First Lady Hosts BRICS Women, Assures Of Collaboration

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the first lady of Nigeria, gave a statement to the delegation that the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance would continue to support women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship on Wednesday at the State House in Abuja.

Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the minister of state for foreign affairs, made the announcement on her official X handle.

Senior executives and academics from the Alliance, who were led by Anna Nesterova, the group’s chairperson, expressed their willingness to work with Nigeria in fields like healthcare, film co-production, labor mobility, financial literacy, and AI-driven medicine.

Sen. Tinubu welcomed the team by highlighting her humanitarian work through the Renewed Hope Initiative while clarifying that government policy and economic programs are still largely driven by MDAs.

“My office will continue to support your mission, but ministries have the statutory responsibilities and budgets to support your mission.” Through my foundation, I run a lot of programs, but the ministries are the best partners for women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship. My duties are complementing, advising, and facilitating, she explained.

Nesterova praised the First Lady as “an incredible woman who not only improves lives but also opens the door for a prosperous future for the Nigerian people.”

The Alliance’s plans to set up a regional office in Nigeria as a gateway for women entrepreneurs to international markets were made public by her.

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To help with maternal health in Nigeria, The Alliance also provided 1, 000 labor and delivery kits.

More than 3, 000 businesswomen from 60 countries are currently connected through Nesterova’s Common Digital Platform, adding that 50 Nigerian women applied for the BRICS Women’s Startups Contest last year alone.

Liudmila Shcherbakova of VET PHARM Group, Natalia Vershinina of the United Migration Center, Orel State University’s Prof. Liudmila Popova, and Third Opinion AI’s Anna Meshcheryakova were among the Russian delegation.

A technical session at the State House Banquet Hall aimed to improve bilateral ties and look into potential investment deals between Russia and Nigeria.

Search Ongoing In Kogi Boat Mishap — Commissioner

Timothy Ojomah, the commissioner for agriculture and food security in Kogi state, has stated that search and rescue operations are ongoing in the state’s on-going boat accident.

About 11 corpses were recovered from the accident, according to Ojomah, who was a guest on Thursday’s episode of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief program.

The traders were attempting to enter the Ilushi market in Edo State to sell their food items and purchase some goods for the October 1 holiday.

Unfortunately, the boat broke when they arrived in the middle of the river, forcing about 82 people to flee.

He claimed that NEMA and Edo State immediately responded to the incident after distress calls were made out of the situation.

He continued, “Among this number, 82 survived, and about 46 were rescued,” adding, “From this number, 82 survived.” I had a conversation with some of the survivors.

They will be searching for more corpses this morning. 11 corpses had been discovered as of yesterday.

The river is large, you know. Therefore, it is expected that others would have drowned if some corpses had already been found and some were already being saved. However, as of yesterday, we had saved 46 of them.

NEMA Notifies Over 10 Dead, 24 Rescued, and 42 Those Who Missed In Kogi Boat Mishap.

We Are Not Perturbed, We’ll Keep Fighting For Workers’ Rights — PENGASSAN

Following the recent layoffs at Dangote Refinery, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has stated that it will continue to work to protect the rights of oil sector workers.

Before calling off the nationwide strike, the union claimed to have acted as the mediator between the Federal Government and the Dangote Refinery.

Festus Osifo, president of PENGASSAN, stated on Thursday that the union’s main objective was to safeguard the lives and rights of the families in question during a discussion on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

In the event that government actions fail to deliver fair outcomes to its members, he noted that PENGASSAN still has the “tools of negotiation, the tools of discussion, and the tools to take it to the maximum level.”

According to him, the union was promised by senior government officials, adding that the government would “force the system to do what is right” in the settlement of the dispute.

PENGASSAN is currently closely monitoring implementation, according to Osifo, and it is still skeptical about Dangote’s willingness to follow the meeting’s instructions.

Do we share any suspicions? Yes, I’ll say that. Do we really think he will act in accordance with his will? Because they have a history of breaking agreements, the union responded, warning that workers will be defrauded, Osifo said.

