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Senate President Godswill Akpabio and budget experts have called for stronger media-led scrutiny of the national budget to promote transparency, expose waste and ensure that public funds are used for their intended purposes.

They made the call at the 2026 Capacity-Building Workshop of the Senate Press Corps, themed: ‘Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertions.’

Akpabio, in his remarks, urged parliamentary journalists to combine rigorous investigation with accuracy and fairness, saying the media and Parliament have complementary responsibilities in protecting public resources.

‘Parliament must guard the public purse; the press must illuminate the public record; and both must answer to the Nigerian people, from whom all public authority comes,’ he said.

He called for a robust press that can question government without turning allegations into established facts.

‘I ask for no tame press. We serve the same Republic under different obligations: Parliament must deliberate, legislate and oversee; the press must inquire, verify and report,’ Akpabio said.

The Senate President said journalists must understand parliamentary procedures and the different stages of legislation when reporting the activities of the National Assembly.

‘A motion is not a law. A bill at First Reading is not an Act. A committee recommendation is not necessarily the decision of the Senate. An accusation made in debate is not proof of guilt, and a proposed allocation is not money already spent,’ he said.

Akpabio said the same rigour should apply to budget reporting, urging journalists to scrutinise expenditure while giving concerned persons the opportunity to respond.

‘Where there is credible evidence of wrongdoing, let it be examined without fear. Where there is waste, let it be exposed. But an allegation does not become a fact through repetition,’ he said.

Akpabio said Nigerians were the ultimate beneficiaries of effective parliamentary oversight and responsible journalism.

‘Parliament stands guard over the public purse; journalism stands guard over the public record,’ he said.

‘Let Parliament answer with an honest account of the people’s money, and let the press answer with an honest account of the people’s affairs.’

Chairman of the Senate Press Corps, Taiye Odewale, had identified an alleged N1.3 billion allocation to the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council as an issue that underscored the need for stronger safeguards against questionable budget entries.

The workshop’s lead rapporteur, Sanni Onogu, said resource persons at the event identified improved collaboration between the media, civil society and legislative institutions as critical to strengthening budget accountability.

Presenting a paper on preventing questionable budget provisions, Ebu Emmanuel, who represented the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, urged lawmakers and journalists to subject budget line items to rigorous scrutiny.

He said budget provisions should be justified, transparent, properly costed and measurable, warning that vague, duplicated or inflated provisions could undermine public spending.

Emmanuel urged journalists to investigate budget changes and ask key questions, including: ‘What changed, why, who justified it, what will it cost, where will it be implemented, who benefits and how will delivery be verified?’

He also called for accountability across the entire budget cycle, from proposal and justification to approval, implementation, monitoring, audit and accountability.

BudgIT Director Oluseun Onigbinde, represented by BudgIT Foundation Country Director Vahyala Kwaga, said legislative budget scrutiny should move beyond approving appropriations to assessing the performance of government agencies and public policies.

He recommended that budget proposals be submitted to the National Assembly at least 90 days before the end of the financial year to allow adequate scrutiny.

BudgIT also urged lawmakers to review agency performance under previous budgets before approving new allocations and to encourage wider stakeholder participation in the budget process.

The Eagle Times Newspaper publisher, Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, represented by Chief Operating Officer Tabuko Kennedy, challenged journalists to ‘follow the money’ by comparing budget allocations with releases, expenditure, outputs and actual impact.

He proposed creating a Senate Press Corps Budget Accountability Reporting Desk, a joint budget scrutiny report within 72 hours of budget presentation, and a public database of major projects.

He also recommended that journalists track selected projects from budget documents to their actual sites and use audit reports and procurement records to investigate red flags.

On artificial intelligence, Adeola Ademokoya, Nigeria representative of Mass Media TX Limited, said AI could help journalists analyse lengthy budget documents, compare budget versions, and identify possible duplication or unusual figures.

She stressed, however, that journalists must verify AI-generated information against official documents and seek clarification before publication.

Her message was that AI should make journalists faster and more effective, but should not replace human judgment.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, also affirmed the media’s responsibility to scrutinise the budget and its implementation while ensuring that information presented to the public is accurate.

The workshop therefore placed the media at the centre of efforts to strengthen budget accountability, with participants emphasising sustained tracking of public spending rather than scrutiny ending after the budget’s passage.

Governorship candidates of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Northeast have rejected the appointment of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, as the party’s regional leader.

The candidates announced their position in a joint statement yesterday.

