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Edo House of Assembly Nullifies 324 Employment Offers

December 3, 2025

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Edo State House of Assembly on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, announced the invalidation of employment letters issued to no fewer than 324 persons in the State.

The Assembly Service Commission in a statement jointly issued by Sir Ezehi Igbas and Isoken Nehi-Olotu Chairman and Secretary, respectively, described the withdrawn letters of employment as unauthorized, illegal and unlawful, a development that renders them null, void and of no effect whatsoever.

According to the Commission, the employment offers did not follow due processes, and never emanated from appropriate channels.

This is as the Commission expressed its regret and sincere apologies for any inconveniences caused to the affected individuals by the revocation.

The Commission, however, did not specify when and how the letters of employment were issued .

But it is strongly believed that the employment letters may have been issued within the early months of the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo .

LASG To Phase Out Korope Buses From Lagos Highways

Akinwale Kasali

December 3, 2025

By Akinwale Kasali

In a bid to have a broader strategy to modernise the public transport system and improve commuter safety in Lagos State, the State

Government has disclosed its intention to gradually withdraw Small Commercial Buses, known in local parlance as Korope from major highways in the State.

At a Stakeholders Meeting held ahead of the launch of the Lekki-Epe Bus Reform Scheme, which is set to begin operations on December 8, 2025, the decision to phase out the Korope Mini Bus was further reiterated.

The Ministry of Transportation, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, LAMATA, and representatives of informal transport operators were at the meeting and unanimously concluded arrangements for the first phase of the initiative.

The reform is set to introduce exclusive, fully regulated bus services across major transport corridors, including Ajah–CMS (Marina)/Obalende, Ajah–Oshodi, Ajah–Berger and Ajah–Iyana Ipaja. Services will later be extended to Epe.

Kolawole Ojelabi, LAMATA’s Head of Corporate Communication, stated that the Special Adviser on Transportation, Sola Giwa, who presided over the meeting, explained that the state’s long-term objective is to eliminate unsafe and unregulated vehicles from high-traffic routes and replace them with a more efficient, coordinated system.

He said the government aims to enhance passenger comfort, improve safety standards, and ensure better travel experiences for residents.

“We need to take a lot of bad buses off the road. The Lekki–Epe Expressway is not isolated. We are working on other major transit corridors.

“The State Government also plans to remove the small buses, known as korope, from major highways and reassign them to feeder and community routes to strengthen the First and Last Mile bus scheme,” Giwa said.

There are plans that under the new structure, the currently regulated operator on the corridor will continue stage-carriage services, while Oneness, a collaborative group of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, has been approved to operate express services between Ajah, Oshodi and Berger.

All buses under the scheme will bear Lagos State’s official blue-and-white regulated colours and carry quick-response, QR, codes for verification, unique identification numbers, and Touch and Pay, TAP, stickers. Drivers will also be required to wear official Ministry of Transportation badges.

A total of 229 medium- and high-capacity buses will operate in the first phase, with fare payments strictly limited to the Cowry card electronic system.

Giwa cautioned that any transport operator or passenger involved in cash transactions on the corridor will be arrested and prosecuted.

APC Leader, Durotolu Calls For Prohibition Of Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities

Ayodele Oni

December 3, 2025

By Ayodele Oni

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called for the full implementation of the 2018 Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities (Prohibition) Act in the country.

In a statement to mark the 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD), the APC National Leader for Persons with Disabilities, Durotolu Bankole, called on all tiers of government to step up efforts toward disability inclusion, insisting that Nigeria cannot achieve real social progress while millions of persons with disabilities, (PWDs), remain excluded from essential services and opportunities.

Bankole said: “Inclusion is not charity, it is a fundamental human right. A nation that marginalises any segment of its population ultimately impoverishes itself.”

He noted that despite global progress and the UN-backed theme for this year — “Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress” — Nigeria still faces significant gaps in accessibility, education, employment, transportation, and political representation.

According to him, “Rising unemployment, high costs of assistive devices, and attitudinal barriers continue to deepen vulnerability among persons with disabilities,” despite commendable government interventions, including expanded social protection programmes and educational support.

