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Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has expressed grief over the death of Dotun Oladipo, publisher of EagleOnline.

In a post shared on X, Atiku described Oladipo as ‘not just an extraordinary journalist; he was an extraordinary human being.’

‘Dotun was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word: gracious, thoughtful, decent, and humble,’ the former Vice President said.

Atiku noted that the late publisher was deeply committed to his craft and to the values of truth, professionalism, and public service.

‘But beyond his professional accomplishments was the man himself: warm, generous in spirit, respectful of others, and always willing to engage with kindness,’ he added.

According to Atiku, Nigeria’s journalism community, particularly the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP, has lost a distinguished professional.

‘His friends and colleagues have lost a dependable and gracious companion. And the many people whose lives he touched have lost a truly good man,’ he said.

He prayed for the repose of Oladipo’s soul.

‘May his memory remain a blessing, and may God grant his family, colleagues, and friends the strength to bear this painful loss,’ Atiku wrote.

Kano State Government has dismissed reports that a diphtheria outbreak in Rano Local Government Area claimed the lives of 50 children.

The claim, attributed to the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, was described by the Director-General of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC), Professor Muhammad Adamu Abbas, as unverified and misleading.

Abbas, in a statement on Friday, acknowledged that diphtheria was present in Rano and had resulted in fatalities, but said the reported figure of 50 deaths was not supported by the centre’s surveillance data.

According to him, two deaths were recorded from diphtheria in Rano in 2026, while 29 deaths had been recorded cumulatively between July 2023 and August 2026.

He disclosed that the KNCDC recorded 32 diphtheria cases in Rano, with 25 patients treated at the Diphtheria Treatment Centre at Rano General Hospital and seven others treated at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) in Kano.

The director-general further revealed that 94 per cent of those affected had not been vaccinated, while 91 per cent reported late for treatment.

He stressed that early detection and prompt treatment were critical to preventing further deaths and containing the spread of the disease.

Abbas also criticised the lawmaker for allegedly making the claim without first consulting the Kano State Ministry of Health or the KNCDC, noting that he had made similar unverified claims in October 2025.

He warned that such statements could mislead members of the public and undermine ongoing disease surveillance and outbreak-response efforts.

The KNCDC boss said the agency had deployed a team to communities mentioned by the lawmaker as being affected by the outbreak, but the team had so far been unable to verify the alleged 50 deaths despite engaging with residents.

He questioned how such a high number of deaths could occur without being reported through the state’s established community and disease surveillance structures.

He listed traditional institutions, Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers, Ward Focal Persons, Community Informants, Community Mobilisers, Surveillance Focal Persons and Field Volunteers among the structures that regularly report suspected cases to the KNCDC and other health partners.

Abbas said the centre had also attempted to meet with the lawmaker to obtain first-hand information about the alleged deaths and determine whether he had been misinformed or could provide information that would enable health officials to identify the families of the alleged victims.

He explained that such information would assist the centre in conducting further investigations, including verbal autopsies where necessary, but said efforts to establish contact with the lawmaker had so far been unsuccessful.

The KNCDC director-general commended the Kano State and Federal Governments for their continued support for disease surveillance and outbreak response.

He reaffirmed the centre’s commitment to strengthening surveillance, ensuring rapid response and collaborating with relevant stakeholders to prevent and control disease outbreaks across Kano.

Landing a high-paying client as a writer, designer, or video editor brings pure excitement. Many creatives quickly scroll to the signature page without reading the terms.

Signing a bad agreement can trap you in endless unpaid labor, strip away your portfolio rights, or delay your payments indefinitely. Unclear and unfair contract terms remain among the top reasons independent professionals lose revenue and legal control over their creative output.

In this article, Tribune Online examines five critical contract clauses that creative workers frequently overlook and how you can safeguard your craft.

Unlimited revisions without extra pay

Clients frequently insert broad phrasing like ‘revisions until client satisfaction’ into agreements. This vague statement allows a client to demand dozens of complete redesigns or rewrites without offering an additional kobo.

