WEDNESDAY 19TH AUGUST 2026

Dangote Refinery Secures $1bn Backing Ahead of Planned IPO Deal comprises completed, funded $600m private placement, $400m underwriting commitment Transaction reflects confidence in refinery’s strategic role, says Africa’s richest man Oramah: Transaction demonstrated the appetite for African-led capital markets

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos

The planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has

taken a significant step forward with the successful completion of a $1 billion underwriting

programme, strengthening the capital markets foundation for what could become Africa’s most

consequential industrial listing.

The programme, structured by Marob Strategies and Consulting

DIFC Ltd and Lilium Capital Continued on page 8

Wednesday 19 August, 2026 Vol 31. No 11455. Price: N400

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Cement Prices: FCCPC Opens Probe over Alleged Market Manipulation Amid Excess Production Capacity Tunji Bello: intervention not to dictate commercial decisions but protect competitive process

James Emejo and Debora Adekoya in Abuja

The Federal Competition and

Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), yesterday, announced the commencement of fresh probe into the Nigerian cement market

following preliminary findings suggesting possible manipulation of prices despite substantial domestic production capacity and reported

excess supply.

FCCPC said its three-month cross-border investigation established sufficient grounds to probe whether

the prevailing prices of cement were driven by legitimate production and market costs or possible anti-competitive conduct among

major industry players.

The consumer rights commission Continued on page 8

Winners and Losers as Adeleke Dances Back to Okefia House

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

For a state that has acquired a reputation for producing some of Nigeria’s most fiercely contested elections in recent years, the outcome of last Saturday’s Osun governorship election was as emphatic as it was politically revealing.

Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party secured 511,067 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes, giving the incumbent a winning margin of 66,252 votes.

Besides, Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji got 11.

But beyond the figures, the election produced a fascinating cast of winners and losers. Some won at the ballot box. Others won by surviving a political test.

Some lost an election, while others lost something potentially more consequential: influence, relevance, credibility or the aura of political invincibility.

For Adeleke, his allies and others who seemed to have played their roles nobly, the dancing continues, Continued on page 8

WINNERS...

President Bola Tinubu

Governor Ademola Adeleke

David Adeleke

Iyiola Omisore

Joash Amupitan

LOSERS...

Gboyega Oyetola

Bola Oyebamiji

Godswill Akpabio

Gov Monday Okpebholo

Rauf Aregbesola

Gov Hope Uzodimma

Olagunsoye Oyinlola

Christopher Imumolen

Sen. Francis Fadahunsi

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THISDAY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

Group News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 0803 350 6821, 0807 401 0580

NEWS

AKPABIO’S COURTESY VISIT TO ITALIAN EMBASSY...

Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Roberto Mengoni (left), exchanging pleasantries with Nigeria’s President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during Akpabio’s courtesy visit to the Italian Embassy in Abuja, yesterday PHOTO: SENATE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE

Nigeria to South Africa: Deliberate Targeting of Africans Must Stop Says describing categories of people as drug lords create permissible environment for violence

Dike Onwuamaeze The Federal Government of Nigeria has sent a clear and unambiguous message that the government of South Africa should stop the deliberate targeting of Africans, including Nigerians, on the basis of their nationality and colour of their skin.

The federal government sent this message yesterday in the opening address delivered by the Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olusola Enikanolaiye, during a roundtable discussion on “South Africa’s ‘Xenophobia’ in Comparative Perspective,” which was organised by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).

It urged South Africa to take charge of the enforcement of its immigration laws and not surrender same to mobs because the solution to illegal migration is not to cut off their head, kill and harm them.

Nigeria also said, “when leaders describe entire categories of people as drug lords, criminals, parasites, thieves or threats to national survival, they create an environment in which violence can be socially permissible.”

This comes as the Consul General of South Africa, Lagos, Prof. Bobby Moroe, in his presentation at the NIIA rejected the tag of xenophobia

being pinned on South Africans, arguing that isolated incidents of criminality performed by the vigilante groups could not determine whether South Africans are xenophobic or not.

Enikanolaiye stated that as far as Nigeria was concerned, what was currently playing out in South Africa under the cloak of “xenophobia” was nothing but pure “Afrophabia” which aptly described the reversed apartheid being target mainly on Africans and not citizens of different colour or race.

According to him, “on this occasion, the issue we discuss is the deliberate targeting of Africans, of Nigerians, of Ghanaians, (13:42) and we take this hard core (position) to stop.”

He said: “It is Africans that have been targeted by fellow Africans. It is citizens of countries that has stood with South Africa during its darkest years that are being portrayed as unwanted outsiders, and this creates a profound moral and historical contradiction.

“Nigeria supported the antiapartheid movement, both politically and diplomatically.

“Nigeria opened its doors and sorted immigration movement, even at considerable economic and political costs.

“It therefore amounts to a gross distortion to reduce the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa through mere trade statistics or diplomatic communiques.

“There is history between our peoples. There is blood in that history. There’s sacrifice in that history. There’s solidarity in that history.

“And that obviously imposes upon both nations a special responsibility to ensure that the relationship between our people is not defined by periods of episodic hostilities.

“Yes, we must also resist the temptation to make this solely a Nigerian-South African affair, which

would be intellectually inactive.”

The minister of state said that South Africa occupied a special place in African collective imagination as the country of the great late President Nelson Mandela whose democratic transition from apartheid represented one of humanity’s most powerful demonstrations of reconciliation over revenge.

He, therefore, said that, “it is both painful and paradoxical that a country which emerged from the crucible of one of the world’s most institutionalised systems of racial exclusion and separate development, which is what apartheid means, to periodically witness this sad

exclusion and sometimes violent targeting of people on the basis of their nationality or where they come from and the colour of their skin.”

The federal government also wondered why a society should hold migrants accountable for its underlying social tensions like unemployment, corruption, etc., that they did not create.

According to the minister, the claim that migrants are principally responsible for unemployment, crime, pressure on public services, are unsupported with evidence and often exaggerated.

He said: “And perhaps more importantly, why do society still

BOI Hails Tinubu’s Leadership for Oversubscription of Its N250 Billion Series 1 Bond in Five Days Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Bank of Industry Limited (BOI) has hailed President Bola Tinubu for his leadership and support after its N250 billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond was oversubscribed within five days.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the bank issued the bond through its BOI Financing SPV

Plc under the bank’s $1 billion MultiCurrency Instruments Programme.

Chief Executive Officer of BOI, Olasupo Olusi, said the bond’s oversubscription indicated investors’ confidence in the bank and Nigeria.

Olusi stated, “The strength of the investor response is a vote of confidence not only in BOI, but also in the capacity of Nigeria’s domestic capital market to mobilise long-term

capital for productive investment.

“As a Development Finance Institution, we could not have received the strong investor demand for the bond in five working days without the support of President Tinubu, who gave his executive approval for various incentives to encourage investors.

“This became a leverage and a positive signal to discerning investors.

Mr President deserves the honour for

Rising Food Prices: Tinubu Has Run Out of Ideas, Says ADC Bringing down cost of living is our priority, party declares

Chuks Okocha in Abuja The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the President Bola Tinubu’s administration over rising food prices, saying that latest reports indicate that the President and his government have no solution to the rising cost of living in the country.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the Tinubu government has “run out of ideas,” adding that the government’s current approach, which tends to focus only on core inflation

figures, does not prioritise the daily struggles of ordinary Nigerians.

The party called for an approach that puts food security at the heart of national security, by undertaking immediate actions that boost food production by reducing input, energy and transportation costs, improving security, establishing strategic food reserves and setting measurable targets tied ultimately to one objective: ensuring that Nigerians can afford to eat and Nigerian farmers have money in their pockets.

The party noted latest inflation

sometimes blame migrants for structural failures that migrants did not create?

“The migrants did not create those structural issues, or indeed, those employment challenges.

“Migrants does not create corruption or institutional weaknesses.

“These are challenges faced not only by South Africa, but many other countries, including my own.”

According to Nigeria, “there is a difference between protecting national interest and constructing a politics of deliberate exclusion, and there is a difference between patriotism and xenophobia or Afrophobia.

figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics which showed that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate moderated marginally from 15.91 per cent in June to 15.43 per cent in July.

The party said it was however concerned that the government has continued to stubbornly focus on a statistical indicator, while ignoring the more serious indicator, which confirms that staple foods are still beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.

According to Abdullahi, “While the government celebrates the moderation in headline inflation announced by

the NBS, the same report tells a much more troubling story.

“While headline inflation slowed, food inflation accelerated sharply, rising from 17.52 per cent in June to 20.31 per cent in July on a year-on-year basis.

“More disturbingly, food inflation rose from 3.75 per cent in June to 5.56 per cent in July on a month-on-month basis. This means that the prices of food items like rice, tomatoes, onions, pepper, beef, eggs, garri and other basic foods in Nigeria increased by 48% in July alone.”

Abdullahi explained that the report

supports an earlier one by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) that 35 million Nigerians face acute food insecurity, with millions of children facing malnutrition, adding, “That is the economy Nigerians are experiencing under Bola Tinubu’s APC. Accordingly, the ADC spokesman said, “We therefore find it most insensitive that the government continues to make claims about economic progress while Nigerians are starving under its watch. The Tinubu administration must answer a very simple question: If the government’s economic reforms are working, why are Nigerians still finding it increasingly difficult to afford food?

this feat. This is further testament to Mr President’s support for Nigeria’s productive sector.”

The BOI CEO said the goal of the transaction was to turn investor confidence into increased financing for Nigerian enterprises, leading to job creation and a healthier economy.

He also said the N100 billion fund approved for the bank by Tinubu would be used to blend the bond’s pricing and cushion the effect of high interest rates for manufacturers and other BOI customers.

“This is further testament to Mr President’s support for Nigeria’s productive sector,” Olusi said.

According to him, the ultimate objective of the transaction is to translate investor confidence into increased financing for Nigerian enterprises, with potential impact on industrial expansion, job creation, domestic value chains and economic competitiveness.

The bank said the transaction represented a significant broadening of its funding architecture, complementing its established track record in international capital markets with deeper mobilisation of long-term capital from domestic institutional investors.

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NEWS

NATIONAL PEACE ACCORD FOR POLITICAL PARTIES...

L-R: Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ahmed Yayale; SGF Senator George Akume and Special Adviser to the Vice President on Political matters, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, during the National Peace Accord for Political Parties ahead of 2027 general elections, in Abuja, yesterday PHOTO: KINGSLEY ADEBOYE

FG Raises Bulk Power to Alausa, Lekki, Boosts Capacity by 272MW TCN: Facility to ensure reliable supply to 70,000 residents

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos The federal government yesterday commissioned upgraded transmission infrastructure at Alausa and Lekki in Lagos, adding a combined 272MW of bulk power capacity to two of the state’s most economically significant corridors.

At Alausa, an existing 30MVA transformer was replaced with a new

100MVA unit, lifting the station’s total capacity from 135MVA to 205MVA and increasing bulk power available to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) by 80MW. In the same vein, in Lekki the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) installed an additional 2x60MVA, 132/33kV power transformers, alongside nine new 33kV feeders, doubling the substation’s 132/33kV capacity from 120MVA to 240MVA,

an increase of approximately 192MW. Speaking at the events, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the investments were deliberate steps to strengthen corridors that drive Nigeria’s economy and to remove transmission bottlenecks that have long stranded generation.

At Alausa, Tegbe said the project was more than an engineering milestone and described it as a strategic investment in Ikeja, the nerve centre

of governance in Lagos and one of the most economically consequential corridors in the country.

“Alausa is not just another location on the electricity network. It sits within one of the most economically and administratively important parts of Lagos State. This axis supports a dense concentration of government institutions, commercial establishments, businesses, residential communities and economic activities,” he said.

Uzodimma, Oyedele Seek Stronger Fiscal Federalism, Economic Diversification

Finance minister hails FG for improving FAAC from N600m in 2023 to N2.8trn

Amby Uneze in Owerri

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Prof. Taiwo Oyedele have called for stronger fiscal federalism, improved revenue generation and economic diversification to strengthen Nigeria’s resilience to economic shocks.

The duo spoke in Owerri, at the 2026 National Council on Finance and Economic Development (NACOFED) Retreat.

The five-day Summit, which commenced on Monday, is evaluating the theme: “Strengthening Fiscal Federalism for Equity, Sustainable Development and Economic Resilience in a Volatile Global Economy.”

Oyedele was emphatic that members of NACOFED are in Owerri, the Imo State capital, to interrogate Nigeria’s current fiscal architecture.

Represented at the event by his Deputy, Lady Chinyere Ekomaru, Uzodimma said States must be empowered to generate more revenue and efficiently manage available resources, pointing out that continued dependence on oil revenue was no longer sustainable.

The Governor thanked the federal government and the organisers for choosing Imo as host for the Retreat, and described the theme as timely given growing global economic

pressures.

He said his administration was working to make “Shared Prosperity” a reality through its 3R agenda, adding that Imo State had digitised her revenue collection, blocked leakages and increased its internally generated revenue (IGR).

Uzodimma added that the State has also invested in agriculture, the digital economy, tourism, power, education, small and medium-sized enterprises and infrastructure as part of efforts to create jobs and expand economic opportunities for its growing youth demography.

He urged participants at the Retreat to develop practical measures that would deepen fiscal autonomy, improve revenue generation and promote equity among the federating units.

The Governor assured development partners that Imo State, is today, the preferred destination for investment in the country, and remains open for business, citing improved security, political stability and the State government’s commitment to partnerships.

He reiterated that because Imo had risen, her real meaning today, literally, stands as Investment Meets Opportunities (IMO), and urged Oyedele and the NACOFED participants to use the opportunity of their visit to explore the hospitality of the people of Imo State.

In his remarks, Oyedele insisted on

the retreat interrogating the current allocation and derivation principles, even as he called for greater fiscal responsibility, accountability and cooperation among Nigeria’s three tiers of government to achieve sustainable economic growth.

He said, “Nigeria must move from an allocation-dependent economy to one driven by production, investment and job creation.”

According to the Minister, recent economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, have significantly increased revenues available for distribution through the Federation Account.

He said monthly Federation Account allocations, which averaged between N300 billion and N600 billion before 2023, now exceed N2 trillion.

For instance, Oyedele disclosed that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributed N2.8 trillion to the Federal, State and Local Governments in June 2026.

However, he cautioned that higher allocations alone could not guarantee development, insisting that increased revenues must translate into improved infrastructure, human capital development, productivity and public services.

The Minister urged State governments to strengthen their internally-generated revenue, attract investments and create jobs rather than rely heavily on federal

allocations.

He also advocated prudent borrowing and greater transparency in public finance, warning governments against accumulating liabilities without credible repayment plans.

He urged the participants to use the Retreat to promote “an evidence-led conversation, not a positional one,” while ensuring that “fiscal federalism evolves in response to Nigeria’s changing economic realities.”

He said the intervention increased bulk power available to IKEDC by 80MW for onward delivery to consumers.

“The multiplier effect of an additional 80MW of bulk power availability is more than an ordinary technical statistic. Behind these numbers are businesses, industries, hospitals, schools, offices, markets, technology companies, malls, artisans and people whose livelihoods depend upon electricity,” Tegbe said.

Also in Lekki, the minister inaugurated an additional 2×60MVA, 132/33kV transformers at the 330/132/33kV transmission substation, along with nine new 33kV feeders. He said Lekki represents the Nigeria the administration is building towards: more industrial, more commercially active, and more attractive to capital.

“Today, we are commissioning capacity - capacity for businesses to grow; capacity for industries to produce; capacity for communities to prosper; and capacity for one of the fastest-growing economic corridors in our country to continue to expand without electricity infrastructure becoming a brake on its progress,” Tegbe said.

The Lekki substation previously had two 60MVA transformers at 132/33kV level, giving 120MVA or

about 96MW. With the new units, capacity has doubled to 240MVA, equivalent to approximately 192MW. The minister noted that the additional 96MW and the new feeders address both transformation capacity and evacuation, so power can move into Eko Electricity Distribution PLC (EKED)’s network without being stranded.

He said the government will continue to strengthen transmission where it constrains power, expand substations where demand is growing, and replace ageing equipment.

In his welcome address, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, said the project demonstrated the company’s commitment to expanding and strengthening Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure.

He said the installation replaced the existing 30MVA transformer, increasing the substation’s capacity by 70MVA and taking its total capacity to 205MVA. According to him, the Alausa project, once fully energised, would provide more stable and reliable electricity to at least 70,000 residents in Alausa and surrounding communities through IKEDC. “Beyond serving the immediate community, this upgrade meaningfully increases the quantum of bulk power that TCN can wheel to distribution load centres nationwide,” Abdulaziz said.

Lumiscape Foundation, Zephyr Academy Empower 84 Single Mothers

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

Lumiscape Charity Foundation (LCF) and Zephyr Interior Design Academy (ZIDA) have concluded the inaugural LCF x ZIDA Empowerment Initiative, a month-long programme that equipped 84 single mothers with foundational interior design skills, mentorship and exposure to professional opportunities in the creative industry.

The initiative culminated in an Abuja workshop attended by the top 40 participants, during which two outstanding women were awarded scholarships worth a combined N2.105 million.

Following an application and selection process, 84 women were admitted to the virtual learning cohort, where they were introduced to design thinking, space planning, mood-board creation, colour theory, entrepreneurship and career pathways within the interior design industry by Zephyr Interior Design Academy.

At the end of the virtual training, participants completed an examination designed to assess their understanding and practical application of the subjects taught.

Based on their examination results and overall participation, the top 40 women were selected to attend the physical workshop in Abuja.

During the workshop, participants took part in practical design sessions, mentorship conversations and collaborative activities led by industry professionals, allowing them to apply their virtual learning to the practical and commercial aspects of interior design.

Victory Ufedo-Ojo, recipient of the Lumiscape Charity Foundation Scholarship valued at N1.705 million, described the award as an opportunity that had renewed her confidence in her future.

“I am truly honoured to be one of the scholarship recipients. This opportunity means so much to me, and I am excited about everything that lies ahead,” she said.

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NEWS

FIRST NATIONAL PEACE ACCORD SIGNING CEREMONY...

L-R: NDC Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi; PRP Presidential Candidate, Mr. Donald Duke; and SDP Presidential Candidate, Adewola Adebayo, during the first National Peace Accord signing ceremony held at the Ahmed Bola Tinubu Conference Centre, in Abuja, yesterday PHOTO: SUNDAY AGHAEZE

Jonathan Warns Against ‘Political Invasion’ of States During Off-cycle Polls Fingers govs, top officials, says it may breed intimidation Urges Peace C’ttee to convene parties, INEC, others’ meeting

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Former President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday raised concerns over the growing practice of serving governors, senior political office holders and party leaders converging on states holding off-cycle elections with large entourages and heavy security details, warning that the trend could undermine democratic stability.

Jonathan, in a statement on the recent Osun State governorship election, said developments surrounding the election, as well as similar practices witnessed during recent governorship elections in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States, required urgent national attention.

According to him, the increasing deployment of political power and large-scale mobilisation by senior office holders on election day could create an atmosphere of apprehension, intimidation, bullying and undue pressure.

“The growing practice whereby serving governors, senior political office holders, party leaders and other influential government functionaries, accompanied by large numbers of aides and heavy security details from outside a state, converge on states where elections are being conducted raises an issue that demands national attention,” he said.

While commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political parties and the people of the state for the peaceful conduct of the poll, the former President stressed that the conduct witnessed around the recent elections in the three states were, in his view, unusual. “It is not a practice that should become normal in a democratic society,” he argued.

Jonathan recalled that similar situations arose during the 2013 Anambra and 2014 Ekiti governorship elections while he was President, saying he ordered party leaders and senior government officials to leave the states after he was briefed about their presence.

“This trend is unwholesome. If left unchecked, it could threaten our

fragile democracy and have serious long-term implications for democratic stability,” he warned.

The ex-Nigerian leader acknowledged the right of political parties to campaign, mobilise supporters and deploy legitimate party structures, but said political mobilisation could cross a line when it involved the overwhelming presence of serving governors, senior public officials and powerful political actors from across the country.

He questioned whether such conduct was consistent with free, fair and peaceful democratic competition.

“We must ask ourselves whether the increasing deployment of political

power and large-scale mobilisation by senior office holders on election day in states holding elections is consistent with the spirit of free, fair and peaceful democratic competition,” Jonathan said. “This hardly happens in other democratic countries,” he added.

He warned against turning political contests into battles in which victory was perceived as something that must be achieved “at all costs”, saying the practice could create a dangerous precedent if rival political parties began deploying governors and other influential figures to every state holding an election.

“If the current trend becomes established, what happens when

governors from opposing political parties begin to descend on every state holding a competitive election?

“What happens when each party seeks to match political power with political power, governmental influence with governmental influence, and mobilisation with counter-mobilisation?” he asked.

Jonathan argued that such a scenario would deepen political tensions rather than strengthen democracy, potentially making elections resemble “battles for political survival rather than peaceful contests for the mandate of the people”.

He therefore urged stakeholders to look beyond partisan disagreements over the Osun election and treat

the issue as a national conversation about the future of Nigeria’s electoral democracy.

“I therefore believe that this matter should not be treated as a partisan dispute concerning the Osun election. It is a broader national issue concerning the future of our electoral democracy,” he said.

Jonathan also reminded former and serving public officials that the influence attached to public office came with greater responsibility.

“Those of us who have occupied public office must recognise that our conduct carries a greater responsibility.

The power and influence attached to public office should be used to

strengthen democratic institutions, not to create apprehension among political opponents or citizens,” he said.

To address the issue, the former President called on the National Peace Committee to convene an urgent stakeholders’ engagement to examine emerging practices around off-cycle elections and establish standards for political conduct.

He proposed that the meeting should include the leadership of registered political parties, INEC, relevant security agencies, the National Assembly, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), civil society organisations and the media.

FG, States, Local Govts Share N3trn July Revenue Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has approved the disbursement of a total sum of N3.007 trillion revenue generated in July to the federal government, the 36 states, and 774 local governments.

The approval was given at FAAC’s monthly meeting for August 2026, which took place in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

FAAC also reviewed developments in the country’s fiscal landscape and measures to strengthen revenue mobilisation and public financial management.

A statement issued on Tuesday by Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, cited a communique issued during the meeting.

Of the total allocation, the federal government received N1.146 trillion, the 36 states received N943.352 billion, while the 774 local governments received N673.649 billion The sum of N243.478 billion, representing the 13 per cent derivation revenue from mineral resources, was shared among benefiting states.

The July figures showed a significant improvement in statutory revenue.

Gross statutory revenue rose to N4.359 trillion, representing an increase of N658.087 billion, or 17.8 percent, from the N3.700 trillion recorded in June.

But, gross Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue remained relatively stable at N793.968 billion in July, declining marginally by N5.778 billion, or 0.7 per cent, from N799.746 billion in June.

FAAC said the increase in statutory revenue was driven by stronger collections from several revenue streams, including Petroleum Profit Tax, Hydrocarbon Tax, Companies Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Stamp Duty Tax, petroleum royalties, mineral royalties, excise duty, and gas flared penalties.

The gains were, however, partly moderated by declines in VAT, import duty, Common External Tariff levies, rental of gas flared fees, and miscellaneous oil revenue.

The committee said it would continue to work with revenuegenerating agencies to address collection gaps and improve remittance discipline.

FAAC also reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring full, transparent, and timely remittance of collectible revenue by all revenue-generating agencies into the Federation Account, particularly ahead of the planned accounts reconciliation exercise.

It stressed the need to diversify Nigeria’s revenue base beyond oil through stronger tax administration and non-oil revenue mobilisation, while identifying solid minerals and other non-oil royalty streams as areas with significant growth potential.

The meeting, held on the margins of the ongoing National Council of Federation and Economic Development (NACOFED), also focused on converting the recent growth in federation revenue into sustainable fiscal strength across the three tiers of government.

As part of the deliberations, Commissioners of Finance and Accountants-General participated in a dedicated session on subnational fiscal fitness, with emphasis on strengthening public finances and ensuring that increased allocations translate into sustainable development and social investments.

The committee stated that

gross FAAC allocations had risen significantly over the past three years, driven largely by subsidy removal, exchange-rate unification, and tax reforms.

It also highlighted the impact of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, which took effect on January 1, 2026.

Under the new framework, states’ share of VAT revenue increased from 50 per cent to 55 per cent, while the federal government’s share declined from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.

In addition, 30 per cent of the states’ VAT pool was now distributed according to the place of consumption rather than the location of a company’s registered headquarters, creating a stronger link between economic activity within a state and its federation revenue allocation.

FAAC urged federal and state governments to focus on six key areas described as vital signs of fiscal strength: revenue quality, asset strength, economic growth, capital attraction, human capital, and institutional transparency.

The committee called on governments to diversify internally generated revenue beyond nar-

row tax bases, identify and put idle public assets to productive use, and strengthen economic growth measurement through the development of official state Gross Domestic Product data.

It also urged the states to create stable and predictable business environments capable of attracting investment, while sustaining investments in education and healthcare as foundations for long-term economic development.

On public financial management, FAAC encouraged all tiers of government to maintain timely, audited, and transparent public accounts.

It called for comprehensive asset registers, payroll verification, and timely publication of audited accounts within the next 12 months.

The committee stressed that sustaining the gains recorded in statutory revenue would depend on continued discipline in revenue collection and remittance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

FAAC reiterated its support for reforms designed to improve the predictability, transparency, and growth of allocations to the federal, states, and local governments.

