, is this outright interloper coming from?

Following intensified operations by troops from various patrol bases, additional kidnap victims have been rescued in Kwara State.

The state has experienced bandit attacks in various parts, including Oke-Ode in Ifelodun Local Government Area, Lafiagi and Patigi in Edu and Patigi Local Government Area, resulting in numerous killings and abductions.

The situation led to the temporary relocation of the General Officer Commanding 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj-Gen. CR Nnebeife, from Ibadan, Oyo State, the headquarters of the 2 Division, to Kwara State, to coordinate operations.

Last Wednesday, the Chief Press Secretary to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Rauf Ajakaye, announced the deployment of a full army brigade and equipment to the state to intensify operations against bandits terrorising communities in affected areas.

He stated that troops were already patrolling villages around Oke Ode and Babanla in Ifelodun Local Government Area, with plans to extend operations to Edu and Patigi, targeting the dense forests used as hideouts by kidnappers.

The operations are already yielding positive results, with troops neutralising bandits and rescuing kidnap victims over the past few days.

According to published reports, 148 Battalion (Rear) dealt a significant blow to bandits on October 6 while conducting clearance operations across Kogi and Kwara states.

Spokesperson of 2 Division, Lt.-Col. Polycarp Okoye, said the troops mounted a strong blocking position along the Kwara-Ekiti border axis, where they neutralised two armed bandits and recovered two brand new AK-47 rifles.

Earlier, the Army, in collaboration with sister services and security agencies, eliminated a wanted terrorist kingpin, Kachalla Maidawa, and 11 of his foot soldiers in their hideout within the forests between Kogi and Kwara states.

Two kidnap victims were rescued when the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen CR Nnebeife, led soldiers to Babasango Forest in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.

On October 9, the GOC was on an operational visit to the Army’s Patrol Base in Babanla advanced with the troops towards Babasango Forest, rescuing two kidnap victims.

The operation followed a bandit attack on traders at Olegbede village, about 12 km from Idofin-Ayekale, where three persons were killed.

During the GOC’s visit, the village head of Ayekale, Oba Pius Oluwole, attributed the attack on his community to its proximity to Babasango Forest. But the GOC assured him that the Army will sustain operations to flush out bandits and other criminal elements from the entire forest.

In Kwara’s northern zone, troops intensified their onslaught, yielding positive results.

According to Captain Stephen Nwankwo, Spokesman of the 22 Armoured Brigade in Ilorin, troops from 2 Division/Sector 3 Operation FANSAN YAMMA rescued two kidnap victims who were abducted from their home in Efagi-Lafiagi, Edu Local Government Area, in the early hours of Friday, October 10.

Nwankwo explained that the troops deployed at the Patrol Base in Lafiagi got a wave of the incident and immediately mobilised to the area in collaboration with a vigilante group.

He said: ‘They pursued the criminals and engaged them in a fire fight, forcing the bandits to flee and abandon the victims.

‘Unfortunately, one soldier and a vigilante member sustained gunshot wounds during the encounter. Both were immediately evacuated for treatment.

‘The rescued victims were reunited with their families while troops continued further exploitation of the area.’

Nwankwo said the Commander of the 22 Armoured Brigade, Brig-Gen Ezra Barkins, had commended the troops for their gallantry and professionalism.

‘He reaffirmed the Brigade’s resolve to sustain operations against criminal elements and urged residents to provide timely, actionable intelligence to support security efforts,’ the Brigade’s spokesman said.

Benin Republic captain, Steve Mounie has expressed his team’s determination to secure a positive result against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

The match, scheduled for next week at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, is crucial for both teams, with Benin needing to avoid defeat to maintain their chances of qualifying for the World Cup.

‘We play football for this kind of match. It will be a historic meeting. We will give everything to take Benin to the World Cup,’ Mounie emphasized.

Benin Republic currently tops Group C with 17 points from nine matches, while Nigeria sits in third place with 14 points.

The Cheetahs’ confidence has been boosted by their 2-1 victory over the Super Eagles in June, and Mounie believes his team can replicate that success.

‘I remember in June, I gave them the example of my former club. When I was with Stade Brest, we were able to stand up to big teams in the French championship. I told them that we could do the same against Nigeria,’ he said.

