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The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has strengthened its supervisory, risk assessment, failure-resolution and digital systems as part of measures to fortify Nigeria’s financial system and improve protection for depositors.

The Corporation has deployed Risk-Based Supervision, an enhanced Differential Premium Assessment System, the Single Customer View framework, a Distress Resolution suite and the Bank Liquidation Management System, while deepening collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria and other institutions within the financial safety-net architecture.

It has also expanded deposit insurance coverage and deployed technology to accelerate reimbursement of depositors of failed banks, measures the NDIC Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr Thompson Oludare Sunday, said would strengthen confidence and resilience across the banking system.

Sunday spoke on Wednesday at the NDIC Special Day of the 21st Abuja International Trade Fair, organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, which brought together financial experts, government officials, traditional rulers and other financial system stakeholders.

Represented by Imade Uhunmeagho, Director of Information Technology at the Corporation, Sunday said the measures reflected the Corporation’s shift from primarily paying claims after bank failures to becoming a ‘Risk Minimiser’ capable of identifying vulnerabilities early and preventing institutional problems from escalating into systemic crises.

‘Today, the NDIC has positioned itself to serve as not merely a payer of claims after bank failure, but as a Risk Minimiser; one that identifies vulnerabilities early, strengthens safeguards and works to prevent institutional problems from escalating into systemic crises,’ he said.

Sunday said the Corporation increased the maximum insured deposit limit in 2024 to ?5 million per depositor per Deposit Money Bank and Mobile Money Operator, and ?2 million for Microfinance Banks, Primary Mortgage Banks and Payment Service Banks.

According to him, the revised limits provide full coverage for more than 98 per cent of depositors across insured institutions, protecting households, small businesses and other vulnerable depositors against the immediate consequences of bank failure.

He said depositors with balances above the insured limits would continue to receive liquidation dividends from recoveries made through debts owed to failed institutions and disposal of their physical assets.

The NDIC chief executive said the Corporation had also moved from cumbersome manual reimbursement processes to faster digital claims settlement through Bank Verification Numbers, Single Customer View, NIBSS infrastructure, and other digital solutions.

He said verified depositors of failed banks could now receive their insured deposits within days of a bank’s closure.

Sunday also said the Corporation upgraded its website to give depositors and other stakeholders easier access to claims processing, information on deposit insurance coverage, and verification of NDIC-insured institutions.

However, he warned Nigerians against keeping substantial funds outside the formal financial system or entrusting their savings to unlicensed fund managers offering extraordinary returns.

He said the proliferation and collapse of Ponzi schemes had demonstrated the financial and emotional cost of placing hard-earned resources in unregulated schemes.

‘If an investment promise sounds too good to be true, Nigerians should pause, ask questions and verify before committing their money,’ he said.

He urged Nigerians to keep their money with licensed and regulated financial institutions and ensure that their account information was accurate and properly linked to their BVNs to facilitate speedy reimbursement where necessary.

The NDIC boss also called for greater financial literacy among depositors and business owners, saying informed customers were better positioned to make sound financial decisions and protect their resources.

He urged the public to use the Corporation’s digital platforms and engage relevant regulatory institutions whenever they required guidance on deposit insurance, claims processing or other aspects of depositor protection.

The event also featured a raffle draw, with participants winning various prizes.

A Nigerian based abroad, Oluwatosin Osasona Adekunle, has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge a notice by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declaring him wanted.

Adekunle, in an affidavit deposed to by his lawyers from the law firm of Akinola JP and dated August 24, said the EFCC had declared him wanted and posted the notice on its social media handles without a court directive to that effect.

He, therefore, asked the court to declare the EFCC’s action illegal and a violation of his fundamental rights.

The declaration sought before the court stated: ‘The declaration and publication of the applicant (Oluwatosin Osasona Adekunle) as a wanted person on August 19, 2026 on the website of the Respondent (EFCC) without any prior order or leave of a court of competent jurisdiction to that effect is unlawful, illegal, wrongful, ultra vires, unconstitutional and constitutes a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of the applicant.’

Adekunle urged the court to direct the EFCC ‘to remove from its website and social media platforms the purported declaration made against the applicant forthwith, having violated the fundamental rights of the applicant to personal liberty, private and family life, freedom of movement and the right not to be subjected to inhuman treatment and degrading treatment as guaranteed’ under the constitution.

