Category: The Nation – Nigeria

Former Nigerian international, Dimeji Lawal, has cautioned the Super Eagles not to get carried away by FIFA’s sanction against South Africa, stressing that the real challenge lies in their capability to win their remaining qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin.

The world soccer ruling body, FIFA, on Monday docked South Africa three points and overturned their previous 2-0 victory over Lesotho after fielding ineligible midfielder Teboho Mokoena in a preliminary qualifier on March 21, 2025. The disciplinary ruling awarded Lesotho a 3-0 win, while South Africa was fined CHF 10,000. Mokoena also received a formal warning from football’s governing body.

Speaking on the development, Lawal acknowledged the significance of the ruling but insisted that Nigeria’s qualification hopes depend on the Super Eagles’ performances in their last two fixtures.

‘I don’t get excited about the sanction of South Africa because one thing is to get three points taken away from South Africa. Another thing is for us to be able to win our remaining games,’ Lawal posited. ‘The bottom line is: can we win the last two games?

‘That’s the question and this is the crucial part of it. I’m not so excited about removing South Africa’s points. What I am looking forward to is how we can prepare ourselves in a manner that we can win the next two games.’

Lawal, who represented Nigeria at both youth and senior levels before moving abroad to play in Spain, Belgium, and South Africa, emphasized that FIFA’s decision was expected given their long-standing stance on player eligibility.

‘They won’t bend their rules at that level. They will not like to undermine their own regulations. So for sure when South Africa made that mistake, I knew they were going to forfeit the three points and three goals,’ he added.

The President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Gabriel Idahosa, has said the nation’s key economic indicators are showing renewed signs of growth as the country marks its 65th independence anniversary, dahosa, however, in a statement yesterday, warned that the outlook required cautious optimism and sustained reforms.

He said the milestone offered both a moment of celebration and sober reflection on the nation’s economy and business environment.

‘Key indicators are showing some positive trends worth highlighting such as accelerating economic growth, productive recovery in the oil and gas sector, easing inflation, currency appreciation and strengthening external reserves,’ he said.

He noted that for the first time since 2020, the monetary authorities had eased interest rates to 27 per cent after a series of hikes triggered by inflationary pressures, while significant tax reforms were underway.

‘These developments create a cautiously optimistic business climate; one that offers opportunity but demands sustained policy discipline and private-sector agility,’ he added.

The LCCI president observed that the country’s improving macroeconomic backdrop presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses.

According to him, exporters and manufacturers can take advantage of stronger reserves and a relatively stable naira to manage foreign exchange exposures with greater certainty. Energy-related firms, he said, also stand to benefit from renewed activity in the oil sector.

‘At the same time, inflation remains high enough to squeeze consumer purchasing power and margins, while the transition to new tax rules will temporarily increase compliance costs and require careful cash-flow planning,’ Idahosa cautioned.

He urged the government to ensure a transparent and phased rollout of the new tax framework to reduce investor uncertainty. He also called for fiscal measures that target critical inputs, complementing prudent monetary policy to accelerate disinflation without eroding external reserves.

Idahosa said the country must strengthen local content in oil-sector projects to translate export gains into jobs and industrial development. He urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to maintain open communication on foreign exchange policy to sustain market stability.

On the way forward, he emphasised the importance of deepening structural reforms to ease the cost of doing business, prioritising infrastructure investments, and accelerating industrialisation policies to boost manufacturing.

‘We expect to see the implementation of the 30 per cent Value-Addition Export Bill, passed by the National Assembly, and the Executive Order on Nigeria First Policy, to boost local manufacturing,’ he said.

According to Idahosa, enhancing policy consistency, regulatory compliance, and SME support would build investor confidence and drive economic transformation.

‘As we celebrate 65 years of nationhood, LCCI reaffirms its commitment to constructive advocacy, partnerships, and thought leadership in advancing Nigeria’s economic transformation.’