The Ministry of Labour’s announcement to end the conflict between Dangote and PENGASSAN followed a statement from the union. According to Osifo, the Association’s National Executive Council (NEC) has made a decision to give the government time to carry out the assurances, but the union won’t hesitate to escalate if there isn’t any lasting change.

He continued, “It is not about PENGASSAN; it is about the Nigerian workers who were abruptly terminated because they were exercising their freedom of association,” adding that the union places the welfare of the affected families first.

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Osifo came to the conclusion that PENGASSAN will use “every available instrument” to protect members in the event that negotiations break down.

Troops Neutralise Two Terrorists In Taraba

A terrorist attack was foiled by the 6 Brigade Nigerian Army’s (Sec 3 Operation Whirl Stroke) and two terrorists were neutralized in Taraba State.

Lieutenant Umar Muhammad, the acting assistant director of army public relations at the 6 Brigade Nigerian Army, stated in a statement that troops moved to Tor Ikyeghgba village on October 1st, 2025, where they were alleged to be converging.

According to him, the troops immediately attacked the terrorists along the Powerline axis with superior firepower, which led to the neutralization of two terrorists upon arrival at the general area.

Items recovered during the operation included a locally produced pistol, two Dane guns, three rounds of special ammunition, one Baofeng radio, one motorcycle, and other items.

The statement read, “The breakthrough is in the continuation of the ongoing operations across Taraba State, code-named OPERATION LAFIYA NAKOWA, aimed at exterminating terrorists and criminal elements within the state.”

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Brigadier General Kingsley Uwa, the commander of the Nigerian Army, commended the soldiers for their quick action, resilience, and professionalism while urging them to keep up the momentum.

He assured state residents that the Brigade would continue to work toward preserving state peace, safety, and security.

British Gave Nigeria ‘Flag’ Independence In 1960 — Falana

Femi Falana, the current political class’s senior advocate, claimed that politicians failed to maximize Nigeria’s independence.

This was made known by Falana, a human rights lawyer, on Wednesday during a special broadcast on Channels Television to honor Nigeria’s 65th anniversary.

FILE: Femi Falana

However, he claimed that the colonial structure that was preserved by the British in 1960 gave Nigeria its flag-freedom.

Falana claims that the politicians now lacked ideology and saw political power as a means of acquiring power rather than a means of achieving it.

“The political parties that were established were ideological,” according to the politicians at the time of the first republic and even in the second republic. They were arguing with one another and knew what they wanted, he said.

“Political parties were not used as tools to retake control,” the statement read. They were balancing responsibilities with power-acquisition. What did the British colonial regime give to Nigeria by 1960?

It refers to flag independence as it is. The colonial structure was largely intact. Before the system fell, the first set of politicians “didn’t make the best of it,” he claimed.

Falana recalled how the Murtala Mohammed regime’s presidential system of government was essentially an American creation.

Independence Day: Nigeria Has Failed To Optimise Its Resources — Rewane

Bismarck Rewane, the managing director and chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, has criticized Nigeria’s economic structure, blaming “suboptimality” and “poor use of resources” for its failure to realize its economic potential for six decades.

He made the remarks on Wednesday during a special episode of Channels Television about federalism and national development.

The economic expert recalled Nigeria’s strong economic standing when it first gained independence.

Cycle of four years

Rewane compared the delivery of infrastructure under military control to that under civilian control, stating that 95 percent of the world’s infrastructure was constructed under military control between 1970 and 1988.

Rewane attributed Nigeria’s four-year political cycle to its slowinfrastruktur growth since 1999.

“The four-year political cycle.” Politicians start focusing on re-election within two years, he explained.

This cycle, in his opinion, interferes with capital project execution and long-term economic planning.

Since 1999, there hasn’t been anything significant in the growth of gross capital or infrastructure, according to Rewane.

He urged Nigeria’s leaders to reevaluate their political and economic frameworks, noting that the country could only benefit from strategic planning and achieve sustainable growth.