He also asked for an order restraining the anti-graft agency from further infringing on his fundamental rights and from publishing his name as a wanted person on its official website and social media handles.

He further sought an order mandating the agency to issue a public apology.

Adekunle is also asking for N5 million in general damages against the EFCC.

Adekunle explained that the EFCC declared him wanted in lieu of his partner, Mrs Victoria Chidinma Nwachukwu, whom he said had a case before the commission relating to money laundering and obtaining by false pretence.

Trouble began, he said, when Nwachukwu set up a private company limited by shares, Oasis Vivacity Global Limited, using his home address as its office address, and made him a director and company account signatory without his prior notice.

According to Adekunle, when Nwachukwu owed a customer some money, the EFCC could not find her and resorted to ‘intimidating and harassing’ him ‘with the intention to arrest and detain’ him in lieu of Nwachukwu.

He added that ‘there is neither complaint nor any prima facie evidence directly linking’ him ‘to any crime of money laundering or obtaining under false pretence other than being an agent’.

His lawyers claimed that ‘the Applicant and his entire immediate family are now apprehensive as the Respondents (EFCC) have threatened to arrest either the Applicant or any member of his immediate family, if they cannot get the Applicant’.

Adekunle further raised the question of whether the EFCC ‘can unilaterally declare the Applicant wanted without a valid court order. The probable answer is No’.

He further stated that ‘the right to declare a person ‘wanted’ is not an administrative label that a law enforcement agency may deploy at will; it is a legal status that presupposes prior judicial authorisation.

‘Where no warrant of arrest has been issued, and no escape from lawful custody has occurred, a unilateral declaration that a citizen is ‘wanted’ lacks juridical foundation and amounts to executive overreach and also breaches the fundamental rights of the Applicant as enshrined in the Constitution.’

No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has achieved a significant operational milestone, recording an average capacity utilisation of 105.21 per cent in August 2026, according to data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The 700,000 barrels-per-day refinery processed an average of 736,470 barrels of crude oil per day in August, a substantial increase from 497,000 barrels per day in July, when utilisation stood at 71 per cent.

The strong performance was supported by a rebound in domestic crude oil supply, with deliveries rising by 16.75 per cent to 683,000 barrels per day during the month.

The refinery’s improved throughput translated into average daily production of 84.43 million litres of refined white products, including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO/diesel), and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK), further reinforcing its role as a major supplier of refined petroleum products across Nigeria and the wider West African region.

Dangote Group said the achievement underscores the refinery’s growing contribution to Nigeria’s energy security, foreign exchange conservation, and industrial growth agenda.

The refinery continued to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products during the review period.

Domestic PMS deliveries from the refinery rose by 39 per cent month-on-month to 35.87 million litres per day in August, accounting for approximately 71 per cent of total domestic petrol supply.

The increased local supply contributed to a sharp decline in fuel imports, with national PMS imports falling by 26 per cent to 14.60 million litres per day, highlighting the refinery’s expanding impact on the domestic fuel market.

Beyond meeting a significant portion of Nigeria’s domestic fuel requirements, the refinery also strengthened the country’s export profile through robust shipments of refined products.

In August, the refinery exported an average of 9.73 million litres of PMS daily, alongside 8.75 million litres of diesel and 21.30 million litres of aviation fuel.

These volumes further support Nigeria’s emergence as a net exporter of refined petroleum products and contribute to increased foreign exchange earnings for the country.

The refinery’s growing production capacity was particularly evident in the diesel market, where domestic AGO deliveries averaged 12.37 million litres per day.

This level of output substantially reduced the need for imported diesel, with national diesel imports declining from 7.90 million litres per day in July to 1.30 million litres per day in August.

The development reflects the refinery’s increasing ability to support critical sectors of the economy, including transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, telecommunications, and power generation.

The refinery’s ability to operate above its nameplate capacity demonstrates the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of its operations. The performance milestone also reinforces investor confidence as the refinery’s ongoing public offering continues to attract significant market attention.

Dangote Group reiterated its commitment to maximising local value addition, supporting economic diversification, and ensuring the sustainable supply of high-quality refined petroleum products to Nigeria, Africa, and global markets.

Dangote takes $50b

African industrialisation drive to East Africa

Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) President, Aliko Dangote, said Africa must mobilise its own capital, build at global scale and increasingly own the businesses transforming its economy, as he takes his industrialisation drive into East Africa.

