President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the postings of 31 career and 34 non-career ambassadors to various countries and the United Nations.
The Senate confirmed the ambassadors-designate last December.
This was contained in a statement on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, (Information and Strategy).
According to the statement, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already received agreement from the United Kingdom for the High Commissioner-designate, Ambassador Aminu Dalhatu. Similarly, France has sent the agreement for Ambassador Ayo Oke.
“The Ministry has also conveyed the nominations of the other 62 designated envoys to all the countries concerned, including a request for their agreements in line with standard diplomatic practice.
“President Tinubu has directed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately commence the induction programme for the ambassadors-designate and High Commissioners.”
Jimoh Ibrahim, who represented Ondo South senatorial district at the Green chamber is now the Permanent Representatives at the United Nations.
POSTINGS OF NON-CAREER AMBASSADORS / HIGH COMMISSIONERS
S/N NAME MISSION APPROVED
SENATOR GRACE BENT: LOME-TOGO
SEN. ITA ENANG: SOUTH AFRICA
IKPEAZU VICTOR: SPAIN
NKECHI LINDA UFOCHUKWU: TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL
MAHMUD YAKUBU: QATAR
PAUL OGA ADIKWU: THE VATICAN CITY HOLY SEE
VICE ADMIRAL IBOK-ETE EKWE IBAS: THE PHILIPPINES
MR. RENO OMOKRI: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
HON. (ENGR.) ABASI BRAIMAH (FMHR): BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
The Police Service Commission (PSC) has promoted seven (7) Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) to the rank of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs).
The promotions, which are a result of merit, seniority, record of service and performance in a written examination and oral interview conducted Friday at the Commission’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja, are part of efforts to strengthen the leadership cadre of the Nigeria Police Force.
The newly promoted DIGs are:
Zachariah Fera Achinyan, fdc (formerly AIG Zone 4, Makurdi)
Zango Ibrahim Baba (formerly AIG Department of Logistics and Supply)
Isyaku Mohammed (formerly AIG Armament, Force Headquarters, Abuja)
Margaret Agebe Ochalla (formerly AIG FCID Annex, Lagos)
Mohammed Abdul Sulaiman, mni (formerly AIG Police Accounts and Budget, Force Headquarters, Abuja)
Kenechukwu Onwuemelie, fdc (formerly AIG Zone 15, Maiduguri)
Umar Shehu Nadada, mni (formerly AIG Zone 14, Katsina)
This latest round of promotions follows the recent elevation of DIG Fayoade Adegoke to the substantive rank of DIG. He will now join the Force Management Team.
The promotions became necessary to fill the vacancies created by the retirement of eight (8) DIGs who previously occupied these strategic offices.
While congratulating the new DIGs, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, DIG Hashimu Salihu Argungu (Rtd), charged them to live up to the expectations of their new offices. He urged them to prioritize national security and foster a cordial and productive working relationship with the Commission to ensure the continued development of the Nigeria Police Force.
As the 2027 Presidential Election continue to gather momentum, Frontline Human Rights activist, Aisha Yesufu, has declared that President Bola Tinubu has already lost the 2027 Presidential Election.
Yesufu stated that the All Progressives Congress, APC, Candidate, President Tinubu, is looking for State Governors to make him appear as if he has power.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
She made the remarks while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday night.
Yesufu said: “Bola Tinubu has already lost; that’s why he is looking for governors that he’d put together to have an illusion of power.
“Once upon a time, I think PDP had 20-something governors; it didn’t stop them from losing the election when it was time for them to lose.
“The fact that they don’t have the people, you could see it when they were doing the registration and nobody was interested, nobody cared to visit their website. But you can see with the ADC, the kind of passion it has gathered.”
Yesufu is an ardent supporter of former Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and also joined the African Democratic Congress, ADC, due to the fact that the former Anambra State Governor parted ways with the Labour Party for ADC.
Suspected hired hoodlums on Friday, March 6, 2026, invaded and burnt down the Secretariat of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Ubima community, Ikwerre Local Council of Rivers State. Ubima is the home town of former Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, an ADC chieftain.
The attack came just before the arrival of Amaechi for the ongoing e-registeration exercise of the ADC in Rivers State.
According to local witness accounts, the razing of the ADC office was preceded by indiscriminate shootings by the suspected thugs who, allegedly, invaded the community Thursday night.
