Category Nigeria News

Prior to the federal capital territory (FCT) area council elections in 2026, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the start of electioneering.

The National Commissioner and appointing chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.

On September 24, 2025, Lumekun stated that campaigns would begin on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, and would continue until midnight on February 19, 2026.

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He believes that this is in line with Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Article 8 of the Political Party Schedule and Activities.

Political parties participating in the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election are now free to launch their electioneering campaigns in public starting on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, and end at midnight on Thursday, February 19, 2026, according to the statement.

The Commission wishes to remind political parties, candidates, and their supporters that it is against the law to use abusive language, physically assault opponents at rallies, processions, and meetings, or destroy their campaign materials as enshrined in Sections 92 and 93 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

For media campaigns, outdoor advertising, public rallies, and meetings, all candidates and parties must be given unrestricted access to the public. For the avoidance of doubt, Section 95(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, forbids using incumbency to benefit or deceive a candidate or party.

Prior to his scheduled Friday coronation ceremony, former president Olusegun Obasanjo congratulated Abdul-Rasheed Ladoja, the 44th Olubadan of Ibadan designate.

Obasanjo claimed that one must possess humility, patience, divine wisdom, and tolerance in order to hold the prestigious position.

Read more about Tinubu’s participation in Ladoja’s Coronation as the committee finalizes its week-long plan.

He specifically instructed former Oyo State governor Ladoja to keep politics afloat when acting for the throne.

Being the traditional ruler of all Ibadan people is an exalted and responsible position. To succeed, Obasanjo said in a statement released on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, that it required humility, patience, divine wisdom, tolerance, and advice from a wide range of sources.

Political rulership does not compete with or conflict with traditional rulership.

He continued, “I wish you all the best and the grace, guidance, and direction of Almighty God.”

44th Olubadan

Rashidi Ladoja, the former governor of Oyo State, was unanimously chosen as the next Olubadan in August.

The Ladoja Otun Olubadan, Ibadanland, received the endorsement of the 44th Olubadan.

The 43rd Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, passed away on July 7, 2025, and the ratification took place at the new Olubadan Palace in Oke Aremo, Ibadan.

Under the distinctive rotational system that governs the city’s traditional leadership, Ladoja is the highest-ranking chief in the civil line, placing him in the lead position.

As part of its non-kinetic strategy to restore peace and stability, the Nigerian Army’s 1 Brigade, Gusau, has distributed free fertilisers to 100 farmers in Zamfara state.

Brig., the Brigade Commander. During the distribution, Gen. Mustapha Jimoh, who was accompanied by Lt. Col. Isah Galadima, the Assistant Chief of Staff, claimed the gesture was intended to boost food production and strengthen civil-military ties.

Galadima remarked, “We use non-kinetic methods to build confidence by sharing food items, educational materials, medical outreaches, and support communities for better understanding, but it’s not all that time we carry weapons to fight.”

Read more about Shettima’s fast loan repayment of $2 billion to smallholder farmers.

He added that the initiative was in line with Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, the chief of the Army Staff, who places peace-building and security operations at the top of the list.

Gidan-Giye, Kucheri, Magazu, Bilbis, and Fegin-baza were the Tsafe Local Government Area’s beneficiary villages.

However, the army cautioned farmers against using the fertilizer sparingly to achieve the desired effect and issued a warning against any reversal.

Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu (Sarkin Gabar), the senior district head, Alhaji Muhammad Bawa, expressed gratitude and praised the intervention as being appropriate given the fertiliser shortage this year.

Sani Abdullahi, the vice chairman of Tsafe LGA, also stated that the council would monitor the usage to make sure only the farmers who intended to be benefitted.

Malam Abubakar Marafa, one of the beneficiaries, thanked the army for their support.

Because of the high cost, we were unable to afford fertiliser. We will make the most of it now that it is army-free.

Oscar Ibru, a businessman and industrialist, has passed away.

He was 67.

According to reports, the Ibru Organization’s chairman passed away on Wednesday after a brief illness.

He was Michael Ibru, a well-known industrialist,’s first son.

He was born and raised in Delta State’s Ughelli North Local Government Area.

Oscar, a well-known Ibru dynasty member, enjoyed widespread respect in Nigeria’s business and social circles.

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Sheriff Oborevwori, the governor of Delta State, has joined the Urhobo people in mourning the late businessman’s and philanthropist’s passing.

The governor described Ibru’s passing as a significant loss for the Urhobo people, Delta State, and the nation as a whole in a statement from Festus Ahon, his chief press secretary.

The industrialist was hailed as a servant, worker, and generous by Oborevwori.

He recalled Ibru’s contributions to the Ibru Organization, which promoted economic growth in Delta and beyond, as well as its contributions to the creation of jobs and strong institutions.

Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage, the “Ogoni Four,” were awarded posthumously as the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by Bola Tinubu, president.

When the Ogoni Consultation Committee’s report arrived at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, he made the announcement.

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After decades of division, the President urged the Ogoniland population to embrace cohesion and unity.

“May our memories of them continue to inspire us to work together, with courage, and purpose.” At the meeting, Tinubu urged the Ogoni people to join forces across all classes, communities, and generations to end this tumultuous chapter and move on as a one-sided community.

He assured stakeholders that his administration would support Ogoniland’s efforts to achieve peace, environmental restoration, and economic revival while also facilitating the area’s return to oil exploration.

The Ogoni communities’ overwhelming support for the resumption of oil production encourages me.

The government will use “every resource” to aid your people in their march toward shared prosperity, he continued.

Oil exploration is supported by the president

Tinubu made note of the previous administration’s decision to transfer the Ogoni oil field to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its joint venture partners in 2022, adding that his government would follow through on that decision.

Therefore, the President ordered Nuhu Ribadu, the NSA, to begin negotiations with the Ogoni people, NNPCL, its partners, and all relevant stakeholders before the start of operation.

In 1993, ongoing protests against environmental degradation and injustice led to Ken Saro-Wiwa’s execution and the execution of eight other activists in Ogoniland.

A dead asset is not valuable to the people, the country, or the community. The President urged the Minister of Environment to include pollution remediation and environmental recovery in the wider context of dialogue with the populace, while also directing the Minister of Environment to do the same. “The worse it is for everyone, the worse it is for us.

Let’s work together to make the suffering beneath Ogoni’s soil a blessing for both the people and Nigeria, Tinubu said.

Committee Report

Don Baridam, the Dialogue Committee’s chairman, stated that the committee ensured that all parties involved in the process were engaged in, noting that the report reflects the Ogoni people’s collective will.

According to Baridam, a professor, the report satisfies the people’s demands for a framework for sustainable development, renewed environmental protection, and structured participation in oil production.

Prior to the Committee’s report, the NSA claimed that local communities, traditional leaders, and the diaspora had been involved in the consultation process.

He emphasized that returning Ogoniland to its former state of neglect and conflict was not just about submitting a report.

An alleged plan by the Federal Government to sell some of its stakes in the Joint Ventures with international oil companies operating in the nation has received opposition from members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s 30% management fee and 30% frontier exploration deduction are reassessned in accordance with President Bola Tinubu’s directive last month, according to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) president.

Tinubu cited the need to streamline deductions from the Federation Account, improve fiscal discipline, and optimize government savings as needed while charging the Economic Management Team.

The two unions asserted at a joint news conference in Abuja on Tuesday that selling those stakes will not only endanger the nation’s oil sector, but also devalue efforts being made to defend the naira on the foreign exchange market.

Festus Osifo, president of PENGASSAN, and Williams Akporeha, his NUPENG counterpart, objected to a proposal to reduce government stakes in JV assets by up to 30%.

Through the NNPCL, FG currently controls between 55 and 60% of these assets.

Selling stakes in the assets, in their opinion, would hurt Nigeria’s long-term economic security,  bankrupt NNPCL, impede its ability to meet obligations like salaries and welfare benefits, and reduce its contributions to the national budget.

“The government wants to reduce its ownership of these assets,” the statement read. They may be referring to selling up to 35% in some cases. However, we reject it.

You can’t mortgage someone’s future for a short-term gain.

“On behalf of the Federation, the NNPCL manages JV assets. The entire Nigerian population, not just the Federal Government, owns all oil wells. The national oil company will be too weak to deliver, he claimed, and the federation will lose if these stakes are sold.

The unions also claimed that NNPCL’s joint ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum was being attempted by the ministry of finance.

They argued that the PIA’s proposed changes would strip NNPCL of its core national function, frighten investors, and send a bad signal about Nigeria’s policy consistency.

After years of fighting, the PIA was overturned. Investors are only just getting started. The government wants to amend it once more, right now. That sends a dangerous signal, Akporeha claimed. Every serious oil-producing country, in his opinion, safeguards its national oil company. He continued, “Here, we are stripping ours of its strength,” he continued.

Nigeria will struggle to raise the money to pay its budget if these proposals are successful. We will resist it because it creates a crisis, Osifo said.

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The oil workers also called for a stop to a proposed amendment to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which they had pledged to oppose whenever it was attempted to proceed with the plans.

We completely reject the idea from the Ministry of Petroleum, the Ministry of Finance, NNPCL, or even the Presidency itself. In a few years, NNPCL will go bankrupt. Osifo resolutely said, “We will not allow that to happen.”

Akporeha noted that the PIA, which was only passed three years ago, needed to stabilise before considering new amendments.