Speaking in Nairobi, Kenya, on the eve of today’s groundbreaking of the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lamu, Dangote disclosed plans to invest an additional $50 billion across the continent, after committing more than $25 billion to existing businesses.

‘It’s better we do big scale,’ he told a fireside chat with Nairobi Securities Exchange CEO, Frank Mwiti, at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO High Level Investor Engagement.

The groundbreaking comes amid a legal challenge. The Malindi Environment and Land Court has ordered that the status quo be maintained on disputed land until October 14, following a petition by 133 residents, though it did not stop the ceremony. Dangote, who said he learnt of the case from a media report, described such disputes as part of executing major projects.

President William Ruto’s economic adviser, David Ndii, said the project grew from discussions on using African resources for industrialisation rather than extraction, targeting an East African market of about 20 million metric tonnes annually.

Dangote said the ongoing public offer of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery was not driven by a need for cash but by a desire to ‘democratise wealth’.

He said all the Group’s operating businesses would eventually be owned by the people, with its new shipping and fertiliser businesses also headed to the capital market.

The Lamu refinery, when ready, should be listed in Kenya rather than Nigeria, he added.

Chairman of Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority, Ugas Mohammed, said enquiries had come in daily since the offer opened on September 14.

He said regulators in Kenya, Nigeria and other countries had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate cross-border investment.

Under Vision 2030, Dangote said the Group targets over $100 billion in annual revenue, with fertiliser capacity expanding to about 12 million tonnes.

‘You can become bigger than Dangote,’ he told young entrepreneurs.

One of Africa’s leading public relations and communications consulting firms, Chain Reactions Africa, has urged Nigerian politicians and government institutions to pay closer attention to evolving youth behaviour, saying young Nigerians will play a significant role in shaping the 2027 general elections and the country’s trajectory.

The firm said understanding young people had become increasingly important as their experiences continue to reshape expectations of leadership, institutions and public life.

Chain Reactions Africa made the call on Wednesday, September 30, during the public presentation of its periodic youth trends and culture intelligence report, titled ‘Youth Futures 2026: A Culture Intelligence Report on African Youth,’ held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

The event brought together young Nigerians, creatives, culture-shapers, marketing professionals, government representatives and thought leaders.

The report was produced by strategists, trend spotters, cultural anthropologists and industry experts working across brands, business and youth culture in Africa.

According to the firm, the contributors combined cultural insight, strategic analysis and practical industry experience to examine the trends and decisions shaping the next generation.

Speaking at the event, Managing Director and Chief Strategist of Chain Reactions Africa, Israel Opayemi, urged political leaders and government institutions at all levels to study and understand the report.

Opayemi said young Nigerians could no longer be treated merely as a constituency to be courted during election periods, but as a generation whose lived experiences increasingly influence how power and institutions are judged.

‘Young people are not simply the audience of the future; they are already living through the future that the rest of society is only beginning to understand.

‘Their choices around work, migration, identity, technology, relationships, and meaning are not isolated youth behaviours. They are signals of where society itself is heading,’ he said.

Opayemi said the report provided an opportunity to understand those signals rather than speak on behalf of young people.

He also highlighted the size of the youth voting population ahead of the 2027 elections, citing Independent National Electoral Commission data showing that Nigerians aged 18 to 34 accounted for 37,060,399 of the 93,469,008 registered voters in the 2023 general election, representing 39.65 per cent.

He said the figure underscored the importance of understanding young voters, particularly if they participate in significant numbers in the 2027 elections.

According to Opayemi, a central finding of the report was that young Nigerians had not abandoned the idea of governance but had become increasingly sceptical of institutions they perceived as having failed them.

‘Young Nigerians have not given up on governance; they have given up on the specific institutions that have consistently failed them,’ he said.

He said the report found that self-trust and peer trust remained relatively strong among young people, followed by community trust, while institutional trust represented the weakest layer.

Opayemi said institutional trust would have to be earned through demonstrable performance and accountability rather than assumed.

‘Nigerian youths now trust based on proofs,’ he said, adding that institutions could no longer expect young people to trust them simply because they asked for it.

He also warned of what he described as a widening gap between the speed at which culture evolves and the pace at which institutions respond.

‘Culture now moves in hours and days, brands respond in weeks and months, and government policy in months and years,’ he said.

