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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi could form the strongest opposition team against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections, according to Demola Olarewaju, Special Assistant on Digital Media Strategy to Atiku.

Speaking on the Mic On Podcast, Olarewaju said that a partnership between Atiku and Obi could give Nigerians the benefit of both leaders’ ideas, describing it as a kind of ‘co-presidency.’

‘I think the best option is to have both of them on one ticket, so Nigerians can enjoy their combined leadership,’ he said.

Olarewaju praised Atiku as a loyal and consistent politician who always supports others even after losing elections.

‘He lost the 2011 primaries to Goodluck Jonathan but still worked for him and helped deliver Adamawa State.

That’s who Atiku is,’ he explained.

He also stressed the need for more youth involvement in politics, noting that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) plans to give 35 to 50 percent of its leadership positions to young people and women.

‘Nigerians need a party that values the energy and creativity of young people – including Gen Z and even Gen Alpha,’ he added.

Olarewaju further said that Atiku is open to stepping down for a younger candidate if he loses in the primaries but remains the strongest opposition contender for now.

‘The best and strongest opposition ticket for 2027 would be a partnership between Atiku and Obi,’ he concluded, adding that their shared political views make such a team both possible and powerful.

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said the E1 Lagos Grand Prix would further boost tourism, innovation, and international recognition for Lagos as a forward-looking and dynamic city.

Speaking at the event during the final race of the championship on Sunday, the Lagos State Governor noted that the all-electric powerboat competition, the first of its kind in Africa, aligned with Lagos’ vision of promoting sustainable initiatives and environmentally responsible investments

Sanwo-Olu commended the organisers and partners of the E1 Series for selecting Lagos as the first African host city of the championship.

He said the event was as a testament to the state’s innovation, creativity, and commitment to sustainability.

Sanwo-Olu said the occasion reflected Lagos’ progress and its drive towards clean energy and future-focused development.

‘Hosting the E1 Grand Prix is not just about sport. It is about innovation, environmental responsibility, and putting Lagos on the global map for future-focused development,’ Sanwo-Olu said.

He said the successful hosting of the event underscored Lagos’ readiness to attract and support global sporting and technology-driven initiatives.

The governor added that the E1 Lagos Grand Prix would further boost tourism, innovation, and international recognition for Lagos as a forward-looking and dynamic city.

The price of cooking gas (LPG) has gone up sharply in many Nigerian cities such as Lagos, Ogun, and Ibadan due to scarcity.

The shortage was caused mainly by a three-day strike by oil workers, which disrupted gas supply across the country.

Prices also increased in other states like Port Harcourt, Cross River, Kano, and Kaduna.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) went on strike last week to protest the sacking of some workers at the Dangote Refinery.

Although the strike has now been suspended, the temporary halt in supply caused many gas stations to run out of stock and led to rationing.

In many places, the price of cooking gas has jumped from about ?1,000 per kilogram to between ?1,600 and ?1,800.

In Abuja, refilling a 12.5kg cylinder now costs between ?17,000 and ?18,750, depending on the area. In districts such as Wuse, Garki, and Kubwa, a kilogram of LPG sells for between ?1,350 and ?1,500. Some gas outlets in Jabi sell a 12.5kg cylinder for about ?17,000.

Many retailers in Abuja said they had run out of stock by Sunday morning, while those who still had gas raised their prices.

In Lagos and Ogun States, gas prices also increased sharply. A kilogram sold for ?1,000 in Lagos and ?1,100 in Ogun last week, but by the weekend, prices rose to between ?1,300 and ?1,800 per kilogram.

An attendant at Ogun Gas Station in Ifo said the shortage began last Tuesday when new supplies stopped coming. By Saturday, the old stock had finished.

A resident of Ogun State, Mrs. Adams Olywaseun, said she could not get gas from two stations and had to buy at a nearby retail shop for ?1,800 per kilogram. ‘I only bought 2kg to manage until the price comes down,’ she said.

In Lagos, Mr. Hassan Sanni said he noticed the scarcity on Thursday. ‘The last time, I bought gas at ?1,000 per kg, but this time, it was ?1,300,’ he said.

The situation in Ibadan, Oyo State, is similar. Residents said gas has been scarce since Friday, with many stations closed due to a lack of supply. Those still selling had long queues of buyers.

Prices at depots went up from about ?900-?950 per kg to ?1,000-?1,100. Retail shops now sell between ?1,300 and ?1,500, and even higher in remote areas.

