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The Daily Times We Wish For, But Can’t Have

By
The Source
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Azu Ishiekwene
Mr Azu Ishiekwene

By Azu Ishiekwene

 

The piece by columnist and former Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Guardian, Martins Oloja, entitled “Why Should We Celebrate Daily Times @ 100, FRCN @ 75?” published on September 5, was an angry one. And Oloja had many good reasons to be angry.

 

Daily Times, Nigeria’s newspaper of record, was 100 years old on June 1, and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), the legacy successor to the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS), was 75 in April. The anniversaries of these institutional brands evoked mixed feelings, especially regret, because they have not grown into what their founders intended.

 

What it used to be…

Oloja narrated the decline of Daily Times, from the newspaper that produced some of Nigeria’s most outstanding journalists and was a formidable, professional, commercial, and asset powerhouse in its heyday, to a scrap of memory, struggling for its future.

Among the many golden assets of the newspaper was, for example, a 60 per cent equity interest in Naira Properties Limited, the company that was the majority shareholder in the Nigerian Stock Exchange house.

 

And that, of course, was apart from having many other valuable landed properties in Nigeria and London, and a content repository that was a treasure trove of Nigeria’s history. Its training arm, the Times Journalism Institute, was also one of its eight subsidiaries.

 

Yet, today, the brainchild of Richard Barrow, Adeyemo Alakija, and V.R. Osborne could use help from the Salvation Army. It’s more of a cautionary tale than the monument it once was.

 

Whose radio now?

The odyssey of the FRCN has not been significantly different, and Oloja’s agony and frustration over what might have been poured into his article in a bitter, relentless wave of nostalgia.

 

The problem, however, is that while nostalgia can sometimes provide relief, it is impotent to face the future. Not many would disagree that the transfer of the Daily Times was fraught with controversy, from disputes over the purchase price relative to the property portfolio to financing, share ownership, the purchaser’s obligations, and post-sale asset management.

 

But the way forward is not in the past. The suggestion that Daily Times should be retrieved from Folio Communications 22 years after the sale and handed over to what is no doubt an accomplished group of media managers is like chasing the train long after it has left the station. It will only end in grief.

A litany of sales

 

We’ve seen this before. After President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government sold the Port Harcourt and Kaduna Refineries to Bluestar in 2007, Obasanjo’s successor, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, reversed the sale under pressure from labour and other interest groups, who didn’t want “our national patrimony” disposed of so casually.

Of course, that was a convenient scam that has now cost the country billions of dollars in futile promises to fix the refineries. Ajaokuta Steel and the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) tell similar stories of well-intentioned government repossession that ended in deeper misery for all parties, except the predators.

Repossession is never as easy as it seems. Once a privatised enterprise has passed through mortgages, receivership, asset sales and successive owners, “taking it back” is no longer a simple reversal of the original sale. It can lead to years of litigation without restoring the original productive capacity of the firm.

 

There are several examples of privatisations that worked, such as Eleme Petrochemicals, Ashaka Cement, and the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, as well as those that have partly succeeded and others that have been catastrophic failures. The reasons could range from technical competence to the availability of new capital post-acquisition, and from the freedom to price and operate commercially to the regulatory environment. No one size fits all.

Regret as medicine

 

But regret is a waste of time. For me, it’s not very important who bought Daily Times – whether it was sold to a group of journalists or to some fishermen on Ekeremo waterside. We have seen journalists manage media houses successfully and others fail disastrously. We have also seen non-journalists turn around ailing media houses, the most obvious example being PUNCH Chairman Emeritus, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola.

 

From a business point of view, the question is not whether the enterprise has become what one thinks the founders wanted it to be, but about how it is innovating, adapting and creating value sustainably. We may romanticise the past, but no business is immortal, as we have seen from the examples of Blackberry and Kodak. In a relatively free market, mortality is not necessarily a bad thing; out of the ashes of a badly run business may arise another to take its place, sometimes offering even better value.