He advocated the integration of cultural intelligence into business decisions and public policymaking rather than relying on reports commissioned after problems had already emerged.

Opayemi also referenced the #EndSARS protests, saying the movement had altered how a generation of young Nigerians relates to the state.

He argued that the scepticism among young people who became politically engaged through the experience could only be addressed through demonstrable changes in governance.

Also speaking, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Innovation at Chain Reactions Africa, Franklin Ozekhome, said the report showed that trust could still be rebuilt.

He cited the digitisation of tax processes by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), visible infrastructure delivered by some state governments and government agencies that had responded to public complaints with tangible solutions as examples of actions capable of restoring confidence in institutions.

‘Legitimacy is now a function of demonstrated competence and accountability,’ Ozekhome said.

He identified four areas where he said the gap between youth realities and policy responses was particularly consequential: employment policies designed around formal jobs that many young Nigerians may never hold, mental health infrastructure, digital rights and online safety, and policies for the creative economy.

Ozekhome said young people were not merely participants in the economy but were also influencing the evolution of industries, the formation of communities and the spread of culture.

He described what he called four paradoxes shaping young Nigerians’ relationship with authority as ‘Intimacy Without Trust, Visibility Without Safety, Belief Without Institutions and Mobility Without Arrival.’

According to him, belief was increasingly being formed outside traditional institutions such as churches, governments and formal organisations, while mobility did not necessarily guarantee progress.

Ozekhome also cautioned political actors against exploiting youth culture and digital platforms for negative narratives and disinformation.

He said political actors were increasingly adopting the aesthetics of youth culture but warned that the same digital infrastructure that facilitated mobilisation during #EndSARS could also be used to coordinate disinformation.

‘The tools of power are not exclusively in good hands,’ he said.

He further warned businesses and political leaders against treating Nigerian youths as a homogeneous group.

‘Lagos is not Nigeria. Life’s condition, not age, is the variable that matters most,’ Ozekhome said, noting that young people in Kano, Enugu, Port Harcourt and Ibadan have different experiences, priorities and decision-making frameworks.

He said campaigns based solely on visibility would not necessarily translate into trust or belief among young Nigerians.

The report’s central message for political and business leaders was the need to understand young Nigerians through their lived experiences, rather than relying on broad assumptions about age.

It called for leaders and institutions to listen to young people, demonstrate results before demanding trust and recognise them as active participants in shaping Nigeria’s future.

The House of Representatives has called for decisive interventions to address two escalating security crises: violent communal clashes along the Ondo-Delta border and the prolonged captivity of over 116 abducted schoolchildren and residents in Borno State.

Deliberating on a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Donald Ojogo (APC, Ondo), the House directed the National Boundary Commission to immediately demarcate and determine land ownership along the fringes of the Ondo and Delta State borders.

Presenting the motion, Ojogo expressed profound grief over unprovoked attacks launched against Ilaje communities, including Odun Ebighan and Eke, over the past four weeks.

Armed youths from Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State reportedly burnt homes and injured numerous residents.

Ojogo lamented that despite centuries of peaceful coexistence, shared geography, and common challenges, resource-rich oil and gas lands are now being weaponised to sow discord between the Ilaje and Itsekiri peoples.

To restore order, the House urged the military and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to deploy swiftly to the affected areas.

The House mandated its Committees on Emergency and Disaster Management and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to deliver immediate relief materials to displaced Ilaje indigenes suffering severe hardship.

Concurrently, lawmakers turned their attention to the worsening humanitarian emergency in the North East, adopting a motion by Midala Balami (APC, Borno) regarding the mass abduction of innocent citizens.

The House tasked security forces with intensifying search-and-rescue operations to secure the safe release of at least 116 schoolchildren and dozens of residents held in Borno State.

Balami recounted the grim timeline of the abductions, noting that 44 schoolchildren from Mussa were taken on May 15, 2026, and have now endured over 138 days in captivity.

Another 36 students and two teachers from Lassa Ward in Askira-Uba Local Government Area have been held for more than 70 days, while individuals seized along the Buratai-Maiduguri Road have languished in captivity for over 160 days.

Detailing the agonising emotional distress borne by the victims’ families, Balami warned that continued delay exposes the captives to grave danger and heightens regional instability. He acknowledged ongoing rescue efforts by local authorities and traditional institutions but stressed that present measures remain insufficient given the prolonged captivity of the victims.

