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The newly inaugurated Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State, Dr. Ben Nwoye, has announced the nullification of all suspensions previously imposed on party members by the recently dissolved Ugochukwu Agballa-led executive committee.

The chairman also declared the suspensions ‘null, void, and of no effect.’

Nwoye, who returned to the helm of the party following the dissolution of the Agballa-led executive by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) last Thursday, made the announcement while addressing a large gathering of party leaders and supporters at the APC Secretariat in Enugu on Saturday, shortly after returning from Abuja.

Among those affected by the earlier suspensions were former Senate President, Ken Nnamani. former GovernorSullivan Chime; former Speaker and current Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, Barr. Eugene Odoh; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; and former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, among others.

Describing the series of suspensions under the Agballa leadership as a ‘political caricature’ that weakened the party’s cohesion, Nwoye said such actions were counterproductive and inimical to progress.

‘How can you suspend the very people you need to win elections?’ he queried.

He declared all forms of suspensions, whether issued through letters, audio messages, or radio announcements, as invalid, emphasizing that the party must now embark on genuine reconciliation and reintegration of all aggrieved members.

According to Nwoye, the national leadership of the APC had given him a clear mandate to return to Enugu and rebuild the party’s unity ahead of critical political contests in the state.

The caretaker chairman further observed that the political atmosphere in Enugu had significantly changed with the emergence of Governor Peter Mbah, describing his coming as a ‘new political dawn’ for the APC in the state.

He warned that the party could no longer afford division or complacency in the evolving political landscape.

‘With the right strategy and unity of purpose, APC will not remain on the sidelines in Enugu. We will be the party that sets the agenda and defines the next political direction of this state,’ Nwoye stated.

On arrival at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Nwoye told reporters that with Governor Peter Mbah’s entry into the APC, Enugu would ‘regain all that it had lost in the past.’

He described Mbah as a transformational leader who had achieved remarkable progress across various sectors within two years in office, adding that the governor’s move to the APC was for the collective good of his people.

Our correspondent reports that there was wild jubilation at the airport as enthusiastic APC members trooped out in large numbers to welcome Nwoye and members of his caretaker committee back to the state.

Disqualified Big Brother Naija Season 10 housemate, Faith Adewale, has spoken out publicly for the first time in a YouTube monologue after his abrupt exit on October 2, 2025.

The 25-year-old doctor described how a text message on March 5, 2025, led him to audition for the show, prompting him to take a five-million-naira loan to participate.

He began his nearly four-minute video dramatically, stating, ‘Faith is dead’.

‘On March 5th, 2025, I got a text message that flipped my world upside down. One click on that link and everything changed.

‘But somehow, clicking that link made me end up auditioning for Africa’s biggest reality TV show.

‘I did the unthinkable to get in there. I took a loan of five million naira, and somehow, I made it,’ he said.

In the house, Faith said he faced challenges, including a disqualification for physical assault in the ’10/10′ season and admitted to mistakes like arguing, breaking things, and failing tasks.

‘I wasn’t perfect. I made a lot of mistakes. I screamed, I argued, I broke things. I failed tasks. I said things I shouldn’t have said. I lost friends,’ he stated.

He admitted to seeking therapy multiple times due to feeling overwhelmed and isolated.

‘I was overwhelmed. I was isolated. And to be honest, I asked for a therapist over three times because I knew I needed help,’ he said.

Despite his flaws, Faith expressed gratitude for the support from fans across Africa who rallied for him.

‘Outside those walls, a whole continent was standing for me. People I’d never met were shouting my name, fighting for me, spending hard-earned money to keep me in that house.

‘They didn’t see a perfect man. They saw Faith – the little kid that had flaws, passion, and purpose,’ Faith said.

Looking ahead, Faith said he feels renewed and eager to pursue his dreams as a doctor, creator, and entertainer, concluding with a bold call to ‘make magic’ with his supporters.

