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Political Demensions, calculations and permutations are set to change in 2026 in Africa's most populous Nation; Nigeria  Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has officially  defected to  the African Democratic Congress, ADC, declaring that Nigeria is confronted with “existential threats” that demand unity and collective action beyond partisan interests. Speaking at a political gathering in Enugu state capital on Tuesday, Obi dismissed claims that he was only attempting to join an emerging coalition, stressing that he has been involved from the very beginning.  He said the challenges facing the country are too grave for political grandstanding, noting that sincere collaboration remains the only path to national recovery.

The Deputy Head of Mission of the British High Commission, Simon Field, has visited world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, in hospital following a fatal road accident along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. According to a statement by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to Ogun State Governor, Kayode Akinmade, on Monday, Field met with Joshua during the visit and also held discussions with Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as British officials continue to monitor developments surrounding the incident. “The British High Commission was formally notified of the accident. Officials of the Mission are monitoring developments and remain in contact with the hospital and the Ogun State Government. “The Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Simon Field, visited the hospital and met with Anthony Joshua and the two governors. The families of the deceased have also been contacted through the High Commission,” the statement ...

FIFA has dismissed Nigeria’s protest over an allegedly ineligible player fielded by DR Congo in their crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying match, upholding the original result that eliminated the Super Eagles.  The decision leaves Nigeria out of the qualification race, drawing sharp criticism from fans and officials. The Super Eagles lodged their complaint immediately after the match, alleging that the player in question failed to meet FIFA’s strict eligibility criteria on nationality, documentation, and prior national team appearances.  Nigeria argued this breached FIFA statutes, hoping to overturn the outcome and salvage their campaign. After a detailed review by FIFA’s adjudication body, the evidence from both associations confirmed DR Congo’s full compliance with all regulations.  No points were awarded to Nigeria, no replay was granted, and the fixture’s result remains in the 2026 World Cup qualifying standings. Disappointment rippled through Nigerian footba...

The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has approved the admission of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger as non-ECOWAS members of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). The admission of the three countries is subject to a strong political commitment to fully implement obligations required of GIABA members, including addressing deficiencies in their Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Countering Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) frameworks, as well as cooperating fully with all related compliance requirements under the GIABA Statute. A statement from GIABA said the decision was taken at the end of the 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority, held on December 14, 2025, in Abuja, Nigeria, under the chairmanship of Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and current Chair of the Authority. Burkina Faso, Mali and Nige...

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) wishes to inform its stakeholders, partners, and the general public that its operations will continue seamlessly as the office temporarily adopts a skeletal remote work arrangement due to an ongoing fumigation and sanitation exercise. Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi Director, Strategic Communications Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), in a statement said the fumigation exercise, scheduled to run from Tuesday, 23 December 2025, through the end of the year, forms part of NELFUND’s proactive commitment to maintaining a safe, healthy, and compliant working environment for staff and visitors. During this period, minimal staff presence has been approved for essential on-site functions only. This precautionary measure prioritises staff welfare, with particular consideration given to pregnant women and women of child-bearing age, who may be more vulnerable to exposure during fumigation processes. “Staff safety remains paramount,” Mr Akintunde ...

The World Bank has commended the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement, SPESSE,  Environmental Node for commencing professional certification examinations. The bank described the  development as a critical milestone that marks the transition of the SPESSE Project from theoretical capacity building to standards-based certification in practice. It noted that the certification exercise was a key outcome of the recently concluded Implementation Support Mission on the SPESSE Project, held between November and December 2025.  As part of the Mission, the World Bank delegation undertook a focused visit to the SPESSE Environmental Node, hosted by the Environmental Assessment Department of the Federal Ministry of Environment. Director of Environmental Assessment Department at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Rofikat Adebunkola Odetoro, who received the Task Team on behalf of the Environmental Node, reaffirmed the Department’s co...

The death has occurred of Alhaji Ibrahim Wushishi, a community leader in Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger. The announcement was made in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Saturday by the acting Director, Information and Public Relations, National Examinations Council (NECO), Azeez Sani. Sani released the statement on behalf of the Registrar, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, son of the deceased who was aged 106 years. He is survived by 12 children, 60 grand children and 15 great grand children, among whom is Wushishi. He had since been buried according to islamic rites. 