In response, the Green Chamber called for enhanced inter-agency coordination, intelligence sharing, and joint operations among the Armed Forces, Police, and intelligence services.

The House further urged security agencies to fortify vulnerable transit routes – specifically the Buratai-Maiduguri axis, Mussa, and Lassa – through increased patrols and strategic checkpoints. Furthermore, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the North East Development Commission (NEDC) were directed to urgently dispatch medical, psychological, and material support to the traumatised families and communities.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Somolu Federal Constituency has inaugurated its campaign council ahead of the 2027 general elections, with party leaders urging members to work together and mobilise voters for the party’s candidates.

The campaign council, inaugurated on Tuesday, September 29, is headed by Olowo Rotimi Emmanuel, as Director-General (DG) and Hon. Bowale Sosimi as Deputy DG, Somolu Constituency I; Hon. Hakeem Oriola as Deputy DG, Somolu Constituency II.

The newly inaugurated campaign council directors include: Hon. Olufemi Samuel Apata, Director of Mobilisation, with Hon. Rasak Tajudeen as deputy; Hon. Gbenga Abdullahi, Director of Planning and Strategy; and Hon. Ifejowo Adeyemi, Director of Special Duties and Administration.

Others are Hon. Tolu Ebun, Director of Women Affairs, with Chief Mrs Fola Adekunle as deputy; Kenneth Obi K.C., Director of Media and Communication, with Oluyede as deputy; Hon. Adeola Kupoluyi, Director of Welfare; and Pastor Idebi Shola, Director of Security, with Hon. Adewale Oseni as deputy; Dr. Mike Dike, Director of Non-Indigene Affairs, and Hon. Fatai Komolafe, Director of Party Affairs.

The campaign structure will co-ordinate grassroots mobilisation, stakeholder engagement, campaign activities, communication, ward-level coordination, and overall electoral readiness across Somolu Constituencies I and II.

Speaking at the inauguration and Christian/Muslim Prayer session, Hon. Olowo urged party members to campaign for President Bola Tinubu, the party’s governorship candidate and other candidates contesting the 2027 elections including Hon. Kolade Alabi David for House of Representatives (Somolu Federal Constituency); Somolu Constituency II APC candidate, Moruf Idowu Alli-Balogun, and Somolu Constituency I APC candidate, Hon. Abiodun Orekoya.

Hon. Olowo charged members of the council to approach the 2027 elections with discipline, sacrifice and commitment. He affirmed that the inauguration marked the beginning of a serious assignment for the party in Somolu Federal Constituency.

He said: ‘I want to thank you all for coming today to witness this inauguration. We implore you all to drum support for our candidates. I’m calling this assignment ‘Project Synergy’, so that we can achieve outstanding success. They call me four-star general, and as you can see, we’ve formidable candidates.

‘What we have done as a campaign group so far is to bring all aspirants together to build the unity and bond in the party. We’ve been able to resolve issues within the party – one body, one soul, indivisible. All our candidates will win. For our Guber election, Dr. Hamzat, we have worked closely, and he’s going to win landslide.’

Hon. Olowo further harped on issue-based campaigns, charging the appointees to remain committed and diligent in the discharge of their responsibilities.

‘What Somolu candidates have displayed so far is unity. All of the aggreived candidates have come together for the sake of unity. Our campaign must be based on ideas, achievements and a credible vision. We must reach every local government area, ward, polling unit and community,’ he said.

Concluding, Hon. Olowo emphasised that the party remains united and will win all the seats it is contesting in the polls, especially the Guber election under the candidacy of Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.

The inauguration brought together party leaders, ward executives, stakeholders including Vice Director General, APC Lagos East Senatorial Campaign Council, Chief Bode Oyedele; Alhaji Dengel Anifowose; Lagos Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, Executive Chairman of Somolu, Hon. Lateef Ashimi and his Counterpart from Bariga, Hon. Adedeji Omope.

Others are: Former Somolu LGA Chairman, Abdul Hamed Salawu Dullar, Hon. Rotimi Lateef Abiru, former Chief Whip, Lagos State House of Assembly for Somolu Constituency II (Bariga); Hon. Abiodun Orekoya for Lagos Assembly Candidate for Somolu Constituency 1.