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Hormuz Tensions Push Brent Above $91 as Oil Majors Reap $87bn Windfall Eight major oil firms nearly double Q2 profits

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Crude oil prices rose sharply yesterday as renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, including an attack on a vessel transiting the strategic waterway, heightened fears of further disruptions to global oil supplies.

Brent crude, Nigeria’s oil benchmark climbed above $91 a barrel in early Asian trading, while the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), rose above $85 a barrel, as markets reacted to the latest incident and uncertainty over the future of the US-Iran standoff.

It comes as the United Kingdom

Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident involving a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz early yesterday.

According to the organisation, the vessel was struck by an unidentified projectile while conducting an outbound transit of the strait, causing damage to its engine room and resulting in a crew casualty.

The development occurred amid heightened security concerns as the United States and Iran remain at odds over control of the strategic shipping route, through which a significant proportion of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass.

Brent was trading about 0.69 per cent higher at $91.50 a barrel in early Asian trading, while WTI rose 0.92 per cent to $85.28.

The latest price movement came to the fore as oil majors continue to benefit from the sharp rise in crude prices triggered by the conflict and disruption to shipping through Hormuz.

Eight major oil companies, comprising Saudi Aramco, BP, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies, Eni, Chevron and ExxonMobil, collectively earned about $87 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to an analysis.

Their combined profits were

nearly double the amount recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025, when the eight companies earned just below $50 billion.

The surge in earnings followed a sharp increase in oil prices after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran and the subsequent conflict led to an almost complete halt in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has described the resulting disruption as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.

Brent crude, which was around

$68 a barrel at the end of February, climbed to almost $100 a barrel in May as concerns over supply intensified.

Saudi Aramco emerged as the biggest beneficiary among the companies assessed, reporting a 34 per cent increase in quarterly net income to more than $33 billion.

British oil major BP also reported a sharp increase in second-quarter profit, posting $5.73 billion, almost twice its earnings in the same period of 2025 and above analysts’ expectations.

US oil major Chevron recorded its highest quarterly profit in at least

WINNERS AND LOSERS AS ADELEKE DANCES BACK TO OKEFIA HOUSE

but for the losers, especially those who played ignominious roles, it’s probably time to retrace their steps.

WINNERS Bola Tinubu: Unexpected Winner President Bola Tinubu may appear an unlikely name on a list of winners after his party lost a governorship election in a state where the APC deployed considerable political machinery.

Yet Tinubu has a strong claim to a place on the winners’ side, not because his party won, but because the election gave him an opportunity to demonstrate that the federal government could allow an opposition incumbent to defeat a ruling party candidate in a governorship election.

It was Tinubu who stepped in when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) shockingly froze the bank accounts of the Osun State government just a few days to the polls. Although a controversial move, the intent was clear: institutions of state must steer clear of politics or any likeness of it.

On several occasions, Tinubu publicly called for a peaceful, transparent

poll, and after Adeleke’s victory, the President called to congratulate him and described the outcome as reflecting the will of the people.

He also commended the electoral umpire and the security agencies for the conduct of the election.

That mattered in a country where the credibility of elections is often judged not merely by what happens at polling units but by whether the party in power is willing to accept an unfavourable outcome.

Whatever the undertones or the reasons being adduced by political analysts why Tinubu allowed a free and fair process, he may have actually gained something politically valuable from Osun. For a President facing a crucial 2027 election to allow his party to lose the Osun poll gracefully, it signals that there might be hope for a credible ballot next year after all.

Ademola Adeleke: Danced His Way to Victory There is no argument about the biggest winner. Adeleke has transformed what began as an unlikely political rise into one of the most remarkable personal electoral stories in contemporary Osun politics.

In 2022, he defeated thenincumbent Gboyega Oyetola in a closely fought contest. Four years later, he has done it again, this time against a different APC candidate and with a substantially larger winning margin.

His 511,067 votes were not merely enough to secure another four years. They demonstrated the depth of the coalition he had built around his incumbency, his personal appeal and the political structures that eventually moved with him from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Accord.

Besides, the symbolism was also impossible to miss. The politician once derided by opponents and sections of the public for his dancing and flamboyant public persona has now become a two-term governor.

The dancing, in the end, has become part of his political brand.

Davido: Made Osun Poll Everyone’s Business If Adeleke was the candidate who danced his way to victory, David Adeleke, better known as Davido, ensured that millions of people far beyond Osun were watching.

Davido’s involvement went beyond the conventional celebrity endorsement. He repeatedly

campaigned for his uncle, used his enormous social media following to push the Adeleke narrative and brought his considerable local and international profile to bear on an election that would ordinarily have remained a state-level political contest.

On election day, he was again active online, openly and unabashedly mentioning names he thought were in the state to subvert the will of the people.

The singer could not determine how voters marked their ballot papers. But politics is not only about votes. It is also about narrative, visibility and mobilisation. Davido made Osun a global conversation in a way few Nigerian state elections have experienced. He even wrote to President Donald Trump!

His role also demonstrated how Nigeria’s political communication is changing. Traditional party structures remain important, but a globally recognised entertainer with hundreds of millions of followers can now inject an entirely different dimension into a local political contest.

Whether his influence translated directly into votes is impossible to quantify. However, his influence on the visibility of the election, remains

beyond dispute.

Joash Amupitan: A Credible Umpire?

For Prof. Joash Amupitan, the Osun governorship election offered perhaps the clearest opportunity yet to demonstrate that INEC can conduct an election in which the umpire is judged by the quality of the process rather than the controversy surrounding the outcome.

The election was keenly contested, politically charged and watched closely because of the stakes for both the ruling APC at the federal level and Accord Party at the state level.

Yet, at the end of the exercise, the most important verdict was not simply who won or lost, but whether voters were allowed to freely express their choice and whether that choice was transparently reflected in the final result.

Amupitan emerged as one of the winners because INEC, under his leadership, largely succeeded in staying out of the political contest.

There were no major allegations of the commission openly tilting the process towards one candidate.

The collation and declaration of the result did not also produce the

CEMENT PRICES: FCCPC OPENS PROBE OVER ALLEGED MARKET MANIPULATION AMID EXCESS PRODUCTION CAPACITY disclosed the development in a statement issued by its Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Ondaje Ijagwu, in Abuja.

The intervention came amid widespread complaints over the high cost of cement in the country.

The commission’s Anticompetitive Practices Department (ACP) is conducting the fresh probe based on a 40-page industry-wide field investigation report covering Nigeria and selected cement markets across Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa.

The investigation is particularly focused on the apparent disconnect between the country’s production capacity and the prices consumers continue to pay for cement.

Explaining the probe, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of FCCPC, Mr. Tunji Bello, said the commission was acting within its mandate to examine market conditions with significant consequences for consumers and the wider economy.

Bello said cement was too central to housing, commercial development, public infrastructure, and the cost of doing business for the commission to ignore amid persistent concerns about its pricing.

He said FCCPC’s responsibility was to move beyond assumptions

and establish the facts surrounding the working of the market.

He said, “Cement occupies a strategic place in the Nigerian economy. Its price affects the cost of building a home, developing commercial property, delivering public infrastructure and, ultimately, the cost of doing business.

“When concerns persist about how such an important market is functioning, the Commission has a duty to look beyond assumptions and establish the facts.

“Businesses are entitled to make legitimate commercial decisions and earn returns on their investments.

Competition law does not prevent that.”

Bello stressed that the investigation should not be interpreted as an attempt by the regulator to dictate the commercial decisions of cement manufacturers.

Rather, Bello said, the focus was on determining whether the market was operating competitively and whether consumers were benefiting from competition.

He added that the law was designed to protect the competitive process so that prices, output, and other market outcomes would be driven by genuine competition rather than unlawful restrictions.

He said, “That distinction is

important to the work we are undertaking.”

According to the FCCPC, Nigeria has installed cement production capacity of about to 65 million metric tonnes annually, against estimated domestic consumption of between 25 and 30 million metric tonnes.

The country is also a net exporter of cement to neighbouring markets.

FCCPC observed that the reported excess capacity had not produced the downward

pressure on domestic prices that would ordinarily be expected in a competitive market.

The price movement had been particularly sharp in 2026.

Market intelligence reviewed by the commission showed that a 50kg bag of cement, which sold for between N9,300 and N9,700 in January, had risen to between N10,500 and N13,000 by mid-year, while prices of between N13,000 and N15,000 were reported in some parts of the country by July.

FCCPC said the preliminary findings had raised questions requiring further examination, particularly given the country’s substantial limestone deposits, domestic production base, and installed capacity, relative to consumption.

The investigation also examined comparable markets, including Kenya, Tanzania, Togo, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Continued on page 35

US President Donald Trump six years, with adjusted earnings of $12.2 billion. Its upstream operations contributed $8.2 billion, representing a 200 per cent increase from the previous year. kind of widespread controversy that has characterised several previous elections.

For an electoral umpire, that is a significant achievement.

The INEC chairman’s real success, therefore, was in ensuring that the rules were applied consistently and that the ballot, rather than political influence, determined the winner.

The Osun election therefore gave Amupitan an opportunity to reinforce public confidence in INEC at a time when trust in electoral institutions remains fragile. By allowing the candidates to fight their political battle without the commission becoming the story, he strengthened the perception of INEC as an umpire rather than a participant.

Perhaps, ultimately that should be Amupitan’s biggest win from the Osun election. In all, Adeleke may have danced his way back to Okefia House, but the INEC chairman can claim a quieter victory: presiding over an election in which the credibility of the umpire was not called to question.

Senator Omisore: Mixed Signals But Still a Win For Senator Iyiola Omisore, the Osun election may have produced one of its more intriguing political paradoxes. Although he openly endorsed the APC candidate, Oyebamiji, but the results from his political backyard suggested that his supporters may have received a different message from the one he publicly delivered.

At Omisore’s own polling unit in Ife Ward 1, Accord’s Adeleke polled 131 votes against Oyebamiji’s 85.

That voting pattern has fuelled speculation that Omisore, despite publicly standing with the APC candidate, may have discreetly encouraged elements of his political Continued on page 36

DANGOTE REFINERY SECURES $1BN BACKING AHEAD OF PLANNED IPO Group, comprises completed and funded $600 million private placement and a further $400 million underwriting commitment in support of the refinery’s planned IPO. Dangote Group disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday, saying the $600 million private placement was underwritten and funded by Pan-African Refinery Investment SPV, a subsidiary of Lilium Capital Group.

The group added that Marob Strategies and Lilium Capital are now coordinating the distribution of the underwriting participation across Global Africa, engaging sovereign wealth funds, govern-

ments, institutional investors and other eligible investors.

The response, according to the advisers, has been strong, reflecting growing institutional appetite for large-scale African assets capable of generating long-term economic value.

The programme is also expected to catalyse significant intra-African capital flows and help pave the way towards a more integrated African capital market under the auspices of the African Continental Free Trade Area (“AfCFTA”).

According to the statement, the $1 billion underwriting programme was designed to be more than a capital-raising exercise.

It added that the transaction is expected to help deepen African capital markets, broaden ownership of a strategic African enterprise and demonstrate how African institutions can mobilise long-term capital for industrialisation, energy security, import substitution and trade integration.

President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, described the transaction as an important milestone for both the refinery and African capital markets.

“This is an important milestone for DPRP and for African capital markets,” Dangote said, adding that the transaction reflects confidence

in the refinery’s strategic role and creates a platform for broader participation by African and Caribbean sovereign wealth funds, governments and institutional investors across Global Africa.

“The successful completion of the private placement, together with the US$400 million underwriting commitment provided by Pan-African Refinery Investment SPV in support of the planned IPO, reflects confidence in the refinery’s strategic role.

“The work undertaken by Marob Strategies and Lilium Capital has also created a platform for broader Continued on page 35

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THISDAY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

NEWS

YOUTH EMPOWERED PROGRAMME IN ABIA...

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry Sports & Youth Development, Abia State, Mrs. Jane Ngarasi; Head of Operations, Mind the Gap Foundation, Ibitola Fabunmi; Commissioner for Sports & Youth Development, Abia State, Mr. Nwaobilor Ananabra; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Abia State, Chibuzo Ehiemere Esq; Special Adviser to the Governor on Sports, Chima Raymond Ukwa; and Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Specialist Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, Eri-ifeoluwa Banjo, during the Youth Empowered Program in Abia State...recently

ASCSN Petitions EFCC, ICPC Over Alleged IPPIS Manipulation, Diversion of Workers’ Dues Union alleges fake bank account inserted into payroll system to divert October 2022, January 2023 deductions

Michael Olugbode in Abuja Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged manipulation of the federal government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel

Information System (IPPIS) to divert statutory deductions belonging to its members.

The union alleged that a former staff member of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Bola Audu, working in concert with others, compromised its banking information on the government payroll platform and substituted the association’s

legitimate account with a fraudulent account.

ASCSN said the alleged manipulation resulted in check-off dues deducted from the salaries of its members in October 2022 and January 2023 being remitted into the substituted account rather than the association’s official account.

The union described the development as a serious breach of trust and

abuse of the government payroll system, insisting that check-off dues deducted from workers’ salaries are not personal funds but monies belonging to the association and governed by its constitution.

ASCSN said it was currently reconciling records from IPPIS and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to establish the precise amount diverted.

NDLEA: Fleeing N39bn Cocaine Cartel Kingpin Nabbed at Lagos Airport Michael Olugbode in Abuja The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested the alleged Nigerian arrowhead of an international cocaine trafficking cartel at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, as he attempted to flee the country, following the seizure of 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine worth an estimated N39 billion.

The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.

Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), disclosed this in Lagos on Tuesday while briefing journalists on what he described as one of the agency’s most significant narcotics investigations in recent times.

Marwa said the suspect, Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as “KC Luxury,” was arrested at the airport’s boarding gate on the night of August 13, 2026, following intelligence that he planned to escape Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris.

According to him, the suspect, who presented himself publicly as a luxury goods dealer, businessman and social media influencer, allegedly operated as the Nigerian coordinator of a transnational cocaine trafficking network with links stretching from South America through Nigeria to the United Kingdom, other parts of Europe and Asia.

“He did not walk into our custody voluntarily,” Marwa said, explaining that NDLEA operatives moved in after receiving credible

intelligence about his planned departure.

At the point of arrest, the suspect was allegedly found with €7,750, £2,800 and N100,000 in cash, as well as expensive jewellery believed to be connected to the proceeds of his illicit activities.

A subsequent search of his luxury apartment on Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, also led to the recovery of exotic vehicles, the NDLEA chief said.

The investigation followed the interception of a consignment containing 184.5kg of cocaine concealed for onward export through a courier logistics company in Lagos.

Marwa said the scale of the seizure prompted him to establish a Special Investigation Team to trace the entire network behind the shipment, including the couriers, intermediaries, financial facilitators and masterminds.

The investigation led to the arrest of Lawal Kehinde, a staff member of the logistics company through which the cocaine consignment was processed.

According to the NDLEA, Kehinde maintained a sustained relationship with the cartel’s Nigerian coordinator and allegedly packaged and processed consignments for the syndicate before routing them to the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia in exchange for cash payments.

The agency said investigations further revealed that the cartel used intermediary companies and false identities to conceal the true

consignors of its shipments and relied on financial facilitators to move billions of naira on its behalf.

Marwa said some members of the same syndicate had also been arrested in the United Kingdom, describing the near-simultaneous arrests in Nigeria and Britain as evidence of effective international cooperation in tackling transnational drug trafficking.

He said the cartel had hoped to realise as much as N39 billion from the distribution of the seized cocaine through its international network.

The operation, according to

the NDLEA, also highlights a changing pattern in the activities of international drug trafficking organisations, which are increasingly moving away from traditional routes such as seaports and airports to courier and logistics companies.

Marwa said traffickers appeared to have assumed that courier companies offered less scrutiny, but the successful investigation demonstrated the agency’s ability to penetrate such channels.

“There is no alternative route into or out of Nigeria for illicit drugs that this Agency cannot police,” he said.

The association, one of Nigeria’s major public-sector trade unions, has membership across federal ministries, departments, and agencies.

Its check-off dues are deducted monthly from members’ salaries through the government payroll system and subsequently remitted to the union.

The union said its constitution, particularly Rule 34(IV), provided for the allocation of the dues among the various organs of the association to support its operations and services to members.

ASCSN alleged that the suspected diversion was carried out through a method designed to conceal the change in banking details.

It claimed that the deduction descriptions continued to bear the association’s name within the payroll process, but the bank details were allegedly switched to the fraudulent account at the point of remittance.

The union said the alleged scheme required investigation, not only into the beneficiary account, but also into how its banking information was altered within the government payroll system.

ASCSN further linked the allegations to an ongoing dispute involving Audu and the association, citing recent judgements of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos,

which it said resulted in the removal of Audu and his associates from the union’s Lagos secretariat.

The association also maintained that the court proceedings did not confer on Audu the position of its National President.

The union accused Audu and his associates of diverting its common funds and questioned how the constitutional rebates due to the various organs of the association were accounted for.

“That was how Audu diverted and looted our common patrimony,” the association alleged.

ASCSN consequently called on EFCC, ICPC and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to investigate the alleged manipulation of its payroll records, identify all persons involved, and establish the full amount of money transferred into the suspected sham account.

It is also demanding the recovery and remittance of all funds found to have been diverted into its official account, as well as appropriate sanctions against anyone found culpable.

The union said it was prepared to provide investigators with relevant payroll, banking and other documentary evidence required to establish what happened to the deductions.

Ojudu Queries FG Over Abandoned N96bn Akure-Ado Dual Carriageway

Fidelis David in Akure

Former Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Babafemi Ojudu, Tuesday demanded urgent explanations from the federal government over the fate of the Akure-Ado-Ekiti dual carriageway project, questioning why a project approved and funded as a dual carriageway now appears to have produced only one rehabilitated carriageway.

Ojudu, in a statement posted on his verified social media handle, said residents of Ondo and Ekiti states had initially welcomed the award of the reconstruction and dualisation contract, particularly after

contractors mobilised to site, cleared the route for a second carriageway and commenced work on bridges and other structures designed for a dual carriageway.

“But what has ultimately been delivered? One rehabilitated carriageway,” he said, expressing concern that heavy construction equipment had disappeared and work sites had gone quiet, leaving behind bridges and earthworks apparently prepared for a dual carriageway.

According to him, the project has already passed through a troubling history. He recalled that the original contract, reportedly valued at about N30 billion, was awarded to Dantata & Sawoe in November 2019 before

it was later cancelled.

Ojudu noted that on March 29, 2023, the Federal Executive Council approved the re-award of the project as a 50-kilometre dualisation project for approximately N95.98 billion, with the project formally flagged off in May 2023.

He said the Akure-Ondo State boundary section was awarded to Samchase Nigeria Limited and Horizon Construction Company Limited for N46.68 billion, with a 24-month completion period, while the section from the Ekiti boundary towards Ado-Ekiti was awarded to Kopek Construction Limited for N49.29 billion, with a 30-month completion period.

Against this backdrop, Ojudu challenged the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, to explain whether the original contract for a dual carriageway had subsequently been revised to a single carriageway.

“If so, who authorised the change, when was it approved, and why were the people not informed?” he asked, while also demanding clarification on whether the contract sum had been reviewed and how much had been released to each contractor.

He further questioned why bridges and other structures were constructed to accommodate a dual carriageway if only one carriageway was ultimately intended for delivery.

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wednesday, AUGUST 19, 2026 • T H I S D AY

OHAOHIA DEVELOPMENT UNION AMANO ANARA, ISIALA MBANO L.G.A. IMO STATE NIGERIA

VOTE OF

APPRECIATION

HIS EXCELLENCY

BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

DR. SAMUEL OGBUKU, OON

Managing Director/CEO Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)

O

n behalf of the good people of Ohaohia, Amano Anara Autonomous Community, Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, we express our profound gratitude to His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, OON, Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), on the construction and completion of the Ohaohia Township Road by Diamond Development Company Limited.

This historic intervention marks a turning point in the life of our community. For the rst time in living memory, Ohaohia witnessed the construction of a township road of this nature. This landmark project is more than a road; it is a pathway to development, improved economic activities, better access to essential services, and renewed hope for our people.

Your commitment to equitable development and responsive leadership has brought joy and relief to our community. This project stands as a testament to a government that listens to the needs of its people and is committed to improving their quality of life.

We sincerely appreciate this remarkable gesture and assure you that the people of Ohaohia will remain grateful. We pray that God grants the President and the Managing Director of the NDDC good health, wisdom, and continued success as they work to build a stronger and more prosperous Nigeria.

Thank you for making history in Ohaohia. Your legacy of service and development will be remembered for generations to come.

Chief Cyril Uwadiegwu Nwenwe (Chairman Ohaohia Development Union)

wednesday, AUGUST 19, 2026 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESday AUGUST 19, 2026

Politics

Acting Group Politics Editor DEJI ELUMOYE Email: deji.elumoye@thisdaylive.com 08033025611 sms only

As Campaign for Nigeria’s 2027 Presidential Poll Begins Today...

Ahead of the 2027 general election, political campaigns, rallies and grassroots mobilization for votes, support and endorsement begins today for presidential candidates as the Independent National Electoral Commission declares open the electioneering process. Adedayo Akinwale writes.

Tinubu

Obi

T

he political fireworks for the 2027 general election officially begins today with a full blast after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lifts the ban on political campaigns, rallies and grassroots mobilisation.

Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 stipulates that campaigns in public by every political party shall commence 250 days before the polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.

In line with the revised timetable and schedule of activities, political campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections commence today, August 19, 2026

and will close on January 15, 2027.

Similarly, political campaigns for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will commence on September 9, 2026 and close on February 5, 2027.

Checks revealed that the electoral umpire had fixed January 16, 2027 for Presidential and National Assembly elections, the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly polls would be held on February 6, 2027.

The presidential election, has over the years, captivated the hearts of and attracted the interests of many Nigerians because of its suspense,

Atiku

tension, unpredictable outcome and a lot of politicking that comes with it.

Expectedly, the 2027 presidential election will be no different. Three leading presidential candidates will again slug it out as they put up every truck in their sleeves to outmaneuver one another in their quest to win the contest .

The three leading candidates are: the incumbent and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Peter Obi of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).

Clearly, the three-horse raise would be a clear replica of what happened during the

2023 presidential poll when Tinubu contested on the platform of APC, Obi on the platform of Labour Party and Atiku contested on the platform of People’s Democratic Party.

In spite of the clear discontentment of some Nigerians with the APC government at the centre due to the ongoing economic reforms which has led to high inflation, insecurity and unemployment, among others, the ruling party may win the election at the end of day if the opposition parties fail to present a united front to defeat the APC. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Kalu’s Stakeholders’ Engagement and Leadership Built on Trust

Udora Orizu writes that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu’s stakeholders’ engagement across Bende Federal Constituency in Abia state has become a defining feature of his representation, deepening the relationship between the lawmaker and the people he serves.

I

n politics, the loudest applause may come from a rally, but the truest verdict is often heard in the quiet conversations between a leader and his people. Across Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, those conversations have been taking place, but not on a campaign podium, but in palaces, churches, community halls, village squares and meetings with the people.

For Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the journey towards 2027 has begun in an unusual place: with the people, before the politics.

As he winds down his ward-to-ward “MeetMyConstituentsConsultations”, Kalu has been visiting the wards that make up the federal constituency he represents, meeting the people whose mandate placed him in the National Assembly and whose verdict will ultimately determine whether he returns.

But this has been more than a tour. It has been a conversation. A conversation with traditional rulers and clergy. With presidents-general, community leaders, women and youths, vigilante groups and commercial motorcycle operators.

With the men and women whose daily experiences provide the most authentic measure of what representation means beyond the walls of the National Assembly.

From Bende to Ozuitem, Uzuakoli to Itumbauzo, Umuhu Ezechi to Umuimenyi Nkpa, Item, Igbere, Alayi and other wards, Kalu has encountered a constituency willing to speak and willing to listen. What has emerged from

has resonated across Bende: The people have seen the journey, they have heard the story, and for many of them, they are asking Kalu to continue it.

Traditional Rulers: A Strong Vote of Confidence One of the clearest indications of the mood emerging from the consultations came from the Bende South State Constituency (Ikwuisi) Traditional Rulers Council. The royal fathers, led by the Chairman of the Council, Eze Uchendu Okorie, Ekwo II of Akaekwo Uzuakoli, declared their support for Kalu’s third-term bid and dismissed claims of an existing zoning arrangement that would prevent him from seeking another term. Their argument was straightforward: performance should matter.

Eze Okorie commended Kalu for what he described as impressive representation and developmental strides across Bende, declaring that Uzuakoli and the wards of Bende were behind him. The monarch went further, urging Kalu to remain courageous and focused.

Another traditional ruler, Eze P.C. Onyegbu, challenged the zoning narrative, arguing that there had been no binding arrangement of the kind being circulated by some interests.

Kalu

those encounters is striking.

Again and again, stakeholders have pointed to projects, interventions, visibility and the unusual national influence that has accompanied Kalu’s rise to the position of Deputy Speaker.

And many have urged him to seek another term in 2027. But beneath the endorsements lies something more profound, Trust!! Trust built over time.

Trust tested through performance. And as the consultations draw to a close, one message

-Orizu, Media Aide to House Deputy Speaker, writes from Bende, Abia State NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESday, AUGUST 19, 2026

FEatures

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com,

How Tantita is Providing Welfare Investments, Development Projects in Communities Beyond Oil Assets Protection Beyond its mandate to protect Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited is increasingly linking security with community development in the Niger Delta. Through investments in social amenities, livelihoods, education, infrastructure and technology, the company is seeking to strengthen relations with host communities while supporting a more secure and productive oil-producing region. Victoria Ojiako reports

F

or Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), protecting Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure goes beyond securing pipelines and other critical assets to investing in the welfare and development of host communities.