Bankole urged federal, state, and local governments to prioritise full implementation and domestication of the Disability Act, conduct accessibility audits of public facilities, develop a comprehensive 10-year National Disability Inclusion Strategy (2026–2035), and collaborate with the private sector to expand vocational training and dedicated employment opportunities for PWDs.

He added that political parties must strengthen disability directorates and enforce leadership quotas to deepen political inclusion.

Bankole also commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for “renewed attention to disability issues” and acknowledged the efforts of First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu in supporting women and children with disabilities.

He stated that within the APC, the National Working Committee, (NWC) under Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda has “set a benchmark” by institutionalising disability representation and allowing PWDs to occupy strategic party positions.

Bankole reaffirmed his personal commitment through the provision of grants, scholarships, mobility aids, medical support, and welfare packages for thousands of PWDs and their families, but stressed that “much more needs to be done to ensure no Nigerian is left behind.”

He added that inclusion must be treated as a national development priority, saying, “A nation that embraces full inclusion unlocks boundless innovation, productivity, and shared prosperity.

Indigenous People Of FCT Decry Marginalization, Demand Ambassadorial Slot

Ayodele Oni

December 3, 2025

By Ayodele Oni

Indigenous people of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried what they call their persistent marginalization in various appointments by the present administration of President Bola Tinubu.

They have therefore demanded for inclusion of Abuja natives in the ongoing ambassadorial nominations currently before the Senate.

The call, made in Abuja by the FCT Senior Citizens Forum, accused the Federal Government of perpetuating a long-running pattern of political exclusion, despite the territory having surrendered its ancestral land for the establishment of the nation’s capital.

The group pointed out that the omission of FCT natives from the newly constituted board of the North Central Development Commission was only the latest example of what they described as decades of marginalization.

Coordinator of the forum, Elder Danjuma Tanko Dara, state that the continued denial of appointments to natives has become intolerable, warning that the President’s electoral legitimacy in 2027 could be affected if the trend persists.

“Enough is enough. From ministerial appointments to board placements and diplomatic postings, we are treated as strangers in our own homeland.

“The recent NCDC board is a fresh wound on an old sore. This pattern of neglect is not just an oversight; it is an injustice that must be corrected for the sake of posterity, equity, and national cohesion,” he said.

Elder Dara reminded the administration of the political significance of the FCT, stressing that the Constitution requires a presidential candidate to secure at least 25 percent of the votes in Abuja, warning that continued neglect was deepening frustration among young natives.

“Mr. President, your path to victory in 2027 legally passes through the FCT. You cannot afford to ignore or marginalize the very people whose mandate you will require for legitimacy. Political wisdom demands that you carry the indigenous people along.

“The persistent marginalization breeds deep-seated resentment and a feeling of alienation among our youth. When a people feel they have sacrificed everything for a national project yet reap only exclusion, it sows seeds of discord and unrest.

“We are the custodians of this land, and a capital city built on the alienation of its original owners is built on a fragile foundation. This is a danger to social harmony and the unity of Nigeria.”

The forum also appealed to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to use his political weight within the federal structure to push for justice and inclusion.

“The Minister is the political head of the FCT. His role is not just about building infrastructure, but also about building bridges and ensuring justice for all residents, especially the natives.

“We call on him to justify the confidence reposed in him by ensuring that the indigenous people of the FCT are adequately represented in the government of President Tinubu. He must be our loudest voice in the corridors of power,” he stated.

Dara stressed that the demand underlined the long-standing tensions around the FCT’s administrative structure, noting that despite hosting the federal government, the nine indigenous ethnic groups, including Gbagyi, Gwandara and Bassa, continue to lack political rights enjoyed by citizens of states.

The forum vowed to escalate the matter formally, saying petitions would be sent to the Presidency, the National Assembly and the Federal Character Commission and urged the Senate to suspend confirmation of the ambassadorial nominees until the exclusion is corrected.