Nigerian Navy (NN) Special Forces and their French counterparts at the weekend executed an anti-piracy scenario where 16 hostages were rescued at Takwa Bay Beach Island, Lagos.

The scenario, which displayed the high skill sets of the operatives, their mastery of the terrain, and their understanding of the golden hour in hostage situations, was part of the annual multinational sea exercise codenamed CROCODILE LIFT.

The mock operation centred on a fictional Pirate Action Group (PAG) hijacking, with tactical beach landings, hostage rescue drills, rappelling operations, and medical evacuation exercises. It ended with the successful rescue of 16 abducted crew members and the dismantling of a simulated pirate camp.

A full-scale amphibious operation simulation designed to test readiness and strengthen maritime security collaboration in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), the exercise featured coordinated actions involving the French Navy’s Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) Tonnerre; the French Foreign Legion; Nigerian Navy ships (NNS) KADA and KANO; two naval helicopters, and elite commandos from the NN’s Special Boat Services (SBS).

Delivering a closing remark on behalf of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, the acting Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Naval Doctrine Command (NAVDOC), Rear Admiral Ifeanyi Okpala, said the exercise demonstrated the Navy’s commitment to operational readiness and international security cooperation.

‘This exercise strengthens our capacity to secure the maritime environment in partnership with our allies and improves our interoperability in responding to complex threats in the Gulf of Guinea,’ he said.

French Landing Group Commander, Colonel Brunet, commended the professionalism of the Nigerian Navy operatives, highlighting the value of the joint exercise in testing new technology and enhancing cooperation.

‘It’s a great opportunity to train together, deploy new vehicles, and enhance cooperation with a powerful partner like Nigeria. This exercise reflects strong coordination between the navy and army, and shows our shared commitment to peace and security in the Gulf of Guinea,’ said Brunet.

Also, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), represented by Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Jibril Abba, commended the existing synergy between military and civil maritime agencies in safeguarding Nigeria’s waters and the blue economy.

Dignitaries and observers from the Nigerian military, French Embassy, and other security agencies witnessed the event, which reinforced Nigeria’s resolve to secure its maritime domain, counter piracy, and deepen collaboration with global partners toward a safer GoG region

A civil society organisation, the Niger Delta Rights Advocates (NDRA), has condemned the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) over what it described as an ‘unethical and misleading’ report alleging corruption against a public servant under the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS).

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Director of Research and Documentation at NDRA, Dr. Chuks Alozie, accused FIJ of publishing a one-sided story that allegedly maligned Mr. Adagiri Ismail, a senior officer of the NCoS.

Alozie said FIJ’s online reports of October 6 and 8, 2025, portrayed a suspect currently facing trial as a victim and hero, in a manner inconsistent with the standards of professional journalism.

‘FIJ’s reports of October 6 and 8 were clear attempts at hoodwinking the public. They portrayed a suspected criminal standing trial before an FCT High Court (Charge No. CR/669/23) as a hero, which runs contrary to journalistic ethics,’ Alozie stated.

According to the NDRA, the case stemmed from an alleged act of impersonation and forgery of Mr. Ismail’s office documents.

The suspect, identified as Aliyu Raji, was said to have used forged letterheads and office insignia to obtain millions of naira through false pretences and fraudulent contract awards.

Alozie noted that the suspect was initially granted bail and subsequently approached FIJ for media coverage after filing a fundamental rights suit against the complainant and the police.

The court, however, reportedly dismissed the case and awarded ?1 million in costs against the applicant in favour of all respondents.

The NDRA accused FIJ of failing to exercise due diligence by not investigating all sides of the story or granting Mr. Ismail a right of reply before publication.

The group demanded an immediate retraction or corrigendum from the online platform, insisting that the reports breached the ethical codes governing responsible journalism.

‘While citizen journalism strengthens democracy, it must not be used as a tool for defamation or sedition. Defending the rights of an individual facing criminal prosecution should never come at the expense of truth, fairness, and balance’, Alozie warned.

The NDRA reaffirmed its commitment to media freedom but urged journalists and citizen reporters alike to uphold the principles of integrity and impartiality when handling sensitive corruption-related cases.