They warned the party’s national leadership that they would not recognise Lawal in that role.

The governorship candidates said the NDC appointed Lawal without first consulting them, despite their involvement in establishing the party’s structures and mobilising support ahead of the 2027 general election.

The disagreement has opened a new front within the party in the Northeast, with the candidates insisting that decisions affecting the region should not be taken without input from those contesting elections there.

The NDC governorship candidates said the party’s national leadership needed to recognise the political realities in the six states before taking decisions on regional leadership.

‘Politics is local,’ the candidates stated, arguing that those actively involved in the party’s grassroots mobilisation should have been consulted before Lawal’s appointment.

They also questioned the appointment’s electoral benefit, expressing concern that it could affect the party’s chances of building a strong political base across the Northeast.

According to them, consultations with the governorship candidates would have provided the national leadership with a clearer understanding of the political situation in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states.

They requested the party’s national leadership, including its National Leader, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, to reconsider the appointment and open discussions with them.

The NDC candidates said their position was aimed at preserving unity within the party and preventing disagreements over leadership from undermining preparations for the 2027 elections.

The statement was jointly signed by Aishatu Dahiru Ahamed of Adamawa, Ibrahim Muhammad Kashim of Bauchi, Rear Admiral S. Kashim Ibrahim (retd.) of Borno, Babayo Ardo of Gombe, Prof. Mohammed Sani of Taraba and Ibrahim M. Shitu of Yobe.

Despite acknowledging the national leadership’s efforts to provide a platform for political participation ahead of 2027, the six governorship candidates said their position on Lawal’s appointment had not changed.

‘For the avoidance of doubt, our position is collective, firm and final: we do not recognise Babachir Lawal as the Leader of the NDC in the North-East, and we will not recognise him as such,’ they said.

The Rivers State House of Assembly voted to establish the State Police during a plenary session televised live on Monday.

The House, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, acted in line with the Constitutional Amendment Bill the National Assembly transmitted to it.

At the plenary, the Speaker read a cover letter from the Clerk of the National Assembly and presented the attached bill, which contained all constitutional amendments required to establish the force.

The Speaker reportedly read all the sections to be altered, and all members voted in the affirmative.

Amaewhule said the House decided to support the bill as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s security architecture and to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s security initiatives.

He said the members’ votes and proceedings on the state police had been adopted as a working document of the House.

The Speaker said, ‘These votes and proceedings are hereby adopted as a working document of this House.’

It was reported that the House of Assembly was expected to communicate its decision to the National Assembly through an official letter.

Nigeria and Jamaica have signed a Technical Assistance Agreement, as part of the efforts towards strengthening bilateral cooperation and expanding the impact of Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps (TAC) Programme in Jamaica.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu met with her Jamaican counterpart, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith on the sidelines of the high-level meeting of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in New York, United States of America.

Media Assistant to the minister, Dr. Magnus Eze, in a statement, said the agreement was signed on Friday, September 25, 2026, at the United Nations Headquarters, following a meeting between Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu,

Senator Johnson Smith expressed the appreciation of the Government of Jamaica for the contribution of Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps Programme to the country’s development, particularly in the areas of health, education and local fabric artisanry.

She also conveyed Jamaica’s interest in benefiting from the deployment of additional Nigerian professionals, particularly nurses and teachers, under the programme in the future.

The Jamaican Foreign Minister highlighted the significant impact of the TAC Programme on communities in Jamaica, noting that its benefits have extended beyond the immediate transfer of technical skills to fostering cultural and creative exchanges between the two countries.

She cited the development of ‘JADIRE’, a concept that combines Jamaican designs with Nigeria’s traditional Adire tie-and-dye textile technique, as an example of the enduring impact of the programme.

The concept was developed by Jamaican artisans following training received through the Technical Aid Corps Programme in 2018.

Both Ministers acknowledged the considerable potential for expanding Nigeria-Jamaica cooperation and agreed to explore additional areas of mutual interest through existing and other bilateral platforms.

The meeting concluded with the formal signing of the Agreement on Technical Assistance between Nigeria and Jamaica, reaffirming both countries’ commitment to strengthening their longstanding bilateral ties and advancing practical cooperation for mutual benefit.

President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have urged a Federal High Court in Abuja to reject the request by ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar to be allowed to amend a suit he filed seeking to stop President Tinubu from participating in next year’s presidential election.