“We are not begging; we are demanding our rightful place at the table of the Nigerian commonwealth. The time for corrective action is now. Let justice be done, so that the peace and development of our great capital city can be secure,” he stated.

Presidency: Tinubu Has Declared “Zero-Tolerance Policy On Negotiation” With Bandits

James Orji

December 3, 2025

Njiko Igbo Forum will not support Tinubu

Presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala has declared that the federal government did not pay ransom or negotiate with terrorists.

According to him, the Tinubu’s administration has decided not to two the path of his predecessors whose governments negotiate with terrorists, saying doing so would amount to “financing terrorism without knowing it.”

Bwala spoke on Channels Television Sunrise Daily on Wednesday amid revelations that the federal government is negotiating and paying terrorists and bandits huge sums for them to release their captives.

The magazine recalls that a bandit leader had in a recent video claimed that ransom was paid by the government before the 25 girls abducted on November 17 from the Government Girls Comprehensive secondary school in Kebbi state’s Maga town, were released.

Not a few Nigerians have slammed the government of fueling banditry by allegedly paying the criminals to release their victims.

Reacting Bwala said there was time the federal government was negotiating with the bandits, he said the situation is no longer so because doing so would meant the government is inadvertently supporting the bandits to continue perpetuate their evil act, saying the administration has “a zero tolerance’ for negotiation. .

He said: “When they said both states and the Federal Government can be in a situation where they will have to negotiate because if your duty is to preserve the life of people and citizens of Nigeria are in danger and negotiation is the only way to save them … you have to do all that you need to do to save them at that time.

“Instead of targeting those sponsoring them, ransom payments only allow terrorists to buy more weapons. The Federal Government does not, and will not, tolerate the idea of negotiation.”

Obi Decries Rising Insecurity, Leadership Insensitivity

The Source

December 3, 2025

Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, has voiced deep concern over what he described as the growing disconnect between Nigeria’s suffering citizens and the country’s political leadership. Obi made the remarks while speaking with a group of young Nigerians who approached him at the Abuja airport during his trip to Lagos.

According to him, the youths expressed worry that he had not commented on the series of troubling events dominating national discourse in recent days — including the appointment of “unqualified” ambassadorial nominees, the ridicule of national institutions, the First Lady’s lavish dinners with senators amid widespread hardship, the abduction of schoolchildren, and the continued killings across the country.

Obi said he understood their frustration, describing the current national mood as one filled with “silent pain” borne by Nigerians watching their country “bleed daily.” He recalled what he termed a humiliating remark by an American president who once referred to Nigeria as a “now disgraced country,” adding that recent events sadly validate such criticism.

He condemned what he called the insensitivity of the nation’s leaders, noting that while citizens are being killed, leaders are “busy hosting dinners”; while children are being abducted, the political class is “celebrating and dancing”; and while families struggle to feed, those in power are “welcoming defectors and exchanging gifts as though Nigeria is not burning.”

“This is not governance. This is not leadership. And this is certainly not the Nigeria we deserve,” he said.

Obi stressed that nations progress only when leaders feel the pain of their citizens and uphold compassion, competence, and accountability. He warned against normalising what he described as a growing culture of mediocrity, corruption, and impunity.

Appealing to young Nigerians, Obi urged them not to lose hope or become numb to the country’s challenges, insisting that a “New Nigeria” — one that is just, secure, productive, and respected — remains possible.

“It will not happen by accident,” he said. “It will happen because people like you refuse to accept failure as our destiny.”

He reaffirmed his commitment to continue speaking out and advocating for a better Nigeria.

Shetima Explains Link With ‘Boko Haram’

James Orji

December 3, 2025

Vice President Kashim Shettima has clarified a viral picture on social media which tried to link him with Boko Haram and bandits in the country.

Shettima said the photograph was being misrepresented , saying those in the picture were Fulani people made destitute by Boko Haram, that he was just trying to help them.

While speaking on Tuesday during the 2025 International Press Institute Nigeria Conference and Annual General Meeting in Abuja, the vice president said the Fulani were chased out of their communities after the terrorists discovered that they were revealing information about them to the Nigerian military.