‘I feel invigorated. I feel energised. I’m so excited to take on the world. There’s so much I can do, so much I can change,’ he said.

‘This is Faith Adewale, the dreamer, the doctor, the creator, the entertainer, your latest reality TV star.

‘I’m ready to make magic with you. Let’s go f**k shit up,’ Faith said.

He ended the video with an emotional message to his fans, ‘This is my call to the world, to Africa, to Nigeria’.

There was a time in Nigeria when rice was considered a luxury meal reserved for festive days like Christmas, New Year, weddings, and especially Eid-el-Kabir (the big Sallah), the one that everyone looked forward to.

Growing up in the village, even for those of us who farmed rice, we hardly ate it. We preferred to sell what we harvested just to meet other household needs. It was not because rice was scarce, but because life was economically tough. Ordinary Nigerians could barely afford it.

This memory came rushing back to me after watching a video of Seun Kuti, one of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s sons, recounting how his father lamented the hardship of the 1970s. Fela, the musical prophet of his time, spoke of the people’s suffering even when the naira was one to the dollar, and a litre of petrol cost only 22 kobo. He mentioned that bread, akara, dodo, and oranges were sold for mere kobo, yet ordinary Nigerians still could not afford them.

That revelation should remind us of something: hardship is not new. Even when the exchange rate looked ‘perfect’ and inflation was low, the average Nigerian still struggled to survive. What we often fail to do today is to place our complaints in proper historical context. We lament without asking: how were things back then?

When people say that Nigeria has progressively failed, I often disagree. Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, now in his 90s, once said that Nigeria has made progressive success and he was right. He has lived through colonial times, independence, military regimes, and now democracy. His perspective carries the weight of history.

Our population then was barely 60 million; today, according to the United Nations, it stands at over 237 million. Yet, money circulates far more now than it did decades ago. In the 1990s, many civil servants earned between ?2,000 and ?3,000 monthly. By comparison, any government today paying less than ?70,000 as minimum wage has failed in its duty to its people.

Government workers who are still being paid below this threshold deserve to protest until something is done and any governor responsible should be impeached for insensitivity and negligence.

I recall leading a student protest during my secondary school days because our parents, who were civil servants, were owed eight months’ salary. School fees then were ?35, and many students dropped out simply because their parents were not paid. Fast forward to today: I visited Paduma Primary School in Asokoro, Abuja, a government school where fees are ?3,700. Remarkably, over half of the pupils had paid within the first month of resumption.

To broaden this reflection, a small research was recently conducted in Afon, Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State, one of the rural communities where poverty remains visible. Residents there were asked when last they ate rice at home.

The responses were telling: two households said they last ate rice ten days ago, another said two months ago, while two others said eight days ago. Their current school fees tell another story ?450 for primary school and ?1,500 for secondary school, compared to the ?35 we paid in my time.

To me, this shows progress, not decline. Yes, the cost of living is high, but so are earnings, access, and opportunities. Those days, most compounds in urban areas had only two or three households with television sets. We used to gather to watch films in a neighbour’s house. Today, even in villages, it is common to see multiple TVs, generators, and smartphones.

Sociologically, as societies develop, new problems arise it is part of what scholars call ‘functional challenges.’ Development exposes issues that were once hidden, but it also creates capacity for solutions. Our present challenges are therefore not signs of failure, but of transition and growth.

So, when we hear people romanticize the past ‘When dollar was one naira, life was better’ we must ask: better for who? Fela sang about hunger, hardship, and injustice during that so-called golden era. The truth is that poverty existed then as it does now, only in different forms.

Those of us who lived through the 1980s and 1990s know that rice was a meal we waited a whole year or months to eat. Today, even in rural areas, many families eat it once or twice a week. That is not failure; that is movement.

What Nigeria needs now is not nostalgia, but perspective. Our problems did not start yesterday, and our progress did not stop either. We are still evolving and in many ways, better off than we were.

