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Nigerian Air Force (NAF) airpower is increasingly constraining the activities of terrorists and bandits operating across the North-West, with Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda describing NAF aircraft as among the most feared weapons by criminal groups in the region.

Radda made the assessment on August 20, 2024, when the Chief of Operations, NAF, Air Vice Marshal P.N. Amadi, paid an operational visit to the Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY) Sector 2 in Katsina.

The governor said the sustained deployment of airpower had strengthened security operations by enabling the military to reach difficult and inaccessible locations used by terrorists and other criminal groups as hideouts and operational bases.

He commended the NAF for its sacrifices in the fight against insecurity and pledged the continued support of the Katsina State Government for ongoing air and ground operations aimed at disrupting criminal networks.

Radda’s remarks come as security agencies intensify efforts to contain banditry and terrorism across the North-West, where criminal groups have continued to exploit vast and difficult terrain to sustain their operations.

Amadi, who reaffirmed the NAF’s commitment to intensified air operations across Katsina and the wider North-West, said sustained coordination among the Armed Forces, other security agencies, government authorities and local communities was essential to achieving lasting peace.

He said the NAF would continue to deploy its capabilities to degrade terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements while denying them the freedom to operate.

The visit also underscored the strategic priorities of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, particularly the need to strengthen the welfare, readiness and operational effectiveness of personnel deployed to frontline areas.

Amadi was accompanied by the Chief of Civil-Military Relations, Air Vice Marshal E.K. Gabkwet, and received by the Air Component Commander, OPFY Sector 2, Air Commodore C.E. Illoh.

The engagement further highlighted the importance of civil-military cooperation as security forces seek to sustain pressure on criminal networks and improve security across Katsina and the wider North-West.

Nigerian entrepreneur Ibiyemi Abayomi Bello has expanded his business development operations into the United States with the establishment of Sologic Intergrated Services LLC, a move aimed at connecting businesses, investors and commercial opportunities between Africa and the US.

The new company builds on the work of Sologic Intergrated Services Ltd, a Nigeria-based business development and consulting firm founded by Bello. The company provides services in business development, project management, marketing communications, training, branding, contracting and strategic advisory.

According to Bello, the US expansion is intended to create a platform that can help businesses operate across both markets.

At the centre of the initiative is the goal of helping US companies explore African markets while supporting African businesses and investors seeking opportunities in the United States.

The move comes as businesses across both regions continue to seek partnerships in areas including technology, agriculture, manufacturing, investment and trade. However, entering a new market can present challenges, from finding business partners to understanding regulations and identifying opportunities.

Sologic plans to provide market-entry support, business development services, partner identification and assistance with cross-border commercial relationships.

For US companies looking towards Africa, this could involve helping them understand individual markets, identify potential local partners and develop approaches suited to their business needs.

The US operation will also work in the opposite direction by supporting African companies and entrepreneurs seeking to enter the American market.

This may include connecting businesses with potential US partners, supporting investment discussions and helping African companies assess opportunities in the US.

Bello said the focus is not only on individual transactions but on building business relationships that can continue beyond a single deal.

A US company, for instance, may need an African distributor, while an African company may be seeking access to American technology, capital or expertise. In other cases, businesses may explore joint ventures or other forms of commercial cooperation.

The company intends to help bring such businesses together and support the development of partnerships.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are also expected to form part of the strategy. While large companies may have the resources to establish offices in foreign markets or hire international advisers, smaller businesses often face more challenges when expanding across borders.

Sologic aims to help SMEs access market information, identify partners and explore commercial opportunities that could support business growth and investment.

Bello’s vision also extends beyond individual companies. He sees the private sector as an important part of the relationship between Africa and the United States, with entrepreneurs, investors, technology companies, manufacturers and other businesses playing a role in increasing commercial activity between both regions.

The establishment of Sologic Intergrated Services LLC marks the beginning of the company’s operations in the US. Its next stage will involve building business relationships, establishing a presence in the market and demonstrating results.