 

And it doesn’t matter whether such businesses are a bequeathed legacy, a contested sale, or a start-up. This applies to the Daily Times as it does to over 314 news platforms – from legacy media to digital natives – in Nigeria’s existentially challenging media landscape today. Nature hates a vacuum.

 

Apples and oranges

Let me now say a word about FRCN. Oloja’s comparison of FRCN with public broadcasters such as the BBC and the SABC may not be entirely accurate. There are fundamental differences between state-owned/controlled broadcasters, such as the FRCN, and public broadcasters, such as the BBC or the SABC, whose legacies Oloja highlighted.

 

While all three – FRCN, the BBC, and the SABC – are publicly owned or constituted, there are material differences in appointments, finance, editorial authority, and regulation.

 

The legal foundation of each one, its corporate character, ownership, and editorial freedom, affect the quality of content and programming as a whole.

It’s inconceivable, for example, that the fragmentation by fiat which the writer referred to in Radio Nigeria will happen in the BBC or SABC. What the piper in the Nigerian government cannot undo with businesses in its control does not exist.

The market as teacher

 

Yet, in a world where even established services like the BBC are losing captive audiences due to licence-fee evasion, as more and more households access on-demand channels, and with fewer public resources available, the existential challenges might compel broadcasters of all shades to innovate or be left behind. No one needs to count the years for failing businesses. That’s a job the ever-changing consumer market does so well.

 

Oloja may be right. Daily Times’ influence has attracted vectors, the first of which was the Murtala/Obasanjo government. If the takeover and subsequent privatisation had not happened, perhaps Daily Times might have been all we hoped for and more. But that will remain in the realm of probability. And in that realm, things may also have been worse had the sale not happened.

 

Or has the New Nigerian, the regional equivalent of Daily Times and relic of the 19 Northern state governments, done significantly better?

 

The best tribute to Daily Times and Radio Nigeria is not to recover their past. It is to recover the standards they represented and build institutions capable of meeting them in the future.

Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the book, Writing for Media and Monetising It.

 

 

Kano: Amnesty, Kwankwaso Demand Justice For Killed Social Media Activist

By
James Orji
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Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf

Rabiu Kwankwaso,  a former governor of Kano state has charged the state government to investigate the recent kiling of a social media activist,Ibrahim Khalil Dan Shagamu, in other to bring his killers to justice.

The 2027 NDC Vice Presidential candidate  made the call saying the circumstance sorrounding his death was very disturbing, urging the state government toensure that those behind the killing were brought to book to answer for their crimes.

Kwankwasosaid in a statement that the state government should  immediately constitute an investigative panel to thoroughly probe this incident and bring the perpetrators to justice, saying if the government of Governor Kabir Yusuf fails to do this, the NDC will ensure that justice is served if it win the state governorship election next year.

Dan Shagamu was reportedly found dead in a pool of blood inside his residence in the Gaida area of Kumbotso Local Government Area of the state, the incident has elicited serious condemnations from not a fewNigerians whohave are calling on the authority toensure that those behind the killing did not go unpunished.

“Should the authorities fail to take decisive and transparent action, the incoming NDC Government will, upon assumption of office, launch a full investigation and take all necessary steps to hold those responsible accountable,” Kwankwaso said.

Similarly, global human righst body Amnestry International, AI, has condemned the killing, calling on the federal and state governments to ensure the protection of free speech as guaranteed in the Nigerians Constitution.

Nocitizens should be targettted for holding a divergent view agains the authority,AI said describing Danshagamu’silling to be serioulsy ”concerning” stressing that the government has

not done much to prevent widespread killings, threats, intimidations and other serious human rights violations in the country.

According to the global human rights body, an ideal democracy requires that, outspoken persons nd critics are accommodated, listened to, not killed for expressing their views.

 

 

Albert Horsefall, Former DG Of SSS, Dies

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Albert Horsefall

By Adesina Soyooye

 

A former Director General of the State Security Service, SSS, now popular as DSS, has passed-on.

 

Horsefall, a Kalabari, Rivers State Chief and a very accomplished Intelligence and Security Officer, passed-on in Lagos,  Wednesday, at a Lagos hospital.