Also speaking at the inauguration, Hon. Alabi said: ‘Thank you for standing with the party. I appreciate the committee for their support at all levels. I’ve been engaged at the grassroots level as a Council Chairman, I’ve also be engaged as Conference 57 chairman at the state level, and at the national level, I was the president of ALGON, and I was dealing with ministers and agencies of government. I’ve also been engaged at the international space. All of these are the experiences that will guide my aspiration.

‘I have one mandate, and the mandate is to represent Somolu federal constituency.’ Alabi added.

Hon. Alabi described the inauguration as an important step in strengthening the party’s campaign structure and preparations for the 2027 general elections across Somolu Federal Constituency.

Another party stalwart, Otunba Dengel Anifowose said: ‘Somolu belongs to APC. Regardless of our crisis. We’ve a strong leadership. We’ve resolved all leadership in Somolu. President Tinubu should be re-elected so that he can complete what he has started in Nigeria.’

Otunba Dengel further called for unity and discipline within the party, saying the ability of the APC to manage competing interests during the processes that produced its candidates demonstrated the importance of putting the collective interest above individual considerations.

The Federal Government has launched the National Youth Data Bank to connect young Nigerians with employment, skill development, entrepreneurship, and empowerment opportunities.

Launched by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, the central platform will capture demographic data, skill sets, aspirations, and needs to drive evidence-based policymaking and improve the targeting of government programmes.

Anchored on the vision to ‘Know the Youth, Understand the Youth, Connect the Youth, and Empower the Youth,’ the initiative aims to build a stronger, more inclusive Nigeria.

Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, emphasised that the platform goes beyond mere data collection and storage.

‘The success of the Data Bank will depend on sustained collaboration among MDAs, state governments, educational institutions, development partners, the private sector, CSOs, and youth groups,’ Olawande said.

He noted that the system is designed to identify young people accurately, especially those in rural and underserved communities who are often underrepresented in existing datasets, and match them with tailored opportunities. He also assured the public that robust safeguards are in place to ensure privacy, accurate data management, and security.

Olawande added that the project aligns with the administration’s broader agenda across job creation, digital transformation, and human capital development.

The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Maryam Keshinro, represented by the Director of Human Resources, Olanipekun Adebayo, described the portal as a major milestone for strategic planning, monitoring, and inter-agency coordination.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth Development, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, represented by the committee’s Clerk, Dr. Ijeoma Chilian, commended the ministry, POGMA Nigeria Limited, and other partners. He noted that reliable data on young Nigerians will significantly bolster legislative oversight, resource allocation, and targeted interventions.

Nigerian novelist and storyteller Paul Omeje will release Apata Boys: Syndicate Rising on Saturday, a cinematic crime novel set in 1980s Apata and Ibadan, rooted in brotherhood, betrayal, ambition and the pursuit of power.

Omeje’s creative journey began with screenwriting. After studying Mass Communication at Auchi Polytechnic, he began writing film scripts, which are registered with the Writers Guild of America West.

That foundation continues to shape his fiction, particularly the way he constructs scenes, builds tension and lets conflict unfold through character and action.

In Apata Boys, Omeje turns his attention to a community where relationships, competing interests and the pursuit of influence collide. At the centre is brotherhood: a source of loyalty and protection that comes under pressure as ambition, power and survival begin to demand different things from those bound by it. ‘Crime creates the pressure, but people are what interest me,’ Omeje says. ‘I wanted to explore what happens when loyalty, ambition and survival begin pulling people in different directions. Those choices reveal character, and those choices sit at the heart of Apata Boys.’

Apata and Ibadan are central to the novel, shaping the characters’ relationships, ambitions and conflicts while grounding the story in a distinctly Nigerian reality and deepening its exploration of loyalty, power and consequence.

More than two decades of work, travel and encounters across cultures have sharpened Omeje’s eye for human behaviour and the choices people make under pressure. Apata Boys marks his entry into long-form fiction while continuing a storytelling practice shaped by visual narrative, character and conflict.

Nollywood actress Kemi Afolabi has responded to people questioning her health condition and claiming that she does not look sick.

The actress, who has been open about her battle with lupus, addressed the issue in a post on her social media page.

Afolabi said only people who had experienced the uncertainty of not knowing whether they would wake up the following day could truly understand what she goes through.

She said she had endured several unpleasant situations in silence over the years in the interest of peace but could no longer continue to suppress her emotions because of the impact on her health.