The company enters the US market with experience from its Nigerian operations and an understanding of the African business environment.

For Bello, the expansion is therefore more than a move from one country to another. It represents an effort to build a platform through which businesses on both sides of the Atlantic can find partners, access markets and pursue investment opportunities.

Through Sologic Intergrated Services LLC, Bello is seeking to connect African and American businesses and create commercial relationships that can support trade, investment and business growth.

‘Connecting Worlds, Building Growth’ remains the company’s stated focus as it begins its next phase in the United States.

More than 100 artisanal miners have reportedly died following the collapse of a gold-mining site in Zamboye, Central African Republic (CAR), prompting calls for stronger regulation and improved safety standards in mining.

Dele Alake, Chairman of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), described the incident as a tragedy and warned that Africa’s efforts to develop its mineral resources must not come at the cost of human lives.

In a statement issued on behalf of the AMSG, on Friday in Abuja, Alake expressed condolences to the government and people of the Central African Republic, particularly the families of those who died.

He said the disaster highlights the risks faced by people working in illegal and poorly regulated mining operations across the continent.

According to Alake, illegal mining deprives governments of revenue, damages the environment and facilitates the illicit movement of mineral resources. It also exposes miners to unsafe working conditions.

‘Behind every statistic about illegal mining are human beings,’ Alake said, noting that many artisanal miners are trying to earn a living, support their families and escape poverty.

He said no mineral resource is worth the loss of human life.

Alake called for a balanced approach to artisanal and small-scale mining, saying governments must enforce laws against illegal mining while creating legal and safer ways for miners to work.

He said the AMSG would continue to advocate stronger mining regulations, improved safety standards and the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining across Africa.

Formalisation would enable small-scale miners to operate legally, access safer working conditions and contribute to government revenue and local economies.

Alake also urged African countries to ensure that mineral resources create jobs and livelihoods rather than result in preventable deaths.

‘This tragedy must not become another statistic that we mourn today and forget tomorrow,’ he said.

He added that Africa’s mineral development must protect both its mineral resources and the people who depend on mining for their livelihoods.

‘We owe the victims of Zamboye more than our condolences. We owe them action,’ Alake said.

Innovate Africa 2026 is set to bring together global policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders in Kigali, Rwanda, in October to explore strategies for unlocking Africa’s economic potential and accelerating the continent’s transition towards trillion-dollar economies.

The conference, scheduled for October 12 and 13, 2026, will be held at the Kigali Convention Centre under the theme, ‘From Declining Finance to Trillion-Dollar Economies.’

According to the organisers, the conference comes at a critical period in Africa’s economic transformation, as the continent seeks to harness its large youthful population, abundant natural resources, expanding digital economy and the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Innovate Africa Corporation, the convener of the conference, said the event would focus on translating Africa’s economic potential into measurable outcomes through strategic partnerships, investment and innovation.

The 2026 conference follows the success of the 2025 edition, which was held in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the organisation’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.

The organisers said the conference has evolved into a high-level platform connecting governments, investors, entrepreneurs, innovators and industry leaders across Africa and beyond.

From Washington, D.C., to Abuja and now Kigali, the platform seeks to facilitate discussions and partnerships capable of driving sustainable economic transformation and strengthening Africa’s position in the global economy.

According to the organisers, the Kigali conference will place particular emphasis on four strategic sectors identified by the organisers as critical to Africa’s future economic growth: the creative economy, agriculture and food systems, technology at scale, and energy transition.

On the creative economy, discussions will focus on unlocking the economic potential of Africa’s music, film, fashion, media, gaming and other digital industries.

The organisers said greater investment, stronger intellectual property protection and international partnerships would be necessary to transform Africa’s creative industries into globally competitive economic sectors capable of generating jobs, attracting capital and increasing the continent’s export earnings.

The agriculture and food systems segment will examine ways of strengthening food security while creating new economic opportunities through agricultural technology, value addition, climate-smart farming and regional supply chains.

According to the organisers, improving productivity and developing stronger regional agricultural value chains would be essential to reducing food insecurity and enabling African countries to capture greater value from their agricultural resources.