The Kabiru Turaki- led Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has called for urgent and comprehensive investigation into what it describes as alleged fraudulent alteration of Nigeria’s Tax Laws, warning that the development poses grave threat to legislative integrity and democratic governance. In a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the opposition party expresses deep concerns over reported discrepancies between the version of the Tax Act passed by the National Assembly and the copy subsequently gazetted. The Party therefore demands that the commencement date of the new Tax Act, scheduled for January 1, 2026, be shifted by at least by six months to allow for a full investigation of the alleged anomaly, the publication and wide circulation of the authentic enacted version and extensive public enlightenment on the provisions of the law. The PDP noted that the matter was brought to public attention by a member of the House of Representatives, Abd...

The National Assembly has received revised Appropriation Bills for 2024 and 2025 from President Bola Tinubu on the day he is expected to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill. In a letter dated December 18, 2025, addressed to the leadership of the National Assembly, the President explained the the legislation is a crucial step in his government’s effort at recalibrating Nigeria’s fiscal framework to enable the federal government adjust total expenditures in line with updated fiscal realities. The President noted that the need for the revised budgets stems from challenges in executing previously approved expenditures, overlapping fiscal timelines, and the government’s drive to enhance budget credibility and performance.  For the 2024 budget, initially set at 35.06 trillion naira, the President said it had fallen short in accommodating certain essential items and capital implementation targets while the 2025 budget, originally pegged at 54.99 trillion naira, require adjustm...

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has deployed a Medium-Term Election Observation Mission (MTEOM) to the Republic of Guinea ahead of the country’s presidential election scheduled for December 28, 2025. The fifteen-member technical team arrived Conakry on Thursday, December 18, 2025, commencing an in-depth assessment of the pre-election environment. The mission, approved by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, is led by Serigne Mamadou Ka, Acting Head of the ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division. The delegation brings together specialists across key thematic areas, including electoral administration and logistics, constitutional and legal affairs, conflict prevention and management, gender mainstreaming, and media monitoring.  The multidisciplinary composition is designed to ensure a comprehensive and balanced evaluation of the entire electoral process, from preparation through polling and the immediate aftermath. ECOWAS confirmed that...

The Federal Government has reopened all 47 Federal Unity Colleges that were shut in the wake of rise in insecurity in some parts of the northern part of the country. The federal government also reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to safeguarding lives of students and ensuring uninterrupted education across the country. This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo. The ministry statement said that academic activities had fully resumed after the strengthening of security architecture within and around the affected schools. According to Boriowo, students have returned safely to their schools, with many currently concluding their December academic programmes, while others have successfully completed their examinations. The statement assured parents, guardians, and the general public that the safety, welfare, and well-being of students remain a top pri...

Burkina Faso has released a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft and 11 military personnel detained after a forced landing in Bobo Dioulasso due to technical issues. The Nigerian delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, met with Burkina Faso's junta leader Ibrahim Traoré, and they confirmed the release Wednesday night. The aircraft was on a ferry mission to Portugal when it made the precautionary landing, following international aviation protocols 

Nigeria’s quest to close critical manpower gaps in procurement, environmental and social standards has received a major boost as the World Bank has given a strong nod to the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project, rating its performance satisfactory and approving additional financing to sustain its momentum. Backed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the World Bank and the National Universities Commission (NUC), SPESSE was designed to tackle a long-standing problem in both the public and private sectors: the shortage of skilled professionals and the absence of structured academic pathways in procurement, environmental safeguards and social standards. Through coordinated training programmes anchored by six Centres of Excellence spread across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, the project has steadily bridged that gap, producing a new generation of professionals equipped to meet global best practices. The World Bank r...