This explains why the company recently extended its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive to seven Delta communities, empowering residents and providing social amenities aimed at improving their quality of life and wellbeing.

Right-thinking organisations understand that their operations and the communities where they conduct business are in a symbiotic relationship. Hence, they see Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as core to their business existence because a company is only as successful as the communities where it operates.

For TSSNL, providing the good things of life to host communities remains a priority. Its efforts in this direction were recently demonstrated through the provision of social amenities to communities connected to its operations.

As a responsible organisation, the company believes that government has a major role to play in making life better for the populace.

It further believes that private organisations and business enterprises can partner with government in solving societal problems, especially those affecting the environments where they operate.

Therefore, TSSNL has CSR initiatives tailored towards meeting the needs of society.

Securing Oil Assets, Supporting Communities President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), led by High Chief, Dr. Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, to protect Nigeria’s oil assets in the Niger Delta region.

The appointment was to enable TSSNL, through its security operations, to support the national economy in getting the full benefits of the country’s oil resources.

TSSNL works in collaboration with other security outfits to achieve its goals of securing oil assets and ensuring peace and stability in the Niger Delta region.

Tantita’s operations have ensured the security of oil pipelines, supporting the uninterrupted flow of petroleum resources and helping Nigeria migrate from a position of constant loss management to stability, planning, growth and development.

The company’s operations have transformed the oil and gas landscape, allowing Nigeria to expand its oil production quota and significantly cut rampant oil theft. Its track record in mitigating risks associated with oil pipelines has positioned it as a reliable partner in preserving Nigeria’s economic backbone.

Beyond these milestones, the company, in partnership with Grosvenor Global Services Limited, has provided solar-powered boreholes and street lights in several communities in Delta State.

The projects include solar street lights in Ajomata, Ikweghwu and Ibada-Amukpe communities, as well as solar-powered boreholes in Ibada-Elume, Oyohen, Amukpe and Adagrassa communities.

Speaking during the inauguration, the Community Relations Manager of Tantita, Pastor Seimode Akposafagha Benedict, said the projects were part of efforts to improve living conditions in communities connected to the company’s operations.

Representing Tantita’s Managing Director, High Chief Engr. Kestin Ebimorbowei Pondi, Seimode said the facilities were provided by Grosvenor Global Services Limited, one of Tantita’s subcontractors, under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

He said the protection of Nigeria’s oil and gas

tangible development and security, showing that in the Niger Delta, safety and progress can go hand in hand, offering communities real, grounded hope.

Boosting Operational Efficiency with Technology Tantita recently contracted high-tech security company Textron Systems to deliver three uncrewed aircraft that would enhance the company’s capacity to carry out surveillance operations on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure.

Under the contract agreement, which was signed and sealed late last year, Textron Systems, USA, is mandated to deliver three Aerosonde Mk. 4.7 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to the surveillance company.

The systems will be delivered in a fully ITAR-Free configuration designed for ease of export to international customers. These aircraft will significantly enhance security operations for the protection of Nigeria’s vital oil and gas infrastructure.

The sale also includes options for training and additional aircraft to support planned capability expansion, building on a previous Foreign Military Sale (FMS) contract to the country.

High Chief, Dr. Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo

infrastructure should include investments in the welfare and development of host communities.

According to him, Tantita encourages its partners and subcontractors to support projects that address the needs of residents and promote peaceful coexistence.

“As we commission these projects today, let us continue to strengthen the bond of trust, cooperation and mutual respect that has made our collective successes possible,” he said.

Seimode urged the beneficiary communities to protect and maintain the facilities to ensure their sustainability.

Chairman of Ajomata Community in Sapele Local Government Area, Mr. Cyril Omor-Oba, said the street lights would improve security and movement at night.

He appealed for additional lights to cover other parts of the community and assured the companies that residents would safeguard the facilities.

Community representatives in IbadaAmukpe and Ikweghwu also said the new street lights had improved visibility along major roads and public areas.

The Chairman of Ibada-Elume Community, Mr. Friday Omerhiowan, described the solar-powered borehole as a timely intervention that would improve access to clean water for residents.

The projects are expected to support safer movement, improve access to potable water and encourage social and economic activities in the beneficiary communities.

From Security to Sustainable Development For the company, security further means solar classrooms, rehabilitated roads, rice farms, police stations and scholarships, thanks to Tantita Security Services Nigeria

Limited (TSSNL), founded by High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo (Tompolo).

The company manages private pipeline surveillance and asset protection for critical oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta. Its operations target crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism to help boost national production.

However, beyond pipeline surveillance, Tantita has in recent years emerged as a corporate citizen, focusing on livelihoods, infrastructure, education, security and climate initiatives. Its approach is clear: “you cannot police poverty out of a community; you must actively replace it.”

Some of its key projects include the Sustainable Rice Farming Programme in Torugbene, created with SDN and Ecosus Pro Nigeria, which has offered legal employment to youths previously involved in oil bunkering.

Tantita invested N2.53 billion over three years in irrigation, training and cooperative management, aiming for 100,000 hectares under cultivation.

Infrastructure initiatives include the Bendel Estate road rehabilitation and a new police headquarters in Ugborikoko, improving safety and mobility.

Education interventions span the Delta State College of Nursing Sciences, with solar panels, computers and buses, and FUPRE, where scholarships and reading clubs boost academic performance.

Tantita also champions carbon capture projects, turning mangroves into carbon sinks, potentially generating over $300 million annually for local communities.

Praised by officials, civil society and youth groups, Tantita’s initiatives provide

Sustaining Peace in the South-South As captured in the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project, violent events declined by 20.9 per cent in the South-South geopolitical region between 2023 and 2025.

The rate of fatalities arising from such violent events in the oil-rich region also declined by 8.3 per cent within the same period.

Although the rate of similar conflicts declined by a higher margin of 26.9 per cent in the South-East region, the rate of fatalities resulting from such events increased within the region by 8.3 per cent.

The violent events tracked by ACLED within the period under review include violence against civilians, battles between the authorities and armed groups, protests, strategic developments, riots, and explosions/ remote violence.

The South-West recorded a decline of 14.1 per cent in the total number of incidents between 2023 and 2025. However, the fatality rate increased by 12.21 per cent. The picture takes a different look in the three geopolitical regions of Northern Nigeria.

Further analysis of the database showed that North-West incidents increased by 127.9 per cent between 2023 and 2025 and, in the process, recorded an increase of 99.1 per cent in the fatality rate.

What Stakeholders Are Saying Chairman of the House Committee on Host Communities, Dekor Dumnamene Robinson, had said the contributions of Tantita and its leadership to national security deserve appreciation.

Also, in one of the strongest endorsements yet of the firm’s operations, lawmakers under the Joint Committee of the House of Representatives on Host Communities and Public Petitions and other stakeholders commended Tantita for what they described as effective and patriotic service in safeguarding Nigeria’s critical oil infrastructure.

They specifically cited the recovery of crude oil production, reduction in pipeline vandalism and restoration of relative peace in oil-producing communities as major achievements recorded under the leadership of High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Government Ekpemupolo.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

19

wednesday, AUGUST 19, 2026 • T H I S D AY

15 Years

In Mind

Today, we, members of The Board of Trustees, Late Augustus Akhabue Aikhomu Foundation (LAAAF), remember with loving memories as always, our beloved Father and brother,

Late Admiral Augustus Akhabue Aikhomu GCON, former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

It’s been 15 years yet everything seems like yesterday.

Our father and brother was a great man who served his country and community with diligence and dedication.

He was a selfless patriot.

It is our prayers that his gentle soul continually rest in peace.

May the soul of Admiral Augustus Akhabue Aikhomu and all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Signed:

Chief Dr. Leemon Ikpea CON, FNSE, JP

Chairman, Board of Trustees Late Augustus Akhabue Aikhomu Founda on The Adolor of Ewa o Kingdom

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19, 2026 20 TR

UT H

& RE A S O

Wednesday August 19, 2026 Vol 27. No 11447

N

opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

JASON ARDAY: THE COLOUR OF SCRUTINY

Standards must be maintained, but not through public pursuit that destroys careers and lives, argues PAT ONUKWULI

See page 21

GRADUATES WITHOUT SKILLS

CHETA NWANZE writes that many unemployed persons walking the streets are not fit for purpose

See page 21

EDITORIAL

SPARING A MOMENT FOR HUMANITARIAN WORKERS

See page 22

1

All contestants must respect the will of the people, writes OPEYEMI BAMIDELE

NOW THAT OSUN PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN…

After three months of vigorous campaigning, the governorship election of Osun State has now come to a conclusion. The exercise culminated in the re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, polling 511,067 votes. The candidate of our great party, All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Bola Oyebamiji finished the race with 444,815 votes while Rt. Hon. Najeem Salam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) obtained 17,180 votes.

With this outcome, the election ended with 51.57% voter turnout based on the total number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected. The turnout, no doubt, perfectly reflects rapidly growing confidence that the people at different levels are showing in the leadership recruitment process of our fatherland.

The summary of the entire process, again, perfectly reminds us where the final power actually lies in democracy.

As shown in the recent elections across the federation, the final decision lies with the people, the true and ultimate arbiter of every democracy. Now that the people of Osun State have spoken, all contestants must accept and respect the decision of the majority. In democracy, globally, the decision of the majority is not only legitimate and supreme, but also remains the final choice that will define public governance within the timeframe that the constitution prescribes for a government.

In Osun, the decision of the majority does not only confirm the re-election of Governor Adeleke. It equally places the burden of victory on the elected candidate. This burden requires him to come up with clearly defined postelection measures that will effectively first reunite the state’s indigenes and residents across all the political divides.

The essence of such measures is rooted in the promotion of enduring peace and stability that every political system requires to translate electoral victory to service delivery.

While politics is often based on the principle of partisanship to a specific political party, governance entails a collective approach that must not exclude any section of the state because its significance purely aims at addressing public challenges. To drive a truly inclusive governance, Governor Adeleke must look beyond the political platform that nominated him for the contest and extend his hands of fellowship to other candidates and political parties with

a view to building a resilient state that functions in the interests of all people regardless of their leanings.

To other candidates, we must all understand that democracy can only thrive when all key actors accept the decision of the majority in a fairly contested election. Some elements of fairness and credibility are evident in the just concluded election, especially with the defeat of the candidate of the country’s governing party. The election has now been concluded; all other candidates should sheathe their swords and join forces with the elected candidate to drive an all-inclusive governance that will redefine the future of the state.

On this premise, I strongly encourage the candidate of our great party, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji to contact Governor Adeleke; congratulate him on his re-election and constructively share with him innovative policy ideas that can help him serve the interests of our people much better. For me, the APC did not lose the election given the background that Governor Adeleke was coming from as a member of the APC before he defected to the Peoples Democratic Party. Aside, he has always been committed to the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. Governor Adeleke’s re-election, therefore, is not just the victory for ACCORD, but also for us in the APC. With 51.57% turnout, the outcome of the Osun poll holds much clearer directions for us in the APC in no distant future. Its implications are in three folds, even more. First, with synergy in our ranks, the election outcome simply suggests that we can achieve at least 60% voter turnout in all South-west states in 2027. Second, with strategic collaboration with all political actors, the election outcome suggests that our task of mobolising 10 million votes for President

Tinubu’s re-election in the South-west alone is already on the horizon if we effectively leverage the gains of the Osun poll. Now that the Osun election has been concluded, this task must now be our priority as we move closer to the 2027 elections.

Finally, the outcome of the process establishes the need to urgently review and strengthen our campaign strategy as a potent instrument for further engagement with all stakeholders in the South-west and beyond. We must engage meaningfully all the stakeholders - the artisans and marketers, farmers and entrepreneurs, youths and women, labour unions and civil society, community leaders and traditional rulers, business leaders and private sector, the aged and all categories of Nigerians to whom we have obligation to serve.

Our engagement approach, more than any time in our recent history, must be allencompassing, and it must not leave any person or interest behind. As patriotic members of our great party, we much with a view to showcasing how President Tinubu has repositioned our Nation for global competitiveness; how he has decisively resolved our nation’s perennial fiscal crises; how he confronted security challenges with courage and resilience; how he has been deepening public confidence in our democratic process and what he has been doing to create transgenerational prosperity for our people across all strata of the federation.

I therefore congratulate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the successful conduct of the Osun election whose outcome is not in doubt, should it be in contest for any reason. To Governor Adeleke, your re-election reaffirms the supremacy of the people in democracy, and this comes with a huge responsibility that demands a collective approach.

To the APC and its candidate, we have competed with courage, ideas and vigour, but the people decided otherwise. The outcome of this election does not make us a loser, but indeed a true stakeholder in the progress and posterity of Osun State. I finally congratulate all the sons and daughters of the state with a firm belief that the election outcome will take Osun to greater heights economically, socially and technologically.

Senator Bamidele, CON Leader of the Senate, and Chairman, National Assembly South-West Caucus

T H I S D AY

321

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19, 2026

Standards must be maintained, but not through public pursuit that destroys careers and lives, argues PAT ONUKWULI

CHETA NWANZE writes that many unemployed persons walking the streets are not fit for purpose

JASON ARDAY: THE COLOUR GRADUATES WITHOUT SKILLS OF SCRUTINY

There is scrutiny, and there is siege.

There is accountability, and there is annihilation. Professor Jason Arday, Cambridge’s youngest Black professor, is dead at 41. For many people of colour in Britain, the question is not whether the allegations deserved investigation.

They did. The question is whether one Black academic’s flaws became a pretext for something larger: a demolition staged against an aggressive war on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Arday’s story was extraordinary enough to invite both admiration and suspicion. Autistic and non-verbal until late childhood, he overcame profound educational difficulties to become a professor at Cambridge. Then allegations surfaced about passages in his doctoral thesis, his CV, and parts of his personal story. Liverpool John Moores University examined the plagiarism concerns and cleared him.

Arday admitted mistakes but denied plagiarism. Cambridge opened a fresh inquiry, and he resigned before it concluded. That should have remained an academic matter governed by evidence and proportion.

Instead, the story sparked a media feeding frenzy. Media-monitoring figures recorded 249 articles over 22 days, including 188 after his resignation.

Even allowing for legitimate public interest, why such intensity? Race or skin colour may not explain every criticism, but it is difficult to believe it played no part in the scale of the pursuit. Academic misconduct should attract academic remedies. When scrutiny expands from scholarship to a man’s entire life, accountability becomes spectacle.

The ideological backdrop matters too. Nathan Cofnas, a self-described “race realist”, argued against racial diversity policies and suggested that, under a pure meritocracy, Black representation in elite institutions would collapse. Emmanuel College ended his fellowship, although Cambridge later treated his speech as protected expression. His argument illustrates the danger at the heart of anti-DEI politics: “merit” is presented as neutral, yet the

conclusion echoes an old racial hierarchy.

Equality is invoked to justify exclusion; objectivity becomes the language through which inherited advantage survives.

That is why Arday’s biography was politically combustible. If one believes that Black advancement in elite institutions is largely the product of DEI rather than talent, a young Black Cambridge professor with an inspirational story becomes more than an academic. He becomes a test case.

His errors are no longer his alone; they become evidence against inclusion itself.

This is the burden Black professionals often carry: when a White individual fails, it is an individual who has failed. When a Black individual fails, diversity is summoned to the dock.

Race should not grant immunity; however, there should be no double standards.

Cambridge professor William O’Reilly faced plagiarism-related concerns and was ultimately found to have acted negligently rather than deliberately. His case attracted attention, but it did not become a national referendum on whether White academics are over-promoted. Therein lies the asymmetry: Black success signals progress, whereas a single Black failure is used to discredit it.

Cambridge itself cannot be separated from history. Its historical links to slavery include indirect benefits derived from wealth generated by enslavement and the slave trade. That history does not settle any allegation against Arday, but it sharpens the irony. Black labour once helped generate wealth without Black people entering elite institutions as equals. Now, when Black intellect reaches the summit, its presence can still be scrutinised as though it requires special explanation. Historical patterns may take new forms, but their underlying impulses often persist.

The wider assault on DEI, amplified in Donald Trump’s America, rests on the claim that inclusion corrupts merit. Yet genuine meritocracy should be the ally of minorities, since discrimination is anti-merit. Britain’s Equality Act 2010 permits limited positive action but does not impose broad racial employment quotas.

Nigeria understands the principle differently, through Federal Character under Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution.

The systems differ, yet both recognise that representation sometimes requires deliberate intervention where history has distributed opportunity unevenly.

The lesson should resonate in Nigeria, where ethnic, religious and regional rhetoric can turn difference into political weaponry. Figures such as Sheikh Jingir, Senator Fadahunsi and others who inflame sectional passions are part of a wider problem: societies become dangerous when identity is repeatedly framed as a threat.

Dr. Onukwuli i s a legal scholar and public affairs analyst. patonukwuli2003@yahoo.co.uk

In May, Moniepoint's chief executive, Tosin Eniolorunda, told an audience at The Platform in Lagos that his company had 500 open roles it could not fill. Not because Nigeria has no graduates, but because it has the wrong kind, in the wrong place, at the wrong price. Four million young Nigerians enter the labour force every year. A fintech with money to pay cannot find 500 of them.

That contradiction is the real story, bigger than one company. SBM Intelligence's new regional labour survey, polling 1,180 respondents across all six geopolitical zones, found digital skills are the first-choice training preference nearly everywhere, 52.7 percent nationally. Nigerians are choosing correctly and still not getting hired, because training, infrastructure and wages have not caught up with the choice.

Meanwhile, the official numbers say almost nothing went wrong. The National Bureau of Statistics puts unemployment at 4.3 percent, a figure achieved in 2022 by redefining anyone who worked one hour in the survey week as employed, down from a threshold of 20 hours. Under that definition, the plantain seller outside a Magodo shop and the okada rider ferrying passengers from Shangisha to Ketu both count as gainfully employed.

So, in a different way, does Omotoso Ajiboye, a 43-year-old accounting HND holder whom Saturday PUNCH once found driving a motorcycle taxi at an Ibadan junction after years of failed job applications. His story is not rare. It is the median story, repeated across 93 percent of a workforce that survives without contracts, pensions or a floor beneath it.

SBM’s survey puts a number on the anxiety that the jobs crisis produces.

Across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, 45.3 percent of households reported a job loss, business closure or inability to find work in the past year. Four in five respondents would consider relocating for a good job; nearly one in three in the South-South would leave without hesitation. The Southeast's shock rate is worse: two-thirds of households, with the knock-on effect of IPOB’s sit-at-home order eating into commercial life on top of everything else. This is six separate crises evenly distributing misery and wearing one national unemployment figure as a mask.

The social consequences of this exclusion are not abstract. When millions of young people see no future in formal employment, they do not simply wait. They migrate, join informal economies that offer survival but no dignity, or, in the worst cases, become recruitment pools for organised crime and insurgency. China's Zhu Rongji, who died this month at 97, understood the political weight of this arithmetic better than most reformers of his era: his restructuring of state enterprises in the late 1990s cut around 34 million jobs in four years, but he moved in parallel to sell state housing cheaply to displaced workers and build unemploy-

ment insurance from scratch, because he understood that idle, dispossessed workers would not stay quiet. Nigeria has performed the layoffs, informal and structural, without providing the safety net.

The connection between joblessness and insecurity is not theoretical but the lived reality of communities where bandits and kidnappers recruit from the same ranks of idle, frustrated young men who would otherwise be workers. The state that cannot provide jobs also cannot provide security, because the two failures share the same root: the absence of a functional economic bargain between citizen and state.

Underneath both stories sits the same fault: capital refuses to go where jobs would be created. Nigeria's top ten listed companies, banks and Dangote Cement among them, created roughly 11,000 jobs a year on average between 2020 and 2024, a rounding error against four million new entrants. Banks now earn 40 percent of their interest income from government securities rather than business loans; a recent Treasury Bill auction drew ₦4.4 trillion in bids for ₦800 billion on offer. Manufacturers pay up to 60 percent to borrow, when they can borrow at all. The truth is that the money that can power small businesses to put a true dent in the unemployment rate is not missing.

It is parked somewhere safer than a factory in Aba or a farm in Kano.

None of this is unfixable, but it will not fix itself along a single national policy line, because the crisis is not one crisis.

The Northwest needs skills investment layered onto agriculture it already does well. The Southeast needs power and formalised credit before it needs another training programme. The South-South needs an industrial push or it will keep exporting its most qualified people. Nationally, banks need lending quotas that force capital back into manufacturing and agro-processing, and the Land Use Act's collateral chokehold needs reform so a factory owner can actually borrow against the land beneath the factory. Fix the plumbing capital moves through, zone by zone, and the jobs SBM's respondents say they want will start meeting the jobs Moniepoint says it cannot fill.

Nwanze is CEO at SBM Intelligence

22 4

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19, 2026

EDITORIAL

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

SPARING A MOMENT FOR HUMANITARIAN WORKERS We must protect workers committed to alleviating the sufferings of vulnerable communities

W

hile the World Humanitarian Day (WHD) 2026 being celebrated today is dedicated to honouring humanitarian workers and celebrating their incredible impact around the world, we must, as a nation, remember the people who have either been killed or injured in the course of serving the most vulnerable of our society. With the campaign theme of ‘Act for Humanity’, the focus for this year is on how to demand an end to attacks on aid workers and health personnel, while fighting the impunity of violations against International Humanitarian Law that are all too common in Nigeria.

On a day such as this, critical stakeholders should be concerned that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed Nigeria among countries where attacks on healthcare workers and facilities have been recorded over the past eight years, while disclosing that more than 10,400 such incidents have been reported globally since 2018. In its latest update published last weekend, the UN health agency listed Nigeria alongside Ukraine, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Russia and Syria among locations where attacks on healthcare workers had occurred this year.

These attacks, according to WHO, could leave patients without treatment, prevent ambulances from making referrals, keep healthcare workers away from work, and disrupt the delivery of medicines and other supplies. “When a hospital is attacked, the impact is not only on the people inside the hospital that day. It is the patient who cannot receive healthcare tomorrow.

It is the ambulance that cannot make the next referral.

It is the healthcare worker who cannot return to work, or medicine supply that can no longer reach facilities,” WHO Director for Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Altaf Musani, said. “Behind every damaged

facility is a service lost. Behind every interrupted service is someone who will be left without healthcare.”

Only last week, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) raised concerns over the safety and welfare of their members, while disclosing that no fewer than 30 doctors were assaulted across the country in the past 11 months. The assaults, according to NARD’s Second Vice-President, Kwarshak Kevin, were allegedly carried out by patients’ relatives and, in some cases, security personnel while doctors were attending to patients. Kevin called on the federal government to enact legislation prescribing penalties for anyone who assaults healthcare workers in the course of their duties. He also urged the establishment of a standard rapid-response protocol to enhance the protection of medical personnel.

In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly designated 19th August as WHD in honour of the 22 aid workers, including the UN's top envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who were killed on 19th August 2003 when a truck bomb hit the Canal Hotel in Baghdad. But the WHD assumes a greater importance in Nigeria following the 26 August 2011 bombing of the UN Building in Abuja which claimed the lives of 18 people with dozens of others wounded. From the attack on polio vaccination teams in Kano which killed female health workers to the abduction and execution of two International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Borno State and several others, humanitarian work in our country has in recent years been a risky job.

As Nigeria therefore joins other countries to mark the 2026 WHD, authorities, at all levels, and critical stakeholders must work together to ensure that those who strive to alleviate the sufferings of vulnerable individuals and communities affected by conflicts, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises are protected.

It is an emblem of shame that Nigeria consistently features among countries where humanitarian workers are routinely attacked.

Humanitarian work in our country has in recent years been a risky job T H I S D AY

EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR WALE OLALEYE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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LETTERS

NOW THAT THE OSUN ELECTION IS OVER

The much anticipated Osun State governorship election has been won and lost, bringing to an end weeks of intense political activities, anxiety and uncertainty across the state. While the outcome has produced a victor, the election has also left in its wake an unfortunate trail of deaths, injuries, violence, threats, intimidation and other negative conduct. Reports indicate that at least 34 election related violent incidents and 18 deaths were recorded in Osun from May 2026, although other accounts have reported higher figures.

Whatever the political differences may have been, the reported deaths were uncalled for and unnecessary. No election, political office or ambition is worth the life of another Nigerian. The people of Osun were entitled to choose their governor without having to live under fear of being attacked or killed because of their political preference. It is therefore important that the state and the country do not simply move on because voting has ended. The circumstances surrounding the violence must be properly investigated and those responsible held ac-

countable.

There are questions that demand answers. Who were responsible for the killings and other acts of violence recorded in Osun before the election? How many suspects have been arrested? How many have been prosecuted?

Were the perpetrators acting independently, or were some of them sponsored, financed or encouraged by political interests? These questions cannot be dismissed as partisan accusations. Reports before the election documented numerous politically motivated killings and clashes, making a comprehensive investigation necessary.

This is a matter that deserves serious attention, not only for the sake of the victims and their families but also to prevent a recurrence elsewhere in Nigeria. If political violence is allowed to go unpunished after every election, politicians and their supporters may continue to regard violence as an acceptable instrument of political competition. The lesson from Osun must therefore be that political violence has consequences, regardless

of the party involved or the political status of those behind it.