The conference will also explore technology at scale, with discussions expected to focus on fintech, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and innovation ecosystems.

The organisers said Africa’s rapidly expanding technology sector offered opportunities to increase productivity, support entrepreneurship, create jobs and improve the continent’s competitiveness in the global economy.

The fourth focus area, energy transition, will examine strategies for expanding access to reliable and sustainable energy while supporting industrialisation, climate resilience and broader economic development.

The organisers said addressing Africa’s energy challenges would be critical to unlocking the potential of businesses and industries across the continent.

The conference is expected to attract Heads of State and government representatives, ministers and policymakers, investors, venture capital firms, family offices, chief executives, entrepreneurs and startup founders.

Development finance institutions, technology companies, agriculture and energy stakeholders, creative industry leaders, academics, researchers, youth leaders and emerging changemakers are also expected to participate.

The two-day event will feature keynote addresses, executive dialogues, investment sessions, startup showcases and strategic networking opportunities.

These engagements, according to the organisers, are expected to facilitate partnerships, investment opportunities and practical solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing economic challenges.

Uloma Onyebuchi, founder of Innovate Africa Corporation and convener of the annual conference, said the continent’s economic future would depend on how effectively African countries and their partners convert existing opportunities into concrete investments and sustainable development.

‘Africa’s future will be shaped not only by its potential, but by the partnerships, innovation, and investments made today,’ Onyebuchi said.

She described the 2026 conference as a platform for leaders committed to building resilient economies, globally competitive industries and a more prosperous continent.

The organisers said the choice of Kigali as the venue for the 2026 conference was also intended to provide participants with an opportunity to experience the city’s culture and tourism offerings while engaging in discussions around Africa’s economic future.

Innovate Africa Corporation described itself as a pan-African platform focused on promoting innovation, investment, entrepreneurship and economic collaboration across the continent.

Through conferences, strategic partnerships and leadership forums, the organisation said it brings together governments, businesses, investors and innovators to develop solutions aimed at supporting sustainable growth and improving Africa’s global competitiveness.

The organisation said its broader objective was to connect ideas with capital, policy with action, and entrepreneurs with opportunities across key sectors of the African economy.

It added that announcements on speakers and the full agenda for the Kigali conference would be released in the coming weeks.

By Ojochenemi Onje, Abuja

A United States federal judge has struck down a visa policy introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration that suspended immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, including Nigeria, ruling that the measure was contrary to law.

The ruling, issued on Friday in New York by Jeannette Vargas, US District Judge , found that Marco Rubio, Secretary of State exceeded his statutory authority by directing consular officers to refuse immigrant visas based solely on an applicant’s nationality.

Vargas said the administration could not lawfully impose a blanket restriction on visa issuance by country of origin without the authority granted under existing immigration law.

The decision comes about seven months after the US Department of State introduced the controversial measure, which affected applicants from countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Nigeria was among the countries affected by the policy, alongside Ghana, Cape Verde, Barbados, Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Thailand and Yemen.

In January, the State Department directed US consular posts to pause processing of immigrant visas for nationals of the affected countries while the administration carried out what it described as a comprehensive review of screening and vetting procedures.

The move was linked to the Trump administration’s renewed emphasis on the ‘public charge’ provision of US immigration law.

The provision allows US immigration authorities to deny certain visa applications where an applicant is considered likely to become primarily dependent on government assistance.

At the time, the State Department defended the policy on national security and economic grounds, saying it was intended to prevent immigrants from high-risk countries from unlawfully accessing welfare benefits or becoming a financial burden on the United States.

However, Vargas rejected the government’s approach, finding that consular officers had been improperly instructed to deny immigrant visas based solely on an applicant’s country of origin, regardless of whether the individual had otherwise satisfied the applicable eligibility and screening requirements.

The decision could have significant implications for Nigerians and other affected nationals who had been caught in the suspension and were unable to proceed with immigrant visa applications despite meeting other requirements.