President Tinubu, who is the candidate of the APC for the 2027 presidential election, and his party and INEC objected to the motion for amendment filed by Atiku and his party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on the grounds that the ex-Vice President seeks to surreptitiously alter the nature of the suit, to which they had already filed responses.

President Tinubu, in a counter affidavit filed by his lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), argued that contrary to the plaintiffs’ claim that the amendment was to rectify typographical errors, they also plan to extend the alteration to the questions for determination and reliefs sought in the originating summons.

He added that Atiku sought to introduce an entirely new relief, which was not sought in the earlier originating summons, with which the action was initiated.

‘I also observed that the plaintiffs seek to introduce new documents through the affidavit, by substituting FORM CF001 for FORM EC9, while seeking to introduce entirely new paragraphs in the supporting affidavit to the originating summons.’

According to him, the amendment sought by the plaintiffs essentially attempts to alter the entire case of the plaintiffs as presented before this honourable court.

‘The entire facts deposed to in the affidavit in support of the motion on notice, including Paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are untrue, misconceived or skewed to mislead this honourable court.’

The President noted that the plaintiffs made it clear that their purported cause of action is predicated on the documents submitted by the President to INEC.

He, however, argued that Atiku’s substantive suit is statute-barred, having been filed on Aug. 14 while the cause of action which he is challenging arose on July 11 when Tinubu’s name was submitted to INEC, even though the commission published the particulars of all presidential candidates with their submitted certificates on Aug. 1.

According to him, the timeline for institution of actions is prescribed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and not the Practice Direction of this Honourable Court.

‘The Practice Direction does not entitle any party to file or seek to amend their originating summons upon the expiration of the time prescribed by the Constitution for the institution of the action,’ he added.

Besides, he argued that contrary to Atiku’s reliefs, the amendment sought more than just ‘to correct errors of description of documents.

‘The attempt to ‘set out the particulars of fraud in the affidavit’ is an admission to the fact that the previously filed originating summons contained no such particulars, thus, rendering same incompetent.’

He submitted that an incompetent originating process cannot be amended, adding that the proposed amended originating summons clearly indicated that an additional prayer is being sought therein.

The APC also raised similar issues in its counter affidavit, while INEC, represented by Alex Izinyon (SAN), argued that Atiku’s motion to amend and the proposed amended originating summons are meant to substitute or bring in a new cause of action.

INEC added that the motion sought to attach a written deposition not filed within the constitutionally prescribed period, reformulate reliefs and cure the CF001/EC9 confusion.

It argued that the proposed amendment, if granted, would have the effect of introducing a fresh or different cause of action.

INEC noted that in the alternative, the motion, if granted, has the effect of curing a jurisdictional defect, after the expiration of the 14-day period prescribed by Section 285(9) of the Constitution for instituting a pre-election suit.

Atiku and ADC said the motion, brought pursuant to Paragraph 7(8) of the FHC (Pre-election) Practice Directions, 2006 and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court, is praying for two reliefs.

The first is for an order granting leave to them to amend their originating summons, while the second is for an order deeming the amended originating summons filed upon their application, as properly filed amended originating summons.

Parts of the grounds for the motion, they said was that after filing the originating summons, they noticed a few errors, especially on the nomenclature of the INEC forms attached to their affidavit which was referred to as Form CF001, instead of the now Form EC9A.

They said there was also the need to specifically set out the particulars of the alleged fraud in their affidavit, including a written deposition of the 1st plaintiff (Atiku) and attaching clearer copies of Exhibits referred to, but were not available with the plaintiffs as at the time of filing the suit.

Atiku and the ADC said these would replace ‘the one presently attached, but is inelegant,’ and that no new issue had been added to the amended originating summons and no additional prayers sought.

At Monday’s hearing, lawyer to Atiku and the ADC, Silas Onu said although the case was slated for further mention, he was pleased to report that all the parties have been served after the order for substituted service granted by the court.

Onu said he has also received responses from the defendants, but noted that he received two filed on behalf of President Tinubu. Onu said he received one filed by Olanipekun, while the second was filed by Akin Olujinmi (SAN) on behalf of Tinubu and the APC.

When the judge asked what the true position was, Olanipekun said the response he filed was for President Tinubu.

Hakeem Afolabi (SAN), who represented the APC, said the response filed for the political party (the second defendant) was erroneously titled counter affidavit of the first (President Tinubu) and second defendants.

He applied to have it corrected to reflect that it was filed for only the second defendant.

Onu later announced that his client has a pending motion to amend the originating summons, which he said has been served on all the defendants.