 

Sources said he had been ill in the past three years, an illness that forced him to withdraw from the public and keep  between his home and hospitals.

 

Born on 22 December, 1941, he was, first, a Police Officer and later, a foundation staff of the National Security Organization, NSO. He was, also, the pioneer Director of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA.

 

Horsefall was, later, appointed by the President Ibrahim Babangida Regime, to the high profile office of the Director General, State Security Service, SSS, a position he held between 1990 and 1992.

 

On retirement, he was appointed to head OMPADEC, an interventionist Agency in the South-south. After OMPADEC, Chief Horsefall retired to a quiet life, but continued to contribute to national security when consulted.

 

He will be sorely missed by the intelligence community within and outside Nigeria.

CBN: Nigerians Yet To Benefit From Economic Reforms

By
James Orji
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Yemi Cardoso - CBN Governor

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN says the macro-economic gains have yet to traslate to physical benefist for Nigerians, saying efforst are ongoing to correct the situation.

Yemi Cardoso, the apex bank Governor made the remark at the Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Abuja,the nation’scapital saying the effects of government’s macro-economic policies will soon be felt by households and businesses in the country.

Represented at the event  by the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Philip Ikeazor, the CBN Governor stated that Nigerians were yet to experience better living conditions despite apparent improvement in the economy, which he said was made possibleby President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who, according to him has allowedthe apex bank to operate independently.

He stressed that all government and monetary agencies are currently synergising to ensure that the living conditions of Nigerians improved in the shortest possibletime, saying the macro-economic reforms willamount to nothing except it benefit the ordinary Nigerians.

 

“Some of the reforms being carried out on the fiscal side will begin to manifest very soon. Some of you are aware of things like the National Single Window, different initiatives that are underway, coupled with the macroeconomic reforms, is what will actually deliver those to the common man,” Cardoso said.

Sexually Abused Daughter Pleads For Abuser Says: ‘I Don’t Want My Father Jailed’

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Ugo Ikenna

‘

By Akinwale Kasali

 

19-year old Ugo Ikenna (not real nsme) is in a fix. She is caught between his loyalty to his biological father and his abhorrence for the atrocities he meted out on her.

 

 For for a number of years, this biological father of hers se*ually abused her. But now the law has caught up with him.

 

That is the beginning of her dilemma. It is either she forever lives with the trauma with no justice and respite for her, or her father who has been committing this incest with her goes to jail.

 

Ugo had alleged that her father, Uche Didie, a 43-year-old man from Delta State, first se*ually abused her in 2019 when she was 12 years old.

 

She stressed further that the abuse continued for years until Sunday, September 6, 2026, when she finally found the courage to disclose her ordeal to someone outside the family.

 

The victim resides with her parents at Opeloyeru, Maya, Ikorodu, Lagos.

 

Despite her father’s illicit and abominable act, Ugo is scared that her father will end up in prison. If he is jailed, she says, it will destroy the family and put the its name in the mud.

 

Following her courage to expose her father’s abominable act, he was arrested by members of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, and handed over to the Police Tactical Unit in Araro, Ikorodu.

 

Upon his arrest, the case was transferred to the Gender Unit, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Oluwatoyin Kazeem.

 

Ugo, who just completed concluded her secondary school education, alleged that her father had been se*ually abusing her since 2019.

 

“He has been having se*ual intercourse with me since 2019. I have never had a boyfriend. My dad is the only man who has had carnal knowledge of me,” she said.

 

When probed whether she had ever tried to stop the abuse, she said she eventually confided in a close friend, who is the son of their Pastor.

 

“I wanted it to stop, and that’s why I told our Pastor’s son. I want him to be released, but I will stop staying with my parents. I will go to my grandmother in Agege or my aunt in Egbeda,” she said.

 

She further alleged that the abuse began when her father forced himself on her and warned her not to tell anyone.

 

“He did not convince me; he forced himself on me. He always asked me not to tell anyone and said he would beat me if

I told anybody. Sometimes, he also bought me gifts,” she alleged.

 

She said the abuse occurred about once or twice a month and that she had earlier told her Mother, who confronted him.