It also represents a legal setback for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, which has relied heavily on executive actions, expanded screening requirements and restrictions targeting nationals of selected countries.

The US government is expected to consider whether to appeal Vargas’ ruling.

Trump has, since returning to office, pursued an aggressive immigration enforcement and restriction programme, arguing that tighter controls are necessary to protect US national security, strengthen border enforcement and prevent abuse of the country’s immigration and welfare systems.

Nnenna Chukwuthe third born of her father, had a school flair, and this day, she ran out of the room to join Patrick, her elder brother, to school, but was halted by her mother, who told her that schools were not for girls.

She was confused and asked her mother to explain to her why she would not be allowed to go to school, but her mother shouted her down.

In bitterness of heart, Nnenna would cry her eyes out every day for being deprived of the opportunity to be educated simply because she was a female. This, she did for years until she got tired and forgot about going to school.

Imagine a teenage girl like Nnenna, walking into her secondary school classroom each morning with a dream that once seemed out of reach, not just to complete her education, but to excel.

Across Nigeria, more girls are now making that journey, enrolling in schools in greater numbers and increasingly standing out in the classroom. Their growing presence is telling a bigger story: one of ambition, resilience and a changing landscape for girls’ education.

According to data from the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the number of girls in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) has been on the ascending order in the last five years.

In 2022, not less than 50.24 percent of females sat WASSCE; 2023 recorded 50.78 percent of females, while in 2024, 50.32 percent of candidates were females.

The number of female students registered for 2025 WASSCE increased by eight percent compared to the previous year. In 2025, 50.40 percent of females sat the examination, and in 2026, 51.12 percent of females enrolled for WASSCE.

Before then, the number of females compared to males who sat WASSCE per year was lower. In 2021, 49.71 percent sat the examination, while in 2020, it was 49.26 percent, and in 2019, 48.30 percent of females enrolled.

In 2018, females had 47.63 percent enrolment, while in 2017 and 2026, 46.27 percent and 46.53 percent of females registered for the examination, respectively.

Stakeholders believe that the steady increase in female registration for the May/June WASSCE school candidates is primarily driven by progressive gender parity policies, increased parental and societal investments in girl-child education, and a vocational shift where young men are increasingly pursuing apprenticeships and informal trades instead of formal secondary education.

Besides, statistics have also revealed that Nigerian girls have consistently outperformed their male counterparts in WASSCE for the last seven years.

According to WAEC, the female candidates outperformed the males in the May/June WASSCE from 2020 to 2026, highlighting a sustained academic edge among female students.

Amos Dangut, head of the Nigeria national office at WAEC, revealed in August that out of the 61.54 percent of candidates who obtained five credit passes, including English Language and Mathematics, 32.89 percent were female candidates, while 28.65 percent were male candidates.

In 2025, 53.05 percent of females had a five-credit pass, including English Language and Mathematics, 2024 had 51.70 percent females, while in 2023, 52.1 percent of girls obtained a five-credit pass.

2022 had 51.10 percent females, while in 2021 and 2020, 50.57 percent and 50.47 percent of females obtained credit passes, respectively.

Jessica Osuere, CEO at RubiesHub Educational Services, said the results are pointers that the growing academic confidence and performance of girls is becoming increasingly noticeable in many educational settings across Nigeria.

Gift Osikoya, a teacher, said there is a greater emphasis on girls’ education by the government and NGOs and that communities have increasingly encouraged parents to keep girls in school and complete secondary education.

‘More families now see female education as equally important as male education, especially because educated women have better employment and economic opportunities.

‘Reduction in early marriage and teenage pregnancy. Although these remain challenges, improvements in awareness and support have helped more girls remain in school,’ she said.

Besides, she said that the better results may reflect differences in study habits, school engagement, attendance and the social pressures affecting boys.

Michael Ibie, founder of Lumen, a Nigerian fintech firm, said insecurity disrupted education between 2016 and 202, particularly for girls, as the Chibok incident and subsequent attacks and abductions involving female students created fear around sending girls to school in some parts of the country.