‘We remain confident that, with sustained reforms and collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors, Nigeria can unlock its immense potential and secure a prosperous future for its people,’ he added.

Sir: With over 520 different languages, Nigeria holds the third-highest number of spoken languages in the world. Four of these – Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Ijaw – are spoken by about 78 percent of the country’s population. Yet despite this richness, most Nigerian languages remain absent from the tools shaping the lives of Generation Z and Generation Alpha, the generations who embody the future of today.

UNESCO warns that about 40 percent of the world’s 7,000 languages are at risk of extinction by 2025, with African and indigenous tongues disproportionately vulnerable. Over a hundred Nigerian languages are already considered endangered or close to extinction.

Technology illustrates the urgency. In Natural Language Processing (NLP), which powers translation apps, voice assistants, and speech recognition, Nigerian languages are classified as low-resource. This means there is not enough digital text or audio for artificial intelligence systems to learn from. Without action, entire languages risk being digitally invisible.

The Nigerian government has no structured plan to preserve or expand indigenous languages, especially in technology and research. Most languages lack basic resources such as text datasets, essential for NLP. Minority languages like Ibibio, Ijaw, and Kanuri, spoken by fewer than 10 million people each, have little or no digital representation. Even the so-called big three languages (Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba) struggle with limited and poor-quality resources.

Apps exist for Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo, but hundreds of Nigerian languages remain excluded. Global technology firms are making tentative steps. In late 2024, Google expanded voice input and dictation support to Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba across Gboard, Voice Search, and Translate. Microsoft added the trio to Azure Translator earlier. Yet the depth and scale of resources for these languages remain far behind those of English, Chinese, or even Swahili.

The Nigerian constitution has never been officially translated into local languages, aside from one private Yoruba effort. Government websites remain exclusively in English. Community-driven projects like Masakhane and NaijaVoices are working to build datasets, but the scale of their efforts is minuscule compared to the need. If Nigerian languages are missing from keyboards, spell checkers, translation tools, and voice assistants, they will fade into silence.

What Nigeria needs is a deliberate digital language strategy. Such a strategy must go beyond the major three and extend to endangered and minority tongues. Crucially, it should position languages as infrastructure, gateways through which citizens access healthcare, education, commerce, and culture.

Policymakers must prioritize indigenous languages in technology and education. Researchers and entrepreneurs must collaborate to build open resources. Global technology firms must be challenged to support more Nigerian languages. And citizens must demand a future where their mother tongues are not just spoken but coded into the fabric of modern life.

When we set out on this journey, our mind was set on reforming the fiscal landscape of Nigeria and consequently changing the revenue structure of the Federation. To the glory of God, two years on, the figures are justifying that the reforms we embarked upon were the right steps to take. Let me start from the latest evidence, for the first time the three tiers of government shared a record monthly allocation in excess of N2trillion. States and local government councils are now more empowered to carry out their responsibilities to Nigerians in their domains. Nearly 70 per cent of what the three tiers of government gather every month to share comes from tax revenue collected by FIRS. This is an eloquent testimony to the reforms spearheaded by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. So, all credits must go to the president for the courage he has demonstrated in leadership by setting the economic fundamentals right in order for the reforms to bring plenty fruits and gains for the Federation. By removing subsidy on petrol and collapsing the hitherto dual exchange rate windows, floating the Naira consequently, the health of the Federation account has blossomed greatly, as there are no bogus subsidy claims that would naturally have depleted the accruals into the pool.