They were said to have mounted a road block along the Omuma/Ubima Road in search of vehicles carrying ADC materials, including banners to Ubima.
Many of the locals expressed deep shock and disbelief that security operatives, allegedly, initially turned a blind eye to the destructive activities of the hoodlums,and only intervened when enough damage had been done.
According to reports, the hoodlums, after wrecking and disrupting the peace of the community Thursday night, resurfaced Friday morning to set the Ubima Ward of the ADC on fire.
As at the time of reporting, Amaechi the immediate past Minister of Transportation under the late president Mohammadu Buhari’s administration who is in the State to conduct his ADC e-registeration exercise had not reacted to the development.
The Source reports that the attack is coming on the heels of similar attacks on ADC offices across the country of recent, including the one on Edo state Secretariat of the party and Peter Obi, Chief John Oyegun, and other chieftains of the party.
Human Rights Activist and Lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has described former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai as an unrepentant tyrant and oppressor.
He said if El-Rufai is given another opportunity to get into power, he would do worse than when he was Governor.
Making this remarks on his X handle (former Twitter), Adeyanju said El-Rufai deserves his current fate because he was worst to critics during his time in the saddle as Governor of Kaduna State.
He wrote: “El-Rufai is an unrepentant tyrant and oppressor. If given another opportunity to get access to power, he will do worse than he did in the past.
“Anyone supporting him is a hungry cretin and a desperate unprincipled politician who wants to grab power at all costs.
Nasir El-Rufai
“During COVID-19 when Sheikh Bello Yabo, an Islamic Cleric, criticized him, El-Rufai waited until the eve of Sallah, then sent Police from Kaduna all the way to Sokoto to arrest and detain him.
“The current oppressors of El-Rufai are nicer to him than he was to his critics. El-Rufai deserves the karma he is getting.”
He added that the African Democratic Congress, ADC, chieftain needs not be pitied as he is being paid back in his own coin.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, March 6, 2026, granted former Attorney General of the Federation AGF and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, wife Asabe Bashir, and son Abdulaziz Malami, bail to the tune of N200 million each , with two sureties in like sum.
The Source reports that the Malamis were on February 27 ,2026 re-arraigned for the third time by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Honourable Justice Joyce Abdul-Malik, on an amended 16-count charge bordering on alleged diversion of public funds, money laundering, and abuse of office to the tune of over N8.7billion.
The arraignment before Justice Abdul-Malik followed the sudden withdrawal of Honourable Justice Obiora Egwuatu who, on February 12, 2026, recused himself from the case citing personal considerations as a major reason.
Before him, vacation Judge, Honourable Justice Emeka Nwite had, on January 7, 2026 granted the defendants bail to the tune of N500 million each , with two sureties in like sum.
However , with the fresh arraignment on February 27, presiding Judge Justice Abdul-Malik ruled to revoke the earlier bail on the grounds that the case has commenced a fresh.
The defendants were subsequently returned to custody.
In the fresh bail to the defendants ( Malami ,wife and son) the Court ordered that one of the two sureties must tender to the Court title deeds of properties located in high brow districts of Maitama or Asokoro, Abuja.
The court also ordered the defendants to deposit their international passports and other travel documents with the court Registrar.
Until the perfection of the bail conditions the defendants, the court held, are to remain in custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The Court, subsequently, adjourned proceedings to March 16, 2026.
Last Friday, the well spoken Abia State governor caused a ruckus. Gov. Alex Otti barred his teeth at a journalist he considered impetuous and irresponsible. Mr. Otti’s public shower of invectives on an innocent journalist and the ensuing conversations that trailed the event has thrown up the need to take a bit more look at the duties of governors in Nigeria, their attitude to journalism practice and their impact on the society at large.
First, more background: Journalist Chuka Nwabueze who represents BON Media Group was at the Abia State government monthly media chat last Friday. As the story went, it was his turn to pose his question to Gov. Otti.
His query went thus: “Sir, can you provide concrete quantifiable evidence – beyond visible infrastructure projects – to demonstrate how your policies have impacted the lives of the average Abian since you got to office.”
Yours truly was not at the media chat but can feel the deadly silence that may have ensued.
When the governor “reacted”, it was like a tornado.