You end up spending weeks on a project that was budgeted for only three days of work. Always ensure your contract states a clear cap of two or three revision rounds, with any extra edits billed at an agreed hourly rate.

Vague or extended payment timelines

A common trap is agreeing to ambiguous terms like ‘payment upon final completion’ or long cycles such as Net-60 and Net-90.

These clauses mean you may wait two to three months after submission before your bank account gets credited.

Ensure every contract clearly defines a milestone-based schedule, upfront deposit terms, and a strict Net-15 or Net-30 payment window from the invoice date.

Full intellectual property transfer before payment

Some agreements state that the client automatically owns all rights, trademarks, and copyright immediately upon the creation of the work.

If the client cancels the gig or refuses to pay your balance, they can legally take your concept and use it anyway.

Protect your work by insisting that intellectual property rights transfer to the client strictly after full and final settlement of your fees.

Extreme non-compete and exclusivity clauses

Overly broad non-compete clauses can prevent you from working with any other business in the same industry for six months to two years.

For an independent worker, this can completely dry up your pipeline and stop you from taking on new local or international gigs.

Ensure any exclusivity requirement is strictly limited to direct project competitors and only lasts for the exact duration of the active project.

Missing cancellation fees

Projects can stop abruptly due to a client’s budget cuts or leadership changes through no fault of your own.

If your contract lacks a ‘kill fee’ or formal termination clause, you will walk away empty-handed despite spending days conducting research and drafting outlines.

A solid agreement should guarantee that you keep your non-refundable deposit and receive compensation for all completed phases up to the cancellation date.

President of GLOBE Legislators International, Rt Hon Sam Onuigbo, has described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election for a second term as a matter of urgent national importance, saying the stakes for the 2027 presidential election are higher than they were in 2023.

Onuigbo, a former two-term member of the House of Representatives, said a second four-year term would give Tinubu the opportunity to consolidate, fine-tune and stabilise the reforms initiated by his administration.

He spoke on Friday while flagging off the Odozi-Obodo for Tinubu Campaign Movement at his country home in Odozi Obodo Hills, Obuohia Obi-Ibere, Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State.

According to him, Tinubu has made significant progress in repositioning Nigeria’s economy and deserves another term to consolidate the foundation already laid.

Onuigbo told supporters at the event that their presence demonstrated a collective resolve to work for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

He said despite what he described as confusion and manipulation surrounding the APC senatorial primary, he had decided against litigation, choosing instead to continue projecting the party and supporting the ideals of good governance and the consolidation of Tinubu’s reforms.

He said: ‘While I appreciate your unalloyed support, I want to use this opportunity to crave your indulgence for a committed approach to the campaigns for President Tinubu’s re-election for a second term in office.

‘There are so many reasons why we should keep our eyes on the ball to achieve this singular target of a second term for Mr President.

‘The stakes are higher now than when we joined the APC, especially because of the bold and courageous reforms the President has initiated under the aegis of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

‘Mr President deserves the support of every genuine Nigerian. I dare say that it is our bounden duty to keep supporting the President and work hard to ensure he wins the 2027 presidential election because he needs to consolidate the foundation already laid.’

Onuigbo urged members of the campaign movement to brace for more work ahead of the election, saying they were partners in the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He listed what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration and the reasons Nigerians, particularly those in the South-East, should support the President’s re-election.

According to him, Tinubu campaigned on policies including ending the parallel foreign exchange market, making Nigeria a preferred destination for foreign direct investment, removing fuel subsidy, diversifying the economy and promoting inclusive governance.

He said Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy on 29 May 2023 attracted widespread criticism at the time but had subsequently contributed to increased revenue available to the three tiers of government.

Onuigbo said Federation Account Allocation Committee funds distributed to the three tiers of government had increased from N711 billion in 2023 to N4.5 trillion in 2026.

He also cited increased refining capacity, crude oil production, foreign reserves and investment in education as evidence of the administration’s economic reforms.