At BOVAS Petroleum Station, a kilogram sold for ?1,070 on Saturday, October 4, compared to ?970 three weeks earlier.

In areas like Awotan and Apete, residents also reported difficulty finding gas. A retailer in Awotan said, ‘We don’t have gas now. The last one we sold went for ?1,400 per kg.’

Residents believe the crisis is linked to ongoing disputes between tanker drivers and Dangote Refinery.

One resident said, ‘I have never seen this kind of queue before. It may be because of the Dangote and tanker drivers’ crisis.’

Overall, the shortage of cooking gas continues to affect homes and businesses across the country as prices rise daily.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sounded a global alarm over what it calls an ‘alarming new wave’ of nicotine addiction, this time driven by the growing use of e-cigarettes among children.

According to the UN health agency, children are now nine times more likely than adults to vape in countries where data is available. The organisation said tobacco companies are aggressively marketing e-cigarettes as ‘less harmful’ alternatives, while in reality, they are hooking a new generation on nicotine.

More than 100 million people around the world now use e-cigarettes, according to WHO’s first-ever global estimate, which includes at least 86 million adults and 15 million children aged 13 to 15.

‘E-cigarettes are fuelling a new wave of nicotine addiction,’ said Etienne Krug, WHO Director of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention. ‘They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.’

Despite global tobacco use dropping from 1.38 billion users in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024, WHO says the tobacco industry is fighting back with ‘new nicotine products’ targeted at youth audiences through flashy packaging, flavours, and digital marketing.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that governments must move quickly to close regulatory gaps.

‘Millions are stopping or avoiding tobacco use thanks to control efforts,’ he said. ‘But the industry is fighting back with new products that threaten to undo years of progress. Governments must act faster and stronger.’

WHO’s Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion, said smoking and vaping-related harms remain severe, noting that smoking kills over seven million people annually, while second-hand smoke claims more than one million lives.

He added that smoking damages ‘every single part of the body’ and described smoking indoors around children as ‘irresponsible and unacceptable.’

The WHO report, released Monday, comes amid renewed debates in several countries over regulating vaping products and protecting minors from targeted marketing.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, on Monday, arraigned an accountant, Oguibe Promise Nkwachukwu, and his firm, Wifamapp Royalty Global Limited, before Justice R.A. Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, over alleged theft of ?200 million belonging to Travelstar Web Logistics Limited.

Nkwachukwu, who served as the company’s accountant, faces a 13-count charge bordering on stealing, contrary to Sections 280(1)(b), (2)(f), and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

According to one of the counts, Nkwachukwu, being the alter ego of Wifamapp Royalty Global Limited, allegedly converted $36,000 belonging to Travelstar Web Logistics Limited to his personal use.

Another count accuses him of dishonestly converting an additional $156,000, both entrusted to him in his capacity as the firm’s accountant.

He pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all charges.

Prosecution counsel, A.A. Usman, subsequently requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant at a correctional centre pending trial.

However, defence counsel, Kelvin C. Uzozie, informed the court of a pending bail application and pleaded that his client be remanded in EFCC custody instead.

After hearing both parties, Justice Oshodi adjourned the case to October 17, 2025, for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.

The administration of Senate President Godswill Akpabio has been credited with spearheading a wave of legislative activity and reform initiatives that have, according to his media adviser, transformed the National Assembly into a catalyst for economic stability and national development.

Kenny Okolugbo, Media Consultant to the Senate President, outlined these accomplishments in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday. He stated that the 10th Senate, in just two years, had deliberated and passed over 90 bills, with 52 already assented to by President Bola Tinubu.

Describing this record as ‘unmatched in recent democratic history,’ Okolugbo attributed the Senate’s success to what he termed Akpabio’s ‘distinctive and result-oriented leadership approach.’

He said the legislature had played a central role in recalibrating fiscal policy, bolstering investor confidence, and promoting inclusive governance through well-considered legislative measures.

Among the Senate’s notable contributions, Okolugbo highlighted its interventions in stabilising the naira and tackling inflation, which has reportedly dropped to 20.12 per cent-reflecting a 4.23 per cent decrease over recent months.

‘Progress is being made. We may not have arrived, but the signs are promising,’ he stated.

Key Legislative Highlights

He cited the Student Loan Act as a landmark piece of legislation, providing access to interest-free education loans for underprivileged students-repayable only upon securing employment.

Another major milestone was the passage of the Tax Reform Bill, initially met with resistance but eventually passed to broaden the tax base while offering relief to low-income earners.