 

“I told my mum about it and she confronted him, but he denied it. I had to tell one of my closest friends, who is also our pastor’s son, and he told our Pastor,” she said.

 

Despite acknowledging that her Father’s arrest might be necessary, Ugo said she did not want him  imprisoned.

 

“I know the best thing is for my dad to be arrested, but that’s not what I want because I don’t want it to affect our future. I’m his second child, and there are three of us—two girls and one boy,” she said.

 

It was gathered that during questioning by the OPC, Didie gave a different account, claiming that the se*ual relationship began only recently.

 

“I started sleeping with her this year. I was yet to start having intercourse with her when my wife confronted me,” he said.

 

He also claimed that another man was responsible for what happened.

 

“Someone caused this. A man told me that they wanted to use my girl, and that was when I started sleeping with her,” he said.

Alake: Why Tinubu Took The Bullet To End Fuel Subsidy; He Should Be Applauded

By
James Orji
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President Bola Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu

Dele Alake, the spokesman forthe All Progressives Congress Presidential Council, that it tookcourage for PresidentBola Ahmed Tinubu to remove the fuel subsidy, what his predecessors failed to do for pecuniary gains.

Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Power said past leaders inthe country knew that the right thing to do concerning the subsidy on petroleum products but chose to be politically correct in other not to jeopardise their quest to stay put in power.

Tinubu, he said, risked all by ending the fuel subsidy regime not caring howit will affect his political future, saying it takes a leader who loves his country to take the courage to end subsidy which benefits many power people in the country.

The minister, who spokewith select jorunalsist on Wedenesday said the president should be applauded instead of being vilified,saying past leaders inthe country tookthe easy route because they didn’t want to lost face among the public.     

He stressed that the nation’s economy was already inthe woods when Tinubu came to office, but that past leaders lacked the ”courage to take those decisions” that could have helped the country to turn the corner.  

“And there is no shortcut. They say, our elders say, when you are in a hole, what do you do? You stop digging. Because the more you dig, the deeper you sink.

 

“But because those previous governments lacked that courage to stop digging, for short-term political expedience, they were afraid of elections; they were afraid of bringing them back to office and all that. So they shifted those decisions- the hard decisions they ought to have taken.

 

 

“I recall, and most of you will be aware, many years ago there was this issue of removal of subsidies that dominated the space in Nigeria, and there were protests: subsidies should not be removed; they should be removed. The government at that time knew they were removing them; they should be removed. But the fact of the matter was, it went back on the process of removing them.

 

“When there were protests, it backtracked because there was an election coming. And so people swallowed the bitter pill. But somebody came and decided to swallow the bitter pill, to take the bullets on behalf of Nigerians.

 

“I think it shows in all senses of fairness and objectivity. If a man, who is a politician himself, who should be very sensitive to elections, his government back to office, decided to take the bullets, regardless of the consequences on his own political career, on behalf of the nation, because the nation had to be reset.

 

“I think it’s just very, very important for us to appreciate that. And that is the kind of person that Nigeria needs, for consistency. Now, yes, those hard decisions have been taken.”

 

The minister noted that beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy were the cartels, the oil cartels, who used smuggling tomanipulate price in other to make huge profit at the expense ofNigerians.. 

 

“And they come back to Nigeria to oppress the rest of us. Those people who are benefiting from it, when the fuel subsidy was removed, did you think that they would fold their arms and be looking? No! They will fight back. They will push back,” he said.

 

He added, “And they are fighting back, and they are pushing back. And the media, unwittingly, has been helping them to amplify their own selfish pushbacks against the long-term progress of the society. Now, at that time when there was a fuel subsidy, you recall how many states couldn’t pay salaries.

 

“In fact, the federal government itself was borrowing to pay salaries. And at some point, I recall, more than 18 states, if not more, I’m sure more, could not meet up with wages. Some who were trying were paying half of the salary, or the quota, or spreading the salaries, and stuff like that.“

President Tinubu, had,during his inaugural on May 29, 2023, announced his governmentdecision to end subsidy on petrol, saying it was no longer sustainable. 