Equally worrying was the open use of threatening and inflammatory language by some politicians and public office holders during the period leading to the election.

The controversy surrounding statements attributed to Senator Francis Fadahunsi, for instance, generated widespread concern and calls for investigation, while the National Human Rights Commission described the alleged remarks as capable of encouraging electoral violence and voter intimidation. Political leaders must understand that words have consequences, particularly when spoken before supporters who may interpret them as instructions to act.

Beyond police invitations and routine investigations, there should be consideration of an independent judicial inquiry into the violence surrounding the Osun election.

Tochukwu Jimo Obi, Obosi, Anambra State

23

T H I S D AY • Wednesday, August 19, 2026

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

REPO

A T

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com

08056356325

A u g u st

S & P INDEX

1 8 ,

2 0 2 6

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

25.34%

CALL

23.25%

INDEX LEVEL

595.26

1/4 to daTE

0.24%

N1,382/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

25.18%

1-MONTH

21.37%

1-DAY

0.10%

YEAR TO DATE

-10.99%

*AS AT Tues., August 18, 2026

3-MONTH

22.41%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.24%

FG Raises N6.49tn from Bond Market in Eight Months to Bridge Deficit

Kayode Tokede Amid high cost of borrowing and rising debt service pressure, the federal government, through the Debt Management Office (DMO), raised an estimated N6.49 trillion via FGN Bond in months of 2026.

The N6.49 trillion FGN Bond raised between January and August 2026 is against a backdrop of sustained government reliance on the domestic debt market to fund fiscal obligations amid constrained external financing conditions.

Analysis of the DMO monthly auction showed that the total subscription during the period stood at

N12.22 trillion, a reflection that investors, especially the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) prefer to invest in riskfree instruments such as the FGN Bond and the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs).

The DMO total offered amount stood at N7.35 trillion to investors, but eventually settled for N6.49 trillion amid high cost of borrowing and rising debt service pressure.

PFAs and fund managers have played a critical role in driving trading volumes in the bond market.

Since the beginning of the year, the DMO has continually re-opened some FGN Bonds amid modest interest rates in a bid to attract investors and support the government in

bridging the budget deficit.

Insight into the latest FGN Auction for August 2026 showed that the DMO reopened the JAN-2035, APR2037 and JUN-2038 bonds, offering a total of N1.10 trillion.

Total demand settled at N1.73 trillion (bid-tooffer: 1.6x), with the DMO eventually allotting N805.16 billion (bid-to-cover: 2.2x).

The stop rates on the JAN-2035, APR-2037 and JUN 2038 bonds, which were on-the-run at the previous auction, contracted by 119bps, 116bps and 61bps to settle at 17.15%, 17.19% and 17.79%, respectively.

For July 2026, DMO had reopened the JAN-2035,

APR-2037 and JUN-2038 bonds, offering a total of N1.20 trillion.

Total demand settled at N1.74 trillion (bid-tooffer: 1.4x), with the DMO eventually allotting N931.82 billion (bid-to-cover: 1.9x).

The stop rates on the JAN2035 and APR-2037 bonds, which were on-the-run at the previous auction, remained unchanged at 18.34% and 18.35%, respectively, while the JUN-2038 bond settled at 18.40%.

In addition, the DMO in June 2026 reopened the JAN-2035 and APR-2037 bonds, offering a total of N1.20 trillion. Total demand settled at N1.41 trillion (bidto-offer: 1.2x), with the DMO

eventually allotting N1.22 trillion (bid-to-cover: 1.2x).

The stop rate on the JAN2035 and APR-2037, which were on-the-run last month, expanded by 134bps and 131bps to 18.34% and 18.35%, respectively.

Investor participation was broad-based, but demand was heavily skewed toward the long end of the curve, reflecting continued preference for higher yields in a tight monetary environment.

However, the widespread bid rates, ranging from 15.00per cent to 22.60per cent, also point to divergent investor expectations around inflation, monetary policy direction, and future interest rate movements.

Analysts attributed the strong demand for FGN bonds to modest yields, stressing that the over-subscription also revealed that investors have confidence in the federal government’s ability to meet its debt obligations.

The appetite for FGN bonds indicates that PFAs, and Nigerian investors prefer investment instruments with less volatility that assures them of their capital returns albeit with low yield on investment.

“So, investors expect higher yield for this particular issuance, while the government does not wish to borrow at a higher interest rate,” said an investment banker & stockbroker, Mr. Tajudeen Olayinka.

OMO Bills Drive N8.09tn Fixed Income Trades in One Week Nume Ekeghe

Open Market Operation (OMO) bills dominated activity in Nigeria’s fixed income market last week, accounting for N6.01 trillion, or about 74 per cent, of the N8.09 trillion total face value traded across 2,022 transactions.

Data from the Central Bank

of Nigeria’s (CBN) Fixed Income Dashboard showed that the market recorded 920 OMO bill trades between August 10 and 14, 2026, involving 26 participants.

Treasury bills followed with N1.50 trillion recorded in 773 trades, while Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds attracted N571.65 billion

across 326 transactions.

Sukuk recorded marginal activity, with just three trades valued at N12 million.

Overall, the 2,022 transactions involved 28 participants and a combined face value of N8.094 trillion.

The dominance of OMO bills came as yields remained elevated across the short end

of the market. The dashboard showed an OMO closing yield of 21.50 per cent, with a weighted average yield of 20.79 per cent.

Treasury bill yields also remained firm, with the dashboard showing a closing yield of 20.91 per cent and a weighted average yield of 16.59 per cent.

Meanwhile, yields across FGN bonds remained varied along the maturity curve, with rates ranging from about 14.80 per cent to 17.75 per cent on the securities captured in the dashboard.

The data underline the continued preference for short-term fixed income instruments, particularly OMO

bills, as investors position around prevailing yields and liquidity conditions in the financial market.

With OMO bills accounting for more than seven out of every 10 naira traded by face value during the week, activity in the segment significantly outpaced both Treasury bills and FGN bonds.

M a r k e t d ata A s at T u e s d ay, A u g u s t 1 8 , 2 0 2 6 BONDS Description Price Yield Change Updated Time (%) ^13.98 23August 95.14 17.58 0.00 2026 18, FEB-2028 August 18, ^21.00 20104.63 17.60 0.00 2026 MAR-2028 ^19.30 17August 18, 102.96 17.84 0.00 2026 APR-2029 ^14.55 26August 18, 92.93 17.87 0.00 2026 APR-2029 ^18.50 21August 18, 102.15 17.78 -0.20 2026 FEB-2031

BILLS Maturity NTB 6-Aug26 NTB 3-Sep26 NTB 8-Oct26 NTB 5-Nov26 NTB 3-Dec26

Discount Yield

CPs

Change (%) Updated Time

Maturity

16.22

16.34

August 18, 0,00 2026

15.39

15.68

August 18, -0.33 2026

15.80

16.36

August 18, -0.01 2026

16.45

17.28

August 18, -0.01 2026

17.66

August 18, -0.01 2026

HAAI CP X 7-SEP-26 PCLL CP V 25-SEP-26 AGRO CP IV 7-DEC-26 DAIL CP II 26-NOV-26 JVIL CP XXIV 29-DEC-26

16.45

Discount Yield 22.10

22.76

21.75

22.63

20.93

22.74

19.44

20.86

20.53

22.56

CLEARED NAIRA-SETTLED NDFS Change (%)

Updated Time

August 18, 0.05 2026 August 18, 0.10 2026 August 18, 0.11 2026 August 18, 0.13 2026 August 18, 0.08 2026

Contract Tenor Contract (Month)

Current Rate ($/₦)

Updated Time

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

24

Wednesday, August 19, 2026 • T H IS D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

O M O B i l l s D r i v e N 8 . 0 9 t n F i x e d In c om e T r a d e s i n O n e W e e k Nigeria 10-Year Government Bond Yield

Ubah: $50bn Deep Offshore Framework Targets Next Oil Cycle Jessica Erobomhan The Chief Investment Officer of VNL Capital Asset Management, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, has said the federal government’s newly approved $50 billion deep offshore investment framework is designed to position Nigeria for the next oil cycle rather than capitalise on current crude oil prices.

Ubah who disclosed this during an interview on Arise News’ Global Business Report, said the long gestation period of deepwater developments meant projects approved under the framework would

likely begin production around 2030 or 2031, by which time global oil demand is expected to record only modest growth.

Responding to questions on the timing of the offshore framework, OPEC’s demand projections and the outlook for crude oil prices, he said the policy was essentially a long-term investment strategy.

“These projects are usually long term, so starting a project this year will probably end around 2030/2031, which even from OPEC’s current reports, demand expectation is expected to be modest during that period. So this is more or less positioning for its own

cycle, rather than Nigeria chasing the buck,” he said.

Ubah said the incentives under the framework were significant enough to improve the economics of deepwater

investments and attract new capital into the sector.

According to him, qualifying projects could receive tax incentives of up to $11.50 per barrel, alongside a 70:30

profit-sharing arrangement between contractors and the government.

“The tax incentives are something almost like $11.50 on every barrel, and aside

from that, we still have the 70/30 reset between the government and contractors.

That is actually a huge incentive on the economics,” he said.

Sovereign Trust: Recapitalisation Reinforces Our Financial Strength, Commitment to Growth Ebere Nwoji

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, has said that it has successfully met the new recapitalisation requirement for non-life insurance companies prescribed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), under the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act, (NIIRA) 2025.

The company said this feat has reinforced its financial strength and commitment to long-term growth.

The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Dr. Lucas Durojaiye, in a statement said this achievement achievement marked another significant milestone in the Company’s journey of building a stronger,

more resilient and futureready insurance business, while positioning it to take advantage of emerging opportunities within Nigeria’s evolving insurance market.

Durojaiye, said the Company’s achievement reflected the confidence of its shareholders and stakeholders in its strategic direction and growth prospects.

“Meeting the new recapitalisation requirement is a significant milestone for Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc. It demonstrates the strength of our business, the confidence of our shareholders and our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of financial capacity and corporate governance,” he said.

Stanbic IBTC Bank, has said that it has upgraded its transaction banking platform to FinnAxia 9.0, deepening its partnership with Nucleus Software and strengthening its capacity to deliver digital banking solutions to corporate and institutional clients.

The upgrade, it said,

in the more than decadelong relationship between Stanbic IBTC Bank and Nucleus Software, as both organisations continue to invest in technology to improve transaction banking services amid growing demand for faster, seamless and digitally enabled banking solutions.

development, Executive Director, Corporate and Transaction Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Eric Fajemisin, said the upgrade reflects the bank’s commitment to continuously strengthening the solutions it provides to clients.

He said, “Our relationship with Nucleus Software has

forms part of our broader commitment to continuously strengthening the solutions and services we provide to clients. As transaction banking continues to evolve, we remain focused on investing in capabilities that help businesses operate with greater speed, visibility and confidence.”

Noor Takaful, Noor Health Distribute N427.96m Stanbic IBTC Upgrades Transaction Banking Platform Surplus to Customers Nume Ekeghe marks another milestone Commenting on the spanned a decade and

Ebere Nwoji

Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, has announced that it distributed a total of N427. 96 million as surplus to participants and enrollees who did not make claims on their insurance during the 2024 financial year.

This was disclosed by the Board Chairman of Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Ambassador Shuaibu Ahmed, during the 2024 Surplus

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Deputy Business Editor Chinedu Eze Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Asst. Editor, Energy Emmanuel Addeh Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Correspondents KayodeTokede(CapitalMarkets) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Reporter Peter Uzoho (Energy)

Distribution and Claims Celebration Ceremony in Lagos.

This year’s edition of the surplus distribution ceremony themed: “Promise Kept: Celebrating Takaful’s Commitment to Shared Reward.”

According to Ahmed, a total of 22 participants received surplus payments from Noor Takaful Insurance at the event while 2 enrollees received surplus payments from Noor Health at the event.

He described the payment of surplus as a demonstration of gratitude, accountability, reflection, and celebration of promises made and kept.

Ahmed explained that the company had over the years proven that surplus distribution was not a theoretical concept but a model that worked in practice, as evidenced by its consistent payments to participants.

Also speaking, the Vice Chairman of Noor Takaful Insurance, Aminu Tukur, stated that the 2024 surplus distribution was based on the performance of the participants’ risk pool after claims and other obligations had been settled.

emPLE Meets Recapitalisation Requirement, Wins Customer Confidence

Ebere Nwoji

emPLE Nigeria, said it has strengthened its capital position thus occupying a space in the list of approved companies on the official website of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

This, according to the underwriting firm, indicates that the company has met the applicable recapitalisation requirements, thereby reinforcing its financial strength and capacity to deliver sustainable value to customers and stakeholders across its Life and General

Insurance businesses.

According to the Managing Director, emPLE General Insurance Limited, Olalekan Oyinlade, the company’s ability to deliver on this commitment was further demonstrated by the payment of over N7 billion in claims by both emPLE

Life Assurance Limited and emPLE General Insurance Limited in 2025.

Oyinlade, said meeting the recapitalisation requirement was important, but what mattered most was what that strength enabled the company to do for its customers.

a press briefing with the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE) in Lagos.

Speaking on the new insurance plan, the executive Director Technical & Operations Leadway, Olufunmilayo Amanwa, said the Leadway Lifetime

Plan responded to the increasingly complex financial responsibilities faced by many working adults, particularly members of the Sandwich Generation individuals who simultaneously provide financial support for ageing parents while raising children and

planning for their future.

She said with family responsibilities now extending beyond the traditional nuclear household, the Leadway Lifetime Plan was designed to offer broader, long-term protection that reflects the realities of modern Nigerian families.

Leadway Unveils Multi-generational Insurance Solution, to Protect Families

Ebere Nwoji

Leadway Assurance, has unveiled the Leadway Lifetime Plan, a wholeof-life insurance solution designed to extend financial protection beyond the immediate household to the wider family circle.

The plan unveiled at

25

T H I S D AY • Wednesday, August 19, 2026

BUSINESSWORLD

INSURANCE

Recapitalisation: NAICOM Breaks Age-old Jinx Ebere Nwoji posits that the successful conclusion of the recapitalisation exercise in the insurance sector, after years of failed attempts, is a plus for the National Insurance Commission

T

he National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), on Friday August 13th 2026, concluded the 12 months long recapitalisation exercise in insurance industry, which it commenced in July 2025.

The commission concluded the recapitalisation amidst opposition and allegations of unlawful demand of shareholders 1 per cent fund, illegal transfer of N50 billion as well as payment of N180 million recapitalisation fee to the commission by the owner of NICON Insurance Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation.

The allegations, which would have again truncated the success of the recapitalisation exercise were reminiscent of various allegations in the past years that had always annulled several initiatives by different commissioners for insurance.

But thanks to the NIIRA 2025, which instituted this edition of the recapitalisation strongly backed by law, empowerment of the regulator and the determination of the present commissioner for Insurance, Mr Olusegun Ayo Omosehin to see the success of the exercise at all cost. Otherwise, the NICON and Nigeria Re owner’s opposition and his open letter to the president published in front pages of daily Newspapers would have again foiled the success of the exercise.

Successful firms Get New licenses Following the compliance of many operators to the recapitalisation requirements, NAICOM has issued new operating licenses to the successful companies thus reducing the number of insurance and reinsurance companies in the country from 60 to 50, comprising of 48 primary insurance companies and two reinsurance firms.

The following are names of licensed insurance companies in the country which met the recapitalisation requirements: Zenith General Insurance Company Limited, Leadway Assurance Company Limited, Custodian Life Assurance Limited, Custodian and Allied Insurance Limited, NEM Insurance Plc, AIICO Insurance Plc, CHI Life Assurance Limited, Heirs General Insurance Limited, Fin Insurance Company Limited, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Heirs Life Assurance Limited, Tangerine General Insurance Limited, Capital Express Indemnity Insurance Limited, Continental Reinsurance Plc, FBS Reinsurance Limited, Sanlam-Allianz General Insurance Nigeria Limited.

Others are: Prudential Zenith Life Insurance Limited, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Limited, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited, Sanlam-Allianz Life Insurance Nigeria Limited, Sterling Assurance Nigeria Limited, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Unitrust Insurance Co. Limited, Capital Express Life Assurance Limited, Mutual Benefits Life Assurance Limited, NSIA Insurance Limited, Rex Insurance Limited, LASACO Assurance Plc, Linkage Assurance Plc, Anchor Insurance Company Limited Enterprise Life Assurance Company (Nigeria) Limited, Sunu Assurances Nigeria Plc, KBL Insurance Limited, International Energy Insurance Plc and Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc. NPF Insurance Company Limited, Fortis Global Insurance Plc, Coronation Life Assurance Limited, Industrial and General Insurance Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc, Prestige Assurance Plc and Great Nigeria Insurance Plc, emPLE General Insurance Limited, emPLE Life

Assurance Limited, Sovereign Trust Insurance plc, Tangerine Life Insurance Limited, Alliance &General Insurance Plc, Guinea Insurance Plc, and Regency Alliance Insurance Plc, also made it.

Pruning Operating firms The recapitalisation exercise followed the enactment of NIIRA 2025, which introduced higher minimum capital requirements for insurance and reinsurance companies.

NIIRA directed that Life insurance firms should upgrade their capital from N2 billion to N10 billion, General Business underwriters from N3 billion to N15 billion, composite firms from N5 billion to N25 billion while Reinsurers upgrade from N10 billion to N35 billion.

But Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) the only insurance company, which specialised and pioneered Agric insurance underwriting in Nigeria was not included in the list of successful companies despite that it is owned

by Federal Government.

Also, African Alliance Insurance Plc did not make the list. In June 2026, NAICOM had transferred operational control of the company to a newly constituted board nominated by its shareholders following the conclusion of a regulatory intervention that commenced in October 2024.

The non-inclusion of Universal Insurance into the list of successful companies was what sent shocks to the spine of Nigerian public because going by its activities the company was doing very well.

But THISDAY gathered that the company suffered last minute disappointment by another company it almost concluded merger plans with and could not salvage the situation

act as an informal court of appeal for failing operators, insisting that NAICOM was the state’s empowered regulator; therefore, must be permitted to apply the law equally to every company whether privately owned, historically created or under asset management control.

According to him, “Honourable Minister, Nigeria’s insurance sector has enormous untapped potential, but it can only realise that potential if the government allows a level playing field to flourish” In continuation he said, “I trust that it is through this uncompromising stance that the Federal Ministry of Finance, which bears the ultimate responsibility for managing Nigeria’s economy, will give the right impression to investors, insurers, and reinsurers the world over. By upholding regulatory integrity and refusing to shield non-compliant operators, your ministry will demonstrate that Nigeria is serious about financial discipline, thereby building lasting global confidence in the Nigerian insurance sector.”

Kari also observed that recapitalisation in other arms of the finance services sector of the economy including banks and pension sectors always starts and ends smoothly without opposition.

“But recapitalisation exercises initiated in insurance sector ended in inconclusiveness as operators would always find one allegation or the other against the regulator to foil the exercise,” he said.

Kari was speaking from experience as his regime was a victim of the recapitalisation opposition when in July before the dawn of the deadline.

2018, he introduced the controversial Non-compliant firms Tier- based Solvency Capital Increase, which was cancelled in November of NAICOM therefore appointed same year due to industry opposition liquidators for non-compliant and legal tussle from opposition side. companies. It withdrew the operating licence of Nigeria Reinsurance Failed Recapitalisation Corporation after the company failed Attempts to meet the statutory minimum capital It would be recalled that before the just requirement, paving the way for the commencement of its liquidation, but concluded recapitalisation, the insurance recently its owners instituted litigation sector experienced different cycles of failed against the regulator insisting that recapitalisation attempts.

The late Oladipo Bailey was the the companies recapitalised their operations. This is despite the fact insurance commissioner in 1997 when that the owner knew that for seven the first attempted to raise the minimum consecutive years, the two companies operating capital of the industry from N20 neither filed their returns to the million to N500 million. This ended in regulator nor held annual general multiple court cases by opposing parties.

Ten years after precisely in 2007, the meeting as stipulated by the law.

In an open letter to the President then commissioner for insurance Mr Fola Bola Tinubu, the owner of the two Daniel, successfully raised the capital base firms Jimo Ibrahim insisted that they of the operators to N2 billion minimum met the recapitalisation requirements for life operators, N3 billion for nonlife hence no need to appoint liquidators. operators, N5 billion for composite firms He also accused the regulator of and N10 billion for reinsurers. This was imposing illegal levies on operating the last conclusive recapitalisation exercise firms. This informed an order of carried out in the industry. Between stay-action to the commissioner 2018 and 2019 Kari introduced the Risk for insurance on the liquidation of based capital increase but he did not the two firms, by the Minister of succeed. Between 2020 and 2021, the Finance and Coordinating Minister immediate past commissioner, Sunday Thomas introduced the minimum share of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele. capital model but this again was stalled by court injunctions.

Stakeholders’ For each phase, the opposition parties reactions always pose reasons for their court action But in a swift reaction to this, and often have their way thereby leaving prominent stakeholders in the industry the regulator helpless.

But the signing into law of the NIIRA Act including a former commissioner for insurance and former Managing will break the failure cycle if the finance Director of both NICON Insurance minister refuse to listen to the opposition Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance parties and stand with NAICOM. According to the analysts, the reason Corporation, Mohammed Kari, wrote an open letter to the Oyedele, advising the minister should close his ears to the federal government to resist the petitioners is to avoid a repeat of what urge to grant special carve-outs or happened in the past.

26

MARCH 11, 2026 • T H19, I S2026 D AY T HWEDNESDAY, I S D AY • WEDNESday, AUGUST

business/MOnEYGUIDE

Oyetola Announces U.S Lifting of 12-Year Condition of Entry on NigerianVessels Eromosele Abiodun

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has announced the lifting of the Condition of Entry (CoE) imposed on vessels arriving in the United States from Nigeria by the United States Coast Guard (USCG).

The development brings to an end a 12year regime of enhanced security requirements on vessels calling at Nigerian ports before entering the United States and marks a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen maritime security, improve port competitiveness and enhance Nigeria’s standing in the global maritime industry.

The Condition of Entry, which took effect on June 25, 2014, required vessels destined for the United States that had called at designated Nigerian ports within their previous five port calls to undergo additional security measures and enhanced

scrutiny before gaining access to U.S. waters.

Announcing the development, Oyetola said the lifting of the restriction was a strong affirmation of the progress made by Nigeria in strengthening its maritime security architecture and implementing the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code across the country’s ports and maritime facilities.

He attributed the achievement to sustained efforts by the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), in collaboration with relevant government agencies, port operators, terminal and facility operators, shipping companies and other stakeholders.

He said the coordinated efforts were aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s maritime security framework, addressing identified gaps and demonstrating sustained

compliance with internationally accepted maritime security standards.

Over the past two years, the United States Coast Guard conducted four comprehensive assessments of Nigeria’s national maritime security framework and port facilities.

The assessments were carried out from March 11–13, 2024; April 15–19, 2024; March 15–21, 2025; and April 13–17, 2026.

The results of the assessments demonstrated significant progress in Nigeria’s maritime security performance and implementation of the ISPS Code, ultimately leading to the lifting of the Condition of Entry.

He commended the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, and his team for their contribution to the achievement, describing the lifting of the restriction as evidence of the positive impact of effective regulation, stakeholder collaboration and sustained investment in maritime security.

ISACA Lagos Marks 30 Years of Excellence, Impact The Lagos Chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) is set to commence a week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of professional excellence, leadership, innovation, knowledge development and service to Nigeria’s technology community.

According to the President of ISACA Lagos Chapter, Mr. Justus Osuji, the anniversary activities, scheduled to begin on Thursday, August 20, 2026, will bring together the ISACA Global leadership, including Global CEO,

Mr. Erik Prusch, and Global CFO, Mr. Thomas Kyei-Boateng, alongside the ISACA Lagos Chapter Board, the 30th Anniversary Planning Committee chaired by Dr. Bode Oguntoke, past leaders, members, industry stakeholders, partners and other distinguished guests.

The milestone celebration is themed, “30 Years of Excellence, 30 Years of Impact and 30 Years of Leadership,” reflecting the Chapter’s evolution from a pioneering professional initiative in 1996 into a vibrant community contributing

to the advancement of technology governance, IT audit, cybersecurity, risk management, privacy and digital trust.

The ISACA Lagos Chapter traces its origins to 1996, when Mr. Christian C. Ekeigwe, FCA, CPA Massachusetts, pioneered the establishment of ISACA’s presence in Nigeria through the Lagos Chapter. The Chapter was formally registered in 2004 and has since grown into a vibrant professional community with more than 1,000 official members.

FICAN Conference to Spotlight Banking Reforms, Fintech Nume Ekeghe

Nigeria’s banking recapitalisation programme, tax reforms and the rapid expansion of financial technology will take centre stage as policymakers, regulators and financial industry leaders converge in Lagos for the 36th Anniversary Annual Conference of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN).

The two-day conference, slated for September in Lagos is themed, “Building on the Gains of Recapitalisation, Tax Reform and Fintech Revolution.”

The conference is expected to provide a platform for stakeholders to assess the impact of the far-reaching reforms undertaken across Nigeria’s financial sector and

examine how the gains can be consolidated to support economic growth, attract investment, deepen financial inclusion and strengthen the resilience of the financial system.

The Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, will deliver the keynote address, while the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Dr. Oliver Alawuba, will serve as guest speaker.

Panel sessions will feature senior representatives from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Fintech Association of Nigeria, OPay Digital Services Limited, Providus Bank and the Small and Medium Enterprises

Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

Speaking on the conference, FICAN Chairman, Chima Titus Nwokoji, said the event would provide an opportunity for stakeholders to critically evaluate the reforms and develop practical measures for sustaining their gains.

