Posts

ADC to Tinubu: You can't fight drugs by freeing traffickers

THE African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to grant presidential pardons to dozens of convicted drug traffickers and smugglers, describing the move as “a national disgrace” that undermines Nigeria’s anti-drug campaign and damages the country’s global image. In a statement on Sunday signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the decision represented “an irresponsible use” of presidential powers and could encourage impunity while weakening moral standards. “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) finds as pathetic and an act of immense national disgrace the recent presidential pardon and clemency granted to several convicted criminals by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Abdullahi stated. The party alleged that most of the convicts granted clemency had served less than two years of their sentences for offences that attract life imprisonment, questioning the criteria used in granting such pardons. “It amounts...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tinubu seeks NASS’ approval for $2.3bn external borrowing, $500m sovereign Sukuk

Image
President Bola  Tinubu has requested the approval of the House of Representatives for new external borrowing and debt refinancing totalling $2.3 billion. The request comes with another for the issuance of a $500 million debut sovereign Sukuk in the international capital market. Contained in a letter read on the floor of the House by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the request seeks the National Assembly’s resolution in line with Sections 21(1) and 27(1) of the Debt Management Office, DMO, Establishment Act, 2003. According to the president, the new borrowing is aimed at implementing provisions of the 2025 Appropriation Act, refinancing maturing Eurobonds and diversifying Nigeria’s funding sources through Islamic finance instruments. He explained that the 2025 budget provides for $9.27 billion in total new borrowings to finance the year’s fiscal deficit, out of which $1.84 billion (N1.23 trillion at an exchange rate of N1,500/$) was earmarked for external loans. Tinubu urged the lawmakers t...
Post a Comment
Read more

2027 presidential poll: Court asked to restrain Jonathan, INEC

Image
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan •Fresh suit queries eligibility A lawyer, Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi, has asked the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to issue an order of perpetual injunction to restrain former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election. The court was equally urged to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from accepting from any political party Jonathan’s name or publishing same as a duly nominated candidate for the presidential contest. While ex-President Jonathan was cited as the 1st defendant in the suit lodged before the court on Monday, both INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, were listed as 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively. Specifically, in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/ 2025, the Plaintiff, Jideobi, posed a lone question for the court to determine: “Whether in view of the combined provisions of the entirety of Sections 1(1), (2) & (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Repu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Strengthening democracy: A call for electoral reforms

Image
NIGERIA's democracy is showing signs of fatigue where it matters most: at the ballot box. Voter turnout, a vital sign of democratic health, has declined from 57% in 2007 to just 26.7% in 2023—only 24.9 million of 93.47 million registered voters participated. These are not inert numbers; they are warnings. Many Nigerians now view elections as a theatre with predetermined outcomes, laws that bend, results that are blurred, and offenders who walk away. The economy's pain intensifies the mood, but the deeper wound is institutional distrust. Where participation nears 80% elsewhere, people believe that rules are clear, processes are open, and accountability is swift. Our gap is structural, not just comparative. When large blocs of voters stay home, silence is filled by rumours and grievances, separatist agitation gains momentum, and the legitimacy of public decisions erodes. Into this landscape came the European Union's follow-up mission. It did not reveal secrets; it sharpened ...
Post a Comment
Read more

2009 agreement: Nationwide strike looms as ASUU, non-academic staff issue ultimatum

Image
NATIONWIDE strike looms as both the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and non-academic staff, under the aegis of National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, have alerted the federal government of their plans to embark on the action to pressure the Federal Government to implement the 2009 agreement reached with themselves. While ASUU has just a week of the 14-day ultimatum given government left, NASS yesterday issued a 14-day ultimatum, failure of which it would embark on strike. ASUU, in a fresh communication to its members yesterday, expressed disappointment over what it called the “continued lethargy” of the government in responding to issues affecting university lecturers and the nation’s public tertiary institutions. According to a bulletin, titled “Strike Bulletin No. 1,” dated October 5, 2025, and signed by the President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, ASUU said it has begun mobilising its members in all public universities across the country in readiness for the s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tax Stamp roll-out can worsen inflation — Group

THE beer industry has thrown its weight behind the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, urging the Federal Government to rescind the proposal to introduce tax stamps.  The industry urged the Federal Government to sustain existing home-grown digital systems that deliver full visibility of excise operations and reject the proposal to introduce tax stamps which has unintended consequences on the productivity of the industry and revenue generation. The Executive Director of the Beer Sectoral Group of MAN, Abiola Laseinde, in a statement stated that the tax stamps will be counterproductive, warning that the system presents operational challenges and financial risks that could undermine the fragile recovery of the manufacturing industry and the Nigerian economy. Laseinde said: “The tax stamps system is largely inefficient, causing production slowdowns, distribution delays, product stock-outs, and high compliance costs. Industry is concerned that this proposal is coming at a time wh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Olubadan meets Igboho, promises intervention over his challenges

Image
THE Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, has promised Yoruba nation activist,  Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, to intervene over his (Igboho) challenges.  Ladoja said this when he held a closed-door meeting with Igboho at his Bodija residence in Ibadan. Igboho’s media office, in a statement, said: “The meeting held on Monday lasted for about 40 minutes and issues ranging from insecurity in the South West and the emerging threats by bandits in some parts of Kwara State were discussed.” A source, who was privy to the meeting, said that Oba Ladoja, who welcomed Igboho alongside his supporters, also promised to intervene on the current challenges facing Igboho regarding his declaration as a wanted person by the Federal Government and the embargo on his bank accounts. It would be recalled that the administration of late Muhammadu Buhari had declared Igboho wanted and froze his bank accounts over allegations of stockpiling arms and ammunition. However, Igbo...
Post a Comment
Read more