General
Corporate Governance Society Inducts Polaris Bank Chairman
By Dipo Olowookere
Chairman of Board of Directors of Polaris Bank Limited, Mr Muhammad Ahmad, has been inducted as an honorary fell of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria (SCGN).
Mr Ahmad was honoured in recognition of his unblemished professional records in the public and private sectors as well as positive contributions to the socio-economic development of Nigeria, the body said.
During the 2018 President’s Dinner/Induction Ceremony of SCGN held in Lagos recently, the Polaris Bank chairman was described as an astute professional with impressive footprints across various public-sector organisations and financial services institutions where he played strategic roles and acted as the catalyst for the entrenchment of good corporate governance.
Speaking at the ceremony, President of SCGN, Mr Pascal Dozie, said the conferment of the honorary fellowship on Mr Ahmad and three other recipients was in line with the key objective of the body.
“The Society is a registered, not for profit organisation and is committed to the development of corporate governance and best practices. Leadership, accountability, collaboration, diversity and quality, integrity of character remain the pillar of this organisation. Since its inception 13 years ago, the Society has contributed to the development of good corporate governance in this country. The society prides itself in research work some of which have been published in the journal of corporate governance”, he said.
Responding on behalf of the other fellows, Chairman of Polaris Bank expressed delight at the recognition and said they would continue to remain the ambassadors of professional excellence.
“For every society, there are professional standards. And professional standards worldwide are more onerous. Therefore, for us, we are taking additional responsibility. Having been made fellows, what it means is that we should be consistent; we should ensure that whatever the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria stands for, we should stand for as well”, he affirmed.
Commenting, Group Managing Director/CEO of Polaris Bank, Mr Tokunbo Abiru, said the award was a celebration of the exemplary leadership capabilities of the Polaris Bank’s Chairman.
“On behalf of the management and staff of Polaris Bank, I congratulate our amiable chairman on this well-deserved honour and recognition by the highly respected Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria. Under Ahmad’s leadership, we see a rewarding, bright future for our bank”, he said.
A man of many great accomplishments, Ahmad boasts about 35 years distinguished professional experience leading and working in various public-sector organisations and financial services institutions in Nigeria.
Amongst others, he was the pioneer Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Pension Commission, and also a pioneer staff of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), where he rose through the ranks to become the Managing Director.
He has served on the boards of various corporate and not-for-profit organisations including a Non-Executive Director of FBN Holdings Plc until 2017. He has also served on various presidential committees including a member of the Presidential Committee for the North East Intervention (PCNI).
Mr Ahmad holds a Masters Diploma in Innovation and Strategy from the University of Oxford and has also attended courses and programmes in various first-rate business and management schools, including Harvard Business School, IMD and INSEAD. Ahmad is a recipient of the Nigeria national honour – Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assumed office with a clear message to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to a statement signed by Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, the Head of Media & Strategic Communications at the upstream regulator, the NUPRC boss made this assertation during her first town hall meeting with management and staff on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
She further disclosed plans to make the commission a business enabler and re-ignite investments in the upstream sector.
Recall that President Tinubu nominated Mrs Eyesan to take over the NUPRC after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Mr Gbenga Komolafe as well as his counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.
In her new capacity, Mrs Eyesan also set a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
“The goal is that we must enable the industry, we are regulators. We must enable the industry from our interactions with the stakeholders, from our interactions with everybody.
“My main objective is to ensure that we make a difference. I believe the NUPRC is at the Center of the industry,” she said.
The commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
The NUPRC head said with the support of staff and management, the NUPRC will become the gold-standard regulator in Africa. She also promised capacity development, stronger technical depth and sustained engagement with stakeholders, unions and professional teams.
On leadership style, Mrs Eyesan promised an open-door policy and frequent staff engagement, while also soliciting for support and cooperation as the industry embarks on the next phase of transformation.
“If we work together we can unleash opportunities, I don’t see impediments only opportunities,” she added.
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