“You cannot come to a media chat and ask me to provide data about measurable impact on work that’s being done in the state that you live in. It’s irresponsible,” the governor bellowed.
He dug in: “That we throw this open for people to ask questions doesn’t mean that people should be stupid. So let’s take this very seriously. So when you come to my media chat, you must be prepared: if you don’t have a question then you don’t raise your hand,” the governor surmised, seething with self righteous anger, as reported.
This column avers straightaway that that’s a most intelligent question. One wonders why Governor Alex Otti, himself a very brilliant and, highly cerebral mind couldn’t see it as such.
Perhaps it’s the political atmosphere in the state which is so charged that the incumbent seems perpetually on edge. He alluded to it that the interviewer was pandering to the opposition.
But even if it were so, a governor is not allowed to show such a level of emotionality which borders on tantrums, in public, in the purview of life telecast.
There are a thousand and one ways Otti could have responded with utmost dignity and equanimity.
One: I pass. I would rather not answer that question because I consider it tendentious.
Two: sorry, we don’t have such data yet.
Three: we are still grappling with an acute infrastructure deficit neglected since 1999.
Four: Most Abians can feel the impact of our work in such a short time and I would rather you ask them directly, etc.
In other words, the question doesn’t call for abuse or insults. It doesn’t need to raise the hackles of the governor. It’s a question he could have dismissed with a gentle smile especially if he was sure, it was being orchestrated by the opposition. At Alex’s level and his walk through life, no question, whatsoever should unsettle him, even if it were on HARDtalk, the inimitable BBC interview show.
A LOOK AT OTTI IN ABIA: There’s no doubt Governor Otti is the shining star among his peers and contemporaries today. He hit the ground running on May 29, 2023. He has never looked back since then. Otti’s trick was that he may have vowed to himself to deploy Abia’s resources for the good of the people. He has lived up to that credo to the admiration of the world.
Alex Otti, Abia State Governor
Abia had been a wasteland worsted by unconscionable leaders like Orji Uzo Kalu and Okezie Ikpeazu who was the immediate past.
Aba particularly, the potentially most viable commercial cum industrial city in the southeast was left in ruins until Otti came along. He has done in Abia State, so many things people thought couldn’t be done. Most important, he has rendered most governors in Nigeria shamefaced, making many look stupid and out of sorts.
ANOTHER LOOK AT OTTI: Back to that touchy question about data and impact by that ‘annoying’ fellow, Chika Nwabueze.
As pointed out earlier, it’s by miles, the smartest question on the day and shorn of political underpinnings, Gov. Otti knows it. His background and trajectory point to the fact that he knows about data and digital governance. The question is simply about the Human Development Index (HDI) of Abia State.
NO GOVERNOR IN NIGERIA CAN STAND DATA POWER: Every state in Nigeria ought to have a well established Statistics Office. But because most Nigerian governors are wired roguishly, they make sure that all important office is not only nonexistent, they obliterate traces of it. Why. No governor in Nigeria can stand accurate data generation in his state. Data is power. It eliminates rubbish. It even cures madness in governance! It is the pristine and rarefied level of modern work, administration and governance.
GOV OTTI THE BRICKLAYER: Until the day a state government can produce and publish monthly/quarterly HDI reports of activities, what’s going on today can still be called child’s play.
This is why Governor Otti, in all his exertions and glowing performance, he can still be described as a bricklayer because his work is not data-backed.
This column therefore seizes this space, this day and this opportunity to proffer that if he didn’t have a statistics bureau, he must have one ready by the end of Q2.26. If he does, it would be his badge of honour, his bona fides as a true pacesetter and his defining place in history as the man who broke the rules and reset them.
For instance, what’s the current population of Abia? How valid is that figure? Can the government plan with it? What is the birth rate in Abia, the death rate, male-female ratio? Infant mortality? What’s the current school enrollment at all levels? What shall it be five years down the line. How many students are in primary school in Abia today? How many primary schools are there? How many primary schools teachers are there? What exactly is the overall income of LGAs in Abia State? What percentage is deployed to education, health, agriculture and human development?
This is the whole gamut of the social impacts question Journalist Nwabueze asked Governor Otti. Again and again, it was a most brilliant question. Otti simply needs to put a proper Bureau of Statistics in place to mine these enormous data and deploy them.