The decision, according to not a few Nigerians has brought untold hardship to the masses.

“Who Did This To Us? My Only Brother, Killed Before His Sons”

By
The Source
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Osuta Onuoha

By Charles Igbo

 

In shock that is infectious, Obinna Collins Onuoha, the only blood brother of Osuta Onuoha, who was shot dead on Sunday within the premises of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, FUTO, has lamented the tragic fate that has befallen the family on Sunday, September 6, 2026.

 

His brother, Osita, a banker and Branch Manager of Polaris Bank, Owerri, was shot dead by kidnappers who adjudged him stubborn for resisting them.

 

He had gone to drop his two sons, students of FUTO, on that fateful Sunday when, while on the premises of the University, they were confronted by the hoodlums. He resisted them while his two sons escaped. In anger that he resisted and his sons escaped, they shot him. He died on the spot. Two other female students were also kidnapped.

 

At once, announcing and mourning the gruesome killing of his brother in a heartbreaking post, Onuoha wrote: “My only blood brother is gone!!! Shot and killed while taking his children back to FUTO.”

 

The most devastating aspect, he said, was that he was killed in the presence of his sons.

 

Lamenting, he added: “Who did this to us??? Killed before his sons!! Chai. What a wicked world.”

 

As at the time of filing this story, no arrest has been made, and the Police has issued no statement.

Meanwhile, fear reigns inside FUTO and not a few people are asking how kidnappers entered the University premises and killed and abducted.

FG Confirms 58,000 Illegal Admission In Colleges Of Education, Sets Up Committee To Scrutinize Admissions

By
Ayodele Oni
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Dr Tunji Alausa

By Ayodele Oni

 

The Federal Government has announced a committee to scrutinize admissions into tertiary institutions as it uncovered  illegal admission of more than 58,000 students into colleges of education across the country.

 

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, and warned that the Government would no longer tolerate illegal admissions or other practices capable of undermining the integrity of the nation’s education system.

 

He spoke at the inauguration of a ministerial committee established to strengthen accreditation and quality assurance in tertiary institutions.

 

The committee, chaired by the immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, is expected to review existing accreditation and quality assurance mechanisms and recommend measures to curb irregularities across the sector.

 

He revealed that the figure of 58,000 students was far above the 5,600 initially discovered when the ministry began investigating illegal admissions into colleges of education.

 

He said the development was so disturbing that in one institution, only 8,593 students were legally admitted, while 9,872 were illegally admitted, making the number of illegal students higher than those admitted through approved channels.

 

Alausa disclosed that government also detected similar admission irregularities in universities and polytechnics nationwide, stressing that institutions found violating admission rules would face appropriate action.

 

The minister said the government would treat the current intervention as a one-time amnesty, stressing that it would not repeatedly legitimise illegal admissions through what he described as “condonement”.

 

Alausa observed that the problem was not limited to colleges of education, noting that illegal admissions were also taking place in universities and polytechnics.

 

He estimated that the number of illegally admitted students in universities could be more than 200,000, although the figure is yet to be fully established.

 

The minister warned that institutions were admitting students beyond their approved capacities and programmes, making it difficult for regulators to determine the actual number of students being trained.

 

He linked the practice to the poor quality of graduates entering the labour market, noting that employers were increasingly complaining that despite receiving hundreds of applications, only a few candidates possessed the required competence.

 

Alausa challenged the new accreditation committee to address the loopholes that had allowed institutions to manipulate accreditation exercises by temporarily moving staff, equipment and other facilities to meet regulatory requirements.

 

Alausa advised that accreditation must move beyond periodic inspections to a continuous quality assurance system backed by digital technology capable of tracking institutions’ staff, students, facilities and equipment.

 

He directed that tertiary institutions must be assessed on the facilities, personnel and resources they genuinely possess and can sustainably maintain, rather than on what they hurriedly assemble ahead of accreditation visits.

 

The minister warned that under President Bola  Tinubu’s administration, officials who fail to enforce regulatory standards risk losing their jobs, while private institutions found violating the rules could have their licences revoked.