He said Nigeria’s refining capacity had risen from about 30,000 barrels per day in 2023 to more than 700,000 barrels per day in 2026, while crude oil production had risen from about 1.3 million barrels per day in 2023 to more than 1.73 million barrels per day.

Onuigbo further claimed that the country’s foreign reserves had increased from $3.99 billion in 2023 to $51.9 billion in 2026, while more than N300 billion had been invested through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

He also said Tinubu’s foreign engagements had attracted more than $50 billion in foreign direct investment, including $20 billion in 2026 alone.

On economic growth, Onuigbo said Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product had grown from 2.74 per cent in 2023 to 3.9 per cent in the first half of 2026, citing the National Bureau of Statistics.

He attributed the growth largely to the non-oil sector, including financial technology, agriculture and solid minerals, which he said demonstrated progress in the administration’s economic diversification agenda.

The former federal lawmaker also highlighted what he described as Tinubu’s inclusive governance and interventions in the South-East.

He cited the appointment of service chiefs from the region, the establishment of the South-East Development Commission, the creation of new tertiary institutions, the proposed Enugu-Port Harcourt rail network, the approval and ongoing construction of Abia Airport, and the expansion of the Enugu and Owerri airports.

He also mentioned the approval granted to South-East governors to reconstruct some federal roads and receive reimbursement from the Federal Government.

Onuigbo said he was particularly grateful to Tinubu for the administration’s decision to restore delisted management courses at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.

He said the decision had expanded access to higher education, preserved existing jobs and created new employment opportunities in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia State and the wider South-East.

He added that the ongoing construction of the Federal Secretariat at Ekeoba Ohuhu in Umuahia North Local Government Area, 35 years after the creation of Abia State, was ‘the jewel on the crown.’

Onuigbo said he facilitated the two projects, adding that the Federal Government was also reconstructing major federal roads across the South-East.

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s pledge to work with governors to reduce public transport fares as a ‘desperate and belated’ response to a cost-of-living crisis created by the administration.

Speaking on Friday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the Federal Government’s own CNG conversion figures amounted to a ‘scorecard of failure’.

‘If Tinubu’s grand strategy for cushioning the consequences of his reckless and poorly thought-out subsidy removal is CNG conversion, then the admission that only about 120,000 vehicles have been converted in more than three years is not an achievement. It is an advertisement of policy failure,’ Atiku said.

‘Against widely cited estimates of roughly 14 million vehicles on Nigerian roads, 120,000 conversions amount to less than one per cent. That is the government’s own number. That is Tinubu marking his own examination script.

‘If a student returned less than one per cent in his core subject, WAEC would not call it progress. Yet Tinubu wants Nigerians to reward the political equivalent of that catastrophic score with another four years. The truth is simple: Nigeria cannot afford another four years of monumental failure.’

Atiku said Tinubu’s statement that ‘cheaper fuel should result in cheaper fares’ was a confession that the administration’s energy policy had been disconnected from the daily survival of Nigerians.

‘For more than three years, Nigerians begged this government for relief. Tinubu removed subsidy without a credible cushioning framework, watched transport costs explode, watched food prices follow, watched businesses suffocate under crushing energy costs, and repeatedly told Nigerians that their suffering was the unavoidable price of reform.

‘Now that elections are approaching, and Nigerians are rallying behind Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal for a production-based subsidy to immediately tackle the cost-of-living crisis created by Tinubu, the same government that ridiculed and criticised Atiku’s plan has suddenly discovered that Nigerians need cheaper transportation.

‘This is medicine after death. You cannot break a man’s leg, abandon him in pain for three and a half years, then return with crutches and demand applause for compassion. Tinubu created the transport crisis; CNG cannot now be packaged as heroism,’ he said.

The ADC candidate argued that CNG could not solve a purchasing-power crisis.

‘CNG can make a converted bus cheaper to operate. It cannot make a poor Nigerian richer. That distinction demolishes the propaganda.

‘Go to the motor parks. Nigerians are travelling less because they cannot afford to travel. Workers calculate whether transport to work will swallow their wages. Traders are buying less because transportation is eating into their capital.