In addition to these, the President in his inaugural speech, promised to make his industrial and economic policy one that will remove hurdles in the way of businesses. As a follow up to that, he set up a committee which worked so hard with other stakeholders to bring about the new tax laws that will go into effect from January next year. This is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria’s fiscal ecosystem since Independence in 1960. The President has fulfilled his promise to make businesses flourish by removing all burdens and hurdles. This has been done with the new tax laws which will eliminate multiple taxes. The president said we should not have more than single digit tax types and that has been achieved now. The various tax laws which are scattered in several legislations have now been consolidated and streamlined into a single document. Tax is not easy to collect anywhere in the world and it will be made more difficult if taxpayers go through unnecessary hurdles before they can pay taxes. The fact that these laws were scattered in various legislations gives room for different applications and make compliance cumbersome. But all that is history now. Perhaps the biggest deal for Nigerians is that food, education, shared transportation, agriculture are going to be VAT-free. This will have positive effect on more than 80 per cent of Nigerians. This is in addition to the tax adjustment of personal income of those in the low-income brackets. Small businesses with turnover of N50m will not pay tax. All these go to show that President Tinubu is a compassionate leader who knows there the shoes pinch for businesses. A more business-friendly environment has now been created with these new laws.

As an agency, FIRS has grown in leaps and bounds in the last two years. Carrying out the president’s mandate, we re-structured our internal operations from the functional tax typologies to a customer-centric approach. Now, all tax types are paid at a one-stop shop. How do I mean? We put the taxpayers into the emerging tax, medium and government tax as well as large tax buckets. The categorisation is done according to the turnover thresholds of the companies, with those having turnover of N5b and above in the large taxpayers’ bucket. What this means is that these companies pay all the tax types they need to pay at a single tax office which caters for their categories. We no longer have a situation where several offices or units are writing the same company and asking for different things about the VAT or CIT and so on. This has engendered a shift in the mental geography of our staff and has seen a transition to a Federal Inland Revenue Service that is customer-focused. We are service providers to the taxpayers rather than coming across to them as a tax law enforcement agency. Non-oil tax revenue has grown exponentially and for the first time in a long while, we met and surpassed our oil and gas tax revenue target for this year, thanks to the improved security situation in the country which has energised the oil companies to grow and make profits.

Despite your praise for the President, there are those who say much has not really done much for the country and its citizens since he took over in 2023.

Even you journalists know that it will be inaccurate for anyone to come with such claims. Yes, the removal of subsidy on petrol created some disruptions in the living conditions of most Nigerians. Transportation costs went up, as did prices of goods and services. The disruptions can be likened to the pain of a woman in labour. After she is delivered of the baby, comfort and bliss will follow. To cushion the effect, President Tinubu came up with the compressed natural gas initiative which has seen millions of vehicles converted from petrol to CNG. CNG buses were also procured and distributed to states. From the height that it went earlier in the year, petrol price is coming down. Don’t forget that we also came up with the crude-for-naira initiative which is helping local refiners get access to crude oil in naira. The exchange rate that went up is also coming down. The FX market has navigated away from arbitrage which used to be the order of the day. Foreign airlines and others were owed $7b by Nigeria. President Tinubu came and cleared the debt. About 90 per cent of revenue was devoted to servicing debt, but the rate has gone down to about 50 per cent in two years. Tax-to-GDP ratio was 10% when we took over, now it is 13.5%. But that is not where we are going. We are aiming to beat Africa’s average of 15 per cent and achieve 18 per cent by 2027. External reserves have climbed up to $41b from $4b.

The Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) created by the President Tinubu has seen almost N90bn disbursed to over 450, 000 students across the country.

There are many road projects going on and some completed across the country, covering all the six geo-political zones. These roads are opening up economic corridors across the country. Federal allocations to state have grown by almost 70%, enabling them to enjoy a great level of fiscal stability and debt management. According to the figures from DMO, about 30 states repaid N1.85trillion in debt over 18 months. We should keep these figures in perspective when X-raying this Administration.

What is the truth about this 5% surcharge on petrol?

The problem with the people bandying this about is either that they don’t read or they read but do not understand. In my earlier comments, I said there were many laws about taxes which were scattered in various legislations, making compliance difficult for taxpayers. To remove the burden, we harmonised these laws into a single document and one of such laws is the petrol tax. The law had existed under the FERMA Act 2007 and the purpose was to use the money therefrom for road maintenance. The new law lays down the procedure for this provision to come into effect. There must be a commencement order from the Minister of Finance which will be publicly announced and also gazetted. So, it does not automatically mean that this provision will go into effect from January next year. Remember, one of the first set of reliefs President Tinubu brought to Nigerians was to remove 7.5% VAT on diesel. Is it that same president that will now impose additional cost on petrol for the citizens at this time?