The Senate also passed the Minimum Wage Act, which doubled the existing wage rate and exempted minimum wage earners from personal income tax-a move widely praised by labour unions.

To address the issue of uneven development, Okolugbo said the Senate had enacted legislation establishing five Regional Development Commissions across the South-East, South-West, South-South, North-West, and North-Central zones.

‘These commissions aim to decentralise development, ensuring that every region benefits from targeted infrastructure and social investment,’ he added.

Forward Planning and Institutional Stability

Despite delays from the Executive in submitting the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, the Senate, he noted, had proactively extended the implementation timelines for capital projects in the 2024 and 2025 budgets to avoid halting critical development efforts.

Looking ahead, he revealed that preparations are in motion for a National Security Summit to confront the underlying causes of insecurity nationwide. Meanwhile, revisions to the Electricity Act have been introduced to curtail arbitrary tariff increases and enhance regulatory accountability.

‘We cannot continue paying exorbitant rates for electricity we seldom receive,’ he remarked.

Okolugbo underscored that the Senate’s effectiveness should not be gauged by its confrontations with the Executive, but by its ability to collaborate and produce outcomes that improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

He further praised Senate President Akpabio’s pace and ambition, calling him ‘a man determined to deliver results swiftly.’

‘His track record as Governor of Akwa Ibom still stands tall. That same drive is evident in his leadership of the Senate,’ Okolugbo said.

He also commended Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin for ensuring legislative continuity in Akpabio’s absence, stating that the Senate’s operations have remained seamless and efficient under his coordination.

The sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) industry loves a good photograph. A group of people in bright shirts gather on a beach, collecting bottles into neat bags. The picture travels online, framed as proof of corporate care for the planet. In Nigeria, these companies are often celebrated, and they never tire of vaunting about their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Yet behind these green campaigns lies a harsher truth. The same corporations that present themselves as environmental saviours are among the largest drivers of ecosystem damage and worsening public health.

Plastic waste illustrates the scale of this contradiction. Nigeria is ranked the ninth-highest contributor to global plastic pollution, generating about 2.5 million tonnes every year, according to USAID. Of this, a staggering 88 percent goes unrecycled, threatening ecosystems, marine life, and public health. Lagos alone produces about 870,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually, which accounts for 15 percent of the city’s total waste, with more than half reportedly dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. Much of this waste comes from single-use plastics, including the millions of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles churned out by the beverage industry.

Globally, multinational soda companies are consistently ranked among the world’s top plastic polluters. In 2018 alone, out of an estimated 445 billion litres of beverages sold in PET bottles, between 21 and 34 billion bottles entered oceans worldwide, equating to roughly 1.1 million metric tons of beverage-related waste. Beyond pollution, the production, transportation, and disposal of these bottles generate significant carbon footprint, aggravating climate change. Interestingly, rather than confront their outsized role, these companies routinely deflect responsibility, framing the crisis as a matter of consumer ‘littering’ instead of acknowledging their industrial-scale plastic dependency. And while beverage firms in Nigeria may promote recycling initiatives, the reality is that the country’s recycling capacity remains narrowly concentrated and grossly inadequate to confront the scale of its plastic waste.

The government has committed to increasing recycled PET content in bottles from the current 3 percent to 25 percent by 2029, an ambition tied to its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework. Nigeria has already adopted EPR through national guidelines, and the soon-to-be-gazetted National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulations is expected to expand this framework and make producer responsibility legally binding.

On paper, these rules require beverage and packaging companies to finance waste collection, recycling, and recovery through Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs). In practice, however, recycling facilities remain limited and clustered in a few urban centres, while many producers continue to treat compliance as optional. By contrast, France has enforced EPR since the 1990s and now recycles 67 percent of household packaging and 27 percent of plastics overall, which is clear evidence that robust enforcement, institutional oversight, and sustained infrastructure investment can deliver measurable results. Until Nigeria develops a comparable nationwide system-expanding infrastructure beyond a few cities, integrating the informal recycling economy, and compelling corporations to reduce single-use plastic at source-its recycling promises will remain largely rhetorical.

An equally pressing but often overlooked aspect of industry harm is the health impacts of SSBs. These products are closely linked with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular illnesses, which already account for nearly 29 percent of deaths in Nigeria. The economic burden of these diseases is staggering, with billions of naira channelled annually into healthcare costs for treatment and management.