 

According to him, the reforms are aimed at restoring credibility to Nigeria’s tertiary education system and protecting students from being admitted into programmes whose qualifications may eventually fail to secure regulatory recognition.

 

Alausa charged the committee to develop practical measures to eliminate existing loopholes and establish a transparent, credible and technology-driven accreditation system across universities, polytechnics anda colleges of education.

“Uzodimma Has Brought The World To Imo”,  First Lady Oluremi Tinubu

By
The Source
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Oluremi Tinubu in Imo
First Lady of Nigeria, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu flanked right by Governor Hope Uzodimma and left, by Imo State First Lady, Barr. Chioma Uzodimma, shortly after Mrs. Tinubu was conferred with the title of 'Oso Di Eme' by Imo State Monarchs at the Eze Imo Palace in Owerri, Wednesday, September 9, 2026.

A happy, excited and relaxed First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, took a hard look at the Imo State she saw on Wednesday, the roads, the infrastructural provision, and the many people who thronged the State from within and outside to join its Governor and his lovely wife, Chioma, a Lawyer,  to welcome her, and declared gleefully and truthfully that “Uzodimma has brought the world to Imo State”.

 

She also joined the Governor, and his wife to empower 2,500 Imo women, vulnerable persons.

 

The First Lady’s visit was as glamorous as it was grounded in dignity and culture. One of the highlights was the chieftaincy title of ‘Oso Di Eme’ bestowed on Mrs Tinubu by all the Traditional Rulers in the State.

 

Mrs Tinubu commended Governor Uzodimma for what she described as his efforts to open the State to the world through his administration’s development initiatives.

 

She was in the State for an empowerment programme which was held at the Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu Square in Owerri, where 2,500 women and vulnerable persons benefited from various forms of support aimed at improving their livelihoods and economic wellbeing.

 

The First Lady’s empowerment programme in Imo State came under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Women Economic Empowerment Programme in partnership with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Senator Oluremi, who spoke during the Southeast leg of the programme said 500 women across the Southeast were selected to receive empowerment items, including freezers, gas cookers with ovens, generators and industrial grinding machines to support new and existing businesses.

 

She disclosed that Imo State Governor had provided an additional 2,000 empowerment items for women in the State, bringing the total number of beneficiaries in Imo to 2,500.

 

“Because of what the Governor has done, I have decided to add N100,000 to each of the beneficiaries,” she said.

 

She said the nationwide programme was designed to empower 18,500 women, describing the initiative as part of the Federal Government’s commitment to inclusive economic growth and the economic empowerment of Nigerian women.

 

She commended Governor Uzodimma for supporting women-focused initiatives and urged the beneficiaries to make productive use of the items to improve their businesses, support their families and contribute to the development of their communities.

 

According to her, the Governor’s administration has continued to create opportunities for women and other vulnerable members of the society, while also positioning Imo State for greater visibility, investment and development.

 

Her words: “I want to commend the Governor. I don’t flatter. He has brought the world to Imo. Imo is bubbling. The transformation I have met on ground, I am pleased.”

 

Mrs Tinubu said the empowerment of the beneficiaries was another demonstration of the administration’s commitment to improving the lives of ordinary residents and ensuring that vulnerable groups were not left behind.

 

The programme, which attracted women and other beneficiaries from across the State, provided support intended to enable them to strengthen their businesses, become self-reliant and contribute more meaningfully to the State’s economy.

 

Speaking at the event, Governor Uzodimma reiterated that Imo State would remain firmly aligned with President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.

 

The Governor said the State had benefited from the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration and expressed confidence that the people of Imo would continue to support the President.

 

Uzodimma maintained that the State’s position was based on what he described as the need to sustain the development and reforms being implemented by the Federal Government.

 

The empowerment initiative and the Governor’s declaration came as part of the administration’s broader efforts to support vulnerable residents while strengthening its political and developmental agenda in the State.

 

Governor Uzodimma, who witnessed the presentation of the empowerment items, commended the Renewed Hope Initiative and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope- Adefulire, for what he described as a “significant intervention aimed at reducing poverty and improving household livelihoods.”