Mr Nwabueze is not stupid nor irresponsible, Otti was the one actually responding like a bricklayer.
Nigerian governors must begin to benchmark against the world’s best standards and govern with impact and planned outcomes.
Finally, this column suggests that Gov Otti should make a show of apologising to. Mr Nwabueze, his wife and children; his employers and and the NUJ in Abia State generally for the public assault on a journalist carrying out his Legitimate duty. We were taught in journalism school that no question is stupid. It’s actually answers to questions that get murky.
A generous apology as espoused above would hold up Otti as truly the statesman he is aspiring to right now.
Lastly, we also look forward to reading monthly reports of ASBS: Abia State Bureau of Statistics.That would be the day for this column and indeed, for Nigeria!
LASTLINE: UPDATE ON SUPERTANKER SKIPPER, PLEASE
Some stories don’t die, they merely bide their time. One such example is the crude-laden supertanker, Skipper which was arrested by the US Coast Guards and Navy , December 10th, 2025.
The very large crude carrier (VLCC) was believed to be hauling about 1.8 million barrels of stolen crude oil suspected to emanate from Nigeria.
Though stateless, the ship was traced to a Nigeria registered firm, Thomarose Global Ventures.
Though Nigeria’s government through NIMASA had rushed to deny knowledge of the supertanker, the story lingers and versions continue to emerge daily fingering NNPC, the Nigerian state oil firm, as well as security agents, including the pipelines security guards.
While we await results of a thorough investigation by NNPC, this column suggests that time is now to establish a proper coast guard army to secure our pipelines and our enormous coasts. Enough said.
The immediate past Minister for Information and National Orientation, Lai Mohammed, has said that Peter Obi would have been Nigeria’s Vice President today if he had stayed back in the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and ran for the Presidency on same ticket with Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 General Elections. “I think that if he had stayed with Atiku, PDP would have won”, said Mohammed.
Mohammed who served under the Administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, also, said that Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, did not win the 2023 Election as is strongly still being speculated in some quarters, and could not have won even if he had 10 million votes. He emphasised that Obi was not rigged out but lost. “He
did not constitute a headache during the election.”
The former Minister who has been on the quiet side since he left Government spoke when he featured
on Edmund Obilo’s Podcast, State Affairs.
Recall that Obi suddenly resigned from the PDP a few days to the Party’s Presidential Primaries, defected to the Labour Party, and picked its Presidential ticket. He not only instilled life into the LP, but he took Nigeria’s political space by storm and shocked most people by his sterling and unprecedented performance at the polls, especially, for a first timer who contested under a little known political party.
It was his performance, countrywide, that sparked the controversy, till date, over who really won the election and, according to Mohammed, pushed him and his team to travel abroad to educate the international community that Obi did not win the election.
Lai Mohammed: “Even if Peter Obi had won 10 million votes, he could not have become president.
“After the election, its legitimacy was being questioned, if you remember. As a matter of fact, the Labour Party, if you go to social media in 2023, you would feel it won the election; they were everywhere on social media.
“And they did not win the election. Unfortunately, the perception out there was that they won and were rigged out. They did not win and were not rigged out.
Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar
“I took it upon myself and my team to meet think- tanks in the US, UK, and international media, and we explained to them why Peter Obi could not have won the presidential election.
“The constitution of Nigeria is very clear: you need two requirements to win the presidential election. First, you must have scored the highest number of votes; second, you must also have scored at least one-quarter of the votes cast in two-thirds of the states.
“The results are there: Obi did not come first, he did not even come second; he came a close third to Atiku.
“However, he scored one-quarter of the votes cast in 15 states, Atiku scored one-quarter of the votes cast in 21 states, and only Asiwaju had the majority of votes and one-quarter of votes cast in 29 states of the federation.
“Obi was not the biggest headache, and I think that if he had stayed with Atiku, PDP would have won.”
Despite promise of possible retention, Frank Mba, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Training and Development at Force Headquarters, has voluntarily retired from the Nigeria Police Force after 34 years of service.
Mba’s retirement comes alongside those of some other senior officers following the recent retirement of former Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the appointment of Olatunji Rilwan Disu as the new IGP.
Mba, in a farewell message, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for the opportunity to serve the nation during his administration.