Why was FIRS changed to Nigeria Revenue Service and what should taxpayers expect from the agency when it goes full throttle next year?

Let me start from what the taxpayers should expect from us. They should expect a fair tax administration that will also come without hassles. Our core mandate is simple: assess, collect and account for revenue accruing to the Federation. In doing this, we will be fairer as a tax authority and continue to provide quality service to our only customers, that is, the taxpayers. The president has done a lot in bringing reliefs to Nigerians and businesses with the new tax laws. Compliance should be easier now and of course our advocacy has been on voluntary compliance. Do the right thing at all times and don’t wait till our tax people visit your premises. If they have any issue, they should get in touch with us. With the new tax laws, evasion will be pretty difficult. Companies should be diligent in their tax planning. Those who still think they can find a way to game the system will find out that evasion or trying to cut corners will be costlier than being compliant and honest.

There is one proverb in my language, ‘If the main course is not satisfying, there is nothing anybody can give you as a gift that will be enough.’ So, if within, we cannot develop Nigeria, nobody will come and develop it for us. President Tinubu’s mantra has always been: ‘I’m not here to tax poverty; I’m here to tax prosperity. My government will tax the fruits of your investments and not the seeds.’ When companies are doing well and are making profits and are expanding their operations, we will benefit from their doing well. The tax rate is simple. If the base is 10, we will have three. If the base increases to 20, we will have six. If the base increases to 30, we will have nine. So, if I want to have more, it’s not by going on an aggressive revenue drive. It is to help the companies to do well and that is when I will do well too. So, that is why, for us at Nigeria Revenue Service, we are here to remove all the hurdles in the way of our taxpayers. This is what President Tinubu has done with the new tax laws. He has fulfilled his electoral promise and we should all commend him for being a promise keeper.

On why we are changing from Federal Inland Revenue Service to the Nigeria Revenue Service, the word federal in the name of the agency gives the erroneous impression that we are only collecting tax revenue for the federal government. When you say ‘Inland’, it wrongly means we are only collecting money from Nigeria, which is not what we are doing. I will give you examples. We collect VAT, 90% of which is for states. When you therefore say ‘federal’, it means we are not representing what we do. The new name, NRS, shows we are the sole tax authority for all revenue collection for the Nigerian federation according to our laws.

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday hosted the Russian Chapter of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance at the State House in Abuja.

She said Nigeria is a fertile ground for global partnerships and a dependable ally of the BRICS bloc.

Welcoming the business alliance’s delegation, led by its Chairperson, Anna Nesterova, Mrs. Tinubu described Nigeria as ‘a very interesting place that you will find rewarding for partnerships’.

The First Lady assured the visitors of her office’s continued advocacy for women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship.

She stressed the statutory role of government ministries in driving concrete economic engagements, saying: ‘My office will continue to provide advocacy and encouragement, but the ministries have the statutory responsibilities and budgets to support your mission.

‘I do a lot of programmes through my foundation, but when it comes to women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, the ministries are the right partners. My role is to complement, advise, and facilitate.’

Mrs. Tinubu highlighted her humanitarian work through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), saying she has personal commitments to education, women, and children.

The First Lady recalled that she dedicated her 65th birthday to raising funds for a national library project and announced plans to distribute sanitary kits to schoolgirls in Gombe State as part of her outreach to rural communities.

Nesterova praised Mrs. Tinubu as ‘an incredible woman who not only changes lives for the better but also paves the way for a prosperous future for the Nigerian people’.

The BRICS Women’s Business Alliance chairperson announced the group’s plans to establish a regional office in Nigeria to serve as a gateway for women entrepreneurs into international markets.