Olanipekun, Afolabi and Izinyon acknowledged being served with the motion, and said they responded by each filing a counter affidavit.

Although Olanipekun and Izinyon suggested that the court hear both the substantive suit and the motion for amendment on the next date, Justice Inyang Ekwo said he would prefer to first hear and determine the motion for amendment before hearing the main suit.

Justice Ekwo then adjourned till October 13 for the hearing of the motion for amendment

Atiku and the ADC are, in the substantive suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, seeking, among others, an order disqualifying President Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election.

They questioned Tinubu’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate, which the APC submitted to INEC.

Atiku, in a supporting affidavit, alleged that President Tinubu submitted to INEC an NYSC discharge certificate bearing the name ‘Tinubu Bola Adekunle,’ which, according to him, is different from the President’s name – Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He alleged that he submitted the same NYSC certificate in connection with the 2027 presidential election, claiming the document is not a certificate obtained by Tinubu.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to translate the findings of the 2026 Transparency and Integrity Index (TII) into concrete changes in their operations, warning against allowing the report to become another unused document.

Akume said the Federal Government expects public institutions to integrate transparency and accountability into management decisions, budgeting, procurement, staff development and public engagement as part of efforts to strengthen citizens’ trust in government.

The SGF spoke on Monday while delivering the keynote address at the presentation of the 2026 Transparency and Integrity Index at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, Akume said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remained committed to open, accountable and responsible governance, stressing that government policies, programmes and actions must be transparent, visible and understandable to Nigerians.

He described the Index as an important instrument for assessing accountability, openness and ethical standards across public institutions, saying it provides MDAs with benchmarks for identifying their strengths as well as shortcomings requiring urgent attention.

Akume consequently charged heads of MDAs to incorporate the Index’s findings and indicators into strategic planning, performance management, budget priorities, procurement processes, staff training, and digital disclosure.

‘The report should not sit on the shelf and should inform management decisions, budget priorities, procurement processes, staff training, digital disclosure, and how you communicate with the public’, the SGF said.

He stressed that transparency must be treated as an institutional asset rather than an administrative burden, adding that integrity should be embedded in the procedures and culture of government institutions through clear policies, proper record-keeping, effective oversight and ethical leadership.

Akume also called for consequences for wrongdoing, insisting that strengthening public confidence in government would require institutions to demonstrate accountability not only in policy declarations but also in their everyday operations.

The SGF particularly urged MDAs to leverage technology by ensuring that their websites and data portals provide accurate, timely and user-friendly information on their activities.

He said that current information on budgets, contracts and services should be readily available to citizens, enabling them to engage with government effectively and to track how public resources are being utilised.

Akume explained that the 2026 TII assesses public institutions across five areas – fiscal transparency, open procurement and contracting, human resources and inclusion, control of corruption, and citizens’ engagement.

He said the initiative complements ongoing public service reforms, anti-corruption measures and Nigeria’s commitments under the Open Government Partnership.

The SGF, however, stressed that the objective should extend beyond securing favourable institutional rankings, saying the ultimate goal was to build public institutions that Nigerians could understand, engage with and hold accountable while safeguarding public resources and improving service delivery.

‘The Federal Government remains fully committed to this goal. We will continue building institutions that are transparent, accountable, professional and responsive to the needs of the people,’ Akume said.

He commended the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) and the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) for sustaining the initiative.

Akume also called for stronger collaboration among government institutions, civil society organisations, professional bodies, development partners, and the media to strengthen transparency and accountability and ultimately ‘bring corruption to its knees.’

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, defended his description of traffic congestion in the state as a ‘lifestyle,’ saying the remark was taken out of context and misinterpreted on social media.

Hamzat made the clarification in a video shared on Sunday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Media, Wale Ajetunmobi, on X.

The deputy governor explained that he made the comment while speaking on storytelling and the creative industry at Podfest Naija 2026, using Lagos traffic to illustrate how commuters consume podcasts and other digital content during their journeys.

According to Hamzat, he described Lagos as ‘the city that tells its own story’ before discussing the role traffic plays in the daily lives of residents.

Reading from his speech, he said, ‘Anyone who has crossed Third Mainland Bridge at 6 pm going from VI to Mainland knows that Lagos traffic is not just a problem; it is becoming our lifestyle.’

Hamzat said the statement was intended to explain the relationship between traffic, commuters and content consumption, rather than comment on road design or suggest that the government was satisfied with the state of congestion.

