The governorship candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) in Oyo State, Abimbola Adekanmbi, has declared that he is not a surrogate or political proxy of Governor Seyi Makinde, stressing that he has his own vision, manifesto and strategy for governing the state.
Adekanmbi, while speaking on the process that produced the APM candidates ahead of the election, said the emergence of the candidates was not the product of decisions taken by Governor Makinde from his office, but followed consultations, public engagements and contributions from different sectors and regions of the state.
According to him, candidates for the governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly seats emerged through a consensus-building process involving stakeholders across Oyo State.
He said, “The governor did not sit in his office and simply drop a list. There was a process that led to the emergence of all the candidates. There were consultations and public engagements, with input from every sector and region of Oyo State.”
Adekanmbi further dismissed suggestions that his political ambition was being driven by Governor Makinde, insisting that he would take full responsibility for his decisions and actions if elected governor.
“I’m no surrogate to Governor Makinde. The governor made it clear that I shouldn’t inherit his enemies or liabilities,” he said.
The APM candidate added that his ambition was based on his own assessment of the needs of Oyo State and his determination to present an independent governance agenda to the people.
“I’m owning every action I take as governor, just as I have always owned my actions in life. I own it, and I’m prepared. I have my own manifesto and strategy,” Adekanmbi stated.
His comments are expected to further shape the political narrative ahead of the Oyo State governorship election, particularly amid discussions over the influence of Governor Makinde and the political alignments surrounding the 2027 contest.
The Elegant Nurses Forum (ENF) has condemned the alleged deployment of Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) recruited by the Ondo State Government to perform duties ordinarily assigned to professionally trained and licensed nurses in secondary healthcare facilities.
The group described the development as a serious threat to professional standards, patient safety and the quality of healthcare delivery across the state.
According to the forum, while CHEWs play an important role in primary healthcare and community-based services, their deployment to perform duties reserved for registered nurses and midwives could undermine the professional structure of the health sector and expose patients to avoidable risks.
ENF called on the Ondo State Government and relevant health authorities to ensure that healthcare workers are deployed strictly in line with their professional training, qualifications, licences and defined scopes of practice.
The group also urged the government to prioritise the recruitment and proper deployment of qualified nurses and midwives to address manpower shortages in secondary healthcare facilities, rather than filling nursing positions with personnel from other cadres.
The forum stressed that every category of healthcare professional has a defined role within the health system and that maintaining clear professional boundaries is essential to protecting patients and ensuring effective healthcare delivery.
ENF therefore appealed to the Ondo State Government to review the alleged deployment and engage relevant nursing stakeholders to resolve the issue in the interest of patients, healthcare workers and the overall health system.bbl
Former Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliot, has reportedly sought reconciliation with the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos after the disagreements that surrounded the party’s last primaries.
Elliot was seen kneeling and later prostrating before Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, as he appealed for reintegration into the APC political family in Lagos.
During the encounter, Elliot reportedly acknowledged that his judgment had been misguided during the last APC primaries. He also accepted the outcome of the political process and the verdict of the people of Surulere, while pledging renewed loyalty to the leadership of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) in Lagos.
Gbajabiamila, who represents Surulere in the House of Representatives, reportedly received Elliot warmly and granted him an audience. In a show of reconciliation, the Chief of Staff embraced the former lawmaker following his appeal.
The development underscores ongoing efforts to mend political differences within the Lagos APC ahead of future electoral contests, with party unity and loyalty to the established leadership expected to remain key issues.
Schools across parts of Nigeria’s Southwest are reopening for the 2026/2027 academic session, with pupils and students expected to return to classrooms as education authorities commence a new academic year.
In Lagos State, public and private primary and secondary schools are scheduled to resume today, Monday, September 14, 2026, following the release of the state’s harmonised academic calendar. The first term is scheduled to run until December 21, with a mid-term break fixed for November 2–6.
The Lagos calendar provides for 182 school days during the 2026/2027 session, with the second term beginning on January 11, 2027, and the third term on May 3, 2027. The state government has directed schools to adhere to the approved timetable.
As schools reopen, parents and guardians are expected to complete outstanding preparations, including school fees, uniforms, books and other learning materials, while school authorities are expected to ensure that facilities and teaching arrangements are ready for the new session.
The resumption marks the beginning of another academic cycle across the region, with attention expected to focus on learning outcomes, teacher preparedness, school infrastructure, student welfare and academic discipline.