However, he attributed the rise in female enrolment to increased sensitisation around educating the girl child, coupled with some improvement in security in affected areas.

Beyond academics, Ibie observed the issue extends beyond the classroom. ‘We should be asking whether young women are increasingly positioning themselves to take advantage of the formal economy, while young men are looking for alternative routes to income and status,’ he said.

The rise of girls in secondary education is more than a story of increasing enrolment; it is a foundation for a more educated, skilled and equitable society.

Looking ahead, the priority must shift from simply getting girls into classrooms to ensuring that they learn, thrive, complete their education and have opportunities to translate their knowledge into meaningful careers and leadership.

With sustained investment in quality education, digital skills, safe learning environments, mentorship and policies that remove barriers to girls’ education, the next generation of young women can move from participation to excellence and from the classroom to positions of influence.

The future, therefore, should not only be about more girls in school, but about more girls equipped to shape their communities, economies and the world.

Guinea has officially declared its intention to bid to host the 2032 or 2036 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), signalling a major push to bring the continent’s flagship football tournament to the West African nation.

Guinean Sports Minister Mamadou Cellou Baldé confirmed that the country has submitted its official candidacy, with the government making hosting the continental tournament a national priority.

‘Guinea will be a candidate to host the Africa Cup of Nations, either in 2032 or 2036,’ Baldé said.

He added that the prime minister signed the official application letter on behalf of President Mamadi Doumbouya.

Guinea seeks AFCON comeback

The latest bid comes after Guinea lost the right to host the 2025 AFCON after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) determined that the country was not sufficiently prepared in terms of infrastructure and facilities.

If successful, the country would have several years to complete stadium, transport, accommodation and other infrastructure projects required to stage the competition.

Guinea’s bid is expected to face competition from a joint proposal by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger for the 2032 tournament.

The three Sahel nations have previously expressed their intention to jointly pursue the hosting rights, making their proposal one of the leading potential bids for the edition.

Senegal is also reportedly considering a bid for AFCON 2032, while Libya could seek to host the tournament in 2028, 2032 or 2036.

The growing list of potential candidates is expected to make the bidding process for future AFCON editions increasingly competitive as African countries seek to host one of the continent’s biggest sporting events.

Adewole Adebayo, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has thrown down a bold challenge to Nigeria’s political establishment: judge his proposed 2027-2031 administration not by what it announces, but by what it actually delivers.

In a policy blueprint titled Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity, Adebayo lays out a governance philosophy built squarely around the security and welfare of ordinary citizens – and takes direct aim at a political culture he argues has long rewarded ambition over outcomes.

The Constitution as a Working Document, Not a Wish List

At the heart of Adebayo’s blueprint is a striking reinterpretation of Nigeria’s Constitution.

Rather than treating Chapter II – the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy – as aspirational text with no teeth, Adebayo insists it should function as the operational compass of government itself. It is a subtle but consequential shift: turning constitutional ideals long dismissed as unenforceable into concrete benchmarks for performance.

The blueprint fuses five distinct frameworks – constitutionalism, social democracy, the Basic Needs Approach, cooperative federalism, and strategic partnership with the private sector – into a single governing model. The result,

Adebayo argues, is a government whose success is measured not in press releases but in tangible, trackable improvements: security, food, healthcare, education, housing, employment, water, energy, transport, justice, and digital access.

Every Agency Held to Account – Or Shut Down

Perhaps the most disruptive proposal in the document is a results-based accountability system that would compel every Ministry, Department and Agency (MDA) to justify its existence in constitutional terms – identifying precisely which constitutional objective each of its programmes serves, and reporting measurable outcomes against it.

Under this arrangement, failure would carry consequences. Flagship programmes that don’t deliver would not be quietly funded year after year for political convenience – they would be redesigned, corrected, or discontinued outright. It’s a direct rebuke of a system critics say has allowed underperforming initiatives to survive purely on political patronage.

