General
Ambode Vows to Ban Yellow Buses ‘Danfos’ in 2017
By Dipo Olowookere
Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, on Monday maintained that plans are going on to remove yellow buses popularly known as Danfo from Lagos roads for a more efficient, well-structured and world class mass transportation system that would facilitate ease of movement within the city.
Mr Ambode also said that his administration would soon roll out a comprehensive environmental sanitation policy that would make the city to be clean without much burden on the people in terms of taxes.
Speaking at the 14th Annual Lecture of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) held at Muson Centre in Onikan with the theme: ‘Living Well Together, Tomorrow: The Challenge Of Africa’s Future Cities,’ Governor Ambode admitted that the present connectivity mode in Lagos was not acceptable and befitting for a mega city, and as such a well-structured transportation mode would soon be put in place to address the challenge.
“When I wake up in the morning and see all these yellow buses and see Okada and all kinds of tricycles and then we claim we are a mega city, that is not true and we must first acknowledge that that is a faulty connectivity that we are running.
“Having accepted that, we have to look for the solution and that is why we want to banish yellow buses this year. We must address the issue of connectivity that makes people to move around with ease and that is where we are going.
“For instance, people going from Ikorodu to CMS have started leaving their cars at home because the buses are very convenient and so why can’t we do that for other places? Yes, we don’t have the money to do that but we can go to the capital market and then improve on the technology of collection of fares and that will encourage investors and then the city will change,” Governor Ambode said.
He said government was also embarking on massive reform in waste management system, expressing optimism that the plan will fully be actualized by July this year.
He said: “We are also embarking on massive reform in the waste and sanitation management system. I don’t like the way the city is and the Private Sector Participants (PSP) collectors are not having enough capacity to do it but again should I tax people to death, the answer is no. I don’t want to tax people and so we need this partnership with the private sector so that they can invest in the sanitation management of the city and in no time maybe by July, the city will change forever.”
The Governor, who recalled the massive infrastructures being put in place in critical sectors of the Lagos economy such as transport sector, road construction and rehabilitation, construction of lay-bys, and flyovers among others, said the main objective of his administration remained the growth of the Lagos economy from 5th to 3rd largest economy in Africa.
On power, Governor Ambode said the major issue had always been with transmission and advocated an embedded power initiative that would allow clusters of Independent Power Projects (IPP) to run the cities.
He said he had remained focused on some issues such as infrastructure, security, job creation, power, adoption of technology as an enabler and driving investment through ease of doing business.
In his opening remarks, CVL founder and renowned development expert, Professor Pat Utomi said the idea behind the formation of the group was to get young people to begin to appreciate early what leadership was all about being service to the people.
Speaking on the theme of the symposium, Mr Utomi said Lagos remained the best governed State in Nigeria in the last 18 years, and a good example of what the country should be beyond and without oil.
He commended Governor Ambode on his leadership style, and particularly congratulated Lagos for being named by the Rockefeller Foundation as one of the 100 most resilient cities in the world.
Chairman of the occasion and former Governor of Cross River State, Mr Liyel Imoke said the theme of the symposium was apt considering that Nigeria’s population by 2050 would have tripled and as such it was important for the country to start planning for liveable cities.
He commended Governor Ambode over his achievements in office so far, saying that it was obvious that the Governor has been performing very well and he is a good example of continuity in governance.
On his part, Director of Centre for African Economies, Oxford University, Professor Paul Collier said from his over 30 years’ experience of coming to Nigeria, Governor Ambode has proven himself to be the third excellent Governor in a row in Lagos.
Mr Collier, who was the keynote speaker, said judging by the population projection of Nigeria by 2050, now is the time for the country to start building its cities to conform with modern trend.
He said Nigeria’s oil had been a course which messed up the economy, and so there was need to start proper planning for development.
As a way out, Collier suggested alliance between the business community and political actors, saying that to build a city that works, attention must be focused on energy and connectivity.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has attributed the poor power supply facing a considerable number of Nigerians to inadequate gas supply to thermal power plants.
Business Post reports that epileptic power supply has plagued consumers in Lagos, Oyo, Abuja, and Osun, among others, this month, leading to worries. Also, some businesses have recorded losses due to the epileptic power supply in their areas.
