On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Governing Council, and Management of Augustine University Ilara, Epe, Lagos State, I, Femi Otedola CON, Chancellor, proudly congratulate our new Pope, Leo XIV , a devoted Augustinian Priest from whom our University draws its name and heritage… We are especially proud that His Holiness visited the Augustinian community in Abuja , in 2016, where he commissioned key projects. We pray for God’s guidance as he undertakes the sacred responsibility of leading 1.5 billion Catholics around the world. Long live the Pope!

Femi Otedola, CON

Several areas in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have been thrown into darkness for days.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, confirmed this in three separate outage statements released on its X handle on Thursday and Friday.

The disco blamed the blackout on technical fault affecting the feeders serving the concerned locations.

“We regret to inform you that the ongoing power outage is due to a technical fault affecting the feeders serving these locations,” the AEDC stated in a notice on Friday.

Several areas and businesses affected include Jabi District, Lifecamp, Kado District, Aire Gas, Total Marble, and others along Kaduna Road.

Also, Idu, Citec Mbora, Karmo, EFAB Global Estate, Karmo, Woodfield Estate, Zulu Community and all its environs are experiencing outages.

Also, Sokale Garden, Dutse Makaranta, Dutse Bokuma, Ushafa, Pegi, Gigo, Defence College Estate, Kogo, Zuma, Veritas University, Jamb Headquarters, Law School, Bwari and environs are experiencing similar power outages.

Meanwhile, for Bwari and its environs, the disco said the epileptic power supply was particularly due to a technical fault in the 33 kV Bwari Feeder serving the areas.

“The ongoing power outage is due to a technical fault on the 33kV Bwari Feeder, which is affecting supply to these areas.

“The TCN technical team is working tirelessly to restore power as quickly as possible,” the Abuja disco disclosed.

Meanwhile, residents in the affected areas have continued to lament the impact of the outage.

Benjamin Aina, a resident of Ushafa, said his area has had no power for the past week.

“It is painful we haven’t had power supply for one week now. My food stored in the freezer is all spoiled,” he told DAILY POST.

Similarly, Musa Abdullahi, a resident of Jabu, decried the outage, noting that he now spend more on petrol to power his generator.

“We have not had power supply for over a week now. The situation is really impacting households and businesses in Jabu. I now spend more money to buy fuel. The AEDC and TCN need to fix this situation,” he stated.

[DailyPost]

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos has granted ₦20 million bail to music producer and former manager of gospel singer Mercy Chinwo, Ezekiel Onyedikachi, popularly known as EeZeeTee, over a fresh $255,000 foreign transaction fraud allegation filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a brief ruling on Friday, Justice Aneke ruled that the bail must be secured with one surety who resides in Lagos and owns property equivalent in value to the bail amount. The judge, who had earlier released EeZeeTee to his lawyer, Ojukwu Chikaosolu, gave the defendant 72 hours to meet the terms.

The EFCC originally filed a 14-count charge against EeZeeTee for allegedly converting funds fraudulently but later reduced the charges to seven, accusing him of conducting forex transactions without a valid license.

EFCC prosecutor Bilikisu Buhari-Bala informed the court that in June 2023, EeZeeTee allegedly carried out a $52,895 forex transaction with one Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke without the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

She said the act contravenes Sections 5 and 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Cap F34, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is punishable under Section 29(2) of the same law.

EeZeeTee pleaded not guilty. The matter has been adjourned to June 20, 2025, for trial.

[TheNation]

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Friday announced the release of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results, with results of 39,834 candidates being withheld.

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this on Friday during the official release of the 2025 UTME results at JAMB headquarters, Bwari.

Oloyede revealed that the seizure of results was due to suspected examination malpractices, and about 80 individuals are being probed for exam-related offences with Anambra State having the highest number of suspects.

Details later….

[Punch]

Enzo Maresca has backed Chelsea’s revitalised midfield to make the difference in Sunday’s crucial clash with top five rivals Newcastle.

Maresca named an unchanged starting line-up for successive Premier League games for the first time in six months as champions Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by the Blues last weekend.

The return of Romeo Lavia, who has started consecutive matches for the first time since November after missing virtually all of last season, has been vital to Chelsea’s ability to control the midfield battle.

Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo are playing their best football since arriving at Stamford Bridge, with the latter this week named the club’s player of the season.

With a solid foundation behind him, Chelsea forward Cole Palmer finally looked back to his best as he ended his long goal drought against Liverpool.

Maresca believes the midfield engine room could hold the key to victory at St James’ Park, with Newcastle’s charge to fourth place inspired by the form of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.

