General
Hardship: Tinubu Should Refrain From Self-Consolation, Take Responsibility—Peter Obi
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, has knocked President Bola Tinubu for downplaying the hardship Nigerians are going through.
The former Governor of Anambra State was reacting to remarks by Mr Tinubu that Nigerians should be grateful for not going through what Kenyans are experiencing due to a hike in petrol prices as a result of the war in Iran, triggered by the United States and Israel.
During a visit to Bayelsa State over the weekend, President Tinubu said, “Let’s just thank God together that you are better off listening to them in Kenya and other African countries. What they are going through.”
But Mr Obi frowned at the President’s statement, saying key development indicators such as security, the Human Development Index, life expectancy, GDP per capita, literacy levels, and electricity access show Kenya outperforms Nigeria.
According to him, the standard of living of Kenyans is better than that of Nigerians, noting that if the President considers Kenyans to be suffering despite these stronger figures, then Nigerians are in a far more difficult situation.
He advised Mr Tinubu to “refrain from self-consolation and, in honest reflection, take responsibility for the situation and make a determined effort to drive improvement.”
He submitted that, “This requires a posture of humility, accountability, and commitment to addressing the factors that have slowed Nigeria’s development.”
Mr Obi noted that, “Nigeria is the fourth most terrorised nation in the world, while Kenya is not among the ten worst. Kenya’s HDI ranking is 143 out of 180 countries, with a coefficient of about 0.630, compared to Nigeria’s ranking of 164 out of 180, with a coefficient of about 0.530. Its GDP per capita is roughly $2,200–$2,300, compared to Nigeria’s $807–$835.
“Kenya’s poverty rate is about 43 per cent of the population (approximately 23 million people), while Nigeria’s is about 63 per cent (around 150 million people), over six times that of Kenya. Kenya’s life expectancy is about 67 years, while Nigeria’s is about 54 years. The literacy rate in Kenya is approximately 81–85 per cent, compared to Nigeria’s 62–65 per cent.
“Kenya’s electricity access is higher, while Nigeria has one of the lowest levels of electricity access in the world. Kenya has about 3.5 million out-of-school children, while Nigeria has about 20 million. Kenya’s inflation rate has been about 4.5 per cent or lower over the past three years, while Nigeria’s has remained above 15 per cent within the same period.
“Kenya’s exchange rate has been around USD 1 to KES 130 over the past three years, whereas Nigeria’s exchange rate rose from below N500/$1 to above N1,250/$1 within the same period. Even with developments in the Middle East and rising oil prices, Kenyans have not experienced the sharp increases in petroleum product prices seen in Nigeria.”
The chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said while the President’s comments “may have been intended to soften the impact of economic hardship and rising fuel prices,” they risk downplaying the severity of the current crisis.
“It echoes the biblical parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in the Gospel of Luke (18:9–14). A similar warning is found in the Qur’an (53:32), which cautions against self-righteousness.
“Like the Pharisee who boasted of his superiority over others to mask his own spiritual void, such downward comparisons serve more as a refuge than a remedy.
“This validated an earlier dismissive remark by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu during electioneering: Na statistics we go shop? Yet statistics remain indispensable – they are the language through which nations understand their condition and chart progress.
“No country can develop in isolation from measurable realities or without comparing itself with peers. Comparisons, when properly grounded, are not instruments of escapism but tools of accountability. What is objectionable is not comparison itself, but comparison stripped of credible, verifiable data—mere tax collector comparisons that soothe rather than solve,” he stated in his post titled From Pharisee to Tax Collector: Rethinking Tinubu’s Kenyan Comparison.
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.”