According to him, he decided to help them out of sympathy by building schools for their children provide clothing and food for them, adding that his association with the displaced persons was misinterpreted.

He stressed that his traducers are only trying to destroy him using the viral picture as a weapon, he vowed not to succumb to cheap blackmail.

.Shetima: “Very wealthy individuals became destitute overnight. Most of them became my guards in the schools the government was building across Borno State because underneath the mayhem of Boko Haram, beneath it lies the real cause, which is extreme poverty. And education provides us the greatest tool of really addressing the root causes of insurgency and banditry.

“So we were crazily massively building educational facilities and most of these Fulanis were my guards in those facilities. I took it upon myself to break the intergenerational transfer of poverty, to reach out to those Fulanis and enroll their kids to school. I was even giving them rice, beans, clothing items, just to convince them to entrust their kids to me so that I can take them to school.

“And I was not keen on mixing them with the local people because they are the poorest of the poor. I even built a school, a special school. All the classrooms were air-conditioned, were using digital education aids, we were feeding them two times per day and we were bringing buses. Buses were conveying them from their homes to the school, just to encourage the parents.

“Regularly, whenever I go on visits, I used to sit down with the parents, eat, chat, just to win their confidence. One of those pictures recently went viral, ‘Shetima dining with Bandits and Boko Haram’ in Maiduguri.

“But I have developed a thick skin to such accusations, but none of the serious media houses took those stories. So the greatest threat to our democracy and our national survival is not the mainstream media. The anarchists in social media are the greatest threat.

“I know they will come after me. That’s the price of leadership. There are serious commentators and there are mischief mongers.”

MNK: The Other Side Of The Law

The Source

December 3, 2025

By Willie Amadi

Going by the consistent decision of the Apex Court, it seems fairly settled that, in a trial carrying capital punishment or death penalty, a defendant MUST have legal representation.

Where he can not afford one of his choice, meaning lack of means, the Court MUST assign one to him through the Legal Aid Council. The Legal Act is clear on this.

Failure, refusal, and or neglect to do so is adjudged to amount to DENIAL of fair hearing.

Such a mistep in a trial, no matter how well conducted, will render the trial a NULLITY.

Going strictly by this established principle, it can therefore be argued that a defendant can not WAIVE his right to legal representation in a CAPITAL OFFENCE.

Hence, where the defendant waives his rights and or rejects legal representation in a case bothering on death penalty in contravention of the extant law, the right thing for the presiding Judge to do, is to adjourn the matter indefinitely pending when the right procedure is adopted by the parties. Therefore, condoning the defendant’s breach of the provisions of the extant law amounts to emotional conspiracy and or a misdirection by the trial judge.

However, for every general rule, there is an exception. This case presents a very novel and tricky legal scenario which is also good for the development of our laws.

Now, Defendant had the means and retained counsel, including barrage of Senior Advocates throughout and up to the time the prosecution closed her case.

Ditto, Defendant, through his Counsel, made a NO CASE SUBMISSION.

With the Defendant still legally represented, the Court overruled the No Case Submission and asked the Defendant to enter his defence.

Defendant, on his own volition, discharged his counsel and elected to defend himself.

Defendant converted his counsel to “Legal Consultants” and wisely too, the Court put the names of the Legal Consultants to the Defendant on record of the proceedings.

Throughout the defence stage of the trial and up to the day of judgment, the Legal Consultants were attending proceedings and assisting the Defendant as per the record of proceedings.

This is the first time this gigsaw is happening in our criminal justice ecosystem Nigeria.

Can it therefore be argued that Defendant had no legal representation and or, that the learned trial Judge was in error and misdirected himself by not obeying the judgment of the Supreme Court on COMPULSORY legal representation in capital offences .

These are issues, and either way, new heads and principles of jurisprudence must emerge therefrom.

Finally, after interrogating both sides of the matter, we are now confronted with this novelty and the attendant burden of precarious balancing of the delicate nature inherent in this complex legal development by the appellate courts.