Barely 24 hours to the official resumption of academic activities across Oyo State, suspected bandits have reportedly attacked an Operation Burst security base located within a forest reserve along the Igbeti–Igboho axis in Oorelope Local Government Area of the state.
The attack reportedly occurred in the early hours of Sunday, September 13, 2026, between 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
According to a reports, citing a security update from the Oorelope Local Government Command, armed men invaded the security base and opened fire on personnel stationed at the facility.
The command said it received a distress call about the attack and immediately mobilised its operatives, alongside personnel from other sister security agencies, to the area.
However, the attackers had fled before the security team arrived.
Preliminary findings reportedly showed that the attackers stormed the base in large numbers and attempted to overrun the security post, kill the personnel and take away their weapons.
Security operatives subsequently combed the area and launched efforts to track down the attackers, but they were not apprehended.
No casualty was recorded in the incident, according to the security update.
However, the attackers allegedly set fire to a block within the security base and a patrol van, destroying both facilities.
The Oorelope Local Government Command said further details would be made available as investigations and security operations continue.
The reported attack comes at a time of heightened attention to security in parts of Oyo State, with schools across the state expected to resume academic activities officially on Monday.
Police authorities in Osun State have launched a manhunt for those responsible for the killing of Olalekan Oyeyemi, popularly known as Emir Ajagungbade, an aide of Governor Ademola Adeleke, during a violent clash around motor parks in Ile-Ife.
Oyeyemi was reportedly killed on Sunday during a confrontation involving rival factions over control of motor parks in the ancient city. The violence reportedly spread across the Mayfair, Sabo and Lagere areas, with sporadic gunshots causing panic among residents, traders and passers-by.
According to reports, the deceased was leading his loyalists when the confrontation occurred amid an alleged attempt to take control of a motor park in Mayfair. However, details surrounding the circumstances of his death and the identities of those responsible remain subject to police investigation.
Reacting to the incident, Governor Adeleke directed the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, to investigate the killing and arrest those responsible, stressing that there would be no sacred cows in the enforcement of the law.
The governor also ordered the immediate vacation of motor parks by warring groups and announced plans to reintroduce a Park Management System aimed at restoring order and addressing leadership disputes within transport parks across the state. Security agencies were directed to restore normalcy and maintain peace in affected areas.
Osun State Governor, , has ordered a formal investigation into the killings, shootings, injuries and other acts of violence reported at Naira and Kobo Junction and the motor park/garage area in Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area.
The governor issued an Executive Order establishing a Coroner Inquest and Panel of Inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the violence, which occurred on August 24, 2026.
The inquiry is expected to establish what led to the confrontation, determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths and injuries, and identify any individuals or groups whose actions may have contributed to the incident.
The development follows growing concerns over violence and insecurity linked to disputes around motor park activities in parts of the state. Adeleke had earlier vowed that his administration would independently investigate recent political and communal killings in Osun.
The state government said the inquiry is intended to uncover the facts behind the incident and provide a basis for appropriate action while promoting peace and public safety in the affected communities.
•Says INEC has no power of finality over party’s candidate _ •’Courts’ll do justice_ ’
Presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has declared that no administrative action by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can extinguish his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election.
Hashim was reacting to his exclusion from the final list of presidential candidates published by INEC, over the weekend.
In a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday, Hashim described the development as a matter that remains subject to judicial determination, insisting that he remains the duly nominated presidential candidate of the Accord Party.
“I am the candidate of the Accord Party. No one can exclude me from the 2027 presidential election. The court will do justice, he said.
Hashim said Nigeria’s constitutional democracy does not confer on INEC an overriding power of “finality” over disputes concerning who emerges as a political party’s candidate.
According to him, the adjudicatory powers vested in the courts exist precisely to prevent administrative decisions from becoming instruments of impunity or a means of foreclosing legitimate political rights.
“Our democracy does not give INEC any right of finality over who stands as the candidate of a political party. Where there is a dispute over the emergence or exclusion of a candidate, the adjudicatory functions of the courts are provided precisely to prevent impunity and to ensure that no administrative process becomes a pre-planned mechanism for keeping particular candidates off the ballot.
“We have seen this before. In the last Osun governorship election, the courts intervened in circumstances where candidates initially excluded from INEC’s processes were subsequently restored to the ballot. That is why nobody should assume that an administrative publication by INEC is the final word in a matter that is before the courts.”
Hashim has already taken the matter before the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking, among other reliefs, an order compelling the Accord Party to recognise him as its presidential candidate and transmit his name to INEC. The case has been heard and reserved for judgment.
