The Royal Group, Egbe Omo Oba Alade Ile Ibadan, an affiliate of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), will on Saturday, December 13, 2025, commemorate its 21st anniversary with a grand event featuring the inauguration of new executives under the leadership of Aare Kamikun Akewula, induction of new members, and the launching of its club building.
The ceremony, themed “Repositioning Ibadan: Strengthening Community Bonds and Enhancing Strategic Private Participation for Sustainable Development,” is scheduled to hold at Lekan Are Hall, Kakanfo Inn, Joyce B Road, Ibadan, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Senator Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja (Arusa I), will grace the occasion as the Royal Father of the Day, with Ayaba Mutiyat Olayinka Ladoja, as the Mother of the Day.
Other dignitaries expected include the Chairman of the Occasion, Oloye Taofeek Adegoke Adegboyega, FCA, Chief Launcher, Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe; and Chief Guest of Honour, Senator Dr. Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli.
The Guest Speaker, *Dr. Nureni Aderemi Adeniran, Executive Chairman, Oyo SUBEB, is billed to deliver a keynote address on the role of private participation in community development.
The event will be hosted by Prince Kamikun Akewula, President of The Royal Group, with Barr. Ajeniyi Ajewole, President-General of CCII, serving as Chief Host.
The celebration which will commence on Monday 8th December with a Press Conference at Ibadan House, will run through the week and feature visitation to correctional centre, medical outreach, novelty match, Jumat & Thanksgiving service is expected to bring together prominent sons and daughters of Ibadan, community leaders, and well-wishers in what promises to be a remarkable gathering aimed at strengthening unity and promoting sustainable growth in Ibadanland.
Military authorities are continuing investigations into a foiled coup attempt against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, and PREMIUM TIMES has obtained exclusive details on 16 officers currently detained in connection with the plot.
According to security sources, 14 of the detained officers are from the Nigerian Army, with two others from the Navy and Air Force. Of the army personnel, 12 are from the Infantry Corps, one from the Signals Corps, and one from the Ordnance Corps.
The ranks of those in custody include a brigadier general, a colonel, four lieutenant colonels, five majors, two captains and a lieutenant. The Navy officer is a lieutenant commander, while the Air Force officer holds the rank of squadron leader.
Authorities have not issued a formal statement on the alleged plot, offering only a denial that it was linked to the scaled-down Independence Day celebrations on October 1.
Key Officers Identified are: Brigadier General Musa Abubakar Sadiq, believed to be the alleged ringleader, is from Nasarawa State and a member of NDA Regular Course 44. He was previously detained in 2024 over alleged diversion of relief materials and military equipment.
Colonel M.A. Ma’aji, from Niger State and a member of the 47 Regular Course, is suspected of playing a strategic planning role. He formerly commanded the 19 Battalion in Ondo State and served under Operation Delta Safe.
Other officers include: Lt. Col S. Bappah (Signals Corps), Bauchi State, Lt. Col A.A. Hayatu (Infantry), Kaduna State, Lt. Col M. Almakura (Infantry), Nasarawa State, Majors A.J. Ibrahim, M.M. Jiddah, M.A. Usman, D. Yusuf, and I. Dauda, Captains Ibrahim Bello and A.A. Yusuf, Lt. S.S. Felix, Lt. Commander D.B. Abdullahi (Navy), Squadron Leader S.B. Adamu (Air Force) Sources say interrogations are ongoing, and details of alleged roles and motives have not yet been made public. The Defence Headquarters and the Presidency have remained silent.
Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced that the Federal Government will completely phase out chalkboards in public schools by 2027 as part of its Digitalisation of Public Schools Initiative. Over 60,000 tablets and 800 smartboards have already been distributed to schools nationwide to promote digital learning.
The initiative aims to modernize classrooms, enhance student engagement, and train teachers in the use of digital tools and AI.
It also seeks to reduce the learning gap between rural and urban schools and improve retention rates, as only about 6 million out of 30 million pupils currently progress to senior secondary school.
Dr. Alausa emphasized that the reform will transform teaching into an interactive, technology-driven experience that prepares Nigerian students for the digital economy.
President Bola Tinubu has withdrawn the presidential pardon earlier granted to Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello. The decision follows widespread backlash over her inclusion in a recent clemency list.
After a review by the Council of State, Tinubu revoked Sanda’s pardon and reduced her sentence to six years in prison instead of a full pardon. The President also ordered the transfer of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy to the Ministry of Justice and called for new guidelines to prevent future controversies.
The reversal is seen as an effort to restore public confidence and ensure that presidential mercy does not undermine justice, particularly in cases involving serious crimes like murder and kidnapping.
Residents of Gaa-Saka to Madi axis and adjoining communities in Oko-Olowo, Ilorin, have protested prolonged power outage, accusing the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) of negligence and unfair billing.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of Project and Electrification, Alhaji Solihu Owonifari, and made available to newsmen in Ilorin on Tuesday, the affected residents under the 33KVA Sobi-Poly Feeder lamented that they have been in total darkness for months, yet continue to receive what they described as “outrageous and unjustifiable bills.”