Opening the Books

To back the accountability drive, the blueprint promises a new era of fiscal transparency: quarterly expenditure briefs, open procurement processes, and publicly accessible project-performance data – all designed to let citizens and civil society organisations track government spending and results in real time, rather than relying on official assurances.

A Delivery Unit With Teeth

Adebayo also proposes establishing a Presidential Delivery and Performance Office – a dedicated body tasked with monitoring flagship programmes, clearing bureaucratic bottlenecks, and enforcing deadlines from the centre of government.

The urgency, he suggests, would start immediately. Within the first 100 days, his administration would conduct baseline audits across security, power, food, health, education and infrastructure, and launch a Presidential Delivery Dashboard – a public-facing tool intended to let Nigerians track government performance in something close to real time.

A Different Definition of Success

Underpinning the entire blueprint is a single, pointed proposition: government should no longer earn credit simply for announcing or funding a programme.

In Adebayo’s model, delivery means only one thing – a measurable, verifiable improvement in the very condition the programme was created to fix.

It’s a governance philosophy that puts Adebayo’s SDP campaign squarely at odds with what he portrays as a culture of promises without proof – and sets a high bar he will now be expected to meet on the campaign trail.

Ekpeyong Cobham, Cross River State Commissioner for Information has commiserated with the management of Ante Group of companies the manager of multi-millionaire Calabar Mull over the fire incident on Saturday.

Ekpeyong, in a statement in Calabar and made available to the media express sympathy with the management of Calabar Mull.

The fire outbreak was reported at the SPAR Calabar Mall in Calabar, Cross River State, on Saturday following a reported explosion within the shopping complex.

The incident, which occurred on August 22, 2026, reportedly triggered a blaze that engulfed part of the facility, sending thick clouds of smoke into the atmosphere and disrupting activities at the mall.

According to information from the scene, the fire was preceded by what was described as a minor gas or fuel explosion, which reportedly sparked the subsequent blaze.

Images from the scene showed flames consuming a section of the mall, while thick smoke billowed from the upper part of the building. Members of the public were also seen gathered around the premises as efforts were made to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to other sections of the facility.

The incident caused panic among people within and around the shopping complex, as attention shifted to containing the fire and ensuring the safety of those in the vicinity.

The extent of damage to shops, goods and other property could not be immediately ascertained as of the time of filing this report. Similarly, information on possible casualties was not immediately available.

The circumstances surrounding the reported explosion and the subsequent fire are expected to be established by relevant emergency and safety authorities following a detailed assessment of the scene.

An eye withness said the fire did not touch the main shopping Mull as fire was curtail by men of Federal fire Service

the 2027 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has said that genuine peace in Nigeria’s electoral process can only be achieved when there is justice, transparency and strict adherence to the law.

Adebayo, who spoke in an interview following the signing of the 2027 Electoral Peace Accord, said political parties and candidates should not regard the agreement as a favour to the country, but as a commitment to conduct themselves in accordance with the law.

He criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for failing to personally attend the peace accord ceremony, describing the President’s absence as a wrong signal to Nigerians and law enforcement agencies.

Adebayo also called for greater independence for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that the police, Department of State Services (DSS), civil defence and military should remain politically neutral during elections. Excerpts

You signed the peace accord. What exactly did you commit to?

Basically, what I committed to is what the law says: elections must be based on issues. We have always campaigned on issues. We do not attack personalities, and we do not campaign against identities. We do not use identity to campaign. There is no issue of religion, ethnicity and all of that. We totally avoid hate speech, and we don’t use bad language. We don’t use fake news. We don’t use false propaganda, and we try as much as possible to comply with the Electoral Act in terms of how to conduct rallies.

We totally avoid violence. We don’t use thugs. We don’t pay thugs. We don’t buy votes, and we don’t sell votes. We don’t do money politics. We respect the office that we are running for, and we conduct ourselves as if we have already taken the oath of office for that position.

That is what I signed today, and that is what I am committed to. I signed not only with my hand; I signed with my heart, and I intend to live up to it.