“Absolutely, yes. Against Liverpool we repeated the first XI after six months. It’s important when you can continue with the same players,” Maresca said.

“We have Romeo back fit, Moises is doing well, Enzo and Cole are doing well. Newcastle also have Bruno Guimaraes, Tonali, (Jacob) Murphy, (Joe) Willock. They have different kinds of players. I expect for sure a huge game.”

Fifth-placed Chelsea go into Sunday’s game behind Newcastle only on goals scored, with both sides knowing a win will be a huge boost in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

Maresca’s men, who will face Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final, have hit form at just the right moment, winning six of their last nine league games.

But whatever the result on Sunday, their destiny will likely still rest on their final two fixtures, at home to Manchester United and away to top five rivals Nottingham Forest.

Asked whether Newcastle’s attacking style could play into Chelsea’s hands, Maresca said: “I hope so. We’ve played games against teams who play a low block, against teams that try to be aggressive, and we made some good games in both situations.”

[Vanguard]

Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, has promised to provide further updates on the naira-for-crude deal in due course.

In a statement on Friday, Mohammed Manga, the ministry’s director of information and public relations, said a meeting of the technical subcommittee on the crude and refined product sales in naira initiative convened on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting, Edun commended the “continued collaboration across agencies and partners, promising to provide further updates in due course”.

According to the statement, the session reviewed implementation milestones and recorded progress since the last engagement.

Manga said the meeting, chaired by Edun, was attended by Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and chairman of the technical subcommittee, and Olu Verheijen, special adviser to the president on energy.

Also present at the meeting were senior representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, local refining operators, and regulatory institutions, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

Stakeholders were said to have reaffirmed their shared commitment to the effective and seamless execution of the policy, “which remains a critical component of President Bola Tinubu’s broader strategy” to strengthen the naira, enhance energy security, and promote local value addition within the sector.

Nigeria commenced the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in naira to local refineries on October 1, 2024, to improve supply, save the country millions of dollars in petroleum products imports, and ultimately reduce pump prices.

On March 10, TheCable reported that the NNPC had halted the naira-for-crude deal until 2030, as the government-owned company has forward-sold all its crude oil.
Days later, the Dangote refinery said it had temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in naira.

However, on April 9, the federal government said the naira-for-crude oil deal will continue after the first phase, which ended on March 31.

[TheCable]

The hard-won achievements of the 50-year-old Economic Community of West African States are at risk of unraveling amid growing political and economic turmoil. Following the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the 12-member group’s survival depends on the political leadership of its three largest economies.

ACCRA – While attending a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) leadership seminar with Ghanaian cabinet members in Accra, I noticed that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations.

ECOWAS, established in 1975, was the brainchild of Nigeria’s then-Minister of Economic Development Adebayo Adedeji, who went on to head the UN Economic Commission for Africa from 1975 to 1991. It was his vision of a borderless West Africa where goods, people, and services could move freely that ultimately united 15 countries across the region.

By 1990, ECOWAS had established a free-trade area, and West Africa recorded one of the world’s highest intra-regional mobility rates. In the following decade, it led two peacekeeping missions that helped end civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Under the leadership of Ghana’s Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the bloc supported the democratic transitions of Guinea, Niger, Togo, and Burkina Faso. In 2015, it reached another milestone with the adoption of a common external tariff.

But these hard-won achievements are now at risk of being undone. Since the 2010s, jihadist insurgencies led by Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda affiliates – and partly fueled by NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya – have devastated the Sahel. In 2024, the tri-border region of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso accounted for 3,066 of the world’s 7,555 terrorism-related deaths; nearly five million people have fled to neighboring countries.

The resulting insecurity has destabilized the region, triggering a wave of military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea between 2020 and 2024. Meanwhile, the civilian governments of Togo, Benin, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal became increasingly autocratic.

Compounding these problems, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger withdrew from ECOWAS in January, accusing the bloc of serving neo-colonial interests. Tensions arose over Nigeria’s close political and commercial ties to France, which have grown, even as French troops have been expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire amid often fierce anti-French protests.

With the departure of the three Sahelian countries, ECOWAS has lost 76 million people – roughly 17% of its population – and nearly half of its territory. Now, the bloc’s survival depends on six of its founding members, most of which are mired in turmoil.

Nigeria, which accounts for over 50% of ECOWAS’s population and over 60% of its economic output, was once widely viewed as the bloc’s stabilizing force. But it has since become a source of instability, owing to its ongoing failure to contain the jihadist insurgency in the country’s volatile northeast.