‘So what exactly has Tinubu solved if the bus becomes cheaper to operate but the passenger has become too poor to enter it? A cheaper bus without an affordable passenger is not economic recovery,’ Atiku stated.

He faulted the government’s timeline for relief, noting that Nigerians were being told to wait until October 1.

‘A bus driver does not buy tyres with a presidential statement. A market woman does not transport tomatoes with a government committee. A farmer does not move yam, rice and maize with promises. Spare parts, maintenance, food, rent and virtually every other operating cost have risen.

‘Nigerians are hungry today. Transport is expensive today. Food is expensive today. Businesses are dying today. Why must relief arrive by appointment?’

Atiku said the fundamental issue was purchasing power, not fuel type.

‘You cannot solve a purchasing-power crisis simply by changing the fuel inside a bus. What matters to the Nigerian worker is not merely whether the bus runs cheaply, but whether his salary can still afford the fare, food, rent, medicine, school fees and the basic dignity of life.

‘When fuel rises, transport rises. When transport rises, food rises. When food rises, the household shrinks. That is the economic chain Tinubu broke, and that is the chain Atiku intends to repair.’

He proposed a ‘targeted, transparent and fiscally capped subsidy linked to domestic production’ to bring down costs.

‘Fuel subsidy must return for struggling Nigerians, not the rich friends of the President and multinational companies, but a targeted production intervention that is transparently budgeted, independently audited and guarantees that the benefit reaches consumers.

‘We will support domestic refining. We will track every barrel. We will cap the cost. We will reduce energy costs. And we will ensure that money and relief reach the commuter, farmer, worker, trader and small business owner – not politically connected middlemen.

‘That is the difference between Tinubu and Atiku: Tinubu manufactures hardship and distributes palliatives. Atiku will attack hardship at its source,’ Atiku said.

‘President Tinubu, Nigerians have paid enough for your economic experiment. Too little. Too inadequate. Too late. Your time is up. Prepare your handover. We are coming to make life affordable again.’

Scores of suspected bandits have reportedly been killed as troops of the Nigerian Army launched a major clearance operation against armed groups in Maikujera, Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The operation, which was ongoing as of Friday, reportedly involved the deployment of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and other military assets as troops moved to dislodge the bandits from the area.

Local sources familiar with the operation told our correspondent that the troops had gained the upper hand, forcing several of the suspected bandits to flee into nearby forests and farms.

One of the sources said the bandits attempted to use rustled cattle as human shields during the confrontation, resulting in the loss of a large number of livestock.

‘The military has fully mobilised for this operation, and the troops are pursuing the bandits who are trying to escape through the surrounding bushes,’ a resident of Maikujera told our correspondent in a telephone interview.

The source added that some of the fleeing bandits reportedly abandoned their weapons while attempting to evade the advancing troops.

‘Some of them abandoned their rifles and ran into nearby farms, using the thick vegetation as cover. Others were repeatedly seen trying to ascend a nearby hill as they came under pressure from the soldiers,’ he said.

Investigations by our correspondent indicated that the suspected bandits were allegedly linked to notorious bandit kingpin Bello Turji and had been moving rustled cattle from Gandi and other neighbouring communities in Rabah LGA towards hideouts in Sabon Birni and Isa LGAs through the expansive Gundumi Forest.

Sources said some of the cattle dispersed into the surrounding forests after the bandits came under military attack, while efforts were ongoing to recover the animals.

Confirming the military operation, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Army’s 8 Division, Lt Col Olaniyi Osoba, said the operation was ‘hugely successful’ but declined to provide further details immediately.

According to him, the Army would release more information on the operation in due course.

Residents of Maikujera and neighbouring communities have expressed relief over the military intervention, urging the security forces to sustain the offensive and prevent the fleeing bandits from regrouping.

The mop-up operation was still ongoing in the surrounding bushes and areas linking Rabah, Sabon Birni and Isa Local Government Areas as of the time of filing this report.