“This year ’s conference comes at a defining moment for Nigeria’s economy.

Banking recapitalisation, tax reforms and the rapid expansion of financial technology are reshaping the financial services landscape.

“Our objective is to bring together policymakers, regulators and industry leaders to assess the gains recorded so far and develop practical recommendations that will deepen financial stability, promote inclusive growth and enhance investor confidence,” he said.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS (MILLION NAIRA) October 2025

Month

Money Supply (M3)

119,037,577.07

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

9,291.49

Money Supply (M2)

119,028,285.58

Quasi Money

79,681,419.97

-- Narrow Money (M1)

39,346,865.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

4,646,794.28

---- Demand Deposits

34,700,071.33

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

34,804,442.84

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

84,233,134.23

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

99,199,655.08

---- Credit to Government (Net)

24,787,980.96

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

0.00

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

74,411,674.12

--Other Assets Net

2,603,854.03

Reserve Money (Base Money)

36,641,142.21

--Currency in Circulation

5,057,881.01

--Banks Reserves

31,583,261.21

--Special Intervention Reserves

284,361.95 • Source - CBN

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

October 2025

Inter-Bank Call Rate

October 2025

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

27.00

Treasury Bill Rate

15.07

Savings Deposit Rate

7.43

1 Month Deposit Rate

11.37

3 Months Deposit Rate

11.32

6 Months Deposit Rate

11.12

12 Months Deposit Rate

11.78

Prime Lending rate

18.89

Maximum Lending Rate

29.56

NSE MARKET INDEX CAP

0.75%(52%YoY)

Index

0.9% (29%Y/D) • Monetary Policy Rate - 27%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE As At 24TH NOVEMBER , 2025

The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $63.14 a barrel on Monday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basrah Medium (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

27

T H I S D AY • WEDNESday, AUGUST 19, 2026

mARKET NEWS

Stock Market Down N544.5bn on Profit-taking in First Holdco, Others

Kayode Tokede

The domestic stock market yesterday depreciated by N544.5 billion over investors profit-taking in First Holdco Plc and 36 others to sustain its downward trend for the second consecutive trading session this week.

As the stock price of First Holdco dipped by 5.71per cent or N8.00 per share to

close at N132.00 per share, the market capitalisation of all listed companies closed for trading at N155.973 trillion, about N544.5 billion or 0.35 per cent drop from N156.518 trillion the stock market opened for trading.

The NGX All Share Index closed for trading at 241,611.23 basis points, which is 843.42 basis points or 0.35 per cent lower than the 242,454.65 basis points the stock market opened

P R I C E S MaiN Board

for trading. Consequently, the NGX ASI in its Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at -1.5per cent and +55.3per cent, respectively.

Analysing by sector, the NGX Banking Index (-1.8per cent) and NGX Consumer Goods Index (-0.1per cent) indices declined, while the NGX Industrial Goods, NGX Insurance, and NGX Oil & Gas indices closed flat.

As measured by market

F O R

S E C U R I T I E S

DEALS

Market Price

quantity traded

breadth, market sentiment was negative as 22 stocks gained relative to 37 losers.

HM Call Plc recorded the highest price gain of 9.97per cent to close at N4.84, per share. Veritaskap followed with a gain of 7.09 per cent to close at N1.36 , while Tantalizer rose by 5.26 per cent to close at N4.00 per share.

RT Briscoe appreciated by 4.31 per cent to close at N10.90 , while Regalins rose by 3.66

T R A D E D

value traded ( N )

MaiN Board

A S

O F

per cent to close at N0.85, per share. On the other hand, Red Star Express Plc led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N16.20, per share. Trans Express Plc followed with a decline of 9.94 per cent to close at N2.81, while Meyer & Baker declined by 9.88 per cent to close at N15.05, per share.

Chellaram dipped by 9.77 per cent to close at N9.70, while FTG INSURE

A U G U ST DEALS

depreciated by 9.70 per cent to close at N2.14 per share.

The total volume traded declined by 67.7per cent to 429.84 million units, valued at N27.48 billion, and exchanged in 35,683 deals. Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc was the most traded stock by volume at 51.57 million units, while MTN Nigeria Communications Plc was the most traded stock by value at N9.76 billion.

1 8 / 2 6 Market Price

quantity traded

value traded ( N)

28

SOStainabilityWeekly

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 • T H I S D AY

with

Oke Epia

e-mail: sostainability01@gmail.com Whatsapp: +234 8034000706

Trends and Threads

Farmers, Floods and Climate Insurance: Missing Links in Nigeria’s First Line of Defence Nigeria has spent decades building the machinery to insure its farmers against climate disasters. So why, when the water rises, does the whole country still behave as though no such machinery exists?

By Augustina Augustine

W

hat would it take for Nigeria to stop being surprised by the weather? This question is not a rhetorical flourish. It is a question disaster managers, insurance regulators and agriculture ministries have never had to answer under real pressure, because every year, the pressure gets absorbed the same way: relief bags, tarpaulins, a presidential condolence statement, and a promise to “build back better” before the next rainy season arrives to prove that nothing was built at all. Nigeria floods on a predictable cycle.

Its droughts creep across the north with equal predictability. And yet the country’s primary financial defence against climate events remains, for the overwhelming majority of farmers, a policy that exists largely on paper rather than in reality.

What is Climate Insurance?

Climate insurance, sometimes called agricultural or weather-index insurance, is not complicated once the jargon is removed. A farmer, a cooperative, a lender, or a state government pays a premium, often a small fraction of the value of a farm’s expected output, before the planting season begins. In exchange, if a defined climate event occurs- a flood submerges the field, rainfall falls below a set threshold during a critical growing window, or a storm destroys stored produce- the insurer pays out. Traditionally, that meant sending an assessor to inspect the damage, a process that could take months and invited disputes over how much was actually lost. Modern index-based insurance, the kind now spreading rapidly across Africa and Asia, removes that bottleneck almost entirely: satellites and weather stations track rainfall or vegetation health against a pre-agreed index, and once the index crosses the danger threshold, payment is automatic- no assessor, no argument, no months of waiting. This matters enormously for a country like Nigeria, where the state’s capacity to physically reach every flooded village with an assessor, let alone a relief convoy, has never been reliable. Index insurance does not ask the government to find the farmer.

It asks the data to find him.

Consequences of Climate Events Here is the part that should unsettle anyone still treating climate insurance as a fringe policy issue. Nigeria is not choosing between paying for climate disasters and not paying for them. It is only choosing how badly it pays, and when. The 2022 floods, the worst in a decade, swept through 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, killed more than 600 people, displaced roughly 1.4 million people, and destroyed or damaged over 200,000 homes, according to federal disaster figures. The World Bank’s post-disaster

OKE EPIA oepia@sostainability.co.uk I 08034000706 COMFORT ADAORA OKAFOR cokafor@sostainability.co.uk | 080670983738 AUGUSTINA AUGUSTINE aaugustine@sostainability.co.uk | 08174522218 OKHAI AKHIGBE oakhigbe@sostainability.co.uk | 09121425989 DANIEL EKIYE ekiye@sostainability.co.uk | 08033110470

•Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security

• Mrs. Zubaida Umar, NEMA DG

• Hon. Yazid Shehu Umar Danfulani, MD/CEO of NAIC

damage assessment, using its Global Rapid Damage Estimation methodology, put the median direct economic loss at $6.68 billion with a plausible range stretching as high as $9.12 billion. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs said roughly $1.8 billion worth of losses fell squarely on agriculture. NEMA’s own tally recorded 332,327 hectares of farmland affected that year alone.

In 2012, the country absorbed more than N2.6 trillion in flood losses. In 2024, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that flooding killed at least 179 people across 15 states, displaced over 208,000 people, and destroyed more than 107,000 hectares of farmland and 80,000 houses.

Three major flood events within twelve years, each one measured in the hundreds of billions or trillions of naira, and each one met almost entirely with post-disaster relief rather than pre-disaster risk transfer. Climate insurance exists precisely to interrupt this cycle: to convert an unpredictable, catastrophic loss into a predictable, budgeted cost. Nigeria has chosen, year after year, not to use it at scale.

GDP has stayed below 1 percent for years, among the weakest rates on the continent, according to figures tracked by NAICOM and independent industry analysts. Executives within the sector routinely cite low financial literacy, weak enforcement of existing insurance laws, distrust from disputed claims, and limited reach into rural areas as the core reasons. If that is the state of general insurance covering cars, homes, businesses, and lives, it should not surprise anyone that agricultural and climate-specific cover, aimed at Nigeria’s poorest, vulnerable, and most geographically dispersed population, sits even further behind.

This is where the polite version of this conversation has to end, and the hard questions go to the institutions responsible for closing this gap. The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), the federal agency established in 1987 and given legal backing by Decree No. 37 of 1993, sits at the centre of this conversation. NAIC recently reported that it has extended roughly N1.014 trillion in coverage over the past five years, reaching an estimated 1.25 million farmers across more than half a million communities.

On face value, that is progress that deserves acknowledgment. But how does that figure hold up against Nigeria’s actual farming population, estimated at well over 30 million agricultural households, with agriculture

employing somewhere between a third and 70 percent of the national workforce depending on the measure used? Even on a conservative reading, NAIC’s own numbers suggest that a large majority of Nigerian farmers remain completely uninsured. What is NAIC’s actual target for farmers reached by the end of this decade? What is the funded and costed plan to get there?

There is the question of lack of awareness where it matters. NAIC was created because private insurers considered agricultural risk too dangerous to underwrite on their own.

But nearly forty years after NAIC came into being, farmers in flood-prone states like Kogi, Benue, Jigawa, Adamawa, and Delta, the very states that keep appearing in NEMA’s disaster bulletins year after year, still report never having heard of agricultural insurance, let alone knowing how to buy it. This is despite having a plethora of state organs and agencies, including NAIC, state ministries of agriculture, and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), whose mandate includes advising government and protecting policyholders across the entire industry value chain.

There is also the credit trap. NAIC’s original mandate tied much of its agricultural cover to farmers who had already secured formal credit- insurance as a condition of the loan, not a product available on its own. That model made sense for large commercial farms borrowing from banks. It makes far less sense for the millions of Nigerian smallholders who plant with savings, family support, and informal credit. Have NAIC and its private-sector partners built standalone, loan-independent products that an uncredited smallholder can walk in and buy directly? And if such products exist on paper, why do they remain functionally invisible in the communities that need them most?

Another important point is what happens after a claim is filed? Relief distribution in Nigeria has repeatedly drawn public criticism over delays, uneven reach, and allegations of mismanagement in how materials reach disaster victims. Insurance is supposed to be the disciplined, contractual alternative to exactly that kind of uncertainty and/or haphazardness.

A farmer should not need political connections to be paid what a policy promises. So: how many agricultural insurance claims has NAIC settled since the 2022 floods, within what timeframe, and using what published payout methodology? Public confidence in insurance will not be built by advertising campaigns. It will be built the day a farmer in Ibaji or Numan can point to a neighbour who filed a claim and was paid, promptly and in full, without a phone call to Abuja.

Hard Questions for the Insurance Industry Part of the explanation lies in how thin Nigeria’s entire insurance industry remains.

Despite being Africa’s most populous nation and one of its largest economies, insurance penetration total premiums as a share of

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

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SOStainabilityWeekly

SOS Alert

THISDAY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

“

The senate and, by extension, the National Assembly, is the custodian of Nigeria’s laws and has the power to invite anybody or agency for explanations on issues raised against them.”

– Senator Abdul Ningi to Seplat, other oil firms, during an investigative hearing

Extractives: The Gap Between Disclosure and Accountability

By Oke Epia

A

delegation of assessors from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the world’s established extractive governance watchdog, visited Nigeria last week. The objective was to validate the country’s efforts in complying with global standards guiding the management of natural resources (oil, gas, and solid minerals) that lead to transparent and beneficial outcomes for stakeholders - companies, communities, countries, and the global energy landscapeincluding efforts to transition from fossil fuels.

A statement from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) – the country’s subset of the EITI - painted a decent picture of the visit. According to NEITI, Nigeria was commended for its “improved systematic disclosures which have enabled the real-time release of information and data across Nigeria’s extractive sector.” The visiting team also reportedly gave a thumbs-up to stakeholder consultations “which clearly presented Nigeria’s unique context through the high-level engagements, including the executive session with the National Assembly and a public hearing on the NEITI industry reports.” The visitors engaged with state and non-state actors, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; the Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite; the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, Mr. Bayo Ojulari,

• The team of EITI Assessors in a group photo with members of civil society during the visit relevant National Assembly Committees, especially the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, anti-corruption agencies, and members of civil society. It is instructive that the team also met with representatives of host communities from Rivers and Zamfara States. Aside from these optics, it is impossible for the assessors not to have noticed the mixed messaging from NNPCL and the Senate, which have

Flakes and Flaks

The Senate, Seplat, and Probe Ultimatums

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igerians are used to reading reports of ultimatums and threats of sanctions from the National Assembly. Such reporting is often weaponised to whip recalcitrant government ministries, departments, and agencies into line. Some private sector entities have also been in the bull’s eye. However, little to no follow-up media reporting happens after the expiration of the deadlines. The matter fades into the sensational coverage of the next public scandal.

Last week, the Public Accounts Committee of the Senate issued a 48-hour ultimatum to some oil and gas firms for failing to appear before it and answer questions raised in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). The companies are Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria Limited, All

Grace Energy Limited, and Aradel Energy Limited. The committee brandished its powers under sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, which “empowers the National Assembly to invite anybody or agency for explanations on issues raised against them,” according to Sen. Abdul Ningi. The legislators ruled that it would consider invoking sanctions if the firms ignore the summons any further. This page would like to ask the senators if 48 hours means the same to them as we all understand it to mean. Or was the meeting held behind closed doors? For the firms, especially Seplat, a globally consequential firm listed on the London Stock Exchange and which likes to brandish sustainability credentials, this development does not bode well. SOStainability will keep an eye on this development.

• Sen. Abdul Ningi

• Engr. Effiong Okon

feuded and buck-passed responsibilities and accountabilities over trillions of naira allegedly unaccounted for by the state-owned company. The team must have learnt from their visit that disclosure is not tantamount to accountability. They must have seen that the former can serve as an effective decoy from the latter. They must have also learnt that the legislature in Nigeria has been unable to hold the NNPCL to account the way a vibrant, formidable, and reform-driven parliament performs oversight responsibilities elsewhere in the world. These are the real lessons of the visit

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

that the NEITI statement cannot convey, and understandably so in the context of Nigeria’s slippery political economy.

Kudos must, however, be given to NEITI – the national secretariat which supports the triumvirate architecture of government, civil society, and companies that must co-align (even if reluctantly) to drive the EITI process in-country – for successfully hosting the visitors from Norway, headquarters of the EITI. It remains to be seen if the confidence conveyed in the statement will be sustained by the assessors, who are expected to release their report in a couple of weeks.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESday AUGUST 19, 2026

Education

From Birth Certificate to Classroom: Why Legal Identity Matters to a Child’s Education

For millions of Nigerian children, the journey to education begins with a document many take for granted— the birth certificate. Beyond proving a child’s identity, birth registration can facilitate access to education, healthcare, and social protection, while helping the government plan and fund essential services. As Nigeria increasingly moves towards electronic birth registration, parents, health workers and civil registration officials face both the opportunities and challenges of ensuring every child is counted and ultimately able to make the journey from birth certificate to classroom. Funmi Ogundare reports

Ongoing electronic birth registration at Sangotedo Primary Health Centre in Lagos

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or many children, the education journey begins long before they walk through the gates of a school. It begins with something as basic as having a name, a date and place of birth officially recorded.

Yet, for millions of children, that first step remains incomplete.

A birth certificate may seem like a document kept safely at home, but it is much more than that. It is a child’s legal proof of identity and a gateway to essential services, including education.

For Mrs Deborah Eyoh, a mother of three, registering a child’s birth is more than obtaining a document. It is an important step towards securing the child’s identity and making future access to essential services easier.

When THISDAY encountered her recently at a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in the Sangotedo area of Lagos, Eyoh said she embraced electronic birth registration after learning about the process and immediately registered her children, convinced that the digital system would make verification easier whenever the documents are needed.

“Just in case your child wants to be admitted to school tomorrow, it’s very important,” she said, stressing that a properly registered birth gives authorities reliable information that can be verified when required.

For her, the importance of birth registration becomes particularly clear when children begin navigating systems such as education, where accurate personal information can determine

how easily their records are verified.

She said electronic registration could also help curb age falsification, a practice that can create difficulties for institutions trying to establish applicants’ true age and identity.

“By the time you do this and the person gives some information, you verify, and then you know that the person is lying,” she explained.

But her advocacy does not stop with her own children.

After discovering that some mothers in her neighbourhood were unaware that electronic birth registration services are available at health centres, she took it upon herself to share the information with them.

She recalled advising several new mothers to ask for electronic birth certificates when they visit health centres for their babies’ immunisation.

“I’ve even mentioned it to three mothers who gave birth in my area that they don’t even know,” she said.

Eyoh stated that the health centre offers an opportunity to combine two important interventions: birth registration and access to routine childhood services.

She encouraged mothers who take their babies to health centres for immunisation to also inquire about birth registration, because the service is available free of charge, especially

A mother, Mrs Juliet Duke displaying her baby’s birth certificate

for children between the ages of zero to five years, in the public system.

Whenever a neighbour or relative gives birth, she said she makes a point of directing them to health centres where they can obtain the service.

Another mother, Mrs Juliet Duke, said she did not want to postpone registering her baby’s birth.

With her baby just 10 weeks old, Duke visited the Sangotedo PHC registration centre to obtain the child’s birth certificate, convinced that securing the document early would save her from future difficulties.

“I came when my baby was six weeks old. I came to do it, and now my baby is 10 weeks.

They said it was ready,” she said.

Unlike the complicated processes many parents may fear, Duke said her experience at the registration centre was straightforward and involved little waiting.

“There was not much process. It was easy,” she recalled.

She acknowledged that not every parent may yet understand the importance of registering a child’s birth.

Duke said she believed that routine visits to health facilities could provide an opportunity to spread the message.

“I believe that once they go for immunisation, they can get it,” she stated According to UNICEF, about 3.5 million children under the age of one across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Edo

States were currently not registered at birth, leaving them effectively invisible within the civil registration system.

The failure to register millions of children at birth could undermine government planning and funding for education, healthcare and social protection.

Chief of UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Celine Lafoucriere, told journalists at a two-day media dialogue on birth registration held in collaboration with the National Population Commission (NPC) that the absence of accurate records could affect the government’s ability to plan and allocate resources for basic services adequately.

According to her, the implications extend beyond a child’s inability to obtain a birth certificate, as unregistered children may be excluded from population estimates used to determine funding for essential services.

“If 3.5 million children are still not registered, they will go unnoticed, and there will be no government funding to support them simply because they are invisible,” she said.

The UNICEF official said government policies and programmes must be adequately financed based on the number of people expected to benefit, adding that children missing from the civil register risk being excluded from those calculations.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Monarch Commends Oyebanji for Poly Upgrade, Seeks More Support for Education in Ijero Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

The Owa Ajero of Ijero Kingdom, Oba Joseph Adebayo, has commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for upgrading the College of Technology, Ijero, to a polytechnic, while calling for sustained government support to improve education and infrastructure in the community.

The monarch said this on Saturday at his palace in Ijero-Ekiti during a press conference ahead of the third Itajero Festival, where he highlighted the importance of education to the kingdom’s development.

Adebayo said the conversion of the institution to a polytechnic represented an important step towards expanding access to higher education and creating opportunities for young people in Ijero and neighbouring communities. He also commended the institution’s management for its efforts since the upgrade.

“I appreciate our governor for transforming our

College of Technology into a polytechnic.

I also appreciate the management of the polytechnic for the work they are doing,” he said.

Adebayo further disclosed that the state government had made arrangements through the relevant ministry to support improvements in schools in Ijero. He said such interventions are important because quality education would give young people the skills needed to contribute meaningfully to community development.

He urged the government to sustain the interventions and to ensure that educational institutions in Ijero receive adequate infrastructure, equipment and other facilities needed for effective teaching and learning. According to him, developing education should remain a priority alongside other community

development projects.

The monarch also commended Oyebanji for providing a transformer in Ijero, describing the development as significant to the community and its institutions. He appealed to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company to ensure that the transformer is properly connected and operated efficiently.

Adebayo also thanked the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, for his contributions to Ekiti’s development, particularly in roads, healthcare, and market infrastructure. He expressed concern about the quality of some projects executed by contractors and called for better supervision.

The monarch said education, infrastructure and economic development must progress together, stressing that government projects would deliver greater benefits when communities are properly involved in planning and execution.

The monarch described the Itajero Festival as a platform for celebrating Ijero’s history, culture

and relationship with Ile-Ife. He said the festival also allows sons and daughters of the kingdom in Nigeria and the diaspora to return home and contribute to the community’s development.

Adebayo thanked the chiefs, festival committee, youths, women and the media for their contributions, and assured participants of adequate security during the celebration. He prayed for the safe arrival of guests. He declared the 2026 Itajero Festival open, urging all sons and daughters of Ijero to return home and join in celebrating their heritage while contributing to the future development of the kingdom.

The High Chief and Secretary of the Itajero Festival Foundation, Ayo Afolabi, said that the festival programme would include the Miss Itajero pageant, Shugudu Night and the grand finale at Erekesen Market Square. He added that the grand finale would also feature the launching of the proposed Itajero Festival Pavilion, targeted at N2 billion.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESday, AUGUST 19, 2026

CITYSTRINGS

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com

Francis Nwaogwugwu Mune at 40: A Journey of Enterprise, Excellence and Philanthropy Ismeal Emeka Udenka

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t 40, Engr. Francis Udochukwu Nwaogwugwu Mune, stands as a remarkable example of what vision, determination, hard work and an enduring commitment to excellence can achieve.

His journey over the past four decades is not merely a story of personal success; it is a narrative of enterprise, creativity, service and an unwavering desire to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Born and raised in Onitsha, Anambra State, Mune has, over the years, distinguished himself as an entrepreneur whose interests and investments cut across real estate, interior and exterior design, property development and other business ventures.

Through these endeavours, he has steadily built a reputation for professionalism, quality and innovation.

As he celebrates his 40th birthday, I am not only celebrating his age but also reflecting on a journey that has been characterised by courage, calculated risks and an entrepreneurial spirit.

One of the most significant chapters in Mune’s entrepreneurial journey has been his emergence as a force in the real estate sector. In an industry where credibility, quality delivery and customer confidence are essential, he has continued to distinguish himself through a practical understanding of property development and the changing needs of clients.

For Mune, real estate is more than buying and selling properties. It is about creating spaces that provide comfort, functionality, beauty and long-term value.

His approach to property development has therefore been influenced by an appreciation of modern design, quality finishing and the importance of creating properties that respond to contemporary lifestyles.

Through his involvement in the sector, he has demonstrated an ability to identify opportunities, transform ideas into tangible projects and create value from property investments.

His journey reflects the story of an entrepreneur who understood early that the real estate industry offers not only financial opportunities but also a platform for contributing to urban development and improving people’s quality of life.

His achievements in real estate have also been strengthened by his attention to details and his willingness to embrace new ideas. In a competitive environment, these qualities have helped him establish a distinct identity and build relationships with clients, partners and other stakeholders.

Beyond real estate, Mune has also made significant strides in the interior and exterior design business, an area where creativity, technical understanding and an eye for detail are crucial.

His work in this field has demonstrated his understanding that a property is not complete simply because the structure has been erected.

The character and value of a building are often defined by its interior spaces, exterior finishing, landscaping, aesthetics

Celebrating Mine at 40 and overall functionality.

Through his involvement in interior and exterior design, Mune has contributed to the transformation of residential and commercial spaces into environments that combine elegance with functionality.

His philosophy is rooted in the belief that good design should not only be beautiful but should also reflect the personality, aspirations and lifestyle of the people who occupy a space.

This has helped position him as an emerging name in the business of interior and exterior real estate solutions. His entrepreneurial journey in this space has also shown his ability to diversify, adapt and create complementary businesses around his core interests.

Rather than limiting himself to one aspect of property development, he has explored the connection between real estate, architecture, interior aesthetics and property value. This integrated approach has become one of the defining features of his business journey.

At the heart of Mune’s success story is an entrepreneurial mindset.

Building successful businesses requires more than capital. It requires vision, patience, strategic thinking and the ability to overcome setbacks.

Over the past 40 years, Mune has witnessed different economic realities and business cycles. Yet, rather than allowing challenges to define his journey, he has continued to pursue opportunities and expand his horizons.

His story is particularly inspiring to younger entrepreneurs because it demonstrates the importance of starting with a vision and gradually building toward the desired destination. Success, in his case, has been a process rather than an

overnight achievement.

His ability to combine business interests with personal relationships has also contributed to his growth. Those who have interacted with him describe a personality that values friendship, collaboration and human connections.

In business, these relationships have provided opportunities for partnerships, learning and expansion.

Perhaps one of the most important dimensions of Mune’s story is his commitment to philanthropy and giving back to society.

For him, success is not solely measured by the size of one’s business or material possessions. It is also measured by the positive impact one makes on other people’s lives.

Over the years, he has demonstrated a willingness to support people and contribute to initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of members of society. His philanthropic activities reflect an understanding that individuals who have been fortunate enough to succeed have a responsibility to extend a helping hand to others.