 

The Governor described the empowerment items as “startup gifts and economic lifelines” for poor and vulnerable women, stressing that empowering women would strengthen families and communities.

 

“When you empower a woman, you have empowered an entire household, improved livelihoods and strengthened small businesses,” Uzodimma said.

 

He also commended Princess Orelope-Adefulire for her commitment to implementing the administration’s development agenda, while expressing appreciation to President  Tinubu for the Federal Government’s attention to infrastructure and development in Imo State.

 

The Governor assured the organisers of the State government’s continued support for programmes aimed at improving the economic wellbeing of women.

 

Also speaking, the First Lady of Imo State, Barrister Chioma Uzodimma, applauded the Renewed Hope Initiative and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs for their sustained support for women and vulnerable groups.

 

She explained that the 2,500 empowerment items would be distributed to women across the three senatorial zones of the State – Okigwe, Orlu and Owerri, with 500 items coming through the federal partnership and 2,000 provided by the State government.

 

She urged the beneficiaries to use the items judiciously to strengthen their businesses, improve household incomes and create better opportunities for their families.

 

Earlier in her welcome remarks, Princess Orelope-Adefulire appreciated the First Lady of Nigeria and President Tinubu for their commitment to the welfare of women and the vulnerable persons in the country, stressing that through her office and that of the RHI thousands of women and vulnerable persons across the six geopolitical zones in the country have been directly supported with life-changing tools.

 

She thanked Governor Uzodimma and the Imo State First Lady who, incidentally, is the RHI State coordinator, for the huge interest they have shown in the wellbeing of the women demography in the State and the vulnerable persons.

 

The Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, also commended the Renewed Hope Initiative for prioritising women and vulnerable groups in its programmes.

 

She said President Tinubu had placed women at the centre of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that the declaration of 2026 as the Year of Family and Social Development was aimed at placing Nigerian families at the heart of national development.

 

The Imo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Lady Nkechinyere Ugwu, commended the Renewed Hope Initiative for its sustained empowerment programmes targeting women, girls and vulnerable groups.

 

She highlighted initiatives in ICT training, agriculture, support for persons with disabilities and the elderly, as well as assistance for women-owned small businesses.

 

She expressed appreciation to the leadership of the initiative for its commitment to improving the welfare of Nigerian women and vulnerable persons, while urging the organisers to sustain and expand the programmes.

 

It was not all about empowerment as earlier in the day, Senator Oluremi Tinubu was conferred with the prestigious traditional chieftaincy title of “Oso Di Eme” (which literally means a supportive wife), at the Eze Imo Palace, Owerri by all the Imo State Monarchs, led by the Chairman of Owerri Zone Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH, Eze Frederick Nwachukwu, who stood in for the Chairman, Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH, Eze. Dr. EC Okeke.

 

The conferment was witnessed by ranking traditional rulers from the country such as the Ooni of Ife, HRM Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II; the Obi of Onitsha, HRM Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi); the Dein of Agbor Kingdom, Keagborekuzi I HRM Benjamin Ikenchukwu; Igwe Obosi, HRM, Dr. Chidubem Iweka, HRM, Eze Dr. Cletus Ilomuanya (Obinugwu of Orlu), among others.

 

Describing the conferment as “a humbling day,” the First Lady attributed her strength to serve to the grace of God and expressed gratitude to the traditional rulers and people of the Southeast for the honour.

 

She conveyed President Tinubu’s appreciation to traditional rulers and people of the region for their support for his administration, particularly during the removal of fuel subsidy.

 

She appealed for continued support for the administration and prayed for lasting peace and development in the Southeast.

 

Present the event were, the wives of State Governors, some serving and former federal and State law makers; Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, members of APC and State Working Committees, government appointees, Service Chiefs, Local Government Council Chairmen and Councillors, traditional rulers, business Moguls, various women and youth groups, among others.

24 Persons Die Mysteriously In Three Ondo Communities As Police, Health Officials, Begin Investigation

By
Ayodele Oni
-
0
Nigerian Police

By Ayodele Oni

 

Residents of Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State have been gripped by fear and anxiety following the reported deaths of at least 24 persons within three days in suspected cases of poisoning.