He questioned the connection drawn between his remarks and criticisms of the state’s handling of traffic, particularly comments by tech entrepreneur Tayo Oviosu and former governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

He cited Oviosu as saying, ‘Lagos traffic is caused by poor road design, not economic activities,’ while Rhodes-Vivour said traffic ‘should not be tolerated as a lifestyle’ and described it as ‘a major drain on productivity.’

Reacting to the interpretation of his remarks, Hamzat said, ‘That’s what I said. Now, how people correlate that to say design is incredible. Really incredible.’

He added, ‘So it seems to me that when people go on social media, they don’t read what people say. And that’s the problem.’

Hamzat said he decided to clarify the remarks publicly to ensure that the context of his speech was properly understood.

Meanwhile, Olusesan Daini, Director of the New Media Directorate for the joint PBAT-KOH Lagos State Campaign Council, also defended the deputy governor.

In a statement posted on X on Sunday, Daini said Hamzat’s remarks had been deliberately taken out of context and were not intended to celebrate traffic congestion or suggest that the state government was comfortable with the difficulties residents faced.

He said the deputy governor was explaining that traffic had become part of Lagos residents’ daily routines and influenced how they consumed information and conducted business.

‘Recognising that traffic has become part of daily life is not the same as accepting it as the ideal. It is simply acknowledging the realities of a rapidly growing megacity while working continuously to improve mobility,’ Daini said.

Daini also highlighted the government’s transport initiatives, including rail and water transportation, road construction, junction improvements, intelligent traffic management systems and the deployment of LASTMA personnel.

‘Those seeking to portray the Deputy Governor’s comments as insensitive have relied on an isolated phrase instead of the substance of his remarks. Public discourse is best served when statements are presented in their full context rather than through selective excerpts,’ he said.

The comments have continued to generate reactions on social media, with some users criticising the description of traffic as a lifestyle while others questioned the state government’s approach to congestion.

Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji has approved the dissolution of boards, commissions and parastatals, as well as the termination of the appointments of all political appointees.

This is contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode, yesterday in Ado-Ekiti.

Oyebanji says the decision becomes necessary as his administration gradually winds down its first term ahead of the inauguration of his second term scheduled for October 16.

The affected political appointees include Special Assistants, Senior Special Assistants and Technical Assistants to the governor.

The governor, however, said chairmen and members of statutory boards were not affected by the dissolution.

Oyebanji listed the exempted statutory bodies as the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), Civil Service Commission, House of Assembly Service Commission and Judicial Service Commission.

He said chairmen of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Local Government Service Commission and Teaching Service Commission would also remain in office, noting that their boards had been dissolved.

The governor added that the Directors-General and Technical Advisers were similarly exempted from the termination of appointments.

He said the governing councils of all state-owned tertiary institutions would remain intact, in line with his earlier directives.

Oyebanji expressed appreciation to the affected appointees for their contributions to the success of his administration and their service to the state.

He wished the affected appointees continued success in their future endeavours.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu heads for Lagos tomorrow at the end of his working vacation in Europe. He was in England and France.

The president will be in Lagos to attend Independence Day anniversary.

The Presidency confirmed last night that due to a ‘slight adjustment’ in plans, the President will now arrive in the country tomorrow instead of the weekend as announced on September 21 by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.

It dismissed insinuations of ill-health, saying the President is hale and hearty.

In Lagos, the President is billed to attend premier of a documentary on Bashorun MKO Abiola, winner of the 1993 Presidential election, who was not sworn in due to the annulment of the poll by the Military Government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

The event is due to take place on Independence Day at the Wole Soyinka National Arts Theatre in Iganmu.

The President will also address Nigerians to mark the October 1 National Day.

Tinubu left Abuja on August 30 to begin the working vacation.

After spending about a week in London, the President proceeded to Paris, France, where he combined his vacation with a number of engagements.

The Presidency said he remained in touch with officials at home and continued to direct affairs of government during the period.

Among his engagements in Paris were meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré, whose media and digital interests include Canal+, MultiChoice and Universal Music Group.

His discussions with Bolloré centred on expanded investments in Nigeria’s creative and digital economy.

The President was also in Paris last Thursday when the Ogun State Government signed Memoranda of Understanding with global ports and logistics operator DP World for the development of the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone and the Gateway Deep Seaport.

The President, Onanuga said, will return to Abuja after the independence day activities in Lagos.