“I am deeply grateful to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the privilege of serving our great nation during his administration. The confidence reposed in the Nigeria Police leadership and the support given to the institution during this period have been invaluable..
“It has been a great honour for me to contribute my quota to the security and stability of our country,” he said.
He also thanked Nigerians for their support throughout his years in service.
“I want to sincerely thank the good people of Nigeria for the trust, encouragement and cooperation they extended to me throughout my 34 years in service.
“Policing is a difficult but noble profession, and whatever success we recorded was made possible by the understanding and support of Nigerians. I leave the service with a heart full of gratitude and pride for having had the opportunity to serve,” Mba said.
DIG Mba, a former Force Public Relations Officer and Lagos State Police Command spokesman, joined the Nigeria Police Force in May 1992 as a cadet officer. He distinguished himself early in his career by graduating as the best cadet in academics at the Nigeria Police Academy, Kano.
A frontline member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mba obtained a law degree from the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002 after attending the Nigerian Law School in Abuja. He later earned a Master’s degree in Law with distinction from the University of Dundee in Scotland.
Over the years, he also attended several international professional programmes, including the FBI National Academy in Quantico, United States, as well as leadership courses at Harvard University and the University of Oxford.
Mba represented Nigeria in international assignments, including the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia between 2006 and 2007.
During his career, he served in several strategic roles across operations, investigations, administration and public relations.
His postings included Area Commander in Ajah and Festac in Lagos, Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Commissioner of Police in charge of the Border Patrol Force at Force Headquarters, and Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Panti, Lagos.
Meanwhile, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has invited seven Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) for promotion interviews to the rank of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs), ahead of their possible elevation to the Force Management Team that will work with the new Inspector-General.
The AIGs invited for the promotion interviews are Margareth Ochalla, Kenechukwu Onwuemelie, Ishiaku Mohammed, Zacharia Fera Achinyan, Zango Ibrahim Baba, Mohammed Abdul Sulaiman, and Umar Shehu Nadada.
According to the PSC, the officers are expected to appear for the interview at the commission’s office on Friday.
Pro-Iranian marches have taken place in major northern cities in Nigeria as thousands of students and radical youths flooded the streets trampling on and denigrating American and Israeli flags in a massive show of solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This is just as Islamic groups and leaders from the southern part of the country called for caution, advising the protesters, mainly students to focus on Nigeria’s domestic problems.
The coordinated demonstrations, which paralyzed major northern capitals including Kano, Kaduna, and Sokoto, followed reports of a joint U.S.-Israeli strike in the Middle East.
The protesters, many of whom are members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), transformed university campuses and city centers into sea of Iranian flags and portraits of Tehran’s leadership.
The atmosphere turned volatile in Kano as students from various tertiary institutions led a procession through the city’s ancient gates.
In a choreographed display of defiance, protesters laid large replicas of the U.S. Stars and Stripes and the Israeli Star of David across major intersections, inviting the marching crowds to stomp on them.
“We are here to tell the world that the assassination of the Supreme Leader is an attack on every Muslim,” shouted Ibrahim Musa, a student leader at the Kano rally.
“America and Israel must know that their footprints in the Middle East will be met with resistance even here in Africa.”
The sheer scale of the marches triggered an immediate security lockdown. In Abuja, the U.S. Embassy took the unprecedented step of canceling all consular appointments and advising American citizens to remain indoors.
The Inspector-General of Police, (IGP), Tunji Disu, confirmed that tactical teams had been deployed to “strategic flashpoints” to prevent the protests from escalating into direct attacks on foreign interests.
Despite the heavy presence of the Nigeria Police Force, the students remained undeterred, burning effigies and chanting anti-Western slogans for several hours.
While the northern states saw a surge in pro-Iranian sentiment, religious leaders in the south have urged for restraint.
The League of Imams issued a statement calling on Nigerians to focus on domestic challenges, including the biting economic hardship and local insecurity, rather than being drawn into a foreign war.
“Our children should be in classrooms studying how to fix Nigeria, not on the streets fighting for Tehran,” said a Lagos-based cleric. “We have enough fire in our own house to be looking for smoke in the Persian Gulf.”
As of Wednesday evening, the protests had largely dispersed, though student groups have threatened “continuous action” if the U.S. military presence in Qatar and the UAE is not withdrawn.
