General
Buhari Backs Giadom’s Fight for APC Leadership
By Chubi Eze
In a surprise move, Nigeria’s President, Mr Muhammadu Buhari, has announced that he will attend a meeting to be convened today, Thursday, June 25, 2020, by Mr Victor Giadom, one of the two men laying claim to the leadership of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), which controls the presidency and both houses of parliament.
In a series of Tweets, the president’s spokesperson, Mr Garba Shehu, said that: “The president has received very convincing advice on the position of the law as far as the situation in the party is concerned and has determined that the law is on the side of Victor Giadom as Acting National Chairman. And because he will always act in accordance with the law, the President will be attending the virtual meeting called for tomorrow afternoon.
“We urge the media to stop promoting manufactured controversies and to not give any further room for mischievous interpretations of the law on this matter.
“In addition to the president, the Giadom meeting will hopefully, be attended by our governors and leaders of the National Assembly.”
A former Commissioner of Works in the southern oil-rich state of Rivers, Mr Giadom is a political disciple of the Minister of Transport, Mr Chibuike Amaechi, himself a former two-time governor famed for being a vocal maverick.
There has been a growing rift between the factions within the APC since a Court of Appeal announced the suspension of the APC’s erstwhile chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, a combative ex-unionist and former governor of Edo, who has presided over a tumultuous state of affairs at the party.
Mr Oshiomhole, perceived by critics to be a pugilistic politician who shuns consensus-building, has been locked in a fierce battle with a group of governors, who oppose his style and are perceived to be hell-bent on neutralizing him.
Mr Oshiomhole’s opponents say that he has repeatedly flouted the party’s guidelines by refusing to convene meetings of the party’s National Executive Committee, paying bloated salaries to members of the National Working Committee, and appointing unelected officers into the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
Party insiders say that the president’s surprising show of support for Mr Giadom means that Mr Oshiomhole is almost certainly going to be expelled from the party’s NWC.
After Mr Oshiomhole’s shock ouster by a federal appeal court a few weeks ago, the party’s NWC endorsed the appointment of a former Oyo governor, Mr Abiola Ajimobi, to act in his stead. This was resisted by Mr Giadom who relied on an earlier court judgement to declare himself the party’s acting National Chairman.
Mr Ajimobi is gravely ill and while most observers saw the NWC’s coronation of Mr Ajimobi as an attempt by Mr Oshiomhole and his allies to run the party by proxy, Mr Giadom’s aggressive push to take over the party jolted the party’s hierarchy who tried, albeit unsuccessfully to expel him from the party through court judgements in his home state of Rivers.
The impasse effectively led to a schism, and a proxy battle between the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr Kayode Fayemi, Transport Minister, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Aviation Minister, Mr Hadi Sirika, Kaduna’s governor, Mr Nasir el-Rufai and the Bola Tinubu/Oshiomhole faction of the party.
A scrum of governors, upset at the manner in which one of their colleagues the governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, was humiliated out of the party by his predecessor, Mr Oshiomhole, his estranged predecessor, also joined the anti-Oshiomhole camp.
Since Mr Ajimobi was critically ill, after reportedly contracting coronavirus, the party’s executive committee settled on Mr Hilliard Eta, a little-known Cross River politician, who is believed to owe fealty to Mr Oshiomhole.
However, Mr Giadom refused to budge, using the courts and the law enforcement authorities to continue in his disputed role as the APC’s acting National Chairman. And while acknowledging that this was a temporary position, Mr Giadom has repeatedly said that he will only accept decisions taken by the party’s larger decision-making organ, the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Only one member of the party’s NWC, Mr Salisu Mohammed, the APC’s National Vice-Chairman (North-East), himself an avowed critic of Mr Oshiomhole, had supported Mr Giadom.
Mr Buhari’s public declaration of support for Mr Giadom has suddenly changed the APC’s internal dynamics. While the president is perceived as not being a natural politician, no party member would want to publicly challenge the president or oppose his choice of party chief.
Mr Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, an APC leader in Rivers and a supporter of Mr Giadom, praised the president for taking a position on the contentious leadership tussle.
He said that the APC’s NEC should confirm Mr Giadom as the National Chairman while it works towards organising a new executive for the party. He asked party members to sheathe their swords and coalesce around Mr Giadom to strengthen the party.
Mr Giadom’s ascendancy also poses a problem to the APC’s governorship candidate in Edo state, Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Mr Iyamu is backed by Mr Oshiomhole who had ensured that his former enemy-turned protege had a clear path to the party’s nomination in Edo.