I also commend the Peace Committee for taking this matter seriously, even though some people in the political space, especially those in government, take it as a joke and are not serious about it.

However, the Peace Committee is taking it seriously. The chairman and members of the committee have shown Nigerians that it is possible to pursue a national objective without being in government and to do so consistently over the years in search of peace.

The reason why we have not managed to have peace so far is that peace is impossible without justice.

Electoral justice will bring peace automatically in a system where every player in the electoral process follows the law; where the government of the day does not put its thumb on the scale; where INEC is truly independent and follows the mandate given to it to conduct free, fair and credible elections; and where voters vote according to their conscience and consciousness.

Whether they vote for the right person or not, let them vote freely, without inducement and without harassment. Let the result be the mathematical and arithmetical exactitude of what the voters actually voted. That will automatically bring peace.

You don’t even need a Peace Committee searching for peace that is not missing, because the tool for getting peace is justice. When you do electoral justice, peace will come automatically.

So, you are saying that there is no peace without justice. Are you saying that you do not trust the electoral system under which you are asking people to vote?

What I am saying is that the electoral system needs a lot of improvement.

When I become president, I will not short-circuit INEC as chairman. I will not control its money.

That’s not your forte. The law says that if you become president, you determine that. Isn’t that so ?

I will change the law because laws are made by people. Those laws do not write themselves.

In fact, when President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua came into office, one of the things he agreed with us on was to set up a panel to try to change that system.

So, depending on the circumstances at that time, we will work to make INEC independent.

Let law enforcement agencies-the police, DSS, civil defence and all branches of the military-be totally agnostic to politics. Let them not influence politics. Let them not take political instructions.

Let their presence during elections not even be a subject for discussion. Let elections be free, fair and civilised.

With that, I can guarantee you that, as president, the Peace Committee will be idle during my time, because the person who has the greatest possibility of establishing peace in the land is the President of the country or the governor of a state.

If you look at recent elections, peace accords were signed. Yet, if you look at some of those rogue governors who left their states and were seen making trouble here and there, including the Minister of the FCT, who said, ‘If I was there, APC would not have lost,’ those are the kinds of things that threaten peace.

Is it a crime for you to go and support your party member? Don’t you go around to support candidates running for election under your platform?

There are two things we need to consider.

One, when you go to campaign, you don’t go as a lawless wanderer. You go peacefully like any other person. You make speeches that are consistent with the peace and good governance of the place, and you do not come and display massive state power.

You go in a civilised way. If you have friends in a state, you use your friendship and goodwill. You go and campaign and say, ‘Vote for my party,’ but not through this organised invasion that they organise. It is not proper.

Those are the things which, if you do them, will make a difference.

I want us to understand that, in signing the peace accord, we are not doing the country a favour. We are committing ourselves to what we ordinarily should do.

When I read through it, I didn’t see anything that I wasn’t already doing included there.

I think it is in the Bible that they say it is only the sick who needs the physician, and the people who needed the physician did not come today.

President Tinubu, who is the number-one promoter of election violence and the promoter of all the confusion, refused to come. Maybe he doesn’t want to be committed to it.

He sent a representative, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Doesn’t that count for something?

Oh, please! This is an insult to the process.

The SGF is not involved in the election. You have your Vice President, who could have come.

I don’t see any reason why President Tinubu, who works and lives in Abuja and who has the influence to determine when the event would be held, and who gave an indication that he would come, failed to attend.

I think President Tinubu has been missing in action for some time. I don’t know if you, as reporters, have noticed.

But we see him at meetings, receiving guests in the Presidential Villa. We understand that he has had a closed-door meeting with the Senate President?

Closing his door is not doing our work. I’m talking about the President showing up in places where presidents are supposed to show up.

Do you count his absence as an insult, or how do you interpret it?

If you are signing a contract, you cannot designate somebody who has no capacity to sign the contract. If it was a contract, which it is, it would not be valid.

But in law, subrogation is allowed. Isn’t it?

Subrogation is allowed where the law establishing that power allows subrogation. In fact, in law, you cannot delegate certain things.