His support for people in need, community-oriented initiatives and individuals within his sphere of influence has further strengthened his reputation as an entrepreneur who understands the importance of social responsibility.

Philanthropy, however, is not always about grand public gestures. Sometimes, it is about quietly assisting someone in need, creating opportunities for young people, supporting families, encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs or helping someone overcome a difficult period.

These seemingly small interventions can have lasting effects.

This aspect of Mune’s personality offers another important lesson: that true success becomes more meaningful when it creates opportunities and hope for others.

Behind every successful entrepreneur is a story of sacrifice, uncertainty and

persistence. Mune’s journey to 40 has undoubtedly included moments of difficulty and challenges that tested his resolve.

Yet, his continued progress demonstrates the importance of perseverance. The road to entrepreneurial success is rarely straightforward. There are moments when plans fail, investments do not produce immediate results and expectations are challenged.

What separates those who succeed from those who give up is often the ability to learn from setbacks and continue moving forward.

Mune has demonstrated this quality throughout his journey. Rather than allowing obstacles to stop him, he has continued to evolve, explore new opportunities and improve his approach to business.

His story is therefore not simply about what he has achieved, but about the character developed along the way.

Turning 40 represents a significant milestone. It is an age at which experience begins to complement ambition, providing a stronger foundation for greater achievements.

This milestone offers an opportunity to reflect on the past while looking confidently toward the future. Having established himself in real estate and interior and exterior design, the next phase of his journey presents even greater possibilities. With experience, networks and an established entrepreneurial foundation, there is considerable potential for him to expand his businesses, develop larger projects and deepen his contribution to society.

His 40th birthday therefore comes at a significant point in his life. It is not a conclusion to a journey, but the beginning of another chapter.

The true measure of a person’s life is ultimately the legacy he leaves behind. For Engr. Francis Udochukwu Nwaogwugwu Mune, that legacy is already taking shape through entrepreneurship, property development, creativity, relationships and philanthropy.

His story demonstrates that one can pursue commercial success while remaining conscious of the needs of society. It shows that business can be a platform for creating employment, developing communities, inspiring others and improving lives.

As he clocks 40, the celebration is therefore about much more than a birthday. It is a celebration of a journey that has produced an entrepreneur, a businessman, a creative professional, a philanthropist and a man whose influence continues to grow.

The years ahead will undoubtedly bring new challenges and opportunities, but if the first 40 years are anything to go by, Mune has the resilience, vision and determination to embrace the future.

As friends, family members, associates and admirers celebrate him today, the message is simple: the journey has only just begun.

Happy 40th birthday to Engr. Francis Udochukwu Nwaogwugwu, Mune, a man whose story continues to demonstrate the power of vision, enterprise, and generosity.

•Udenka writes from Lagos.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 • THISDAY

NEWS

REWARDS AND RECOGNITION AWARDS...

Director of Programmes, Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Chioma Njoku (left) and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, at the 2026 Rewards and Recognition Awards organised by the office of the head of the civil service of the federation in Abuja ...recently

US Court Gives Attorney, Pirro, Ultimatum to Issue Tinubu’s Drug-trafficking Record Chuks Okocha in Abuja

United States District judge, Beryl Howell, has issued Donald Trump-appointed attorney, Jeanine

Pirro, four additional days to release the drug-trafficking records of Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu.

According to Dr. Von Batten-

Montague-York, who disclosed the development in a post on X, Judge Howell noted that the case had been pending for more than three years.

Pirro had reportedly requested an additional 10 days to comply with the order concerning records held by the US Department of Justice, DOJ, Federal Bureau of

Human Rights Complaints Hit 355,000 as NHRC, Hope-Behind-Bars Move to Close Nigeria’s Justice Gap Michael Olugbode in Abuja Nigeria’s human rights crisis assumed a more troubling dimension in July, with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recording 354,997 complaints, even as the commission entered a two-year partnership with Hope Behind Bars Africa (HBBA) aimed at strengthening access to justice, civic participation, digital rights and accountability.

The NHRC’s July 2026 Human Rights Situation Dashboard showed that complaints increased by 20 per cent from the previous month, making July the highest monthly figure recorded in the January-to-July period.

The development came amid persistent killings, kidnappings, attacks on farmers, violence against women and children, sexual abuse,

mob justice and attacks on security personnel across the country.

The commission said its dashboard is based on complaints lodged at its 38 offices nationwide and human rights violations monitored through its Human Rights Observatory.

The simultaneous move by the NHRC and HBBA to deepen institutional and civil-society cooperation is therefore significant, as the partnership seeks to address not only conventional human rights violations but also emerging threats arising from technology and the digital environment.

Under the two-year Memorandum of Understanding, the two organisations will collaborate on human rights protection, access to justice, civic space, digital rights and accountability.

The partnership will cover initia-

tives including the Justice-Tech Node, Defend the Defenders: Enhancing Action Against Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)

Major stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kebbi State have reaffirmed what they described as “absolute confidence” in the re-election of Governor Nasir Idris in 2027, citing his performance in office in the last two years as unprecedented.

The latest endorsement came from the Managing Director of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission, HYPADEC, and a leading APC stakeholder in the state, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, during a parley in Abuja with the Kebbi State Governor’s Media Team.

The media team is currently on a nationwide advocacy and engagement

tour to major media organizations and critical stakeholders to showcase the developmental strides of the Idris administration and seek support for the sustenance of good governance in Kebbi.

Yelwa said his conviction was rooted in the acknowledgment by the people of Kebbi of the “uncommon impactful” leadership of Governor Idris, which he noted had turned around the socio-economic fortunes of communities across the state within barely two years.

According to him, individuals and groups from both the public and private sectors have been trooping to Birnin Kebbi to express appreciation to the governor for his people-oriented

renewed motivation to release these documents, and we agree with Judge Howell. This case has been pending for three years.

The time to release the Tinubu drug-trafficking files is now,” he wrote.

According to him, US’s strategic interests with Nigeria should not prevent the release of the records.

“As President Trump has indicated, our shared interests with Nigeria do not mean supporting an alleged drug trafficker,” he added.

Zulum Pledges N100m, Stronger Partnerships to Revamp UMTH, Borno Healthcare Commissions NEDC-funded fertility centre, maternity complex

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has pledged stronger collaboration with the federal government and development partners to transform healthcare delivery in the state, while announcing a N100 million government donation in support

HYPADEC MD, Others Back Idris for Second Term Over Development Strides Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

and the Civic Accord Project, alongside other interventions designed to strengthen human rights and civic engagement.

Investigation, FBI, and Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA. However, Judge Howell, granted only four additional days, setting August 21, 2026 as the deadline for compliance.

Von Batten said the development was a renewed effort by Pirro and the Department of Justice to release the records, insisting that the documents should now be made public.

“We deeply appreciate US Attorney Pirro and the DOJ’s

policies and interventions across sectors.

He listed the beneficiaries of the governor’s goodwill to include traditional and religious leaders, women and youth organizations, labour unions, the academic community, trade unions, agro-allied industries, and notable elder statesmen cutting across ethnic, religious and political divides.

Citing specific achievements, the HYPADEC boss highlighted regular payment of scholarships and clearance of backlog of scholarship debts, construction and rehabilitation of educational institutions, and payment of backlog of pensions and gratuity to retirees.

of a book chronicling the tenure of the Chief Medical Director of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo.

Zulum made the commitments on Tuesday in Maiduguri at the opening of the 9th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Association of Radiologists of Nigeria (ARIN), where he also commissioned a Fertility Care Centre and En-Suite Maternity Complex constructed through the intervention of the North East Development Commission (NEDC).

The governor said the expansion of specialist healthcare infrastructure at UMTH was particularly significant for a state that had endured years of insurgency and, more recently, devastating flooding, which placed enormous pressure on public institutions and healthcare services.

He assured the hospital and other federal health institutions in Borno of continued state government support, stressing that sustainable improvement in healthcare would require stronger cooperation among federal and state authorities, development agencies and professional bodies.

“As a state government, we will continue to support the University

of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and other healthcare institutions within our capacity, while strengthening collaboration with the Federal Government and other partners,” Zulum said.

The governor described UMTH as a critical institution not only for Borno but for the wider North-East, given its role in saving lives, training medical personnel, conducting research and providing specialist services to a population that has faced prolonged humanitarian and security challenges.

He commended the management of the hospital under Prof. Ahidjo, saying the institution had recorded significant advances in infrastructure, specialist services, medical education, research and professional development.

“You are not only managing a Teaching Hospital; you are building a legacy that will benefit generations to come,” Zulum told the UMTH leadership.

The governor’s intervention comes as the hospital expands its capacity to provide specialised services, with the newly commissioned Fertility Care Centre and En-Suite Maternity Complex expected to improve access to reproductive and maternal healthcare in Borno and neighbouring states.

The NEDC-funded facilities represent one of the latest interventions aimed at strengthening critical infrastructure in the North-East, where years of conflict have severely strained public services and healthcare institutions.

Zulum also expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for supporting Borno in healthcare infrastructure, human capital development and institutional strengthening, while commending NEDC for its interventions across the region.

The governor further announced a N100 million donation by the Borno State Government towards the book, Duty and Courage: The Story of Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, 2018–2026, authored by Dr. James Bwala.

The publication documents the career and achievements of Ahidjo during his tenure as UMTH Chief Medical Director and was formally presented at the event.

Zulum described the occasion as an opportunity to recognise institutional leadership while highlighting the importance of documenting the experiences and achievements of professionals who have contributed to rebuilding public institutions during difficult periods.

33

THISDAY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

NEWS

NNPC/SEPLAT ENERGY JV EMPOWERS FIRST COHORT OF TEACHERS IN IMO...

L-R: Chizoba Onyike, Subsurface Operations Advisor, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS); Prof. Benard Ikegwuoha, Hon. Commissioner for Education (Primary & Secondary), Imo State; Samuel Chijoke, Joint Best-Graduating Teacher; Mrs. Esther Icha, General Manager, Corporate Social Investment & Social Performance, Seplat Energy Plc; Onuoha Success, Joint Best-Graduating Teacher and Dr Henry Okafor, Hon. Commissioner for Niger Delta Affairs and Intelligence, Imo State at the graduation of the first set of teachers under the Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP) in Owerri, Imo State… recently

Senate Backs NIS Passport Production Centralisation, Says it will Strengthen Security, End Alleged Extortion

NIS Explains Central facility produces 1,000 passports hourly, Says Kano migration not targeted at North Kawu after Senate fact-finding visit clarifies new system will eliminate delays, corruption Service says all passport centres remain open, assures applicants of faster, more transparent processing

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Senator Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, has endorsed the Nigeria Immigration Service’s (NIS) centralised passport production system.

The Senator who is representing Kano Central in the Senate, described the reform as a major step towards strengthening national security, eliminating extortion and improving efficiency in the issuance of international travel documents.

Kawu gave the endorsement yesterday after leading a Senate delegation on a fact-finding visit to the NIS headquarters in Abuja, following complaints by his constituents and other Nigerians over the relocation of passport production from Kano and other parts of Northern Nigeria to a central facility in the Federal Capital Territory.

The senator said the visit had enabled him and others to establish that the complaints were largely based on misconceptions about the ongoing migration of passport production from various locations to Abuja.

After receiving a detailed briefing from NIS officials and witnessing the production process, Kawu said he was convinced that the reform was aimed at strengthening the integrity and security of Nigeria’s international travel documents while bringing the country’s passport administration in line with international best practices.

He said, “They explained the process to us in detail, what they have achieved so far and what they are currently doing. Their objective is to adopt international best practices.

“From what I witnessed, I salute the courage of the ComptrollerGeneral, the Minister and, of course, the President of the Federal Republic

of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Asiwaju Tinubu.”

Kawu said the centralised system represented a decisive departure from a regime that had allegedly been associated with delays, corruption, suspicion and other irregularities.

“I believe they are doing something that will enable us to migrate from the old system, which was surrounded by suspicion, corruption, delays and many other challenges, to a more transparent and resultoriented system,” he said.

The senator stressed that passport production was too sensitive to be left vulnerable to manipulation, particularly in view of Nigeria’s security challenges, porous borders and the growing sophistication of criminal networks.

“For our national security, we need to have a centralised system that will produce our passports. The passport is one of the most important

documents for any Nigerian,” he said.

He added that greater central control over the production process would make it more difficult for criminal elements to compromise the integrity of Nigerian passports.

“We need to protect the integrity of our passport because it is not just an ordinary document. It identifies you as a Nigerian and gives you the right to travel internationally,” Kawu said.

He said the Senate delegation had gone to the Immigration headquarters specifically to verify complaints reaching lawmakers from Nigerians, particularly in Kano and other northern states, rather than relying on hearsay.

The of the Senate delegation said, “Our constituents insisted that we must come here, witness the process myself and return to tell my constituents that there is no cause for alarm.

348 VCs Meet in Ilorin to Discuss Nigeria’s Future Higher Education Tinubu canvasses sector’s digital transformation, sustainable human capital devt

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

348 vice chancellors of the nation’s universities under the aegis of Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) yesterday converged in Ilorin, Kwara State capital to strategise on the future of the nation’s varsities.

The gathering is expected draw a “map” by which the varsities can compete with their contemporaries across the globe.

The CVCNU 37th Annual General Assembly conference themed: “Building Resilient Universities for Nigeria,” held at the main auditorium of the University of Ilorin.

The special guest of honour, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his address at the conference, charged Nigerian universities to go beyond traditional focus on awarding degrees and reposition themselves as centres

of innovation, practical skills, research and national development.

Represented by the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaibat Saidu Ahmad, Tinubu said the country could not achieve sustainable economic transformation without corresponding investment in human capital.

He described universities as critical partners in the federal government’s development agenda, stressing that they must produce graduates capable of responding to the realities of a rapidly changing global economy.

“Universities are more than institutions where degrees are awarded. They are centres of knowledge creation, innovation, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, cultural development and national transformation,” he said.

According to him, Nigerian universities must produce graduates who are not only academically sound

but also innovative, ethical, digitally competent, entrepreneurial, adaptable and capable of solving real-world problems.

He challenged university authorities to reconsider the quality and relevance of graduates being produced, particularly in an era dominated by artificial intelligence, automation, biotechnology, data science, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

“The question before us is no longer simply whether our universities are producing graduates. The more foundational question is: what kind of graduates are we producing? How effectively are our universities preparing them to contribute to Nigeria’s economic and social transformation?” he asked.

Tinubu said his administration was pursuing reforms aimed at improving the quality, relevance, accessibility, affordability and accountability of

tertiary education.

He explained that the Federal Ministry of Education was implementing the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative, with particular attention to institutional governance, quality assurance, research and innovation, digital transformation, skills development and stronger university-industry linkages.

The president called for stronger practical training in Nigerian universities, saying that academic knowledge must be complemented by hands-on experience.

He disclosed that the government had begun reviewing curricular, particularly in agriculture, to shift the emphasis from theory to practical training.

“We are moving away from 70 per cent theory and 30 per cent practical to a robust 80 per cent practical and 20 per cent theory,” he said.

“I am 100 per cent satisfied with the explanation given to us and what we have seen here. We will solidly support the Nigeria Immigration Service.”

Kawu promised to take the findings of the delegation back to the Senate, saying Nigerians needed to be properly informed about the reform to prevent misinformation from undermining a potentially important security and administrative initiative.

He said, “What we have seen today is different from what some people thought was happening.

The passport centres have not been closed. What has changed is where the physical production is taking place.”

The NIS, in its presentation to the lawmakers, said the centralisation of passport production was introduced following a comprehensive assessment of the existing system and was designed primarily to strengthen national security, eliminate extortion, improve accountability and create a uniform production process.

The Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of Passports and Other Travel Documents, Titilayo Olaiya, said the reform began in 2024 after the Service identified significant weaknesses in the decentralised production arrangement.

‘It started in 2024 when we assessed what we had on ground. We realised that the main purpose of the reform was to enhance national security,” Olaiya said.

According to him, the NIS subsequently developed a centralised workflow through which the Service could monitor the entire production process and apply uniform standards across the country.

“What we needed to do was come up with centralised production so that the work could be monitored and we could adopt best practices,” he said.

Olaiya said the new system would significantly reduce opportunities for touts and corrupt intermediaries to exploit applicants desperate to obtain their passports.

Olaiya said, “In the past, when you got to passport offices, a tout could approach you and say that if you wanted to expedite your

passport, you should bring a certain amount of money. That is no longer the case,” he said.

“Once an application is submitted, you will notice that it drops into the central production system.

“You don’t need to see anybody and you don’t need to call anybody to expedite the process.”

He explained that the removal of physical intervention in the production stage would make it more difficult for individuals to manipulate the process or demand money from applicants.

“The idea is that once your application has been approved, nobody should be able to hold on to it or ask you for money before it is produced,” Olaiya said.

He disclosed that the central production facility currently had the capacity to produce approximately 1,000 passports every hour, saying the capacity was sufficient to meet the requirements of passport offices across the country.

“The capacity of the machines we currently have on the ground is about 1,000 passports in one hour.

So, we have the capacity to supply all the branches with produced passports,” he said.

Olaiya explained that the migration from decentralised production to the central facility was being implemented in phases to avoid disruption, with locations with lower production volumes moved first before larger and busier centres.

He said Kano was included in Phase Four, while major centres in Lagos, including the Ikoyi passport office, were scheduled for a later phase because of their significantly higher production volumes.

He dismissed suggestions that the migration was targeted at Northern Nigeria, describing such claims as a misconception arising from the phased approach.

“That is a misconception caused by the delay and by information circulating about Ikoyi and Festac being part of Phase Five,” he said.

“The reason they fall under Phase Five is because of the volume of production. We started from locations with lower production volumes and moved towards the larger production centres.”

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 • THISDAY

NEWS

ZULUM RECEIVING A “LEADERSHIP IN HEALTHCARE AWARD”...

L-R: Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, receiving a “Leadership in Healthcare Award “ presented by the Minister of state for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, on Tuesday at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital

At 2027 Peace Accord Signing, Tinubu Tasks All on Violence, Religious Sentiments Atiku, Makinde shun ceremony Musa: no security architecture can guarantee peaceful polls if political actors opt for violence Says US military technology bolstering operational success against insecurity Army to move beyond traditional approaches to data management, Shaibu declares Adedayo Akinwale, Olawale Ajimotokan and Linus Aleke in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, asked all political parties, candidates, and other signatories in the peace accord ahead of the 2027 general election to refrain from exploiting ethnic, religious, and other primordial sentiments in the pursuit of political power.

Tinubu made the plea in Abuja at the traditional signing of Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

He described political disagreements and competing visions as legitimate features of democracy, but warned that campaigns must never be allowed to undermine national cohesion or threaten the bonds holding Nigerians together.

Relatedly, Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, said no security or electoral strategy, regardless of its sophistication, could guarantee peaceful elections if political actors chose violence during electioneering. Musa stated this yesterday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Blueprint Newspapers Impact Series and Awards Ceremony.

Separately, the minister emphasised the vital role of American military technology in the effectiveness of ongoing operations against insurgency, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other emerging security threats. He spoke during an official visit to Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency, Ambassador Kayode Are, at the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC. That was as Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Waidi Shaibu, said the contemporary security environment, characterised by technological advancement and increasing reliance on digital systems, required the Nigerian Army to move beyond traditional approaches to record-keeping. Shaibu stated this yesterday while declaring open the fourth edition of the Army Headquarters Department of Military Secretary Data Management and RecordKeeping Seminar at the Armed Forces Officers’ Mess, Abuja.

Tinubu, who was represented at the peace accord signing ceremony

by Secretary to the Government of

the Federation (SSG), Senator George Akume, stated, “In the spirit of the accord we have just signed, we must conduct ourselves in ways that strengthen, not tear, the fabric of our society. It is natural during campaigns to disagree as opponents and advocate competing governing visions for our country.

“We may exchange occasional political jabs. But as members of the same household, the same national family, we must never resort to divisive or primordial sentiments of ethnicity or religion as tools for seeking power.”

He entreated political actors to transform the forthcoming campaigns into a contest of ideas, policies, and programmes capable of improving the lives of Nigerians and advancing the country’s development.

The president said, “Let us campaign on superior ideas. Let us debate issues and promote the best policies to expand opportunities for our people and accelerate Nigeria’s journey from a developing nation to a first-world country.”

He described the signing of the peace accord as a solemn commitment by political leaders to place the country’s interest above personal and partisan ambitions, and ensure a peaceful and transparent electoral process.

He also reiterated his personal commitment and that of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the tenets and obligations of the Peace Accord, stressing that the party would conduct its campaign in a manner that promotes peace and national stability.

The president declared that APC rejected violence, hate speech, misinformation, and every form of incitement, including the misuse of emerging technologies and social media to manipulate public opinion or inflame tensions.

He said, “Our party rejects violence, hate speech, the spread of misinformation, including through artificial intelligence, and all forms of incitement, especially via social media.

“We are committed to peaceful, transparent elections that will strengthen political stability, social harmony, economic progress, and our nation’s prosperity. I encourage other political

parties and political actors to do the same.”

Tinubu urged the other candidates and their supporters not to consider elections as a do-or-die contest, stating that political actors, irrespective of party affiliation, remain partners in the collective task of building the nation.

He said, “Let us remember that elections are not a do-or-die affair. We are partners in the project of nation-building.

Win or lose, our country, Nigeria, must be the ultimate winner.”

He commended the National Peace Committee (NPC), particularly former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd); Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, for convening the event and for their sustained contribution to peaceful elections in Nigeria.

The president said since 2014, NPC had remained steadfast in promoting peace accords through which political parties and candidates committed themselves to non-violent and issuebased campaigns during national and off-cycle elections.

Tinubu observed that since Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999 under the stewardship of Abubakar and his team, election periods had often generated anxiety because of the intense competition for political power.

He, however, stated that despite the tension and disagreements that sometimes accompanied political contests, Nigeria had made significant progress in the transparency and management of elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Tinubu also said the deployment of technology by INEC had brought remarkable improvements to the electoral process, notably through the introduction of the Permanent Voter’s Card and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

He said the innovations had helped to curb voting manipulation, ballot stuffing, and ballot snatching at polling units, while strengthening the confidence of citizens that their votes would count.

The president, who cited the three off-season governorship elections held in Anambra, Ekiti and lately, Osun State,

between October 2025 and August 2026, added that the improvements had made politicians more accountable to the electorate and demonstrated the capacity of Nigerians to conduct themselves with maturity and restraint during elections.

He stated that different political parties emerged victorious in the elections, which local and international observers described as free, credible, and transparent.

The president observed that transparent electoral processes and outcomes had contributed to reducing post-election litigation, stressing that confidence in the integrity of elections remains crucial to the consolidation of Nigeria’s democracy.

The president called on Nigerians, civil society organisations, development partners, and the media to support efforts to deepen democracy and build a stronger and more vibrant democratic society.

He stressed that democracy went beyond periodic elections and the emergence of political office holders, saying it also encompasses citizens’ participation in national affairs, confidence in public institutions, civic engagement, good governance, justice, and equity.

Tinubu expressed confidence that adherence to the peace accord by political parties, candidates and their supporters would contribute significantly to peaceful campaigns and credible elections in 2027, while strengthening political stability, social harmony, and economic progress in the country.

For his part, INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, said the timing of the ceremony was significant because it came on the eve of the commencement of campaigns.

Amupitan said Nigerians were looking forward to an electoral process that would be credible and campaigns that would address the problems confronting the country rather than descend into personal attacks.

The INEC chairman lamented that the recent information gathered by NPC’s Election Security Information Hub showed an “alarming resurgence” of hate speech, toxic polarisation, coordinated misinformation, and personality-driven political discourse.

He stated that the development required urgent attention as political parties prepared for what was expected to be one of the most fiercely contested elections since the return to democratic rule in 1999.

Amupitan stated, “Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 19, 2026, marks the statutory commencement of public campaigns and rallies for the 2027 general election.

“Before the first campaign flag is unfurled, before the first rally is staged, and before political rhetoric fills our public space, it is necessary that those who seek to lead this nation first gather to establish the ethical boundaries of their contest.

“Electoral contests in a constitutional democracy are not total wars; they are competitive job interviews before the electorate. Nigerians do not want insults; they want solutions.”

The INEC chairman stressed that the growing influence of social media and artificial intelligence had created new challenges for election management, particularly through the spread of disinformation and what he described as foreign information manipulation and interference.

The professor of law challenged presidential candidates and party leaders to ensure that their supporters, campaign organisations, and online teams complied with the spirit of the peace accord.

He assured political parties that INEC had no preferred candidate and would remain committed to providing a level playing field for all contestants.

Amupitan revealed that the commission was preparing to deploy about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.

He said technology alone could not guarantee peaceful elections, stressing that the conduct of political actors remain critical to the success of the process.

He stated that lessons from recent off-cycle elections, including the Anambra governorship election, Federal Capital Territory Area Council election, and Ekiti and Osun governorship elections were being used to strengthen preparations for 2027.

In his submission, Abubakar disclosed that NPC had facilitated 30 peace accords

since 2015, including five national-level accords and 25 at the subnational level.

He said the committee had also established faith-based peace structures in 23 states to complement its national peacebuilding efforts.

The former head of state said the issue-based peace accord was established in response to the growing tendency for political campaigns to rely on sentiments, personal attacks, and character assassination, rather than manifestoes and policy proposals.

He said the accord was designed to encourage parties and candidates to compete on ideas, policies, and programmes, debate opposing views respectfully, organise supporters peacefully, protect voters, respect electoral institutions, and reject hate speech and misinformation.