 

The deaths reportedly started on Sunday in parts of Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Orita New Town. Several other residents were also reportedly hospitalised after falling ill.

 

The circumstances surrounding the fatalities remained unclear, heightening tension in the affected communities and prompting residents to call for urgent intervention by the government and health authorities.

 

Some of the victims were reportedly found dead in their homes, while others were said to have died in their sleep.

 

Although initial reports put the death toll at 16, subsequent reports indicated that the figure has risen to 24, prompting authorities to intensify investigations into the cause of the unusual fatalities.

 

Residents, particularly youths, reportedly took to the streets and proceeded to the palace of the Odigbo traditional ruler, Oba Rufus Akinrinmade, where they expressed concern and demanded explanations over the deaths.

 

The traditional ruler appealed for calm, assuring the protesters that the relevant authorities would investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths and work towards resolving the situation.

 

The incident has attracted the attention of the Ondo State Ministry of Health and the Odigbo Local Government health authorities, which have commenced preliminary investigations.

 

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka, confirmed the incident, stating that the government was investigating the reported deaths to determine their actual cause.

 

Ajaka said it would be premature to attribute the deaths conclusively to any particular substance until the ongoing medical investigations and laboratory analyses had been completed.

 

He assured residents that the government was treating the matter seriously and would provide further information once the investigation produced conclusive findings.

 

The Permanent Secretary of the Ondo State Ministry of Health, Dr. Ayodele Adiji who spoke at the scene, revealed that preliminary findings suggested a possible connection between some of the fatalities and the consumption of locally produced alcoholic and herbal drinks.

 

He specifically mentioned a locally brewed alcoholic beverage popularly known as “Monkey Tail,” as well as other locally prepared herbal and ethanol-based drinks.

 

Adiji, however, emphasised that the preliminary findings did not constitute a definitive conclusion, noting that samples had been collected for laboratory analysis.

 

He said toxicological and other medical investigations were ongoing to determine whether consumption of the suspected drinks was directly responsible for the deaths.

 

The Permanent Secretary stated that the authorities would rely on scientific evidence before reaching a final determination on the cause of the fatalities.

 

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Odigbo Local Government Area, Taiwo Adegoroye, has imposed a one-month ban on the sale and consumption of locally brewed alcoholic drinks in the council area.

 

Adegoroye said the measure was precautionary and intended to protect residents while health authorities continued their investigations.

 

According to him, a preliminary verbal autopsy conducted by the council’s health team indicated a possible link between the reported deaths and the consumption of certain locally produced substances.

 

He, however, noted that the preliminary assessment was inconclusive, stressing that further toxicological investigations were required to establish the exact cause of the deaths.

 

The council chairman warned that anyone found selling, distributing or consuming the banned locally produced alcoholic drinks during the restriction period could be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

 

On its part, the State Police Command, in a statement, informed that “it has taken note of reports concerning the deaths of some residents in parts of Odigbo Local Government Area, including Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Orita New Town, under circumstances suspected to be connected with possible poisoning.

 

“The Command, in collaboration with the Ondo State Government and relevant health authorities, has commenced a comprehensive investigation into the incidents with a view to determining the actual cause of the reported deaths.

 

“Police personnel including Police Medical Services are working closely with officials of the Ondo State Ministry of Health and the Odigbo Local Government health authorities in the collection of relevant information and evidence, while medical and toxicological examinations are being conducted to ascertain the substance, if any, responsible for the fatalities.

 

“At this stage, the Command wishes to caution members of the public against spreading unverified information or attributing the deaths to any particular substance, as the investigation and laboratory analyses are still ongoing.

 

“The actual number of casualties and the precise cause of the deaths will be established through the ongoing investigation.

 

“The Command further advises residents of the affected communities to remain calm and cooperate with the authorities by providing useful information that may assist the investigation.

 

“Members of the public are also urged to refrain from consuming unregulated or suspicious alcoholic and herbal preparations pending the outcome of the investigation.

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