She also announced a donation of 1,000 labour and delivery kits to support maternal health in Nigeria.

The chairperson highlighted the alliance’s global reach, saying: ‘Our Common Digital Platform currently connects more than 3,000 businesswomen from 60 countries. Last year, the BRICS Women’s Startups Contest attracted 50 applications from Nigeria alone.’

The Russian delegation included senior executives and academics, such as Ms. Liudmila Shcherbakova of VET PHARM Group, Ms. Natalia Vershinina of United Migration Centre, Prof. Liudmila Popova of Orel State University, and Ms. Anna Meshcheryakova of Third Opinion AI.

They expressed readiness to collaborate in the areas of pharmaceuticals and labour mobility to financial literacy and AI-driven healthcare solutions.

The visitors joined Nigerian officials at a technical session, which held at the State House Banquet Hall and focused on the topic: Strengthening Bilateral Ties and Exploring Investment Opportunities between Nigeria and Russia.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, described the engagement as a new chapter in Nigeria-Russia relations.

‘This gathering must go beyond symbolism. It should deliver actionable frameworks for cooperation, joint ventures, and enduring networks between Nigerian and Russian women entrepreneurs,’ she said.

The minister linked the talks to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope foreign policy agenda, stressing that empowering women is ‘not just a moral duty but a strategic investment in national growth and stability’.

Also, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, delved into over six decades of Nigeria-Russia cooperation in education, technology, defence, and energy.

She noted that Nigerian women own over 40 per cent of small and medium enterprises and constitute nearly 39 per cent of registered exporters.

‘With Nigeria’s demographic strength and entrepreneurial dynamism, and Russia’s technological expertise, our two nations can pursue mutually beneficial partnerships in agriculture, food security, mining, energy, the digital economy, and healthcare,’ Oduwole said.

The minister underscored Nigeria’s gateway role under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), offering investors access to a $3 trillion market of 1.3 billion people.

Other speakers at the event included the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulieman-Ibrahim, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who stressed the importance of women and youth in driving innovation and inclusive growth.

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has called on Nigerians to remain optimistic and united despite present challenges, assuring that the policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and citizens’ sacrifices would yield positive results in due time.

In his message to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary on Wednesday, which he personally signed, Mbah congratulated citizens on the milestone, noting that while this year’s celebration might be modest, it does not diminish the country’s significant progress as an independent nation.

‘At 65, our independence is a reminder of what we can achieve as a people when we are united. It is also a reminder that progress demands sacrifice, and that tomorrow is shaped by the choices we make today.

‘The commemoration of our 65th independence anniversary may understandably be low-key, but the significance of the strides we have made as a nation is by no means underwhelming.

‘Those strides are manifest in the remarkable achievements we have recorded across key sectors. They reflect as well in the bold reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that have brought stability to the Nigerian economy. The sacrifices may be huge today, but there is no doubt that the end will vindicate the decisions if we stay the course.

‘As we raise our flags today, let us renew our covenant to Nigeria; let us embrace the spirit of unity, and let us uphold the optimism that has carried us this far,’ he stated.

Mbah, while also recommitting to his administration’s inclusive development model that leaves no one behind, maintained that Enugu State, under his watch, was on the path of turnaround and exponential economic growth.

‘In Enugu State, this Independence Day is a fitting occasion to recommit to our pledge to make inclusion the cornerstone of government policy; to create wealth and deploy it for the benefit of everyone in Enugu State. We are staying the course. And no one will be left behind.

‘From moribund assets roaring back to life, to Ndi Enugu enjoying a resounding sense of security of lives and property, our children transitioning to 260 Smart Green Schools, our rural communities accessing modern healthcare courtesy of our completed or ongoing 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres, Ndi Enugu commuting conveniently and affordably via our modern transport system and infrastructure, Enugu State is no doubt on the pathway to assured turnaround and exponential economic growth,’ he added.