He lamented the decline in the quality of political discourse, saying campaigns have increasingly become platforms for name-calling and personal insults.

Abubakar stated, “Over the years, political campaigns and rallies have neglected the significance of party manifestos and programmes, and created a platform for political parties to resort to name-calling, personal insults, and character assassination.”

He explained that the provisions of the accord were anchored on the country’s constitution, Electoral Act, and other relevant laws, making them more than mere political declarations.

Chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Dantalle, appealed to political parties, candidates, campaign councils, and spokespersons to respect the agreement and conduct their campaigns with restraint.

Dantalle urged political actors to avoid fake news, personal attacks, and insults, while promoting tolerance and civility in political discourse.

The committee, for its part, appealed to the parties to make the 2027 campaign a contest of ideas rather than a battle of personalities. It said NPC established the Election Security Information Hub to monitor electoral offences and security developments, and provide early warnings and evidence-based analysis to stakeholders.

35

THISDAY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

NEWS

ZONAL LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY FOOD BANK PROGRAMME...

L-R: Wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun; the First lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture, Mr. Ayo Sotinrin and Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, during the zonal launch of the National Community Food Bank Programme in the South West, held at the Primary Health Care, Makun, Sagamu, yesterday

INEC Set to Lift Ban on Campaigns Ahead 2027, Projects Over 100 Million Registered Voters APC restructures plans nationwide as G-100 meets House Minority Caucus, schedules unity summit for August 31, says Nigeria can’t afford another four years of ruling party

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to officially lift ban on political campaigns in line with its timetable and schedule of activities, as it projects that Nigeria’s registered voting population would surpass 100 million in next year’s general election.

INEC had fixed January 16, 2027 for presidential and National Assembly elections, and February 6, 2027 for governorship and House of Assembly polls.

According to the electoral guideline, all public political campaigns, commencing today, August 19, must cease 24 hours prior to election day.

INEC added that with the previous voter register standing at over 93 million, the number was expected to cross 100 million after the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), placing Nigeria as the largest electoral democracy in Africa.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed the latest developments in Abuja at the Joint Implementation Meeting of the Departments of Voter Education and Publicity (VEP) and Gender and Inclusivity (G&I) for the 2027 general election.

The meeting was to draft the communication and inclusivity roadmap for the 2027 elections, to ensure the elections were free, fair, credible, peaceful, and inclusive.

Haruna urged INEC information officers to deliver effective publicity to mobilise all eligible citizens.

He stated, “Our job is to give the

widest and most effective publicity to all five sets of elections to mobilise all Nigerians of voting age to choose their leaders. This job is at once simple and complex.

“First, we must have a grasp of the language we wish to communicate in and do so with the simplest words and in the most civil manner. Second, we must be knowledgeable about our country’s Constitution, the Electoral Law, and the Commission’s Guidelines.

“We must also be well-informed on other relevant legislation like the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts.”

The national commissioner stressed that building on the success of recent off-cycle elections, including Osun, demanded harder work to deliver the freest and most credible general elections in the country’s history.

Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Adedayo Oketola, described the joint meeting as timely and vital for drafting an actionable communication and inclusivity roadmap.

Oketola said while technological infrastructure and operational logistics formed the backbone of electoral administration, the two departments constituted the human face and voice of the INEC. According to him, “You build public trust, simplify complex procedures, and ensure that no eligible citizen is left behind. The antidote to disinformation is proactive, factual, and continuous public engagement.

“Our messaging must move beyond traditional announcement-style publicity into aggressive, daily civic education

that demystifies our technology, such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Results Viewing (IReV), and reinforces the integrity of the open secret ballot system.”

On gender and inclusivity, Oketola reiterated that electoral access for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), women, youths, and elderly voters remained a constitutional right.

He added, “From the deployment of Braille ballot guides and magnifying glasses to prioritising vulnerable queues and expanding youth participation through Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), 2027 must set a new benchmark for electoral access in Nigeria.”

APC Restructures Plans Nationwide The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) assured its members that it would soon unveil a detailed, nationwide campaign programme as campaigns officially opened today nationally.

The ruling party had earlier scheduled today, August 19, for the commencement of political campaigns, but, reportedly, shelved it.

Speaking with journalists yesterday in Abuja after the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting that lasted for three hours, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, revealed that the party was deliberately structuring its strategy before hitting the stump.

Morka said, “August 19 is the date fixed by INEC for all parties to start the presidential and National Assembly campaign. There is no law that says we

DANGOTE REFINERY SECURES $1BN BACKING AHEAD OF PLANNED IPO

participation by African and Caribbean sovereign wealth funds, governments and institutional investors across Global Africa,” he said.

Chairman of Marob Strategies, Prof. Benedict Oramah, said the transaction demonstrated the appetite for African-led capital markets transactions providing access to transformative assets on the continent.

“As Chairman, I am very proud of the work undertaken by the management team at Marob Strategies to bring this transaction to fruition. Marob Strategies is now focused on disciplined distribution across Global Africa and is

engaging sovereign wealth funds, governments, institutional investors and other eligible investors.

“The level of interest confirms the appetite for African-led capital markets transactions that provide investors with access to transformative assets on the continent.

The success of this transaction paves the way for many more such transactions in the future,” he added.

Chairman of Lilium Capital Group, Simon Tiemtoré, similarly described the mandate as part of the firm’s effort to connect major African opportunities with institutional investors across Global Africa and international markets.

“This mandate reflects Lilium Capital’s commitment to connecting world-class African opportunities with institutional investors across Global Africa and international markets. By mobilising long-term capital for strategic assets such as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, we are supporting industrialisation, strengthening capital markets and contributing to sustainable economic growth across the continent.

“We are proud to support DPRP on this landmark transaction and look forward to mobilising capital for more transformative projects that create lasting value for Africa,” Tiemtoré said.

must start on that day. The only thing is, no political party is permitted to start ahead of the day.”

He explained that the ruling party was prioritising thorough preparation and consultations over a rushed rollout.

Morka stated, “The party is coming up with a comprehensive and wellthought-out nationwide campaign schedule after necessary consultation with critical stakeholders and affected candidates. There is no law that says we must start on Wednesday.”

G-100 Meets House Minority Caucus, Schedules Unity Summit for August 31 In another development, Nigerian opposition parties, under the aegis of the G-100 initiative, and the minority caucus of the House of Representatives resolved to work together and present a united front to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.

The opposition parties also rescheduled the national unity summit, earlier fixed for August 18, to August 31 in Abuja.

At the meeting with the leadership of the minority caucus held at the National Assembly complex, the of G-100 and former National Vice Chairman, Northwest of APC, Dr. Salihu Lukman, said

there was a need to form a united front ahead of the 2027 elections if they were to stand a chance against APC. Lukman stated that the group, representing various opposition political parties, including Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and Social Democratic Party (SDP), aimed to prevent fragmentation that previously benefited the ruling APC. He maintained that the primary objective remained negotiating a common platform to ensure a cohesive challenge against the current administration.

Lukman expressed concern that opposition parties were currently too fragmented to be effective, adding that the main objective was to avoid repeating the 2023 election scenario, which they believed handed victory to the ruling APC. He stated, “As opposition parties, we seem to be fragmented, and if we continue the way we are going, we are almost going to repeat the 2023 scenario, and it’s almost like a case of handing over victory to the ruling party, and then we go back to square one.

“And we feel, given the situation the country is facing today, the country cannot afford another four years of APC government, and that whatever it will

take to get our leaders back together to do the needful and begin to work together to ensure victory in the 2027 election, we need to do it.”

Lukman revealed that the group had consulted with presidential candidates, running mates, and national chairmen of the six involved parties, namely, ADC, NDC, PDP, APM, PRP, and SDP. He said, “We presented our concern and insisted that the only pathway to victory is for leaders to come together and begin to negotiate a common front on the basis of which the 2027 election will be contested, and like we reported in the press statement we issued, we got very cordial responses from almost all the leaders.”

Lukman stressed that it was on that basis that the date for the summit was announced.

He explained, “The summit was to take place today, but some of the leaders of the political parties got back to us and appealed that today, they are signing the peace accord with the National Peace Committee, and requested that we postpone it.

“We come to you again to say we have shifted the summit to 31st August.

We don’t want to proceed alone. There are many Nigerians who have indicated good support, and we want to work with everybody. This is not about us; it’s about the country.

CEMENT PRICES: FCCPC OPENS PROBE OVER ALLEGED MARKET MANIPULATION AMID EXCESS PRODUCTION CAPACITY Algeria, using variables, such as, limestone availability, population, production capacity, and domestic consumption.

In Kenya, which has a population of 58.6 million, about 76 per cent lower than Nigeria’s, domestic cement demand was about 9.3 million metric tonnes in 2025, while a bag of cement sold for about $5.40, equivalent to N7,344.

Tanzania, with a population of 66.3 million and similar cement demand of about 9.3 million metric tonnes in 2025, recorded a retail price of about $4.80, or N6,528, according to the commission.

In Togo, where there is no limestone deposit, a bag sold for about $6.75, equivalent to N9,180.

The commission said industry participants had identified energy costs, the depreciation of the Naira, and its impact on imported ma-

chinery and spare parts, as well as transportation and logistics costs, as factors contributing to domestic cement prices.

However, FCCPC said it was testing those explanations against verified information on production costs, pricing, capacity utilisation and prevailing market conditions.

The preliminary findings, it added, were not a final determination of wrongdoing but provided sufficient grounds for the investigation to continue.

The next phase will determine whether the prevailing cement prices can be justified by legitimate costs and market conditions or whether there is evidence of coordinated conduct, abuse of market power, restriction of domestic supply, anti-competitive distribution practices or other violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer

Protection Act. Consequently, the commission has issued notices of commencement of investigation and summons to produce to key players in the cement industry.

The affected companies are expected to submit records and information relating to their pricing methodologies, production and capacity utilisation, exports and relevant commercial relationships.

FCCPC said all major cement manufacturers had cooperated with the investigation by making their records available, except one.

Publicly available estimates indicate that three major undertakings account for more than 90 per cent of installed cement production capacity in the country, further underscoring the commission’s interest in determining how competition operates within the market.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 • THISDAY

NEWS

LASG HONOURS 506 LG WORKERS WITH OFFICERS’ LONG SERVICE MERIT AWARD...

L-R: Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Rural Development, Dr. Nurudeen Agbaje; Head of Service, Mr. Bode Agoro; Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Permanent Secretary, Office of Local Government Establishments and Training, Ms. Toyin Ogunlana and some recipients of the 2026 Long Service Merit Award for Unified Local Government Service, held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, yesterday

I Rejected Tinubu as Running Mate over Muslim-Muslim Ticket, Atiku Recounts Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has narrated how he rejected an attempt by then Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu to become his running mate, saying he opposed a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the interest of the country.

In a Hausa-speaking video interview shared on X, Atiku disclosed

how some elders approached him after he secured the presidential ticket that Tinubu wanted to be his running mate.

According to him, Tinubu sent five elders among them Tom Ikimi, Bisi Akande and three others, to discuss the issue with him.

Atiku said, “He said he would back me to secure the ticket. After I got the ticket, he sent five elders among them Tom Ikimi, Bisi Akande

and three others.

“They told me that Tinubu wanted to be my running mate.

I told them that, as Christians they should understand that it was inappropriate for me to pick a Muslim as my running mate.

“I asked them why they could not tell him that. I told them that I could not accept a Muslim-Muslim ticket, because it would not be of the best interest of our country. He

broke away and backed the late President Umaru Musa Ya’adua, may his soul rest in peace.”

He said they parted ways from then and did not find themselves in the same political camp until in 2014 during Buhari’s campaign.

“I returned to Abuja after the convention and Late President Muhammadu Buhari visited me at my residence. He told me that he had contested the primary election

and won, but needed support to win the secondary election, saying he could not win without my support.

“I gave him one condition because I learnt that Tinubu wanted Buhari to pick him as his running mate. I assured him I will support on the condition that he will not do Muslim-Muslim ticket. After about five minutes of thought, he assured me would not.”

Atiku said after Buhari left his

residence, Tinubu sent his emissaries to ask Buhari about the agreement they reached to be picked as running mate.

He added: “Tinubu was so upset, saying that Buhari had not kept his promise, and so on.

He was eventually calmed down.

He later asked Buhari to pick his wife since she is a Christian, but Buhari declined to work with a female running mate.

WINNERS AND LOSERS AS ADELEKE DANCES BACK TO OKEFIA HOUSE structure to support Adeleke. The results provide enough political intrigue to make the theory difficult to ignore. After all, during their mass detection before the poll, Omisore’s supporters cited his ill-treatment by the party as a key reason they were exiting the APC. Omisore therefore emerges as an unlikely winner in the election. He managed to maintain his public allegiance to the APC while apparently retaining enough influence within his political base to leave open the possibility that his supporters voted differently at the ballot. If that was indeed the strategy, it was a politically deft balancing act.

In an election defined by shifting alliances and unexpected voting patterns, Omisore may have discovered that his greatest political currency was not necessarily the candidate he endorsed, but the followers who listened to him when nobody was watching.

The Opposition: Hope Restored?

Although the broader opposition may not have contested the election as a single political entity, Adeleke’s victory nevertheless represented a psychological boost.

The lesson is straightforward: the APC can be defeated. That may sound obvious, but in the emerging 2027 political environment, it is an important message.

Opposition politicians have spent months discussing alliances, coalitions and the possibility of presenting a united challenge to Tinubu and the APC. Some opposition figures have already backed the idea of a single candidate against the ruling party.

Osun has now provided something that political calculations and Abuja meetings cannot provide: an actual electoral example.

A ruling party with federal power, access to national political figures and a formidable political structure can still lose an election. That is perhaps the biggest political message of Osun

to opposition politicians.

on the state.

Accord: Victory for Fringe Party

Bola Oyebamiji: Biggest Loser

Then there is Accord itself. The party has achieved what would ordinarily have seemed almost impossible: it has retained the governorship of a major Nigerian state with a candidate who was once a member of another major political party.

Adeleke’s movement to Accord transformed the party from a minor participant into the platform controlling the Osun Government House.

The irony is that Accord’s victory came amid a bitter internal leadership dispute, making the outcome even more remarkable. The party now has the responsibility of proving that its Osun victory was not merely the product of Adeleke’s personality and political structure.

It’s unclear if Adeleke will announce his exit tomorrow. But for now, Accord has every reason to celebrate.

To be sure, Oyebamiji did not suffer an electoral humiliation in the conventional sense.

After all, he polled 444,815 votes, won 11 local government areas and secured what reports described as the highest vote total ever recorded by an APC governorship candidate in Osun.

But elections are ultimately about winning.

And Oyebamiji had behind him the machinery of the APC, the support of several heavyweight politicians and the enormous advantage of challenging an incumbent on behalf of the ruling party. He still lost by 66,252 votes.

That makes his defeat the most consequential individual loss of the election.

His loss also raises questions about whether the APC correctly assessed the strength of Adeleke’s grassroots structure and whether the party’s internal divisions undermined the formidable machinery it assembled behind its candidate.

LOSERS Gboyega Oyetola: Another Painful Chapter

Rauf Aregbesola: For Gboyega Oyetola, the Diminishing Influence?

result is another reminder of how dramatically the political landscape in Osun has shifted. He lost the 2022 election to Adeleke after serving as governor. Four years later, the man who defeated him returned for another term.

Oyetola has remained one of the APC’s most recognisable figures in the state and was associated with the party’s struggle to reclaim Osun from the incumbent.

But Adeleke’s second victory makes that task considerably more difficult. The former governor now has to confront an uncomfortable political reality: his principal rival has not only survived the first election but has now consolidated his hold

Few names once carried as much weight in Osun politics as Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who backed the ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam during the election.

As governor between 2010 and 2018, he built a formidable political machine and became one of the most influential political figures in the state.

But the 2026 election offered another indication that the old Aregbesola political architecture no longer commands the influence it once did, especially after his exit from the Tinubu umbrella.

His former political allies are now scattered across different camps, and the candidate associated with

the APC establishment could not overcome Adeleke’s coalition. By the way, he was reported to have lost his polling unit.

Oyinlola: The Old Order Takes Another Hit Former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola suffered another symbolic political setback in the election after openly backing the APC and its governorship candidate, Oyebamiji.

At his polling unit at Court Hall I, Okuku, the result went against the former governor. Accord secured 125 votes, while the APC managed 85, a result that underscored the growing disconnect between the old political establishment and voters in its traditional strongholds.

The result may be only a polling-unit statistic, but its political symbolism is difficult to ignore.

When a party fails to win the polling unit of one of its most prominent supporters, questions inevitably arise about the reach and relevance of that political influence.

For Oyinlola, the outcome was another reminder that political stature and past achievements do not automatically translate into votes, particularly in an election where voters appeared willing to cross traditional political lines.

Okpebholo/Uzodimma/ Akpabio: Federal Might Vs Local Reality In all, the Osun election also exposed the limits of national political power.

The APC did not enter the contest as an under-resourced opposition party. It deployed heavyweight politicians like the Governor of Edo, Monday Okpebholo, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and and substantial political machinery. Yet Adeleke prevailed.

Indeed, during the final megarally and campaign events for the APC, top national heavyweights stormed Osogbo, led by Senate

President Godswill Akpabio (representing Tinubu). APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and over 10 APC governors were also present.

In fact, the altercation between Okpebholo and Uzodimma on the one hand and Adeleke and his group on the other was one of the highlights of the campaign season.

APC’s failure despite the massive campaign should concern anyone who believes that national political influence can automatically be converted into local votes. Osun demonstrated that voters retain the capacity to separate state politics from national political calculations.

For the APC, that is perhaps one of the most important lessons from the election.

Imumolen and Factional Accord The defeat of the factional Accord leadership associated with Christopher Imumolen was another highlight of the just-concluded Osun election.

The internal dispute within Accord produced competing claims about the authentic leadership of the party and different political positions ahead of the election.

Imumolen disclosed that the party has stepped down its support for Adeleke and stated its support for the candidate of the APC’s Oyebamiji.

Interestingly, while making his speech, Imumolen replaced the yellow cap, which is synonymous with the Accord party in the state, with that of the APC, illustrating his full support for the latter.

In the end, the Adeleke-led Accord structure prevailed electorally.

With Adeleke’s win, the ballot has now provided its own verdict on which political structure has the greater legitimacy on the ground.

Senator Fadahunsi: A Candidate for ICC Probe

For Senator Francis Fadahunsi, the election was also a costly political episode. Speaking in Yoruba language in a video that went viral, Fadahunsi said: “How many people have you seen the APC kill? We are here to tell you that until the day of the election, if we see any Accord member in Ilesa, we will kill them.”

He cross a line that shouldn’t be crossed by every measure and the fact he is still walking free says a lot about our security system.

His controversial pre-election remarks about “killing” sparked outrage, with the statement widely interpreted as a call for violence against the party. Although his camp later attempted to clarify that he meant defeating Accord at the polls rather than physically harming anyone, the remarks were serious enough to draw police attention, with the senator summoned for questioning.

The comments could now haunt Fadahunsi beyond the ballot box. Given the gravity of alleged incitement to violence during an election, his remarks could potentially attract scrutiny from international accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), particularly if they are found to have constituted incitement to violence.

The irony was devastating for the senator: Accord was not “killed”. It survived the political onslaught and, against the odds, emerged victorious at the polls.

For a politician who had become one of the more vocal opponents of Adeleke’s return, the outcome was therefore doubly bruising: not only did his preferred political outcome fail, his controversial rhetoric may now remain part of the post-election reckoning.

And therein lies the larger story of Osun 2026. The election was won by Adeleke, but its consequences extend far beyond the governor.

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THISDAY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

NEWS

8TH BLUEPRINT NEWSPAPERS PUBLIC LECTURE...

L–R: The Andoma of Doma, Alhaji Dr. Ahmadu Aliyu Ogah Onawo; Representative of the Etsu Nupe; former Governor of Niger State, Senator Dr. Abubakar Sani Bello; Governor of Zamfara State, His Excellency Dauda Lawal; National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda; Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources, Senator Abdulazeez Yari; Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, fnipr; and Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ossai, during the 8th Blueprint Newspapers Public Lecture, Impact Series and Awards on August 18, 2026 PHOTO: SUNDAY AGHAEZE

Osun Poll: We Respect INEC’s Position, APC Guber Candidate, Oyebamiji, Declares We’re studying the results, says campaign DG ADC alleges victory collaboration as Adeleke refutes working with opposition We’re finalising documentation of victims of election-related violence, Imole council Davido hails uncle’s re-election, unveils plans for sports devt in state

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Osun State, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji, yesterday, spoke for the first time since his defeat, saying he respected the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which declared Governor Ademola Adeleke winner of the election.

But the Director-General of the APC governorship campaign, Wole Oke, said the party did not agree with INEC’s election results and declaration, and that its ongoing review would determine its next step.

However, Oyebamiji in a message posted on X yesterday, three days after the August 15 governorship election, accepted defeat.

Adeleke, candidate of the Accord Party, was declared winner of the governorship election after polling 511,067 votes to defeat Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes.

Oyebamiji commended the APC supporters and party leaders across the state for their commitment to his campaign, saying he remained grateful to those who believed in the alternative vision presented to voters.

“Although we had hoped for a different outcome in the election, in the meantime, we respect the position of the electoral umpire and I totally support the decision of our party in its ongoing review of the outcome of the election,” he said.

Oyebamij noted that the end of the campaign did not mean the end of the issues and values for which his campaign stood.

“The campaign has come to an end and the election is over, but the values and causes we championed are alive. We would continue to work for effective, inclusive and rapid development of our dear Osun,” he said.

The APC candidate equally urged his supporters to remain peaceful and engaged in their communities, while asking them to continue working for the collective interest of the state.

He, however, raised concerns over alleged attacks on APC members and supporters, saying the situation had worsened in the aftermath of the election.

“At the same time, I wish to alert the state government and security agents

to the growing trend of hostility and violence against our members and supporters,” Oyebamiji said.

He alleged that attacks on APC supporters recorded before the election had “taken another dimension in the last 24 hours.”

Oyebamiji consequently called on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to intervene, urging his supporters to remain calm as they go about their activities.

He thanked voters, volunteers, party members and leaders who supported his candidacy, saying he remained “proud of the campaign we ran” and grateful for their confidence But Oke, who did not agree with INEC said the party would not be pressured into congratulating Adeleke over his victory.

Oke stated this in an interview, saying the position of President Bola Tinubu, who had congratulated Adeleke was different from that of the party’s campaign team, which was “on the ground” and assessing the process.

“And like I’ve told you that what we are doing, even for future, for records, is to conduct a thorough review of the entire process and then form our opinion.

“We won’t be under any sort of pressure to easily reach out to congratulate Senator Ademola Adeleke. We do not agree with the declaration of INEC. That’s our position for now. We believe he did not score the highest valid votes,” he said.

Oke said the APC campaign team was more concerned with reviewing the electoral process before making any decision.

“When you have a project of this nature with the outcome announced

by INEC, we will not be in a haste, nor shall we be under pressure without doing the needful,” he said.

According to him, the party had commenced an audit of the election and directed its agents to submit relevant result sheets for scrutiny.

“We have embarked on an audit process. We have asked all our party agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, B, and C to our secretariat for review. We need to inspect the materials,” Oke said.

Also, the APC Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, said the APC was still studying the results from all 332 wards.

The party said an election was “a process that continues through the

tribunal, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court,” adding that it would consult its lawyers and explore all legal options available under the Electoral Act if irregularities were discovered.

Oke said the party would also examine issues arising from the preelection period and the conduct of the election against provisions of the Electoral Act and other relevant laws.

“Until we do that and form our opinion, we won’t be able to go further to say anything on this,” he said.

ADC Alleges Victory Collaboration as Adeleke Refutes Working With Opposition Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has countered remarks by the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, that the party cooperated with Accord to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election.

Speaking during an interview on Trust TV, Abdullahi said the ADC collaborated with Accord to secure Adeleke’s re-election and hand the APC a bitter defeat.

He said the ADC had anticipated that opposition votes would be divided, creating an opportunity for the APC to emerge victorious.

“We saw the possibility of collaboration. We saw the possibility earlier enough that if we decided to go full throttle, the possibility that the opposition would divide the votes and the APC would take the victory was there.

“And that was why we saw the

opportunity to work together, and that was what happened. That is why we can confidently celebrate what is going on in Osun, because for us, victory means that APC was defeated.

“We don’t see the fact that our governorship candidate did not emerge as an occasion of defeat or failure. The failure, the defeat of the APC, was a real victory for us,” Abdullahi said.

Asked whether the ADC directed its supporters to vote for Adeleke, Abdullahi said, “We cooperated with the Accord party,” adding that the decision was backed by the leadership of the ADC. But in a tweet, Adeleke dismissed the claim.

While crediting God and the people of Osun for his re-election, Adeleke said the ADC was never part of the “rainbow coalition” that canvassed and supported his bid in last Saturday’s election.

He commended his political partners, who sacrificed to make the aspirations of Osun people a reality.

“I had no electoral deal or partnership with the ADC before, during, or after the governorship election. The credit for our victory goes to God Almighty and the good people of Osun State for their overwhelming support and re-election.

“For the sake of history, it is important to clarify that the ADC was never part of the rainbow coalition that canvassed, mobilised, and supported our campaign in the battle leading to last Saturday’s election.

“I commend all our political partners who sacrificed, worked tirelessly, and went all out to make Saturday a victory day for all Osun people. Their commitment and support were instrumental

to our success.

