General
Excitement as Boy-Child Transformation Centre Opens in Lagos
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
It was an atmosphere of excitement in Lagos recently when the Boy-Child Transformation Centre (BTC) was eventually launched with several dignitaries in attendance.
The centre, which is the brainchild of Ms Nkiru Moghalu-Oguadinma, is an intervention platform that provides a positive, permanent shift in the quality of the life of the boy-child.
It aims to impact society by promoting healthy, respectful, boy-child causes while offering transformational programmes and resources for schools, foundations, community groups and government agencies.
Present at the unveiling were the immediate past Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Dakuku Peterside; the Senior Special Assistant (Education) to the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Adetola Salau; the General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Mr Kola Oyeyemi; and the Executive Vice Chairman of Verdant Zeal Group, Dr Tunji Olugbodi.
Speaking at the event, Ms Moghalu-Oguadinma noted that so much emphasis has been placed on the girl child and it has made the boy-child an endangered gender.
“Evidence shows that more women and girls have received attention and consideration as they are seen as more vulnerable to abuse, attacks, and also as being less privileged. However, the boy-child grow to become a bigger danger to the society,” she said.
She disclosed that when a crime occurs in society, it is likely to be 4-times a man than a woman. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed the top 10 crimes in the country include stealing, armed robbery, murder, Indian hemp offences, sex offences, contempt of court offences, unlawful possession of arms and properties are committed by men.
Today, according to her, the prisons have 90 per cent of men convicts, noting that other challenges that boys face have led to a surge in suicide rates; the use of drugs and narcotics and school dropouts.
Delivering the keynote address, Mr Peterside noted that there is a need to end the various stereotypes against both genders, adding that the girl-child is genetically and biologically stronger than the boy-child, informing the guests that more boy-child die in the first 5 years.
He, therefore, charged everyone to raise responsible boys from the family circles, adopt a mentorship model and ensure that there is Peer Support System, urging the government, at all levels, to advance the interest of children through various policies.
Highlighting the various ways by which the Lagos State Government is working at advancing the cause of children in the state, the aide to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mrs Salau, stated that the state was working on building the holistic child by entrenching character development as part of the curriculum.
She admonished everyone to work in harmony, collaborate and ensure that team building is reintegrated into our lives.
“Every child desires a society should that accepts and places value on every human being regardless of gender”, she added.
Panellists who contributed to discussions at the event included Mr Oyeyemi, Mr Olugbodi, Dr Ifeyinwa Nwakwesi, CEO, Healthy Living Services; Mr Bayo Sanni, an Impact Investor and Mrs Fabian Ogunmekan, Executive Director, Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has announced that Nigeria will launch a new alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, 2026, with every home expected to have a unique postcode.
Mr Tijani disclosed the development in a video post on X, describing the new system as a more precise and digitally oriented approach to addressing locations across the country.
He said the initiative would mark a significant shift in Nigeria’s postal addressing system by assigning unique postcodes to individual homes.
The initiative marks a major step in Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda. By replacing the outdated numeric-only system, the alphanumeric codes provide a more flexible and scalable framework that can accommodate the country’s rapid urban growth and diverse settlement patterns.
For emphasis, an alphanumeric postcode system is a postal indexing system that uses a combination of both letters (alpha) and numbers (numeric), along with spaces or punctuation, to identify specific geographic locations, streets, or individual buildings for mail delivery.
Unlike purely numeric postcode systems (such as the 5-digit US ZIP Code or 5-digit codes used in some European countries), alphanumeric codes offer a much higher number of unique combinations using fewer total characters. This flexibility allows postal authorities to pinpoint locations with incredible precision, often down to a single side of a street or a specific large building.
“On October 1st 2026 Nigeria’s new Alphanumeric Postcode System goes live,” Mr Tijani said.
“For the first time, every home will be assigned a unique postcode that’s simple, precise and built for a digital future,” he added.
The minister urged Nigerians to prepare to generate their individual postcodes ahead of the launch.
The new system is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s digital addressing infrastructure and improve the identification and location of homes and properties for postal and other location-based services.
The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) as part of broader efforts to modernise the country’s addressing and digital infrastructure.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has been directed to give an account to Nigerians on how the current government has fared since its inception on May 29, 2023.
This directive was given by President Bola Tinubu in a message posted on his verified social media handles on Wednesday.
This coincides with the commencement of campaigns for the 2027 presidential election scheduled for January 16.
According to the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), candidates seeking to become the country’s president are eligible to kick off their campaigns from today, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
In his message today, Mr Tinubu said, “When we began this journey of reform in 2023, I promised that the difficult decisions we were making would serve the purpose of building an economy that works better for you and a country that is stronger for our children.
“Today, your government presents The Reforms Scorecard. It sets out what our reforms have achieved, what they have cost us, and the greater costs and harms we have prevented by acting when we did.
“I have therefore directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to give an account to Nigerians, to explain the numbers, the choices we have made, the progress recorded, and the work that remains.
“You deserve to see the numbers. You deserve to know what has changed and what these reforms mean for you, your family, your business and our country.
“This is your government. This is your country. This is our account to you.”
Shortly after he took the oath of office over three years ago, President Tinubu declared that subsidies on petroleum products were gone. He later approved foreign exchange (FX) reforms, which devalued the Nigerian Naira, shooting from about N800 per Dollar to nearly N2,000 per Dollar. However, it is currently slightly above N1,340 per Dollar in the official market.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) Limited are advancing discussions on the development of deepwater assets estimated to hold 500 million barrels of oil reserves.
The development followed a meeting between the chief executive of the state oil company, Mr Bayo Ojulari, and Agip’s Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Maurizio Pinna, in Abuja.
The talks focused on ongoing work on deepwater acreage jointly held by NNPC, NAE and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) as well as plans to bring the associated resources into production.
According to NNPC, the acreage comprises the Zabazaba and Etan deepwater fields, with estimated reserves of about 500 million barrels.
The fields are located in Nigeria’s deepwater terrain and are considered significant to the country’s efforts to expand its upstream oil production base, particularly as operators seek to advance projects capable of delivering additional barrels over the medium to long term.
While details of the expected production timeline were not disclosed, the meeting underscores renewed industry focus on unlocking Nigeria’s deepwater resources and growing crude oil production.
The acreage comprises licences converted from OPL 245 and is operated by NAE in partnership with NNPC Limited and SNEPCo.
Mr Ojulari and Mr Pinna also reviewed the work currently underway on the assets and the expected production outlook, with the discussions centred on advancing deepwater development.
The engagement comes amid renewed efforts to attract investment into Nigeria’s offshore petroleum resources and increase national oil production.