My feverent prayer is that MNK is set free at the appellate courts or given a conditional and passionate pardon as a political solution by our kind father, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

Many thanks to Governor Alex Otti for following up through proactive engagement with Mr. President after visiting MNK at the Sokoto Maximum Correctional Prisons yesterday.

His Grace is sufficient.

Amadi LL.B, BL, LL.M, Ph.D Law (in view). Lawyer. Author . Environmentalist.

CBN Ends Cash Deposit Limit Policy

James Orji

December 3, 2025

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has implemented several cash-related policies which it said are part of efforts to moderate the rising cost of cash management, address security concerns, and reduce the potential for money laundering associated with the economy’s heavy reliance on cash.

Top on the measures introduced by the apex bank, according to a circular addressed to commercial banks and other Financial Institutions, OFIs on Tuesday, and signed by Dr Rita I. Isike, Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, is the removal of cumulative deposit limit for individuals and corporate bodies.

The CBN said in the circular that Effective January 1, 2026, individual and companies can deposit as much as they want, and will no longer be charged for extra cash deposit to their banks, contrary to what obtained currently.

“The cumulative deposit limit is hereby removed and the fee for excess deposit shall no longer apply,” the CBN said.

According to the Yemi Cardoso-led government bank, the cumulative weekly withdrawal limit across all channels shall now be N500,000 for individuals and N45 million for corporate bodies, withdrawal above this limits will attract three percent and five percent, respectively for individual and corporate concerns.

Recall that the cash limit policy was adopted by the apex to reduce cash usage and encourage accelerated adoption of other payment options, particularly electronic payment channels.

Those circumstance, the CBN said no longer apply, as the need “has arisen to streamline the provisions of these policies to reflect present-day realities.”

“Consequently, effective January 1, 2026, the following cash-related policies, which are for mandatory compliance by all deposit-taking financial institutions in Nigeria, shall apply nationwide, “ the CBN said.

These also include, the special authorisation for withdrawal of N5 million and N 10 million once monthly by individuals and corporate, respectively, which shall no longer apply, the CBN said.

The bank stressed that Automated Teller Machine, ATM, withdrawal limit shall be N100,000 daily (per customer), subject to a maximum of N500,000 weekly, adding that cash withdrawals from ATMs and point of sale devices are part of the weekly withdrawal limit indicated therein.

Meanwhile, the CBN noted that the exemption granted to embassies, diplomatic missions and aid-donor agencies from specific cash policies has been removed.

PDP Gives Wike, Fayose, Others Expulsion Certificates

Akinwale Kasali

December 3, 2025

Nyesom Wike - FCT Minister — Nyesom Wike.

By Akinwale Kasali

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has finally authenticated the expulsion of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, from the Party, alongside, former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Peter Fayose; and 11 other prominent politicians from its fold. It has formally dispatched their expulsion letters through courier services.

The leadership of the PDP said its decision to expel the aforementioned was a decisive move to sanitise its ranks, ahead of the 2027 elections.

The development was announced at a post-meeting briefing held after the PDP National Working Committee, NWC, session in Abuja.

The National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki, SAN, who addressed journalists, said the decision highlighted the party’s resolve to enforce discipline and end prolonged internal sabotage.

He said the briefing followed a review meeting of the new NWC, held to assess party operations, ongoing primaries, legal disputes, and handover notes from the previous leadership.

Turaki disclosed that the expulsion certificates had already been sent via courier to the affected individuals, including Wike, Fayose, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Umaru Bature, Kamarudeen Ajibade (SAN), Abdurahman Muhammad, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah Nnanna, George Turna and Dan Orbih.

“They have been expelled. They remain expelled. We have now certified their expulsion, and these certificates have been sent to them,” he said.

Turaki added that the action was also meant to formally notify electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Police, DSS, NSCDC and other institutions that the affected individuals were no longer PDP members.

“Very soon, members of the society will be informed via proper disclaimers that any person, henceforth, who decides to do business with them, any or all of them (in the name of the PDP), does so at his or her own risk,” Turaki stated.

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