“We have endured enough of this daylight exploitation. No Light, No Pay!” the statement read, as residents vowed to stop paying for electricity not supplied.
The communities accused the IBEDC Ilorin Marketing Unit of neglect and failure to fix what they termed “artificial problems” responsible for the continuous blackout.
Business owners and households said they have spent heavily on generators and solar alternatives while still being forced to pay monthly bills.
“This situation is crippling small businesses, disrupting students’ studies, and putting families under economic pressure,” a resident complained.
Quoting the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) of 2005, the protesters maintained that consumers have the legal right to fair billing and efficient service delivery, warning that forcing payment for services not rendered is illegal.
They called on the IBEDC management, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and the Kwara State Government to urgently intervene, fix the faults, and restore power to the area.
“Until power is restored, our stand remains clear; No Light, No Pay!” the residents declared.
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has revealed that he declined an invitation from the United States Embassy for a visa re-interview because the appointment fell on September 11, a date he described as “uncomfortable and symbolic.”
Speaking on Tuesday at a media parley in Lagos, the 91-year-old writer said he could not bring himself to visit the embassy on the anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks.
“I was given a date to report to their consulate with my passport,” Soyinka said. “First of all, I didn’t like the date. Everybody knows what happened on that date, 9/11, many years ago, so I said, ‘Sorry, I’m superstitious; I’m not coming on that day.’” He added that he later chose not to pursue another appointment with the embassy.
The world-renowned playwright spoke during a media event tagged “Unending Saga: Idi Amin in Whiteface” at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island. There, he disclosed that the US embassy had revoked his visa and that the parley was necessary to inform those expecting him in the US that he had effectively been “banned.”
“I have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States,” Soyinka declared with a wry smile. “So if you want to see me, you know where to find me.” The Nobel laureate noted that he received an official letter of revocation dated October 23, 2025, from the US Consulate, citing “additional information” discovered after his visa was issued in April 2024.
In the letter, the Consulate informed Soyinka that his non-immigrant visa had been revoked under section 22 CFR 41.122 of the US Department of State regulations and requested that he return his passport for “physical cancellation.” Soyinka described the request as “humorous,” asking the audience if anyone would volunteer to deliver it on his behalf.
Despite the development, Soyinka said the revocation would not affect his friendship with American citizens. “I assured the ambassador that both he and his staff have permanent visas to visit the Autonomous Republic of Ijegba anytime they wish,” he joked, referring to his residence in Abeokuta. “There will be no reciprocal conduct from my principalities.”
When asked if he would consider reapplying for a visa, Soyinka replied that he had no intention of doing so. “How old am I now? What am I looking for anywhere?” he said. “They owe me nothing, and I owe them nothing. If circumstances change and I’m invited, maybe I will go, but I won’t take the initiative myself.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration may have succeeded in momentarily reducing food prices, but it has done so through economic manipulation rather than genuine reform. The recent decision to grant import waivers on essential food items such as rice, maize, wheat, and vegetable oil has flooded the Nigerian market with imported products, creating an artificial surplus that is now driving down prices.
On the surface, this appears to be a win for consumers as food prices continue to drop and markets seem active again. But beneath that temporary relief lies a deeper structural crisis that the government seems unwilling to confront. The real reasons food prices have soared in Nigeria are the unstable exchange rate and the soaring cost of transportation driven by fuel subsidy removal and poor infrastructure. Until these two fundamental issues are addressed, any attempt to stabilize food prices through importation will only provide temporary relief while inflicting long-term damage on the economy.
Local farmers, who have already battled rising production costs and poor access to credit, are now being forced to sell their produce at a loss because imported food has become cheaper. Many of these farmers took loans or invested their savings in anticipation of profitable harvests, only to watch their crops rot unsold as markets are flooded with cheaper foreign goods. This policy, therefore, punishes the very people Nigeria should be empowering to ensure food security and rural development.
Before the floating of the naira in mid-2023, the average cost of a 50kg bag of rice hovered between ₦25,000 and ₦30,000, while maize sold for about ₦23,000 per bag. However, after the exchange rate was unified and the naira lost nearly 50% of its value, these same commodities skyrocketed to between ₦70,000 and ₦90,000 in many parts of the country. Based on the prevailing exchange rate, the real market value of these food items should be even higher, yet the government’s import waivers have artificially suppressed prices. Nigerians are, therefore, buying “cheap” imported food at the expense of local farmers who can no longer recover their production costs. Ironically, the prices of farm inputs such as fertilizer, insecticides, and transportation remain as high as ever.
The question then arises: what exactly is crashing food prices when the cost of production has not declined? The answer is clear, the artificial flooding of the market with imports, which creates the illusion of price relief while leaving the structural causes of high food prices untouched.