President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio has held talks with the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard M. Mills Jnr,as part of efforts to strengthen the relationship  between the two countries.  The discussions took place during a courtesy visit by the US envoy to the National Assembly in Abuja, where both sides expressed a desire for a more robust diplomatic partnership. The meeting highlighted the shared goal of promoting democratic governance, noting that Nigeria’s democracy was modelled after the American system, underscoring the importance of nurturing and preserving it.  The Senate President acknowledged the long-standing democratic practice in the United States, which has spanned 249 years, and contrasted it with Nigeria’s own journey, emphasizing the need for continued collaboration.  He also noted that both countries share a common belief in God, despite Nigeria’s religious and ethnic diversity, as a unifying value that h...

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad (retd.), has passed away. The former head of the Nigerian judiciary died in Saudi Arabia, marking the end of a long and distinguished career in public service. Justice Muhammad reportedly died in the early hours of Tuesday at a hospital in Saudi Arabia, where he had been receiving medical attention. News of his death has sparked widespread reactions across Nigeria, especially within legal, judicial, and religious communities. A senior source confirmed the development, saying, “Ex-CJN Tanko Muhammad is dead. He passed away this morning at a Saudi Arabian Hospital.” The confirmation put an end to growing speculations surrounding his health. The Nigerian Association of Muslim Law Students (NAMLAS), National Headquarters, Abuja, also confirmed the death in an official condolence message dated December 16, 2025. The association described his passing as a major loss to the Nigerian judiciary and the nation as a whole...

SUPER EAGLES AFCON UPDATE 24 Players in camp. Salim Fago and Chidozie Awaziem are here now. Francis Uzoho  Stanley Nwabali Fisayo Dele-Bashiru Akinsanmiro Ebenezer Amas Obasogie Semi Ajayi Ademola Lookman Bright Osayi-Samuel Igho Ogbu  Tochukwu Nnadi Zaidu Sanusi Paul Onuachu Frank Onyeka Calvin Bassey Alex Iwobi Wilfred Ndidi Bruno Onyemaechi Cyril Dessers Akor Adams Chidera Ejuke  Raphael Onyedika Ryan Alebiosu Salim Fago Chidozie Awaziem

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund ), has pledged support for Defence Research and Development Bureau (RDB) for its research and development plans. Speaking while receiving the Director General of RDB, Rear Admiral K J Odubanjo and his team in his office on Wednesday in Abuja ,  the Executive Secretary of TETfund, Arch Sonny Echono said "as a country hungry for development, faced with serious challenges ranging from insecurity to unemployment to dependence on foreign goods and services, there is need to be able to harness all the resources available to us as a country. He disclosed that traditionally, the military have played very significant role in the technological and scientific development across the globe. "On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the management of TETFund, I want to warmly welcome you. I want to underline the fact that we at  TETFund recognize the important role that agencies like yours, play in national affairs.I recall the privilege...

President of Dangote group Aliko Dangote has been receiving accolades since last week, with one being that of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which  has congratulated the Aliko Dangote Foundation on the launch of its unprecedented ₦100 billion annual education scholarship initiative, a decade-long commitment that will support more than 1.3 million Nigerian students across secondary and tertiary institutions. In a statement signed by Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi Director, Strategic Communications, NELFUND described the initiative, unveiled in Lagos in the presence of Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a bold demonstration of private-sector partnership in line with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his commitment to expanding access to quality education for every Nigerian child. The Managing Director / CE of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, commended the Aliko Dangote Foundation for its visionary leadership and its align...

Fawehinmi Assumes Duty as the 8th Substantive Vice-Chancellor of  University of Abuja Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi today formally assumed duty as the 8th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja.  A statement by Dr Habib Yakoob, the University spokesman said He took over from Professor Mathew Adamu, who has served in acting capacity since Thursday11 August 2025. Fawehinmi was appointed by the eleventh Governing Council during its 80th Extraordinary Meeting held on Friday 7 November 2025, after a rigorous and transparent selection process. In his remarks shortly after resuming, the new vice chancellor expressed appreciation to the Council, Senate, Management, staff, students, and alumni for their support and warm reception.  He pledged to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to strengthen academic excellence, research output, innovation, institutional stability, and the overall student experience. “The University will, under my leade...