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Salihu Moh. Lukman has raised concerns that internal struggles for control of the party’s structures could undermine its effectiveness ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, Lukman expressed fears that unless the drift is addressed, the ADC may be unable to provide a strong challenge to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

The former member of the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) acknowledged the progress made in forming a coalition and adopting the ADC as its political platform.

However, he cautioned that some leaders appear to be working at cross purposes for personal interests rather than collective goals.

Reflecting on the journey so far, Lukman said he remains grateful to God for the coalition’s successes but urged party leaders to realign with the ADC’s primary purpose to ensure its relevance in the next electoral cycle.

‘Unfortunately, instead of working to build the party, we are setting ourselves to produce a party whose business will be limited to presenting candidates for elections. People with ambition to contest elections have become restless and want to dominate the process of developing the structures of the party to the exclusion of their opponents.

‘The madness of controlling the structures of ADC is the biggest threat before us. For whatever reason, those of us who want the ADC to be an equal opportunity party are being condemned. Sadly, some of our leaders, instead of providing fair leadership, are taking sides with strengthening aspiring candidates for the 2027 elections across the state to the exclusion of others.

‘I want to use the opportunity of this independence anniversary to appeal to all of us to stop this madness of trying to take over structures of ADC and control it to the exclusion of so-called opponents.’

Lukman, who was particularly concerned about the leadership rat race in the Kaduna State chapter of the party, cautioned that the development, if not quickly checked, is capable of tearing apart the party in the state, even before the general elections

He said, ‘If ADC is to emerge as a strong party capable of defeating the APC in Kaduna State, we must agree to work together. Anybody who is not ready to work as part of a united opposition in Kaduna State is consciously or unconsciously working for the APC.

‘I am making this strong appeal with a very deep feeling of disappointment that we are recklessly mismanaging an opportunity to provide the needed leadership to our people. In particular, I want to appeal to Mal. Nasir El-Rufai, Mal. Jaafaru Sani and Alh. Bashir Saidu, as an opposition leader in Kaduna State to please stop encouraging the madness of aspiring candidates seeking to take over structures of ADC to the exclusion of so-called opponents.’

Calling for unity among party members, the former Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) emphasised that, ‘It is only if we are united in ADC that we will be able to unite our people in the state to defeat the APC in 2027.

‘We must bear in mind. It is not just about defeating APC but more about producing a government controlled by our party (ADC) based on collective leadership. We need to put an end to the era when we produce emperors as governors. Anything short of producing a government managed by collective leadership under ADC will be unacceptable.’

Rivers Hoopers rode a wave of pinpoint shooting from deep to outclass Kwara Falcons 81-61 on Day Three of the ongoing 2025 Nigeria Basketball Premier League (NBPL) Phase Two on Tuesday.

Kwara Falcons started hot, drilling back-to-back threes to take an early lead, but once Rivers Hoopers erased a four-point gap to tie the game at 13-13, there was no going back as the KingsMen scored four more to end the first quarter 17-13.

With the defending champions well settled into the game, it didn’t take much time before the team got the crowd rocking in the second quarter. Mustapha Oyebanji scored fourteen (14) of his team-leading eighteen (18) points in the second quarter, shooting four threes to feed the frenzy, as the KingsMen took a fourteen-point lead with the score at 44-30 heading into the halftime break.

The team scored five (5) threes in the second quarter and four (4) in the fourth for a total of twelve (12) overall (the highest total managed by a team in a single game at the ongoing NBPL Atlantic Conference Phase Two).

At the end of the third quarter, the hosts had opened up a twenty-two-point advantage, much to the delight of the energetic crowd, and kept up the tempo to close out the game at 81-61.

Amongst four KingsMen who hit double figures, Favour Komene had a memorable night as the youngster notched fourteen (14) points, with each of his four (4) threes cheered on by the crowd. Captain Victor Koko scored thirteen (13) points, and John Idoga added eleven (11).

In the end, the defending champions put up a performance which was well pleasing, not only to the fans but also to Assistant Coach Ronald Alalibo.