History teaches us that nations survive not by lamentation but by reform. Nigeria is evolving and the same resilience that once made us wait months to taste rice can now help us demand better governance. If leaders refuse to listen, the people must rise, for silence has never built a nation.

Bamidele Atoyebi national coordinator of accountability and policy monitoring and Puablisher at Unfiltered and Mining Reporting.

Ahead of the planned defection of Enugu Governor next Tuesday and the rumour of the possible defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of his Taraba counterpart, Bauchi Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, said on Saturday that the party will not stop anybody from leaving.

Mohammed said the decision to leave the party was a personal decision, saying even though he is concerned about the spate of defections, the leaders of the party were working round the clock to address the issue leading to such actions.

The Governor, who head the Publicity and Communications sub committee for the party’s elective convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, said a lot was being done behind the scene to reduce the rate of defections.

He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of planning to make the country a one party state through intimidation of the opposition, but said the PDP will remain strong and the only democratic Party in the country.

He said the PDP has suffered a lot but continued to wither the storm because it remains the only true and democratic party.

The Governor said: ‘If you ask me whether I’m concerned about our Governors leaving for APC, I am more than concerned. But leadership is a burden. As a leader of a group of equal status, I cannot determine the decisions or inactions of my colleagues, but certainly, a lot of work is being done behind the scenes.

‘The defections would have been more devastating. But we have been talking and discussing. You know the style of leadership of the APC-led federal government in trying to make this country a one-party state. They have the power of coercion; they have the power of everything.

‘I cannot say that my colleagues are wrong. They are free to do whatever they choose. But I have been advising them that even those who left are not finding it easier because most of the people at the grassroots level are PDP and are not happy with the defections.

‘Sometimes, it is done because of permutations and calculations. I will not denigrate or speak negatively about my colleagues, but I assure you’.

Speaking on whether he also planned to leave the PDP, the Governor said ‘I am not going anywhere. I am in PDP, and my state has no element of division. Even today, I saw in the news that one of my senators is going.

‘They are being cajoled; they are being bought, but certainly, the state is PDP, and the nation is PDP because Nigerians want change, and they believe they can get it through the PDP. Most of the measurable achievements by the federal government were done by PDP regimes.

‘By the grace of God, if we stand firm, we will deliver. Nobody stops you from leaving, so that you can create another space for others to come around and contribute to governance. Some of us who won as governors were not even considered capable, and here we are.

‘That is what will play out in 2027. I am optimistic that we will get a new set of leaders in 2027 who will defeat the APC by coming up with true leaders who will listen to Nigerians and address their challenges by the grace of God.

‘If somebody goes, it’s just like Barracks. Soldiers go, soldier come. Please don’t blame anybody at the governor’s level; we are doing our best, but it is beyond our control.

‘Please, be emboldened. Don’t be disturbed by the defections, by the shenanigans, by all those doubting Thomases. Don’t be disturbed. Yes, you should be encouraged because staying back to fight is what makes a man or a woman. It’s an act of cowardice to leave because of one or two people. You are also men and women of strength and integrity’.

Speaking on the plans for a succeso national Convention and the pockets across the country, the governor said ‘I cannot speak for the National Working Committee, but as a leader within the party, I know they are doing their best to address issues of litigations. Many are artificially created to undermine us, but we don’t have any faction in the PDP.

‘At the state level, I have even seen some people taking us to court not to go for a convention. This is not good and makes some of them at the National Assembly feel unsafe.

‘We are addressing these issues squarely. If you check well and comparatively, you will discover that most of the other parties in the opposition are not better off than us. We are better off than most opposition parties. Some don’t even have leadership at the national level. We are the only ones intact-with one National Secretary, one National Chairman, and one Publicity Secretary.

‘This meeting gives hope that at the end of the day, we will deliver. As a big party with a history since 1999, still with the same logo, colors, manifesto, and leadership, we should commend the National Working Committee for doing well despite limitations.

‘We have to really change the narrative. This is a party to be. We have been suffering a lot as a party. But we have been withering the storm, and we will continue to wither the storm.