In March, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a “state of emergency” in the oil-rich and politically unstable Rivers, suspending the state parliament and Governor Siminalayi Fubara for six months. International and domestic observers, including the Nigerian Bar Association, condemned the move as unconstitutional amid growing concerns over creeping autocracy.

Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa’s second-largest economy, could also slide into autocratic rule. President Alassane Ouattara – a former deputy director at the International Monetary Fund – oversaw average annual growth of 7% between 2012 and 2023, accelerating infrastructure development and expanding electricity access. But he is serving an unconstitutional third presidential term and has manipulated state institutions to sideline political opponents, including opposition leader Tidjane Thiam, who was recently banned from running in October’s presidential election.

In neighboring Ghana, ECOWAS’s third-largest economy, President John Mahama has returned to power following a landslide election victory. His predecessor, Nana Akufo-Addo, left behind a legacy of economic turmoil, marked by corruption allegations and a 2022 sovereign-debt default that triggered a $3 billion IMF bailout. The resulting austerity measures led to rolling power outages and a steep decline in living standards, paving the way for Mahama’s return from the political wilderness.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have embarked on an experiment in regional autonomy. Before withdrawing from ECOWAS, the three countries formed the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) – a mutual-defense pact aimed at creating a joint counter-terrorism force, establishing an investment bank, and collaborating on agriculture, energy, and infrastructure projects.

Despite these ambitions, all three remain part of the eight-member, French-controlled West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). Each has curtailed democratic freedoms and announced five-year transitions to civilian rule while relying on Russian Africa Corps mercenaries for security support. Yet the shift in foreign backers has done little to turn the tide against jihadist insurgents, with large swaths of their territory still under militant control.

Political instability and climate change have underscored the structural vulnerabilities of ECOWAS’s heavily indebted member states, which remain largely dependent on mineral and cash-crop exports. Intra-regional trade accounts for just 12% of total commerce, while 38.4% of adults live below the poverty line. The bloc also suffers from high unemployment, especially among people under 25, who comprise 65% of its population and account for many of the desperate migrants risking dangerous Atlantic and Mediterranean crossings to reach Europe. With limited resources to address infrastructure deficits, member states are acutely susceptible to climate-related threats like droughts, floods, and desertification.

Despite an increasingly hostile geopolitical environment, ECOWAS’s three largest economies must take the lead in driving industrialization and establishing a functioning customs union. With little international support, the landlocked Sahelian countries will struggle to create the economies of scale needed for rapid economic development. Moreover, they lack the capital and technical capacity to offer a viable alternative integration model.

Mahama and Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye have made strides in bridging the divide between ECOWAS and the AES. But reports suggest that Togo and Benin may join the emerging bloc, potentially inflaming an already volatile regional landscape. Encouragingly, ECOWAS and the AES have agreed to maintain the free movement of people, goods, and services across their shared borders.

While ECOWAS has left the door open for the return of its three prodigal members, its 50th anniversary is a reminder of Adedeji’s prescient warning: “In the final analysis, it is politics and not economics that will ultimately determine the fate of regional integration arrangements.”

Adekeye Adebajo

In botanical terms, inclusive leadership is like a flower of which beauty proceeds from the anatomy of each petal or the leaves of its corolla. It takes different parts to form a whole, and there is no stronger force than a united people.

President Bola Tinubu has steadily demonstrated a rare rallying quality; pulling together and not setting asunder. Whether north, south, east, or west, he has remained consistent as an even-handed arbiter, dealing graciously and honourably with everyone.

On May 2, he visited Katsina State, where he made bold and decisive declarations against banditry and terrorism in the North-West zone. He reiterated his resolve that Nigeria would never succumb to the designs of terror and asked the military to intensify its efforts to remove the vestiges of the menace.

The President visited Enugu State on January 4. The visit, his first port of call in the year, underscored the importance accorded to the South-East zone, as well as the President’s genuine effort at bringing all Nigerians together.

In Enugu, President Tinubu interacted with a melange of leaders in the South-East, listening, taking note of their concerns, and ending with a fine lexical smorgasbord of unity, hope, and compassion.

In Anambra, his second visit to the South-East in 2025, the President reprised his accustomed nationalistic aspect – not a performance or a contrivance, but an organic and time-honed disposition.

President Tinubu paid a visit to Anambra State on Thursday, May 8. He was received with flourish, elegance, and exceeding excitement — an undisputed affirmation of the Igbo saying, “Nkea bu nke anyi” (He is our own).

It was a carnival in the streets of Awka as the President’s convoy entered the city, a welcome deserving only of a well-striped warrior — Dike. The President was honoured with the foremost traditional title — Dike Si-mba of Anambra — mighty warrior/hero.