International evidence shows that robust taxation can reduce SSB consumption. Studies across Asia and Africa report declines ranging from 2.5 percent to 19 percent, alongside product reformulations that lowered sugar content by up to 43.6 percent. One study found that reduced soft drink intake corresponded with up to a 32 percent lower risk of obesity. Yet, Nigeria’s SSB tax remains low at 10 Naira per litre, among the lowest in the world, and faces persistent industry pushback, which continues to limit its public health impact.

The evidence from other countries points to a clear path forward. Where governments have enforced strong pro-public health taxes alongside producer responsibility policies, both environmental and health outcomes have improved. France demonstrates what can be achieved with strict oversight and infrastructure investment, while places like Mexico and South Africa show that taxation can cut consumption and spur product reformulation.

Furthermore, EPR regimes have demonstrably nudged some producers toward lighter, more recyclable, and more reuse-friendly materials, setting the foundation for deeper change in production practice.

These lessons matter for Nigeria, where the twin crises of plastic pollution and diet-related diseases are stretching ecosystems and hospitals to their limits. Without decisive action, the green campaigns of the sugary beverage industry will remain little more than an effective veil and clever advertising, masking continued plastic pollution and worsening public health under the guise of sustainability.

President Bola Tinubu warmly felicitates his long-time ally and Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Dele Alake, on his 69th birthday anniversary.

President Tinubu describes Alake as a dependable ally, a consummate strategist, an outstanding journalist, and an accomplished public servant whose commitment to national development and good governance has remained unwavering over the decades.

The President recalls his long years of friendship and partnership with the celebrant, noting his exceptional public communication and national development service.

President Tinubu commends the Minister’s ongoing efforts to reposition the Solid Minerals sector as a significant revenue earner for Nigeria through policy innovation, investment promotion, and integration of artisanal miners into the formal economy in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.

‘On this special day, I pray that Almighty God will continue to bless Dele with good health, wisdom, and strength.

‘He has remained a committed, loyal, and outstanding ally for several decades. His steadfastness and unyielding commitment to national development and progress stand him out as a patriot.

The president said, ‘I wish him a long life and more years of service to our nation and humanity.’

Nigerian author and controversial media personality, Reno Omokri, has claimed that a woman’s virginity is a gift that should be reserved for ones husband.

Reno on his Instagram page explained that virginity plays an important role in relationships, marriages and the bond of couples.

He went on to add that a woman who marries as a virgin does not need to bring any other thing to the table as that ‘gift’ is the best a man can receive.

‘As long as a woman brings virginity to the table, she does not have to bring anything else physically to that relationship to make it stable. You, as a man, should bring the rest. The best gift your wife can give you is her virginity. Once she enters the marriage with that, that quality adds value to you physically, spiritually and emotionally. The connection between you and her will be almost mystical,’ he stated.

Reno then advised young ladies to practice abstinence, stating that the advise is not, however, exclusive to only females.

‘So, my counsel to young people out there, especially, but not exclusively, to females, is this: Keep your virginity until marriage. Your friends may laugh at you, but that laughter is without mirth. It is what the Lukumi Yoruba call Erin Ika. You can be like them in one minute. But they can never be like you in one million light-years!,’ he added.

Nigeria has been ranked as the country with the lowest life expectancy in the world, according to new data from the United Nations World Population Prospects, PM News has gathered.

The report shows that the average life expectancy in Nigeria is 54.9 years. Nigerian men live an average of 54.3 years, while women live slightly longer at 54.9 years.

This places Nigeria at the bottom of a list of 25 countries with the shortest lifespans – just below Chad (55.2 years), South Sudan, and the Central African Republic (57.7 years).

The UN report adds that 22 out of the 25 countries with the lowest life expectancy are in sub-Saharan Africa, including Lesotho (57.8 years), Somalia (59.0 years), and Mali (60.7 years).

High maternal and infant deaths, poor healthcare access, and insecurity in some regions continue to affect life expectancy in Nigeria.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the main causes of death globally include cancer, heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, and mental health conditions.

The Federal Ministry of Health has promised to improve public health facilities and expand universal health coverage, but progress has been slow.

However, medical expert Dr. Raymond Kuti disagreed with the UN figures, saying that Nigeria’s life expectancy might actually be higher.

‘The criteria they use are not always accurate. They make it look like Nigerians live shorter lives than they really do,’ he said.

Dr. Kuti acknowledged that diseases affect lifespan but stressed the importance of using reliable data to show the country’s true health situation.

International health agencies continue to call for more investment in healthcare, nutrition, and sanitation to help Nigerians live longer and healthier lives.