‘This convention is here to stay. We are going to Ibadan by the grace of God and no Jupiter will stop us. No dark forces will succeed over us. The dark forces – if they succeed over PDP, they have succeeded over Nigeria. We have to change governance style of this country, and this is the beginning. This is the time to do it. We have never suffered as a country as we are suffering today under the APC.

‘You have seen what is happening. We don’t have to go into deep melancholy and be crying as whipping boys or girls. We have to do something within the democratic space to change the leadership, to change the nation.

‘I was listening to one song when I came in; it was enumerating some of the achievements of the PDP. Since we left office, nobody took over. It was as if there was a vacuum – a void in terms of delivery of democratic dividends.

We have to work hard to inform and sensitize Nigerians.

Speaking on the reported planned defection of Enugu Gov Peter Mbah, who is also the Secretary of the PDP Convention planning Committee, Mohammed said: ‘Actually, Governor Mbah has not told us his position. It is a personal decision.

‘We cannot remove his picture (as Secretary of the convention committee) before he leaves. When he leaves, we will replace him with another person. But up till now, he has not told me he is leaving. I have discussed this issue with him separately, and he has given me assurances. He’s a governor like me. I respect him and his decisions. If he goes, we will replace him’.

Speaking on speculation about the possibility of running for the Presidency on a joint ticket with former President Goodluck Jonathan, Gov Mohammed said ‘People are still interested in this party, and these big names being associated with us make us happy. As Governors, we have resolved to put personal interests aside.

‘I have exceeded my personal expectations. I stepped out to be a presidential candidate in the 2023 election, but I stepped down to become a governor. I have done my best and I’m happy. But I am prepared to serve in any capacity I am called upon to serve. But We have removed personal interests. We are united and will come up with leadership that will be the best choice for Nigerians to put in Aso Rock, inshallah’.

Speaking on Rivers Governor Sim Fubara who is supposed to be the Deputy Chairman of the Publicity sub committee, he said: ‘He has not left the party; he is still in PDP. Everybody has his own style. He is a humble young man who has gone through so much and has done well to accommodate all the problems and challenges he found himself in. Certainly, he is still in PDP, and to me, he is still my deputy.’

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released subject combinations for 2026 examination.

Under the new arrangement, Science students can no longer take Economics.

Likewise, students in the Humanities, those in Literature, Government, or History, are also barred from taking Economics.

According to the new subject list, only students in the Business department are allowed to take Economics.

The WAEC exam, has its subjects combinations structured with a minimum of seven and a maximum of nine subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

With all things remaining equally, generally, Science students focus on Physics, Chemistry, and Biology; Arts Students include Literature and a language like Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa; and Commercial students emphasises on Economics.

There are three basic areas of study in the Senior Secondary School Examination they are:

The three areas of study have WAEC subject combinations that are peculiar to each of them, for any career a student would want to pursue.

Only three subjects have been made totally Compulsory by the West African Examination Council, irrespective of your area of study, approved by the Federal Government.

The three subjects are:

1. English Language

2. Mathematics

3. Civic Education

WAEC Subject Combination For Science Students 2026/2027

The WAEC subjectcombination for science students includes subjects specific to the science field, most of which involve practical exams alongside theory and objective sections.

These practicals, usually conducted in laboratories, require working with live specimens. Schools without proper lab facilities are given an alternative to the practical session. A student still has options aside from the ones listed below.

Subjects: There are other subjects that science students can add to their list of compulsory subjects; they include: Further Mathematics, Languages- Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa, and Technical Drawing.

Going forward, the WAEC subject combination for science students includes the following subjects.

English language

Mathematics

Civic Education

Physics

Chemistry

Biology

Geography

Agricultural Science

Economics

WAEC Subject Combination For Art Students 2026/2027

The subject combination for art students is totally different from that of a science student, even though there are cases where art and science students may register for subjects such as economics, biology, agricultural science, etc.

