General
Nigerian Journalist Narrates Ordeal with SA Embassy
A Nigerian journalist, Mrs Funke Osae-Brown, has narrated her horrible encounter with the South African High Commission in Nigeria.
According to the journalist, who publishes Luxury Reporter Magazine, she received an invitation towards the end of January 2017 to be in South Africa on March 1, 2017 to experience the new BMW 5 Series.
Mrs Osae-Brown said it was an event “I had looked forward to considering my love for fast cars and the kind of beat I cover as a journalist.”
She narrated that, “As soon as I received the itinerary and other documents needed for my journey, I applied for the South African visa on February 13.
“Conscious of the many challenges that come with getting a South African visa, I was advised to apply through one of South Africa’s accredited trade partners World ‘N’ Traveland (WONTRA).
“The WONTRA staff who assisted me with the application process was very courteous. She guided me through the application requirements.
“At a point, she advised I get a statement of account from my host BMW in South Africa or their certificate of incorporation.
“I declined to do this because I felt my statement of account and a letter of introduction from my organisation should be enough.
“She also advised I get a letter of authorisation from my husband. I told her I have that already because the last application I did I was asked for it. This is a letter my husband find ridiculous to write! He argues it is a sexist requirement from an embassy. Why would he authorise a full-grown woman to travel because she is his wife, he reasoned? Anyway, I got him to give him the letter, even though I found it ridiculous too!
“Since I was applying through WONTRA, I had to pay a premium price of N70,000 instead of the official N8,600 for visa fee and N22, 310 for VFS courier service.
“The lady at WONTRA told me the visa should be ready within the stipulated 10 to 15 working days by the High Commission.
“Based on a past experience and what others have told me, I decided to notify the few people I know handling South Africa related travel and tourism matters in Nigeria to use their connection to pull strings at the embassy so that my visa could be ready on or before my travel date. I knew I had about 13 days between my submission and travel dates to get my visa.
“After 10 working days, I didn’t receive any news from the VFS. I decided to notify my contacts on the possibility of checking out my application status at the High Commission, they all told me to wait that I will surely get my passport on or before my travel date.
“As I sat behind my laptop to type this today, March 1, 2017, I am yet to receive my passport from the South African High Commission. I am supposed to travel tonight.
“What is most painful about this experience is it seems the South Africa High Commission in Lagos smacks of arrogance and is consumed by a nonchalant attitude.
“For a country, that is promoting itself as a tourists’ destination in Nigeria, to be so rude to its visa applicants, beats me.
“In spite of all my efforts and my host’s (BMW) in South Africa effort to reach the High Commission in Lagos, there has been no response from the High Commission to emails sent and calls put through to them.
“It seems to me the High Commission is populated lazy staff who have just refused to understand the importance of their job to the growth of the economy of their country.
“How can one explain applying for visa and you are yet to receive your passport 12 days or a month after application?
“The South African High Commission can never claim to be busier that the United Kingdom or United States of America’s embassies in Nigeria.
“If you apply for UK or US visa, you can be assured to get your passport within 10 working days or less.
“There are people who have applied for the South African visa since February 3, 2017 who are yet to receive their visas today, March 1; that is almost a month after submitting their applications.
“Delaying the issuance of my visa and that of other four journalists’ I am supposed to travel with means BMW has lost a lot of money on booking business class tickets for us, paying for our accommodation, airport pick up and drop off and food for the number of days we are supposed to spend in South Africa.
“You can imagine the loss to those going on personal trips who have paid for their flights, accommodation not to have received their visas days after their travel dates have passed?
“If South Africa is truly serious about marketing itself as a tourists’ destination, its High Commission needs to drop its toga of arrogance and emulate countries like Dubai and Kenya where you get your visa within two days as is the case with Dubai or Kenya that issues visa on arrival.
“Little wonder, Dubai has the largest tourism market share in Nigeria! SOUTH AFRICA HIGH COMMISSION RELEASE MY PASSPORT!!!! #SOUTHAFRICAHIGHCOMMISSION #RELEASEMYPASSPORT.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court ordering the freezing of the bank account of the Osun Srate government.
In a statement today by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President said he’s “deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order” because of its timing, which is just a few days to the governorship election in the state next Saturday.
According to him, actions of an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