Earlier, he had inaugurated the Emeka Anyaoku Institute of International Studies and Diplomacy at Nnamdi Azikwe University; the new Government House, and Solution Funcity.

Speaking at Ekwueme Square, a stadium, where an open meeting was held with an array of South-East leaders, opinion moulders and other citizens, President Tinubu thanked the people of Anambra for the warm welcome and their support.

“I know our diversity will lead to prosperity.

“South-East, I salute your enterprise, your innovation, and commitment to progress,” the President said.

In his address, Governor Chukwuma Soludo thanked the President for honouring the state by visiting. He said the last state visit by any President was in 2012.

He commended the President for having the courage to take tough decisions that were already turning around the economy and encouraged the President to stay the course.

The governor said his support for President Tinubu was rooted in ideology and principle and described the President as the “Professor of Federalism.”

Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, also thanked the President, underscoring his expansiveness, accommodating, and fatherly disposition.

The significance of the President’s domestic trips is the exigency of solidarising, as well as of building bridges and fostering unity. Nigerians across the country can see, feel, and hear their President in the flesh. He comes to them with words of hope, encouragement, understanding, compassion, and action.

The President has shown time and time again that he is the leader that Nigeria sorely needs at this time to mend the fault lines, the fissures, and to disentangle the national antinomy.

Leadership is by example. It is in the doings. It is in the results. Little wonder Nigerians across all artificial aisles are rallying towards the President. The ability to bring people together, regardless of any unnatural boundaries, is the great stuff of leadership.

President Tinubu epitomises this outlier quality of leadership.

Fredrick Nwabufo is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement

The Ogun State government has renamed the newly refurbished MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, as MKO Abiola Sports Complex following the addition of new facilities in the structure ahead of the 22nd National Sports Festival (NSF).

The stadium previously had only a football pitch and an athletics track, but it now boasts a 50-metre Olympic-size swimming pool, basketball, tennis, and handball courts, a new digital scoreboard, a tartan track, as well as a hybrid football turf.

Explaining the decision to add new structures to the complex, Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, said that hosting the NSF has helped to revive many of the state’s sporting facilities, driving the sporting ecosystem and boosting the GDP of the Gateway State.

“Before the NSF, we planned to rename the MKO Abiola Stadium to MKO Abiola Sports Complex because the edifice now has what it takes to be considered a sporting complex. The stadium now boast an Olympic-size swimming pool, a tartan track, a digital scoreboard and floodlights, tennis, basketball, and handball courts, with a VVIP seat that can accommodate 150 guests at a time. We have spent a lot to put our facilities in good shape, and we believe that beyond the NSF, we want to ensure that we build a sporting ecosystem that can improve our GDP in the state.”

Governor Abiodun highlighted the positive impact of the NSF, noting that the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) has chosen Ogun State to host the 2025 U-18 and U-20 African Championships in July, after initially awarding it to Algeria.

“This is what we envisioned when we decided to bid for the NSF, and now, the results have started coming on board. We look forward to such events soon so that Ogun State can become part of the global sporting ecosystem,” he said.

He added that bidding for and hosting the NSF was an intentional venture by the government aimed at improving infrastructure and creating a sports economy for the state.

“Ogun’s business circle will experience a bumper harvest during the event, with major hotels fully booked and petty traders making brisk businesses,” he said.

[Guardian]

The rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Dr Danjuma Ismaila, has raised the alarm that the institution’s poor wage profile is triggering talent loss in the institution.

The Rector, who disclosed this during the oversight visit of the College by the chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Tajudeen Abisodun, said the institution’s wage is critically low and demotivating for personnel.

He, however, said poor wages were responsible for the continued exit of trained professionals to other agencies offering better remuneration packages in the sector.

The Rector further seized the opportunity to appreciate the generous commitment shown by Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation, and other predecessor administrations in the success story of the institution.

He appealed for the continued kind assistance of the committee in ensuring the improvement of budgetary allocations and funding for the college.

On his part, the chairman of the Committee, Hon. Abisodun, also bemoaned the poor wage profile of NCAT staff.

This, he attributes, as a major reason for the prevalent attrition and poaching of her trained personnel by sister agencies and the industry sector with higher salary remunerations.

He assured of his committee’s commitment to supporting the college in addressing its major challenges.

While commending the Rector, he also assured that his committee would carefully study the detailed presentation made by the Rector to ascertain city areas of interventions.

The Committee members were impressed with the facilities and infrastructure in the college. The Chairman further assures of the committee’s regular interface with the Rector to meet necessary needs of the college.

[Leadership]