Nigeria is ready to meet the world’s growing demand for talent, with an initial target of one million export-linked jobs by 2030, Vice President Kashim Shettima, GCON, said at the global launch of the Hire From Nigeria campaign.

The launch was held in New York on 24 September, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

In a keynote address delivered on his behalf by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, the Vice President said: ‘While much of the industrialised world grows older, and quietly wonders who will fill the productivity vacuum, Nigeria produces, every single year, a new generation of digitally fluent, English-speaking, ambitious young men and women, ready to serve the world from the home front and from a time zone that is convenient for almost every continent.’

He added: ‘The global market for outsourced services will be worth over a trillion dollars in a few years’ time. It is, in truth, one of the great transfers of opportunity in modern economic history, and Africa’s share of it remains barely a rounding error. And so I put it to you plainly: Nigeria is the next frontier for global outsourcing.’

Hire From Nigeria is a private sector-led, government-supported campaign that positions Nigeria as a competitive global source of talent, services, and technology-enabled capabilities, connecting Nigerian professionals, skilled workers, digital experts, creatives, and service providers with global employers, clients, and markets.

The global launch in New York followed the national launch in Abuja on 31 August 2026.

The Hire From Nigeria campaign is designed to make Nigerian talent easier for international businesses to discover, securely connect global businesses with Nigeria’s talent and wider value chain opportunities, and deepen Nigeria’s participation in the global economy.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said: ‘Hire From Nigeria brings together four of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s priorities: youth, job creation, services and digital trade. We are reshaping the talent pipeline, working together across government and the private sector to take full advantage of the opportunity that lies ahead.’

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said that Nigeria missed the first wave of outsourcing 25 to 30 years ago and is determined not to miss this one.

Describing education as foundational to Nigeria’s ambition to become a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030, he added that ongoing reforms aim to ‘change the value chain of education, so that people are not just learning for the sake of learning, they’re learning to provide solutions and learning to earn.’

The President and co-founder of Tech4Dev, Joel Ogunsola, noted that Africa’s outsourcing market is growing three times faster than comparable global markets.

He said the campaign builds on ‘an already existing and growing effort’, with domestic and international outsourcing companies already employing an estimated 20,000 Nigerians in the country across sectors such as customer and business operations, technology and data, and specialised and regulated services.

‘Nigeria’s investment in skills has to be demand-driven, talent must be easy to find, we must build trust, and we must then match the talent to jobs,’ he said.

‘If you’re an international business looking to set up and hire in Nigeria, Hire From Nigeria will support you.’

Rosy Fynn, Country Director for Nigeria at the Mastercard Foundation, said the Foundation’s approach to building Nigeria’s talent pipeline is ‘not to train first and look for jobs, but instead to understand what the market is looking for, and provide the training and talent to fit the need.’

Luqman Edu, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Itana, an Africa Finance Corporation-backed company which is building Nigeria’s first digital free zone, said: ‘This is a very exciting time for Nigeria, and we invite global companies to look at Nigerian talent. Nigeria has the talent, and we are providing the infrastructure to ensure this talent can solve the world’s problems at competitive pricing.’

Yinka Adegboye, Divisional Head of Multilaterals at the Bank of Industry Limited (BOI), representing the Managing Director/CEO, Dr Olasupo Olusi, emphasised the Bank’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s young entrepreneurial talent – the pipeline for Hire From Nigeria – through initiatives such as the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme (iDICE).

Director-General/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Abisoye Coker-Odusote, an engineer, outlined legislative and operational reforms to strengthen digital trust in Nigeria through the rollout of digital credentials ‘that are verifiable locally and internationally’, offering assurance to employers at home and abroad.

The launch attracted strong private sector participation, with executives from the outsourcing, financial services, manufacturing, education and healthcare sectors, alongside development partners.

The heads of several federal agencies also attended, underscoring Nigeria’s whole-of-government commitment to the campaign. These included the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) and Galaxy Backbone Limited.

Hire From Nigeria is a coalition initiative championed by Tech4Dev and Univelcity in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment through the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), and supported by the Federal Ministry of Education, the Bank of Industry through iDICE, and the Mastercard Foundation, alongside other government institutions, development partners and private sector stakeholders.

The campaign connects Nigerian professionals, skilled workers, digital experts, creatives and service providers with international employers, clients and markets, creating pathways for Nigeria to participate more deeply in the global economy.

Also at the event were EVC/CEO, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Suleiman Halilu; DG/CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi; Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa; and DG, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr Emomotimi Agama.