Mr Ize-Iyamu now finds himself in a bit of a quandary since Mr Giadom had publicly rejected the party primaries that led to Mr Ize-Iyamu’s coronation, raising questions about their legality.
Analysts believe that Ekiti’s Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, the cerebral head of the Nigerian Governorship Forum and Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, one of the president’s most vociferous supporters are the arrowheads of a larger group of powerful governors that counts Jigawa’s Badaru, Kebbi’s Bagudu and Ondo’s Akeredolu as members.
The group, which includes other less-visible members, is said to be wary of Mr Oshiomhole’s combative style and his unwavering loyalty to the party’s “National Leader” Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, who is one of Nigeria’s most polarizing svengalis.
Mr Tinubu, one of the most powerful men in Nigerian politics, is widely believed to be eyeing the presidency in 2023 and a formidable coalition of politicians and intellectuals has been trying to stop him. The word in political circles is that powerful Northern dynasts do not want a Tinubu presidency.
President Buhari’s decision to back the faction of the party opposed to former Chairman Adams Oshiomhole and his benefactor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, has effectively altered the balance of power within the APC and suggests that a clearer picture is emerging in the battle for the presidency in 2023.
General
QNET’s Global Reach in 100+ Countries: What International Access Means for Local Distributors
Global scale means market access and international supply chains. For individual distributors in direct selling, it can shape everything from product availability to income stability and long-term opportunity.
QNET, the multinational wellness and lifestyle direct selling company, positions its business model around that idea: connecting locally based independent distributors to an international operating platform. With activity spanning more than 100 countries, the company sits within a direct selling industry that, according to the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), has stabilized after several relatively volatile post-pandemic years.
Global Reach Within a Stabilizing Industry
The WFDSA’s latest global report estimates worldwide direct selling retail sales at roughly $163.9 billion in 2024, essentially flat year over year. That flat performance, however, masks gradual improvement beneath the surface. Nearly half of reporting markets showed growth in 2024, and average market growth rates rebounded to positive territory.
The report estimates more than 104 million independent sales representatives globally in 2024, a figure that has remained largely stable year over year.
This stabilization sets a backdrop for companies like QNET. A global footprint is no longer about rapid expansion alone; it is increasingly tied to resilience: operating across regions with different economic cycles, consumer behaviors, and growth trajectories.
For distributors, this matters because opportunities extend beyond individual effort. They are often shaped by the health of the company’s broader channel and product reach.
A Platform Designed for Distributed Entrepreneurship
QNET’s model centers on local execution supported by centralized infrastructure. Products—ranging from nutritional supplements and wellness devices to home and lifestyle solutions—are sold through the company’s proprietary e-commerce platform. Independent distributors do not manage warehouses, shipment logistics, or customer service systems.
As Ramya Chandrasekaran, who heads communications at QNET, explained in a recent interview, the company views direct selling as a form of accessible “micro-entrepreneurship.” The idea is to reduce the operational burden typically associated with starting a business, allowing distributors to focus on product education, customer relationships, and market development.
Why Global Scale Changes the Distributor Equation
One practical benefit of international reach is product continuity. WFDSA data shows that wellness products account for roughly 29% of global direct selling sales, making it the largest category worldwide. In the Asia-Pacific region, the largest direct selling region by sales, wellness represents more than 40% of total category share.
QNET’s emphasis on wellness and lifestyle products places distributors in line with the strongest demand segments globally. Instead of relying on narrow local trends, distributors operate within product categories that have shown consistent global interest.
International scale also supports consistency in training, compensation structures, and digital tools. Distributors in different countries access identical back-end systems, tracking referrals, commissions, and orders through the same platform. This standardization reduces friction and uncertainty, particularly for individuals operating in markets where informal commerce is common.
Workforce Shifts
The WFDSA’s report highlights notable shifts in the global direct selling workforce. Women continue to make up more than 70% of participants worldwide, and representation among individuals aged 35 to 54 remains the largest cohort.
Independent Distributors increasingly value flexibility, long-term viability, and support systems that allow them to operate sustainably rather than aggressively scale. QNET’s emphasis on digital access, centralized operations, and gradual business building reflects those priorities.
For many participants, especially those balancing work with caregiving or other responsibilities, direct selling infrastructure offers a way to stay engaged at their own pace.
Training, Exposure, and Cross-Market Learning
QNET’s international conventions and training programs connect distributors across regions, creating informal networks for peer learning. Events that draw participants from dozens of countries expose distributors to varied approaches to sales, customer engagement, and market adaptation.