Apart from the Nine Subjects listed below, there are other subjects available for art students, including: Arabic Studies, Agricultural Science/Biology French, Music Commerce.

The WAEC subject combination for art students includes:

English Language

Mathematics

Civic Education

Literature in English

Government or History

Religious Studies: Christian Religious Studies or Islamic Religious Studies

Languages: Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa

Economics

WAEC Subject Combination For Commercial Students 2026/2027

A commercial student is trained in subjects related to business, management, and economics, such as Economics, Commerce, Accounting, and Marketing. They form a key subset of students who sit for the WAEC examination each year.

Apart from the Nine Subjects listed below, Other elective subjects available to Commercial students include: Further Mathematics, Book Keeping Agricultural Science, or Biology, Languages: Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa.

The WAEC subject combination for commercial students includes:

English Language

Mathematics

Civic Education

Economics

Accounting

Commerce

Government

Office Practice

Note: There are some subjects that are neither compulsory for any subject area, but they are available to be chosen by any interested candidate. Examples of such subjects include Economics, Languages (Hausa, Igbo, or Yoruba), Agricultural Science, Biology, etc

WAEC Trade subjects 2026/2027

Most WAEC Trade Subjects 2026/2027 are grouped because they provide students with practical, hands-on entrepreneurial skills, fostering job readiness and global competitiveness by instilling practical skills beyond academic knowledge.

There are 35 trade subjects in WAEC. These subjects are part of the curriculum to develop entrepreneurship and ensure students can acquire skills that lead to self-reliance and contribute to the economy, rather than solely focusing on traditional academic disciplines.

These are subjects that were introduced by WAEC to expose students to skill acquisition and the entrepreneurial world. Some trade subjects involve practical sessions, while others don’t. Every WAEC candidate is mandated to sit for at least one trade subject.

Animal husbandry

Auto body repairs

Auto mechanic

Auto electrical work

Automobile parts merchandising

Block laying, bricklaying, and concreting work

Bookkeeping

Carpentry and joinery

Catering craft practice

Data processing

Dyeing and bleaching

Plumbing and pipe fitting

Printing craft practice

Radio, television, and electronics

Salesmanship

Stenography

Tourism

Upholstery

Welding and fabrication engineering craft practice

Marketing

Metalwork

Mining

Painting and decorating

Photography

Plumbing craft practice

Printing craft practice

Leather goods manufacturing and repairs

Insurance

Machine Woodworking

GSM phone maintenance and repair

Garment making

Furniture making

Fisheries

Shorthand

Keyboarding

Criteria for Selection of Subjects for WASSCE and SSCE

a. Compulsory Cross-Cutting Subjects

Each student is to take the four (4) compulsory cross-cutting subjects listed. For the Trade/Entrepreneurship subject, each student is expected to select one (1) Trade/Entrepreneurship subject from the list of 34 Trade / Entrepreneurship subjects listed.

b. Fields of Studies

(i) Each student may then choose two (2), three (3), four (4), or five (5) subjects From each of their preferred four Fields of Studies depending on the potential, interest and capability such that the minimum number of subjects is eight (8) while the maximum number of subjects is nine.

(ii) If students select two (2) subjects from a Field of Study, they can select two (2) or three (3) subjects from any other Field of Study or from Trade / Entrepreneurship subject to make a minimum of eight (8) or a maximum of nine (9) subjects.

(iii) iIf students select three. (3) subjects from a Field of Study, they can select one (1) or two (2) subjects from any other Fields of Studies or Trade / Entrepreneurship subjects to make a minimum of eight (8) or a maximum of nine (9) subjects.

(iv) If students select four (4) subjects from a Field of Study, they can select one (1) one subject from any other fields of study or Trade / Entrepreneurship subjects to make a maximum of nine (9) subjects.

(v) If students select five (5) from a Field of Study, they have already selected a maximum of nine (9) subjects

Note: in all, students are to select a minimum of eight (8) or maximum of (9) subjects