‘I’m pleased, because when you make a mistake, you go back to the drawing board, you see the kind of adjustments you want to make, and you try as much as possible to effect those adjustments to enable you to perform better.

‘So far so good; it’s a learning process. Even in this game that we won, we still saw some mistakes that we made, and we’ll go back to the drawing board to make some more adjustments moving forward because we have to get better each game,’ he said.

Rivers Hoopers next play Comets by 5pm on Wednesday and will look to make it three wins from three Phase Two games.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on operators of water transportation across the country to place safety above financial considerations in the conduct of their daily business.

The President made the appeal on Wednesday while commiserating with the government and people of Kogi State over Tuesday’s boat mishap in Ibaji Local Government Area, which claimed several lives.

According to reports, the victims were traders travelling from Ibaji to the Ilushi market in neighbouring Edo State when the tragedy struck.

In a statement issued by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu described the incident as ‘shocking and unfortunate,’ stressing that the victims had been on a legitimate quest to earn a decent living.

The President commended first responders who rushed to the scene of the accident and urged federal, state, and local emergency agencies to intensify rescue and relief efforts to support survivors and assist affected families.

While consoling the government and people of Kogi State, Tinubu prayed for the peaceful repose of the souls of the departed and for a speedy recovery of those injured in the mishap.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Wednesday advised the federal government to urgently tackle insecurity.

CAN President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, in his 65th independence anniversary message, also pleaded for a united, peaceful, and prosperous nation.

Okoh recalled the resilience of Nigerians who have endured civil war, years of instability, and recurring economic and social crises.

He said, despite these difficulties, people have shown remarkable courage and faith, sustaining hope in the promise of a better Nigeria.

Okoh, in a statement, said, ‘The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) joins all citizens in celebrating the 65th anniversary of our nation’s independence. This milestone offers us the opportunity to reflect with gratitude to Almighty God on how far we have come, to recognise the challenges we still face.

‘We acknowledge the undeniable progress recorded in education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, telecommunications, and other sectors over the decades. From a handful of schools and institutions at independence, our country today boasts thousands, producing generations of young men and women who continue to shape the nation’s future.

‘Yet, we must also be honest about the unfinished business of nation-building. Economic reforms, while necessary, have brought temporary hardship for millions. The rising cost of living, food insecurity, unemployment, and inflation continue to weigh heavily on households. True progress must be measured not only by statistics but by the food on every table, the security of every community, and the opportunities available to every child’.

Okoh prayed to God to grant our leaders the wisdom, courage, and strength to drive the reforms to a point where Nigerians will rejoice.

‘And may He protect them from sycophants who do not mean well for our nation.

‘Security remains an urgent concern. Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and communal conflicts have caused deep pain and displacement. While strides have been made in restoring safety, more still needs to be done to guarantee the protection of lives and property. CAN urges sustained collaboration between security agencies, communities, and faith-based organisations to consolidate peace across the country.

‘We also recognise that young people are Nigeria’s greatest asset. Their energy, creativity, and determination hold the key to a better tomorrow. Yet, the persistent brain drain, where many of our brightest minds leave for opportunities abroad, remains a critical challenge’, he added.

The CAN boss said Nigeria must create the enabling environment that encourages its citizens, especially the youth, to stay, thrive, and contribute meaningfully to national development.

Okoh said, ‘Investment in education, innovation, and youth empowerment must remain a national priority, ensuring that no young Nigerian is left behind.

‘As a faith community, CAN believes that the challenges we face can be overcome with collective sacrifice, patriotism, and trust in God. We therefore call on all Nigerians, leaders and citizens alike to rise above ethnic, religious, and political divides, and to work together for the common good.

‘On this anniversary, let us renew our commitment to justice, equity, and good governance. Let us embrace hard work, pay our taxes faithfully, support local production, and show love to one another as one people under God.

‘The dawn of a new Nigeria is possible. With God’s help and our shared determination, we shall build a nation where peace, prosperity, and unity flourish for generations to come’.