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Why Buhari Can’t Nominate Magu Again—Melaye

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By Dipo Olowookere

Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Dino Melaye, has said President Muhammadu Buhari cannot re-nominate Mr Ibrahim Magu to the Senate for the third time as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mr Melaye, in a statement issued at the weekend, said a provision of the Senate rules forbids members to consider Mr Magu for the same position again.

Citing Order 131 of the Senate Rules, Mr Melaye said after the rejection of Magu’s nomination twice, his candidacy is considered lapse and therefore advised the President to consider a fresh nominee who is qualified, in terms of experience, integrity, knowledge and temperament to lead the anti-graft agency.

Order 131 of the Senate Rules states that “nominations neither confirmed nor rejected during the session or within 21 working days in the case of Ministerial nominees shall be returned by the clerk to the National Assembly to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and shall not again be made to the Senate by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

For two times, the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly has rejected the nomination of Mr Magu for the EFCC top job, citing a report by the Department of State Services (DSS) as reason for the rejection.

Mr Melaye, the Senator representing Kogi West, maintained that Mr Magu did not impress anybody including those Senators who would have been sympathetic to his cause during the confirmation hearing in the Senate.

He urged President Buhari to look for a replacement and avoid actions that may result in violation of the laws of the land.

“Those suggesting to the President that after failing to scale the confirmation process twice, the President should leave Mr Magu to be acting are only recommending violation of the law, disrespect for due process and perpetration of illegality.

“All these will only undermine democracy and constitutionalism in our country,” he warned.

He noted that, “Those drafters of the law who made the provision that the Senate should confirm the nomination of the EFCC chairman did not make any mistake and nobody should observe the law in the breach by getting a person into that office who has not been confirmed.

“Mr Magu is not greater than the law creating EFCC. Mr Magu is not the last messiah. He can’t be the only competent person for the job out of 170 million Nigerians. Should he voluntarily decline the appointment today, will EFCC fold up?” Mr Melaye queried.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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Lagos Launches 2026-28 Medium-Term Sector Strategy Roll-Over Exercise

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Lagos State Government has officially launched its annual Medium-Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) Roll-Over Exercise for the 2026–2028 planning cycle.

According to a statement, this reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development and effective governance.

Speaking at the opening session of the workshop yesterday at the LCCI building, Ikeja, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Olayinka Ojo, welcomed stakeholders and emphasized the importance of the MTSS as a cornerstone in the State’s planning framework.

Mrs Ojo stated that the strategy is to ensure that all projects and programs initiated by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are not only well-prioritized and realistically costed but also aligned with the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) 2052.

Her words, “The vision of our dear State, under the dynamic leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, is to build Africa’s model megacity — a global economic and financial hub that is safe, secure, functional, and productive.”

“Achieving this vision requires deliberate planning, effective resource allocation, and a disciplined approach to project execution,” she said.

The roll-over session, which gathered representatives – economic planning officers and statisticians/statistical officers from various MDAs and development partners, aims to critically assess ongoing and proposed initiatives for their transformational impact, alignment with sectoral strategies, and responsiveness to current fiscal realities.

“We must ask ourselves: Are these projects truly transformational? Are they aligned with our long-term goals? Are they cost-effective and impactful?” the Permanent Secretary queried, urging participants to embrace openness and professionalism in their evaluations.

The event also underscored the need for flexibility and innovation in government planning amid global uncertainties. Officials called for future-proof and sustainable programs capable of delivering measurable benefits to Lagos residents.

The Economic Planning Department of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget was commended for its coordination of the exercise, with special appreciation extended to MDAs and development partners for their continued collaboration.

The roll-over exercise is expected to culminate in a refined set of priorities that will guide Lagos State’s development agenda for the years ahead.

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UK Distances Self from Soldier Involved in Illegal Arms Deal in Nigeria

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Micah Polo

By Adedapo Adesanya

The British Government has distanced itself from the actions of Mr Micah Polo, an alleged British army officer, who was recently apprehended in connection with arms procurement and an alleged plot to instigate unrest in Warri, Delta State.

The development has received widespread condemnation with many stakeholders demanding a thorough probe of the indicted soldier and alleging that the UK was fuelling instability in the country.

In a short statement shared with Business Post on Wednesday, the British High Commission acknowledged that the individual identified did serve as a junior rank in the UK Armed Forces Reserves but was later discharged. It didn’t provide further details.

According to a statement credited to an unnamed spokesperson, the British High Commission in the statement said, “The individual identified in recent Nigerian media reporting is not a serving member of the UK Armed Forces.”

The British High Commission added that whilst in the Reserves, Mr Polo was a junior rank not a commissioned officer. Many reports had ascribed him a Major.

This newspaper learnt that UK common law and Data Protection Act protects the personal details of current and former employees, hence why it was not able to release any additional information on the matter.

According to reports, Mr Polo, an Itsekiri by origin, was allegedly recruited by one Collins to procure weapons and ammunition intended to fuel tribal tensions in the oil-rich region.

However, operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) from the Delta Command were said to have foiled the move on Friday night and arrested the arms supplier during a covert exchange near Asaba, Delta State.

During the operation, over 50 AK-47 rifles, six pump-action shotguns, and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition were confiscated.

Mr Polo, on the other hand, was intercepted in Lagos as he attempted to board a flight to the United Kingdom, while his associates were apprehended in Asaba during the operation.

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FG Plans Centre to Tackle Immigration Document Fraud

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has announced plans to establish a harmonised centre to combat immigration document fraud.

Speaking while receiving the UK Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr David Hanson, in his office in Abuja, Mr Tunji-Ojo highlighted the need for a centralised system to verify documents in real time.

“One of the key issues we also realised with border control is what we call immigration and document fraud. It is very key and we realised that one of the reasons why this is quite on the rise is because there is no centralised pool of authentication and verification of documents in real time.

“So, today, if people submit 20 documents, you might need to go to 20 issuing agencies to verify 20 documents belonging to one person. So, if you have 1,000 people per day, you might need to look for 100,000 verification and authentication systems. That breeds inefficiency,” he said.

Mr Tunji-Ojo added that the centre would authenticate documents like passports, birth certificates, and bank statements, enhancing Nigeria’s image and investor confidence.

“As a government, we are trying to be more proactive than reactive, and we don’t want to judge our performance in terms of fraud by virtue of recoveries or convictions, but rather by the number of crimes or frauds that we prevented from happening,” he stated.

On his part, Mr Hanson emphasised the shared agenda between Nigeria and the UK to improve criminal justice outcomes.

“There is a great common agenda that we can share and I am particularly keen to look at how we are working together closely. My visit this week will also look at the new joint centre that you are undertaking,” he said.

He noted ongoing UK-Nigeria collaboration on migration policies, visa systems, and trade, following Mr Tunji-Ojo’s recent meeting with UK Home Secretary, Ms Yvette Cooper.

The UK delegation included officials from the Home Office, National Crime Agency, and UK High Commission in Nigeria.

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