The removal of fuel subsidy has further deepened the crisis. With petrol prices rising from ₦185 per litre to over ₦650, the cost of transporting agricultural produce from rural areas to urban markets has more than tripled. What used to cost about ₦5,000 now takes ₦15,000 or more, directly feeding into food inflation. Importation cannot solve this logistical burden; only deliberate investment in rural infrastructure, energy, road networks, and security can. Yet, government response in these critical areas has been painfully slow.
Economic data further expose the superficial nature of this policy. Following the rebasing of inflation figures in early 2025, Nigeria’s official inflation rate reportedly stands at 24.48%, while food inflation is pegged at around 26.08%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). However, these figures hardly reflect reality. Many households report that actual price increases are far higher, implying that the rebasing exercise merely masked the true extent of hardship. Independent estimates including those from the IMF suggest that Nigeria’s real inflation rate is closer to 31–34%, driven by currency depreciation, rising energy costs, and heavy import dependence.
Equally troubling is Nigeria’s swelling food import bill. According to statistics, the country’s food import expenditure surged to ₦1.18 trillion in the second quarter of 2025, up from ₦893 billion during the same period in 2024, a 33% year-on-year increase. In total, Nigeria now spends over US$10 billion annually importing rice, wheat, sugar, and fish, the commodities it once produced in abundance. The irony is glaring: a nation blessed with vast arable land and a youthful population has become one of Africa’s largest importers of food under a government that preaches self-sufficiency.
These numbers prove one point, Nigeria cannot import its way out of hunger. Every imported bag of rice or maize chips away at the future of local agriculture and discourages the next generation from farming. Instead of relying on waivers to create the illusion of price stability, the government should focus on addressing exchange-rate volatility that makes production expensive, improving rural roads to reduce transportation costs, and investing in mechanization, irrigation, and agro-processing to boost productivity.
If this policy direction continues, Nigerians may enjoy a brief moment of cheaper food, but it will come at the expense of national self-reliance and food security. The Tinubu administration must realize that true economic reform cannot be achieved through shortcuts but through consistent, homegrown solutions that protect both consumers and producers. By tackling the core problems such as currency instability, transport inefficiency, and production deficits, Nigeria can build an economy where food is affordable not because it’s imported, but because it’s proudly produced at home.
Taiwo Ismael, MNIM Energy Economist and Public Affairs Analyst taheewo2004@gmail.com
LAGOS, Nigeria – A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has lamented the level of hardship and political intolerance in the country, revealing that his children have been unable to secure employment because of his name and political identity.
Speaking in a recent interview, the former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP said his family continues to face social and economic challenges due to the political stigma attached to his person. George noted that despite his years of service to Nigeria, his children often experience discrimination in job applications simply because they bear his surname.
“My children can’t even get jobs because of my name. Once they see ‘Bode George,’ they turn them down. That’s how bad things have become,” he lamented.
The veteran politician decried what he described as a climate of hatred and division in Nigeria’s political landscape, emphasizing that public service should not attract lifelong punishment or stigma for one’s family members.
George, who has been a vocal critic of perceived injustices within the political system, urged leaders to promote fairness, unity, and merit-based opportunities for all Nigerians, regardless of their background or affiliations.
His remarks have since stirred conversations across social media, with many Nigerians expressing mixed reactions—some sympathizing with his plight, while others argue that political elites are now facing the realities ordinary citizens have endured for years.
Gunmen on Monday reportedly attacked a bank depositor in the Osuntokun area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, dispossessing the victim of an undisclosed amount of money.
The assailants, who were said to have trailed the victim from a nearby bank, intercepted him shortly after he concluded a cash transaction. During the attack, a police officer attached to the area reportedly sustained injuries while attempting to repel the robbers.
Eyewitnesses recounted that the gunmen shot sporadically into the air, causing panic and forcing traders and passersby to flee for safety. The criminals later fled the scene with the stolen cash before security operatives could arrive.
Confirming the incident, the Oyo State Police Command said investigations had commenced and assured residents that efforts were underway to apprehend the perpetrators.
The attack adds to growing concerns over rising cases of daylight robberies in Ibadan and other parts of the state, prompting calls for enhanced security presence in commercial areas.
Further updates have emerged following the overnight collapse of a two-storey building on Coates Street, near Cemetery Bus Stop in the Oyingbo area of Lagos Mainland an incident first reported exclusively by Lagos Reporters shortly after midnight on Sunday.
The collapsed structure, officials confirmed, had earlier been marked as distressed before it gave way, trapping several occupants beneath the rubble.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, stated that rescue operations are ongoing.
“So far, 15 people, including seven men, four women and four children, have been rescued with varying degrees of injuries and taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Ebute-Metta and General Hospital, Odan in Lagos Island,” the agency disclosed.
Emergency responders are continuing search efforts as more victims are believed to be trapped.
