General
463 Kwara Civil Servants Get N303.8m Loan for Home Renovation
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The sum of N303.8 million has been disbursed to 463 civil servants in Kwara State as mortgage loans to renovate or improve existing properties that are personally owned by them or through family ownership.
The credit facility was given to the beneficiaries on Monday by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) under the FMBN home renovation loan scheme.
The Managing Director of the agency, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, explained that the loan window affords Nigerians who are contributors to the National Housing Fund (NNF) an opportunity to access mortgage loans.
Mr Dangiwa, who was represented by the Deputy General Manager of FMBN, Mr Ibrahim Nafada, said before now, the agency had approved a sum of N401.2 million for 708 members of staff of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education which will be credited to individual beneficiaries’ accounts after execution of all other conditions precedent to disbursement.
“Permit me to applaud the commitment and cooperation of the Governor [of Kwara State] Mr AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the Head of Service (HoS), Mrs Susan Modupe, in executing these documents promptly which has enabled the Kwara State civil servants to benefit from FMBN home renovation loan to the tune of N1,025,283,000 disbursed to 1,575 beneficiaries. Today, we are disbursing the sum of N303,750,000 to 463 beneficiaries,” he said.
At the presentation of cheques to the 463 beneficiaries, the Governor, while speaking, said, “This home renovation loan scheme is basically an initiative of the FMBN that many of you have enrolled in.
“You have played your own role by enrolling in the scheme, trusting the system to work for you, playing your own role as patriotic citizens and as workers.
“For you to benefit from this loan, however, your state government must stand as your guarantor. And we gladly did because we trust that you have also worked to earn our trust,” Mr AbdulRazaq said at the event attended by civil servants from across ministries, departments, and agencies in the state.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr Kayode Alabi, the Governor promised to mobilise available resources and grab every opportunity to improve the wellbeing of the civil servants as well as the ordinary citizens.
“Without workers, nothing meaningful gets done. For this reason, we will always mobilise available resources and grab every opportunity to improve the well-being of the civil servants as well as the ordinary citizens. This event is another testimony of the resolve of this administration to grab every opportunity to make our workers happy,” he added.
“We are ensuring that workers across all cadres enjoy their promotion and the pay rise that comes with it. We have also approved training and retraining for workers while offering support to those of you pursuing further degrees at home or abroad.
“We have also ensured a decent work environment with relevant tools through completion of the secretariat, purchase of new vehicles, and modern computers and accessories. We continue to support workers with health issues. We have also ensured that workers are paid as and when due as a matter of right.
“We are also considering other supportive measures to ease the effects of inflation on what you earn. For example, we are building a public school system that offers our children a standard that will be the envy of other states and the pride of our people.
“The recent recruitment of qualified and competent teachers is a bold beginning. We are following it up with school remodelling and reconstruction across the state,” the Governor stated.
Mr AbdulRazaq appealed to civil servants to continue to trust the government and work with the administration to build a sustainable future for all of the Kwara people.
For her part, the HoS said the present administration was doing everything possible to tap all available opportunities and resources from both governmental and non-governmental organisations for the benefit of the people.
“The scheme was designed especially for contributors to the National Housing Fund to benefit from their contributions on lower interest rates.
“Through the committed efforts of government, the FMBN not only approved the loan for all interested civil servants, who indicated their interests but also made cheques for them.
“I want to advise the beneficiaries of the first phase and those to benefit in subsequent batches to make use of the loan for the purpose for which it is meant for. A comfortable home for a civil servant is no doubt a sine-qua-non for comfortable living which ultimately would lead to the high productivity of such civil servant,” she said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has urged all relevant government agencies to promptly initiate actions for the full implementation of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, following its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, was aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap. N133, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and establish the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports while safeguarding the interests of shippers, service providers, and users of regulated port services. With the President’s assent, it has now been enacted as an Act of Parliament.
The legislation represents one of the landmark achievements of the 10th National Assembly. It reflects the Speaker’s commitment to legislative excellence, institutional reform, and sustainable economic growth, according to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr Musa Krishi.
The bill underwent a rigorous and inclusive legislative process, including extensive stakeholder consultations and a public hearing. It was passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President.
The Act provides a robust legal and institutional framework to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports by fostering transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in port operations; protecting the rights and interests of shippers, service providers, and other port users; and aligning Nigeria’s port regulatory system with global best practices, thereby enhancing the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
Despite receiving presidential assent, the Act has yet to be fully operationalised.
He warned that any further delay would undermine the legislative intent of the reform, prolong the exposure of port users to arbitrary charges and operational inefficiencies, and deny the nation the anticipated benefits of increased revenue, improved trade facilitation, and stronger investor confidence in the marine and blue economy sector.
The Speaker urged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, to take the necessary administrative, institutional, and financial measures for the prompt implementation of the Act.
He said this should include the formal transition to, as well as operational empowerment of, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to discharge its statutory mandate effectively.
The full implementation of the Act is critical to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s ports, reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening trade competitiveness, and positioning Nigeria as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The statement noted that the Speaker reaffirmed the 10th House’s commitment to exercising the necessary legislative oversight to ensure this landmark legislation, along with others assented to by the President, is fully implemented and achieves its intended goals for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to provide funding and support for the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs.
The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — Different Contexts, Common Aspirations — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities. The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
The NiYA and Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, including entrepreneurs without formal business registration or established financial records.
Over four weeks, participants will undergo intensive training focused on business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to N5 million each from Cascador, alongside an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure, manage and scale their businesses.
The funding and support will be presented at a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
The Minister for Youth Development, Mr s Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership would enable NiYA to move beyond training by helping young people transform ideas into investable businesses and achieve sustainable economic participation through business preparation and access to capital.
“The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one cohort. If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”
The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.
NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
Ms Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”