In a statement posted on its X handle, NISO disclosed that average available generation on the national grid currently stands at about 4,300 megawatts (MW), with the low output primarily attributed to gas supply constraints.
The system operator noted that thermal power plants, which account for the dominant share of Nigeria’s electricity generation mix, require an estimated 1,629.75 million standard cubic feet (MMSCF) of gas per day to operate at optimal capacity. However, as of February 23, 2026, actual gas supply to the plants was approximately 692.00 MMSCF per day.
The available supply represents less than 43 per cent of the daily gas requirement, resulting in constrained generation output and reduced electricity allocation to Distribution Companies (DisCos).
NISO, which independently manages the nation’s electricity grid, explained that any disruption or limitation in gas supply directly affects available generation capacity and overall grid output, given the heavy reliance on thermal plants.
It added that when total system generation drops significantly, the operator is compelled to implement load shedding across the network while dispatching available energy in line with allocation percentages approved under the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) framework of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to maintain grid stability and prevent system disturbances.
While expressing regret over the inconvenience to electricity consumers and market participants, NISO said it is working closely with relevant stakeholders to restore full energy allocation once gas supply improves and generation capacity returns to normal levels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife, Mrs Asabe Bashir, and son, Mr Abdulaziz Malami, on money laundering charges.
They were brought before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, following the re-assignment of the case to the new trial judge.
Upon resumed hearing, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), informed the court that the matter was scheduled for defendants’ re-arraignment.
“The matter is coming before your lordship this morning for the very first time. I will be applying for the plea of the defendants to be taken,” he said.
Mr Okutepa equally applied that the sums listed in Counts 11 and 12 be corrected to read N325 million instead of N325 billion for Count 11, and N120 million instead of N120 billion for Count 12.
When it was not opposed by the defence lawyer, Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), Justice Abdulmalik granted the oral application by Mr Okutepa.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the 16 counts preferred against them by the anti-graft agency bordering on money laundering.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu had, on February 12, withdrawn from the case shortly after the civil case filed by the EFCC was brought to him.
The case was formerly before Justice Emeka Nwite, who sat as a vacation judge during the Christmas/New Year break.
After the vacation period, the CJ reassigned the cases to Justice Egwuatu, who had now recused himself, before it was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik.
The former AGF, his wife, and son were earlier arraigned before Justice Nwite on December 30, 2025.
While Malami and his son were remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre, Asabe was remanded at Suleja Correctional Centre before they were admitted to N500 million bail each, on January 7, with two sureties each in the like sum.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria will hold next year’s presidential and National Assembly elections a month earlier than planned, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revised the polling schedule.
The elections will be held on January 16, instead of the previously announced date of February 20, INEC said in an X post, signed by Mr Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.
There were also changes to the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections initially fixed for Saturday, March 6 2027, in line with the Electoral Act, 2022, have now been moved to Saturday, February 6, 2027.
The electoral commission said the changes were caused by the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026 and the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022, which introduced adjustments to statutory timelines governing pre-election and electoral activities.
“The Commission reviewed and realigned the schedule to ensure compliance with the new legal framework,” it said.
INEC said party primaries (including resolution of disputes) will commence on April 23, 2026 and end on May 30, 2026, after which Presidential and National Assembly campaigns will begin on August 19, 2026, while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly campaigns will begin on September 9, 2026.
It noted that campaigns will end 24 hours before Election Day, and political parties have been advised to strictly adhere to the timelines.
INEC also stated it will enforce compliance with the law.
The electoral body also rescheduled the Osun Governorship election which was earlier scheduled for Saturday, August 8 2026, by a week to Saturday, August 15, 2026.
INEC noted that some activities regarding the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections have already been conducted, and the remaining activities will be implemented in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026.
Speaking at a news briefing in Abuja two weeks ago, the chairman of INEC, Mr Joash Amupitan, expressed the readiness of the commission to conduct the polls next year.
The timetable issued by the organisation for the polls at the time came when the federal parliament had yet to transmit the amended electoral bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Later that week, the Senate passed the electoral bill, reducing the notice of elections from 360 days to 180 days, while the transmission of results was mandated with a proviso.
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