His case is based on his contention that he emerged as the sole winner of Accord’s presidential primary conducted on May 30, 2026, after paying the prescribed nomination fee, with the exercise monitored by INEC officials.
He insisted that the dispute cannot be conclusively determined by an administrative listing.
“The publication by INEC is not the final determination of my candidacy. There is a subsisting legal dispute before the court, and I have confidence in the judicial process.
“I emerged from the presidential primary as the candidate. I have done what the law requires, and I believe the court will uphold the law.
“No individual or administrative action can take away a right that has been lawfully acquired. I remain the presidential candidate of Accord, and we will see this process through to its lawful conclusion,”said Hashim.
Hashim also took aim at what he described as the political forces that would prefer presidential contest built around division, sentiment and weakened opponents rather than one centered on substantive national issues.
“We know for a fact that those who have benefited from the dysfunction in Nigeria, together with their enablers across various institutions, are scared stiff of one candidate being on that ballot—Gbenga Hashim.
“I am the candidate they cannot easily fit into their old calculations. I am the candidate capable of winning votes across North and South. I am prepared to fight over issues that matter to ordinary Nigerians and over the future of this country, rather than participate in the politics of division, ethnicity, religion and sentiment.
“They may be comfortable competing against wounded candidates. They may be comfortable with a political environment where Nigerians are forced to choose between factions and personalities. But, they are uncomfortable with a candidate who can speak to Nigerians across the country on the basis of ideas, competence and national interest.
“But, this plot, however sophisticated, shall fail by the grace of God.”
Hashim said his legal battle, therefore, goes beyond his personal political ambition, describing it as a test of the integrity of political party primaries, internal democracy and the constitutional right of Nigerians to freely choose their preferred presidential candidate.
“The real issue is whether a political party can conduct a presidential primary, produce a winner, and subsequently prevent that winner from participating in the election.
“If that can happen without judicial scrutiny, then, what happens to internal democracy within political parties? What happens to the right of party members who participated in the primary? And ultimately, what happens to the right of Nigerians to choose who they want on the ballot?
“That is why this case matters beyond Gbenga Hashim. It is about whether the rules of our democracy apply to everyone, including those who occupy powerful institutions.”
He called on his supporters and Nigerians who believe in democratic choice to remain calm, assuring them that he would continue to pursue the matter through constitutional and legal means.
“I am not asking anyone to break the law. I am asking that the law be allowed to work.
“We will not be intimidated, we will not be distracted and we will not surrender a legitimate democratic right because somebody has published a list.
“The court will speak, and when it does, we will abide by the judgment.”
The Federal Government has opened applications for a free Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) training programme targeted at 50,000 young people across the six Southwest states of Nigeria.
The initiative is being implemented under the Federal Government’s efforts to expand digital skills and create new employment opportunities for young Nigerians. Participants are expected to receive training designed to equip them with skills required to work in the growing global business-process and remote-services industry.
The programme is expected to benefit youths across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states, giving participants an opportunity to develop marketable digital and professional skills without paying tuition fees.
The BPO sector provides services to organisations and businesses in areas such as customer support, data processing, administrative assistance and other digitally delivered services. The Federal Government hopes that strengthening the skills of young Nigerians will enable more of them to secure employment and participate in the international digital economy.
Interested youths are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity by checking the official application channels for eligibility requirements, registration details and training schedules.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has disclosed that outpatient patronage in the state’s public hospitals has doubled in the last six months, with some facilities now attending to thousands of patients daily. He said the surge was putting significant pressure on doctors and other healthcare professionals.
Abayomi attributed the increase partly to the rising cost of healthcare, which has made private medical services increasingly unaffordable for many residents. He explained that while the cost of healthcare continues to rise, residents’ purchasing power has remained relatively stagnant, forcing many people to move from private hospitals to government facilities.
The commissioner, however, expressed concern that some residents were also turning to informal healthcare providers, including pharmacists and roadside drug sellers, instead of seeking treatment through the orthodox healthcare system. He warned that this trend could encourage self-medication and expose people to avoidable health risks.
He also linked the pressure on public hospitals to the migration of healthcare professionals from Nigeria. According to him, the combination of increasing patient numbers and the loss of medical personnel is placing doctors and other healthcare workers under considerable stress.
Abayomi further disclosed that Lagos State plans to enforce compulsory health insurance for residents as part of efforts to improve healthcare financing and reduce the burden on public hospitals. He said the government is restructuring its health insurance system to ensure that residents have access to affordable basic healthcare while improving the sustainability of the state’s health sector.