This mirrors one of WFDSA’s broader conclusions: direct selling increasingly functions as a global learning ecosystem, with companies providing tools and education that help individuals navigate uncertain economic conditions.
For distributors, exposure to cross-border experiences can recalibrate expectations, reinforcing that success often comes from steady engagement rather than rapid recruitment or short-term activity.
International Access, Interpreted Locally
Despite its global scale, QNET’s business ultimately plays out in local communities. Distributors adapt messaging around wellness, home quality, and lifestyle enhancement to cultural norms and household priorities. The international platform provides reach and structure, but relevance is built locally.
That balance, global systems supporting local relationships, defines much of modern direct selling. The WFDSA describes the industry not as a single growth story, but as a framework that can scale proportionally with economic conditions across regions.
For QNET distributors, international presence does not guarantee income or uniform outcomes. What it offers is access: to resilient product categories, standardized systems, training resources, and a global marketplace that extends beyond any single region. For local distributors navigating today’s uncertain global economic environment, that is an important foundation to maintain.
General
FCCPC Unseals Ikeja Electric Headquarters
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has unsealed the headquarters of Ikeja Electric Plc in the Lagos State capital after a week under lock and key.
According to a statement on Friday, the electricity distribution company committed to a binding undertaking to comply with the remedial process following consumer rights violations.
The statement signed by Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, Director of Corporate Affairs at the commission, Ikeja Electric undertook to resolve all consumer complaints referred to it by the FCCPC within agreed timelines
The headquarters was earlier sealed on December 11, 2025, because Ikeja Electric allegedly failed to comply with a directive by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to unbundle a Maximum Demand account into 20 individual accounts for a customer who had been without power for over two and half years.
The FCCPC noted that following the resolution, any breach of the undertaking would expose it to renewed and escalated enforcement action under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
Reacting, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, said the Commission’s intervention was necessary to enforce the provisions of the FCCPA (2018).
“Our responsibility is to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and that service providers comply with lawful decisions and directives. Enforcement is not an end in itself. Where compliance is achieved and credible commitments are made, the Commission will respond appropriately,” he said.
Clarifying further, Mr Bello said the outcome reflects the commission’s balanced approach to regulation.
“We intervene decisively where consumer harm persists, and we de-escalate where enforceable compliance is secured. What remains constant is our duty to protect consumers and uphold regulatory accountability,” he said.
General
All On’s Clean Energy Access Transforms Over One Million Lives
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The decision by a leading impact investment company focused on expanding clean energy access, All On, to support over 50 clean energy businesses and provide grants and technical assistance to more than 80 enterprises in Nigeria is already yielding positive results.
This is because the organisation’s Impact Evaluation Report indicated that more than one million lives have been transformed through clean energy access.
The report covered from 2018 t0 2024 and it was discovered that the interventions of All On enabled the connection of over 230,000 households, businesses, and public facilities to reliable energy solutions, while strengthening the operational capacity of energy providers and improving affordability and service reliability for end users.
Prior to the commencement of All On’s operations in 2016, nearly half of Nigeria’s population lacked access to electricity, and the sector faced an estimated 92 per cent annual funding gap.
In response, the group adopted a bold, risk-tolerant strategy—deploying catalytic capital, innovative financing instruments, and ecosystem-building initiatives to unlock private sector participation and drive progress toward universal energy access.
Central to these achievements is All On’s holistic support model, which combines rigorous, tailored due diligence, deep sector expertise, and active ecosystem engagement.
This approach has positioned All On as a trusted partner capable of delivering both commercial viability and systemic impact.
Flagship initiatives such as the Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technology (DART) programme have further amplified results by reducing procurement costs for supported businesses by up to 50 per cent, enabling developers to scale faster and pass cost savings on to consumers due to access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy solutions.
In the report, it was revealed that half of supported households reported improved air quality, enhanced safety, and reduced noise pollution, contributing to better health outcomes and improved quality of life, alongside measurable environmental benefits.
“This report confirms that our approach is delivering real results. By combining patient capital, technical assistance, and ecosystem support, we are enabling scalable and sustainable energy solutions for Nigeria’s unserved and underserved communities,” the chief executive of All On, Ms Caroline Eboumbou.
The company plans plans to scale proven models, strengthen local capacity, and expand its reach—particularly in underserved regions such as the Niger Delta.
“While the progress to date is encouraging, our work is far from done. As we look toward 2030, we remain committed to deepening our impact and creating even more meaningful connections across Nigeria,” Ms Eboumbou added.
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