“Now that the election is over, I remain the Governor of all Osun people, irrespective of political affiliation, religion, or tribe. My commitment is to unite our people and continue working for the progress and prosperity of Osun State,” the governor wrote on X.

We’re Finalising Documentation of Victims of Poll-related Violence, Says Imole Group The Imole Campaign Council, yesterday, in Osogbo said the Council has made arrangements to collate numbers of victims of the just concluded gubernatorial election in the state.

In a statement by the Spokesperson, Imole Campaign Council (TICC), Pelumi Olajengbesi, it said, it “Once again extends its deepest sympathies to every individual and family who suffered loss of life, injury, assault, destruction of property, arrest or any other form of violence before, during and immediately after the Osun State Governorship Election.

“Further to our earlier statement directing the documentation of all victims of election-related violence across Osun State, the Campaign Council is now finalizing the exercise and calls on members of the public who are yet to submit details of affected persons to do so.

“We reiterate that this exercise is not party-based. It covers every victim, irrespective of political affiliation, party membership or voting preference.

“A citizen who lost a loved one, suffered injury or lost property deserves our

collective sympathy, adequate support, justice and appropriate compensation without consideration for his or her political persuasion.”

He therefore urged members of the public to submit the following: Name of Victim, Local Government, Ward and Community, Phone Number or Details of Next of Kin, Nature of Incident: Death/ Injury/Assault/Property Damage/Arrest, Date and Location of Incident, Brief Account of What Happened, Available Evidence: Photos/Videos/Medical or Police Reports/Witnesses and Current Condition or Status of the Victims.

“The purpose of this documentation is not merely to keep a record, it is to provide a credible basis for pursuing justice, accountability, adequate support and appropriate compensation for victims and affected families,” Olajengbesi noted.

Davido Hails Adeleke’s ReElection, Unveils Plans for Osun Youth Sports Development Afrobeats superstar, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has said the re-election of his uncle, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, was a remarkable victory achieved against formidable political opposition.

Davido spoke while addressing journalists at his country home, following victory in the August 15 Osun State governorship election.

The reknown singer, while congratulating Governor Adeleke, said the election was a difficult contest in which several prominent political figures allegedly rallied against the incumbent governor.

Baraje Predicts PDP Comeback, Says APC Govs Are ‘Tenants’ in Government Houses Ibrahim Shuaibu in Dutse

A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Kawu Baraje, has predicted that the party would reclaim power in Bauchi, Jigawa and other states controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election.

Baraje said the APC had lost the

confidence of Nigerians, arguing that many of its governors only came to power because of the internal crisis that weakened the PDP during previous elections.

He made the assertion while speaking with journalists at the Dutse International Airport, where he stopped en route to Azare, Bauchi State, to lead a delegation of PDP leaders on behalf of former Senate

President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for the commissioning of a 500-seater Computer-Based Test (CBT) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre donated to the community by the PDP governorship candidate in the 2027 election, Adamu Usman Ahmed.

Describing APC governors as “tenants” in government houses,

Baraje said the PDP had overcome its internal challenges and was now positioned to return to power.

“You see the APC people who are occupying the Government Houses today are tenants. In 2015, when the election went the way it went, we never believed in those results. Even in 2023, we never believed in the results of the elections.

WEDNESday August 19, 2026 • T H i s d ay

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NEWS

CORONATION INFRASTRUCTURE FUND OFFER…

L–R: Head, Coronation Infrastructure Fund, Mayowa Ikotun; Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Coronation Merchant Bank, Stanley Ubani; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Coronation Merchant Bank, Obeahon Ohiwerei; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Coronation Asset Management, Agbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede, and Chief Operating Officer, Coronation Asset Management, Yemi Soneye, at the signing ceremony ahead of the Coronation Infrastructure Fund Series II Offer, held in Lagos…recently

Gunmen Kill 24 in Fresh Night Attack on Plateau Community Yemi Kosoko in Jos

At least 24 people have been confirmed dead and several others injured after gunmen invaded Binper community in Kombun District of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State in a midnight attack that lasted into the early hours of yesterday.

Residents said the heavily armed attackers moved from house to house, forcing their way into homes and killing occupants who were asleep.

The assault also left several

houses burnt and farmlands destroyed, worsening the humanitarian situation in the agrarian community.

An eyewitness told journalists that the attackers “were moving from house to house, opening the doors of the people who were sleeping and slaughtering them,” adding that more than 20 bodies had been recovered while several residents remained missing.

Another resident described the incident as “terrible,” expressing disappointment

Police Embarks on Youth Sensitisation, Moral Advocacy Becky Uba Umenyili

The Nigeria Police, Ogun State Command, have called on academic institutions, civil society organisations, parents and community leaders to join hands in guiding young people towards productive, vice-free lifestyles.

Delivering a paper titled “Substance Abuse and National Insecurity: Building Responsible Youth Through Entrepreneurship” at the 8th Set Academic Seminar of the Mass Communication Department, Al-Hikmah University (Abeokuta Study Centre), the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, noted the direct link between drug abuse and rising violent crime.

He stated that in line with intelligence-led and community-driven policing, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, has intensified its non-kinetic crime prevention frameworks through targeted youth outreach and multi-agency advocacy.

At the event which brought together lecturers, undergraduate students from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

(FUNAAB), and other tertiary institutions across the state, Babaseyi highlighted two major public sensitization engagements carried out by the Command, aimed at steering youths away from cultism, substance abuse, cybercrime, and associated social vices.

These, he said, include the Ogun State Chapter of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) which conducts interactive sensitization sessions on self-discipline, personal leadership, dangers of gang involvement andother social vices as well as Peace Club Abeokuta (affiliated with the World Peace Initiative Foundation), which advocates against moral decadency in youth and substance abuse, a misconduct he observes as one that acts as a primary catalyst for violent crimes including cultism, armed robbery and cybercrime.

He urged students to adopt entrepreneurship as both an economic tool and a security strategy, while highlighting the vital role of media practitioners in shaping responsible public discourse for preventive youth-centric crime.

that security operatives did not arrive until after the attackers had fled.

He urged both the state and federal governments to

strengthen security around vulnerable communities in Mangu and other parts of Plateau State.

Victims who sustained

injuries were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, while community leaders and volunteers continued to search for missing persons.

Security personnel were reportedly deployed in the community yesterday morning to restore calm and prevent further attacks.

Abuja Flooding: Wike Orders Immediate Demolition of Structures on Waterways

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of all structures constructed on waterways and flood channels across the FCT, saying exceptions would not be made for high-profile individuals.

He issued the directive yesterday during an assessment visit to floodaffected areas of Maitama

District.

Wike vowed that the administration would not tolerate actions that violated the Abuja Master Plan and the safety of residents, notwithstanding the status of the property owners involved.

He directed the FCT Department of Development Control to identify and dismantle all illegal structures obstructing natural water passages without delay.

Wike said: “I’m going to bring those structures down.

Any house that falls on the water channel will go down.

From today till Saturday, if the development control likes it, let them find any excuse to run away; they cannot.

Thank God the Director of Development Control is here because if you are running away to find excuses, you can’t. We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel.

“Any house that falls on the water channel will go down... We will demolish

all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them are owned by Senators and ‘big men...’ Whether there is election or no election, all those houses will go down.

Heaven will not fall; rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done.”

He reasserted the desire of the FCTA to correct longstanding structural violations, noting that previous inaction by past administrations would not prevent necessary corrective actions.

Niger CAN Sues for Restraints over Communal Clashes Laleye Dipo in Minna

Following frequent clashes among the Bargarawas, Fulanis and Kambari tribes in the Borgu and Agwara Local Government Areas of Niger State, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state, the Most Reverend Dr. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, has intervened by seeking restraints by the combatants.

Most Reverend Yohanna, in a statement made available

to journalists in Minna yesterday, described the actions of the combatants as “ungodly and worrisome,” before asking them to sheath their swords and toe the path of peace.

“I charge you people to sheath your swords and put an end to the destructions, maiming and killings,” saying also that “nobody should take the law into his hands.”

In recent times, the faceoff among the ethnic nationalities has claimed several lives

and led to the destruction of much property.

Bishop Yohanna noted that the feuding communities had lived together peacefully for several decades but blamed the crisis on new elements that infiltrated the communities from other countries.

He said: “As a major stakeholder and one who would choose peace and togetherness over crisis, I strongly appeal to all the tribes which include Kambari,

Fulani, and Bargarawas to remain calm and stop the fighting and killing.

“We have lived peacefully for decades, and I can only appeal to you all not to allow the bad eggs who have infiltrated our peaceful communities to continue to cause disaffection amongst us,” before also urging the people to work with security agents to weed out bad elements, especially those working as informants rather than fighting each other.

SPF Calls for Nominations for the Wole Oguntokun Legacy Award Street Project Foundation (SPF) has called for nominations for The Wole Oguntokun Legacy Award, which celebrates young Nigerians using theatre, storytelling and the arts to inspire change, preserve culture and champion social justice.

According to the organisers, n ominations close on 22 August 2026, and the award will be presented at Do What U Love Festival 7.0, taking

place in Lagos on 11 September 2026.

The award is open to Nigerian residents aged 18 to 35 working across four categories: theatre practitioners, storytellers, arts and creative advocates, and performing artists. Members of the public may nominate a deserving creative, or apply directly, at https://dwulfestival.com/wola or by scanning the nomination QR code on Street Project

Foundation’s official channels.

Founder, SPF, Rita EzenwaOkoro, stated: “The award carries the name and legacy of Wole Oguntokun, the Nigerian playwright, director and lawyer fondly known as “Laspapi,” who died in March 2024.

Over more than two decades, Oguntokun served as artistic director of Renegade Theatre and Theatre Planet Studios, and founded Theatre Republic, a Lagos performing arts hub that

gave rehearsal and production space to a generation of theatremakers, dancers and musicians.

He led Renegade Theatre to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013, the first Nigerian company to present work at the festival, and used the stage throughout his career to confront difficult social subjects, from the trial behind The Emancipation of Yankee Oluwale to The Chibok Girls: Our Story.

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THISDAY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Okocha: Nigeria Football Needs Fresh Ideas, New Structures to Gain Value Duro Ikhazuagbe

Former Super Eagles Captain, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, has joined the conversation on the new direction for Nigeria football, stressing that the country needs people with fresh ideas and a new structure that will not

be stifling progress as we presently have it in place.

The former Bolton Wanderers playmaker while speaking on a Brila FM sports programme yesterday morning, said little can be achieved with the impending Normalisation Committee with the present set up of

the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

He pointed at past attempts to rejig the structure of the NFF but recommendations are gathering dust on the shelves at the federation.

Okocha was emphatic that it will be difficult for people to really work if nothing is going to be done with

their recommendations as it has been happening in the past.

According to the former mercurial midfielder, it will be unfair for people to continue to call on him to offer himself for service to Nigeria football if he will not be able to function optimally.

“You’ll be unfair to people like me to say, ‘Oh no, I’m not interested.’ But have you asked yourself: “Is it worth it to try (to want to work to change the system with some people working against you)?” queried Okocha.

He stressed further that Nigeria football needs people of like minds,

Rodri Completes £65m Barca Deal, Set for ‘Excitement again’ in La Liga Spain World Cup winner Rodri has said that he is ready to “feel that excitement again” after completing his move to Barcelona from Manchester City.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has signed a four-year contract at the Nou Camp after Barcelona agreed to pay a fee in the region of £65million, returning to Spanish football for the first time since he left Atletico Madrid in 2019.

“I’m very happy and excited about this new stage in my career. It’s a fresh challenge, a chance to experience new things and feel that excitement again,” Rodri said.

“I’ve come to a hugely ambitious club that really suits my personality, so I’ll try to help in every way I can to achieve our objectives this season.”

On the prospect of playing under German manager Hansi Flick, Rodri said: “I’m happy to have a coach who I think will bring a lot to my career.

It’s a style that I think is somewhat different from what I’ve experienced before, so it will be enriching and help me grow as a player.”

Rodri, 30, leaves City after seven seasons at the club, having made 298 appearances and won 12 major honours, including four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups and the Champions League in 2023.

His final two seasons at the club were disrupted by injury but he returned to his best form in this summer’s World Cup, being named player of the tournament as Spain lifted the trophy for the second time.

In a farewell message to City fans, Rodri said: “I am leaving the club with a huge sense of pride about what we have achieved and gratitude too for so many amazing memories.

“What we have done together in these years is something both very special and unforgettable.

“City didn’t just make me a grow

as a player. They made me grow as a human. I saw my brother graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University. I could see my girlfriend working for the NHS. Manchester shaped my whole life.”

On Monday, Rodri flew to Barcelona and told journalists at the airport that it is a “dream” to

play for the Catalan side.

It has been a summer of upheaval for City - Pep Guardiola stepped down as manager after a decade in charge, while long-serving players John Stones and Bernardo Silva both departed when their contracts expired.

Silva joined Real Madrid and could face Rodri in El Clasico.

Lalong Confirms Attendance at NGF Golf Summit Former Governor of Plateau State and Senator representing Plateau South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong, has reaffirmed his commitment to the development of golf at the grassroots level in Nigeria just as he confirmed to attend the second edition of the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF) Golf Summit scheduled for August 26 and 27, 2026, in Abuja.

Lalong, who has consistently demonstrated a strong passion for the development of golf, particularly among young people, is expected to bring his wealth of experience and perspective at the summit, which is designed to provide a platform for stakeholders to deliberate on the growth, promotion and future of

the game in Nigeria.

His decision to be part of the summit is being viewed within golfing circles as another indication of his enduring commitment to the sport, having over the years invested considerably in the development of golfers and golf infrastructure, both as an individual and during his tenure as Governor of Plateau State.

During his eight-year tenure as Governor, Lalong sponsored the NGF/Plateau Junior Summer Golf Tournament, an initiative that provided young golfers with opportunities to develop their skills, compete and gain exposure. The tournament became an important platform for identifying and nurturing emerging talents in Plateau State and beyond.

Rodri...completes Barcelona switch from Man City

will be participating in athletics, Judo, handball football, Dart, badminton boxing among others.

Masu disclosed that the state is optimistic of winning a minimum of 10 gold medals saying the optimism is based on the national performances of its athletes in many sports.

He explained that the Commission had undertaken a comprehensive strength analysis across the various sporting associations and identified disciplines where Niger has realistic prospects of winning medals pointing to badminton, where he claimed Niger State has emerged as a dominant force.

“Niger State is preparing a contingent of about 215 athletes and officials, with the clear mandate of surpassing the state’s previous performances at the national sporting fiesta” Masu declared adding. “10 gold medals is our minimum target”

Former Arsenal and France Captain, Patrick Vieira, has been appointed as the new head coach of the Senegal men’s national team.

The 50 year old replaces Pape Thiaw, who was sacked in the wake of the country’s last 32 exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Born in Senegal’s capital Dakar, Vieira will now manage the country of his birth, having moved to France aged eight before later winning over 100 caps for Les Bleus and lifting the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.

Senegal’s football federation (FSF) said the appointment of Vieira reflects its “desire to strengthen its highlevel technical staff” and is “perfectly aligned” with the nation’s sporting ambitions.

Details of Vieria’s contract and his starting date in the role are still being discussed.

His first matches in charge of the

Austin Jay Jay Okocha with the country as their focal point and not selfish motives, for the committee to get good result.

“It is not just the case of you are ready to serve. You need a team and you must be on the same page to be able to drive the change that we want for Nigeria football.

Okocha pointed at his experience when he was elected into the Delta Football Association (DFA).

“I tried it a bit. I went to Delta State. I took the chairmanship position, but when I saw what was going on, I left. It’s not worth it,” revealed the former Super Eagles player.

He however said that those not familiar with the obstacles placed on football administration in the country will not forgive some ex international who have seen the rot and are keeping their distance from getting smeared by the rot, “But to be honest, people out there, they will not forgive us (exinternationals) if we keep quiet.”

Against the backdrop of the Super Eagles not qualified back-to-back to two World Cups and now the Super Falcons will be missing for the first time from the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year, Okocha stressed that rippling effects is damaging to the country’s football.

“Life gets a lot easier if we’re winning. The Women’s World Cup is coming up next year in Brazil.

We will not be taking part. I tell, nobody will remember that Nigeria is not there despite the fact that we have been present at every edition since the tournament began in 1991 in China.”

In conclusion, Okocha said running football is not rocket science. “These things can be fixed, and that’s the annoying part because it’s not rocket science. Just put the good stuff in.

Get people that can add value. And I believe that we all have roles to play to get our football out of the woods.”

Niger Requires N63m Patrick Vieira Takes over as Head to Participate In 2026 Coach of Senegal’s Teranga Lions National Sport Festival

Laleye Dipo in Minna The Niger State Sports Commission has said that it requires at least N63million to participate in the National Sports festival scheduled to take place in Enugu later in the year.

The amount is for the preparation of the athletes, purchase of sports equipment as well as allowances for the participants and officials.

Chairman of the Niger State Sports Commission NSSC Mr Danjuma Abdul Masu told sports writers in Minna that requests which will also cover the state’s participation in the zonal competition had been tabled before the state government for the quick release of funds to ensure early preparation.

Danjuma Musa disclosed that the state will take a minimum of 215 athletes and officials to the games and

Teranga Lions are expected to come next month in qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Vieira joins the West Africans after he left his role as Genoa head coach by mutual consent last November,

with the team bottom of Serie A. He won eight and drew nine of his 26 games during the 2024-25 season to guide the Italian club to safety and a 13th-place finish.

However, he left the club after

Patrick Vieira...new head coach of Senegal’s Terange Lions

managing just two wins in 25-26, with both of those victories coming in the Coppa Italia.

During his playing career, midfielder Vieira won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups at Arsenal, as well as silverware with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Manchester City.

He retired in 2011 and became the manager of New York City in 2016 before returning to Europe with Nice and leading them to seventh in Ligue 1 in his first season.

Vieira was sacked in December 2020 and became Crystal Palace manager the following year, guiding the Eagles to 12th in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals in 2021-22.

He was dismissed in March 2023 after a 12-game winless run, before joining RC Strasbourg as their first appointment following a takeover by BlueCo, the company which owns Chelsea. He left Strasbourg by mutual consent in July 2024.

THISDAY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

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SEIZED HOUSES ON THEIR MINDS...

L-R: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe Darma and Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Ola Olukoyede, when the duo met with the President on the management and disposal of seized houses nationwide, under the rules of transparency and Accountability at the State House, Abuja, yesterday

FATIMAMAMMAN-DAURA Protecting Nigeria’s Humanitarian Workers GUEST COLUMNIST

I

n 2008, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated today (August 19) as World Humanitarian Day (WHD) in honour of humanitarian personnel killed and injured in the course of their work, and to mobilise communities to advocate for humanitarian action.

The day also marks the anniversary of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq on 19th August 2003. A truck bomb had hit the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, killing 22 people including the UN’s top envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and wounding over 150 others. That attack was one of the deadliest on UN staff in history. It made clear how dangerous humanitarian work had become.

In 2011, Boko Haram attacked the UN main office in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, killing 18 people and injuring dozens of others. In 2013, gunmen attacked polio vaccination teams in Kano. Nine female health workers were shot dead in cold blood.

Their only ‘crime’ was trying to protect children from a preventable disease. In 2020, a convoy of aid workers left Maiduguri with food and medicine for families displaced by insurgency. Some were killed on the road. Others were abducted and spent months in captivity before being released.

Since 2016, Nigeria has lost dozens of humanitarian workers. Between 2018 and 2024 in Borno State, aid workers from UN agencies and Nigerian NGOs were ambushed, kidnapped, and executed along major roads. In March 2018, Boko Haram insurgents kidnapped Saifura Ahmed and Hauwa Liman, both employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). They were later executed in September and October 2018 respectively. In July 2019, a video emerged online of six aid workers in Nigeria abducted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents. In the video, a woman - an employee of the humanitarian relief agency Action Against Hunger, was seen pleading for herself and colleagues, who could be seen sitting around her. The six were abducted after an attack on their aid convoy while driving to Damasak in Borno State. Another driver was killed during the attack.

Meanwhile, many NGOs are pulling back from hard-to-reach areas. These are not just headlines.

They are people loved by their families and friends – providers, nurturers and community leaders. They are young Nigerians who woke up to serve the most vulnerable communities and paid with their lives or freedom. Nigeria’s 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) estimates that 5.9 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States face severe to extreme needs and require humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian workers

President Bola Tinubu grapple with difficult conditions to provide lifesaving services to people in dire need. Attacking them is a war crime.

Today, as the world marks the WHD 2026, Nigeria must pause and ask: Are we doing enough to protect those who risk everything for our most beleaguered citizens? This year’s campaign focuses on three urgent items: Protecting humanitarian workers, Ending impunity, and Empowering local responders. To be sure, Nigeria has reason to mark both progress and peril. The progress is legal. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu championed the domestication of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons; otherwise known as the Kampala Convention.

On 10th March 2026, President Bola Tinubu signed it into law and for the first time, Nigeria has a binding national framework that makes the protection of humanitarian workers an explicit state obligation. But the peril is on the ground.

From Rann in Borno to Gusau in Zamfara, from Makurdi in Benue to Katsina town, humanitarian workers continue to be killed, kidnapped, injured and threatened while delivering food, health care, and shelter to millions. Each attack closes a clinic, stops a convoy, and leaves communities without help. As we observe WHD 2026 under the braod theme, Act for Humanity”, we must answer as a nation: Will we use the Kampala Convention to protect those who protect others?

Now part of the Nigerian law, it addresses three areas that have long been policy gaps. First, access.

Article 5(7) obliges the government to ensure rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian organisations to people in need. This speaks directly to the delays at checkpoints, bureaucratic processes, and restrictions that delay the delivery of life-saving aid for weeks, particularly in the North-East and North-West. Second, safety and security. Article 5(10) requires the State to guarantee the safety and security of humanitarian personnel, facilities, and assets. Article 5(11) extends that duty to armed groups operating within our territory.

For the first time, attacks on humanitarian workers are not just criminal acts — they are violations of a specific international and domestic obligation to investigate and prosecute. Third, recognition of local responders. The Convention explicitly recognises national NGOs, community volunteers, and civil society as humanitarian actors. This is critical in Nigeria, where over 70% of frontline delivery is done

by Nigerians serving in their own communities, often with the least insurance, training, or protection.

This is what global solidarity looks like in legal form. A law, however, does not stop a bullet. Four gaps must be closed moving forward, if this domestication is to mean anything to a midwife in Borno or a volunteer in Katsina. One, state-level operationalisation. The Federal Act must be replicated in all 36 states and the FCT, with clear operational frameworks for State Emergency Management Agencies, security agencies, and local government leadership. Presently, “unimpeded access” is still negotiated at every roadblock. Without state laws and budgets, the Convention remains an “Abuja document.” Two, accountability and impunity.

While the Nigerian military responds with kinetic operations and neutralising threats, too few attacks on humanitarian workers have led to prosecution. The abduction of health staff, ambushes of aid convoys, and targeting of community volunteers continue with limited legal consequence. Impunity signals to perpetrators that aid workers are soft targets.

The Kampala Convention requires investigation — Nigeria must now deliver it.

Three, protection for local responders. National staff and volunteers bear the greatest risk but receive the least support. The majority lack insurance, security training, psychosocial services, or protection and legal aid when threatened. If we are serious about “empowering local communities,” we must resource the people from those communities who are first to respond and last to leave. Four, preserving humanitarian space. Inflexible donor funding,

harassment of humanitarian workers, and the militarization of aid delivery restrict operations.

The law mandates facilitation and cooperation.

Security and humanitarian actors must now agree on standard notification and access protocols that respect both safety and neutrality.

The WHD 2026 cannot only be commemoration.

It must be a call to action. To honour both the Law and the workers, the Federal Government and partners should take four immediate steps: First, fast-track state domestication. The National Humanitarian Coordination Committee should work with State Governors to adopt the Kampala Convention domestically, with dedicated budget lines for IDP protection and worker safety. Second, establish accountability mechanisms. The police, DSS, and judiciary should create dedicated desks to investigate attacks on humanitarian personnel.

Annual public reporting on incidents and prosecutions will build trust and deter future attacks. Third, invest in local responder support. The three tiers of government, the UN and other partners including the private sector must fund insurance, safety training, and mental health support for local NGOs and volunteers. They must also be given seats and a voice at coordination tables where decisions about their safety are made. Fourth, enforce safe access.

The military and humanitarian community should finalise and implement standardised procedures for convoy movement, humanitarian notification, and rapid response when workers are threatened.

Nigeria consistently remains in the top five countries globally for attacks on humanitarian workers. The measure of success in 2026 and beyond, will not be found in speeches or press releases. It will be found in simpler things. Can an ambulance reach a clinic in Marte without fear? Can a food distribution in Batsari proceed without attack? Can a community volunteer in Sabon Birni return home to his family after serving his neighbours?

The Kampala Convention gives Nigeria the legal tool. World Humanitarian Day gives us the moral moment. When we protect humanitarian workers, we protect the millions of Nigerians who depend on them. It is time to move from law to safety. It is time to move from policy on paper to protection on the ground. In honour of Saifura Ahmed Khorsa, Hauwa Liman, Alice Loksha Ngaddah, Grace Taku, Dr. Lawrence Duna, Faye Mooney and dozens of other humanitarian workers killed, abducted or injured in Nigeria.

•Ms. Mamman-Daura, a humanitarian worker and public policy expert, writes from The National Institute, Kuru.

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