General
FG, Akande-Sadipe, Community Blast Contractor Handling Olomi-Ijebu Road
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The contractor handling the Olomi-Ijebu Road, which links Oyo State to Ogun State, DC Engineering Nigeria Limited, has been lambasted for allegedly carrying out an unimpressive job.
During a tour of the road on Sunday by officials of the federal government and the House of Representatives member from Oluyole Federal Constituency, Mrs Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, it was stated that the 25 km Olomi-Ijebu Igbo Road was in deplorable conditions.
Mrs Akande-Sadipe, while speaking during the tour, submitted if the road is properly rehabilitated, it would stimulate economic activities, attract local and foreign investment, improve the quality of the road network and reduce the hardship on her constituents.
The lawmaker, who lamented the untold hardship commuters along the 25 km Olomi-Ijebu Igbo Road face on account of its present deplorable condition, also expressed displeasure at the present state of Liberty-Academy Road within her constituency.
She urged the Federal Ministry of Works to prevail on the construction company on the Olomi Road project to perform its obligation on the road in the interest of the people of the state.
“We have gone round and you have seen the Olomi road. It is deplorable and completely unacceptable. The design is flawed, it has been more of a death trap and has led to several deaths and Loss of property.
“How can a bridge on this kind of expanse of the road not be a dual carriageway,” she queried
“I appreciate the fact that the Ministry under the leadership of Mr Raji Fashola honoured our request for succour for Oluyole, as our road between Olomi and Ijebu Ode is extremely bad. The contractor, DC Engineering Limited has done a very poor job and has been too slow after so many years, with many portions of the road un-motorable,” she said.
“The officers of the Ministry should please ensure that the funds allocated are well spent and a satisfactory job delivered,” she added.
Mrs Akande-Sadipe, who chairs the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, noted that roads awarded in the state about three years ago when the Olomi-Ijebu road was awarded, have been completed, adding that within two years, the tarred parts of the road had developed problems, pointing to the poor quality of work.
On his part, the Commissioner, Public Complaint Commission, South-West, Mr Folawiyo, who joined the inspection, assured that the agency will ensure that the issues are dealt with and the contractor called to order.
He explained that the institution has jurisdiction to oversee federal government, state government and local governments projects and would do the needful with regard to this road. The Commissioner added that the agency is set to intervene in the delayed completion.
He asked the community to copy him in all complaints, adding that the commission will urgently assess such complaints, including those where the contractor solicited and received money from the communities in carrying out responsibilities on the project.
In his remarks, the Comptroller, Ogun State, Mr Umar Bakare, said the Ministry has taken it upon itself to technically inspect the road which he noted was in a very bad state. He promised speedy delivery of the mandates, saddled upon the Ministry in record time.
Thus, the inspection of the road, under the directive of the Minister for Works and Housing, Hon. Min. Raji Fashola will yield progress.
According to him, the Ministry will monitor the construction of the road and bridges, to ease the movement of traffic.
While thanking Mrs Akande-Sadipe for her interventions, he pointed at the lack of a proper drainage system and link roads to communities.
Meanwhile, community members also decried the substandard job executed by DC Engineering Limited, the Contractor on the site. They mentioned that the contractor skipped the Olomi market portion of the road, and abandoned the maintenance and upgrade at the Fatusi bridge end of the road.
On the other road inspected, the Liberty Academy Road, in her remarks, the South-West Zonal Coordinator, FERMA, Mrs Mary Adeniran, explained that as part of its duties, the agency will see to the maintenance of federal roads within Oluyole Federal Constituency.
She promised to follow up with a critical inspection of the road up to the Ogun State border towards further rehabilitation of the road.
The Baale of Olomi, Mr Samuel Oyewale, showered encomiums on the lawmaker for the constant infrastructural commitments to the constituency, including the provision of transformers.
Amongst issues raised was the statement made by the contractor that a former member of the House of Representatives had collected money paid on the project from him. The community members clarified that the Contractor had made this statement in the year 2018.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has urged all relevant government agencies to promptly initiate actions for the full implementation of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, following its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, was aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap. N133, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and establish the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports while safeguarding the interests of shippers, service providers, and users of regulated port services. With the President’s assent, it has now been enacted as an Act of Parliament.
The legislation represents one of the landmark achievements of the 10th National Assembly. It reflects the Speaker’s commitment to legislative excellence, institutional reform, and sustainable economic growth, according to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr Musa Krishi.
The bill underwent a rigorous and inclusive legislative process, including extensive stakeholder consultations and a public hearing. It was passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President.
The Act provides a robust legal and institutional framework to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports by fostering transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in port operations; protecting the rights and interests of shippers, service providers, and other port users; and aligning Nigeria’s port regulatory system with global best practices, thereby enhancing the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
Despite receiving presidential assent, the Act has yet to be fully operationalised.
He warned that any further delay would undermine the legislative intent of the reform, prolong the exposure of port users to arbitrary charges and operational inefficiencies, and deny the nation the anticipated benefits of increased revenue, improved trade facilitation, and stronger investor confidence in the marine and blue economy sector.
The Speaker urged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, to take the necessary administrative, institutional, and financial measures for the prompt implementation of the Act.
He said this should include the formal transition to, as well as operational empowerment of, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to discharge its statutory mandate effectively.
The full implementation of the Act is critical to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s ports, reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening trade competitiveness, and positioning Nigeria as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The statement noted that the Speaker reaffirmed the 10th House’s commitment to exercising the necessary legislative oversight to ensure this landmark legislation, along with others assented to by the President, is fully implemented and achieves its intended goals for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to provide funding and support for the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs.
The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — Different Contexts, Common Aspirations — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities. The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
The NiYA and Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, including entrepreneurs without formal business registration or established financial records.
Over four weeks, participants will undergo intensive training focused on business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to N5 million each from Cascador, alongside an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure, manage and scale their businesses.
The funding and support will be presented at a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
The Minister for Youth Development, Mr s Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership would enable NiYA to move beyond training by helping young people transform ideas into investable businesses and achieve sustainable economic participation through business preparation and access to capital.
“The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one cohort. If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”
The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.
NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
Ms Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”