According to the actress, she had been medically informed that bottling up emotions and trauma had contributed to her health challenges by triggering inflammation associated with chronic lupus flares.

Afolabi urged people to refrain from judging others based on their physical appearance, stressing that some health conditions may not be visible to others.

‘I will be doing more of speaking up and advocating for myself and many other warriors chasing their health to be able to function like a normal human being while talk chase your dreams. If you’ve never gone to bed wondering if you’re gonna wake up the next day because of how your body is doing. Pls don’t ever tell me, ‘But you don’t look sick’. Idgaf how close you thought you were to me, don’t!!

‘Got nothing to prove to anyone. Opinions don’t pay bills. I have stomached and handled so many things I am not pleased with maturely in the past for the sake of peace. I will no longer be doing that because it is confirmed medically that it has contributed to my health challenges.

‘Trauma accelerates autoimmune disease, triggers inflammation that causes chronic lupus flares for me every day time! I know for a fact I am not operating off of my own strength. Na Baba God dey run am. 2026, I never drink after drop cup health-wise. Need nobody’s pity, leave me alone, don’t care about yours’, she wrote.

The chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Renewed Hope Project 2027, Major General Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd.), has urged Nigerians to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office in the 2027 presidential election.

Jibrin, who is also Secretary of the Civil Defence, Immigration and Prison Services Board, made the call in Abuja during a One-Million-Student Solidarity Walk organised in support of the President.

The march, organised by the Renewed Hope Project 2027 in collaboration with the ‘Tinubu Again’ movement, began at Unity Fountain and ended at Eagle Square, opposite the National Assembly complex.

The event attracted students and youth groups who expressed support for the Tinubu administration and its policies, particularly in the education sector.

Addressing the participants, Jibrin said failing to re-elect Tinubu in 2027 would be a ‘colossal mistake,’ while urging Nigerians to consider the administration’s policies and programmes.

He highlighted the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), describing it as a significant intervention to expand access to higher education and support students.

Jibrin said the initiative demonstrated the administration’s commitment to student welfare and access to education.

He urged students and young Nigerians to stay engaged with government policies and programmes while actively participating in the democratic process.

‘You agree with me when you look at the streets, you see a lot of children who are supposed to be in schools, but they have dropped out, and the reason is that their parents cannot afford it,’ Jibrin stated.

‘Under the arrangement and approval of the President, NELFUND is giving every dropout student a soft loan that is interest-free for tuition and living allowances. This is the first time any government is doing this in this country.’

He added that beyond direct financial aid to students, the Tinubu-led administration has prioritised stabilising and expanding tertiary institutions nationwide to boost capacity and foster self-reliance among graduates.

‘Our institutions have been stabilised by providing adequate funding to ensure that they expand, create new faculties, and focus on technical education and skills training. This is designed to make our graduates ready not only for government employment, but to become employers of labour themselves,’ he explained.

Calling on Nigerians to consolidate the ongoing reforms across the country, the retired senior officer emphasised that continuity remains critical to sustaining the gains recorded so far.

‘It shall be a colossal mistake by Nigerians if we don’t give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu another opportunity to govern this country for the next four years,’ Jibrin asserted. He urged supporters and civic groups to intensify grassroots mobilisation across communities to guarantee a decisive electoral victory for the President.

Speaking at the event, the group’s National Patron, Alhaji Ahmed Mahmoud Mubi, said the organisation had expanded its voting target significantly due to surging interest among young Nigerians.

Mubi explained that after initially registering 1.8 million students on its platform with a target of 4.8 million, the rapid influx of new supporters has now pushed their projection to 12 million votes nationwide for President Tinubu in 2027.

Also addressing the gathering, the Managing Director of NELFUND, Dr. Akintunde Sawyerr, called on students to support Tinubu’s re-election bid, citing the administration’s historic interventions in the education sector.

Sawyerr urged Nigerian students to recognise the direct benefits provided through the loan scheme and other federal educational interventions as they make their political choices.

Highlighting the scheme’s scale, the NELFUND boss disclosed that as of September 2026, the fund had processed about 1.66 million student-loan applications and disbursed ?355.87 billion since opening its application portal in May 2024.

Breaking down the expenditure, Sawyerr said over ?192.89 billion was paid as institutional fees directly to 319 tertiary institutions, while ?162.98 billion was disbursed directly to students to cover their upkeep allowances.