General
Ogunbiyi Vows to Replicate Mutual Benefits Assurance’s Success in Osun
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The governorship candidate of Accord Party in the forthcoming election in Osun State, Mr Akin Ogunbiyi, has promised to replicate the success he achieved at Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc in the state if elected governor this year.
Residents of the 30-year-old state head to the polls on July 16, 2022, and Mr Ogunbiyi, who is the founder and group chairman of Mutual Benefits, believes he has what it takes to provide a sustainable economy for the state.
In a chat with newsmen in Osogbo, the entrepreneur said Osun State should not have any reason to be in the same sentence with underdevelopment based on the huge human and material resources it is blessed with.
According to him, the state has arable farmland covering over 9000 kilometres, mineral deposits, tourist sites, and aquatic habitat, among others, but despite these, it “remains in the backwater of underdevelopment.”
He pointed out that the resources have been badly managed to the extent that it ranks third in the list of most indebted states in Nigeria, with over N200 billion debt overhang; while it receives a lean N1.7 billion monthly allocation from the federation account (due to deductions) and generates a lowly N13 billion monthly revenue.
The graduate of Agricultural Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, said with very few viable capital projects, which come in form of future investments, Osun State battles low productivity, unemployment and poverty.
But he assured that if elected next month, he will transform the state into an enviable one as he will reengineer the economy to become more viable and buoyant, a far cry from its present comatose state.
The self-acclaimed “venturer” stressed that he will look “for opportunities to create and deliver value” as he will “approach leadership from an entrepreneurial and revenue-generating mindset and not just sit down and depend solely on monthly federal allocation.”
“We must strive to end Osun State economy rallying around three services: civil servants, teachers and peasant farmers,” he said pledging to work in tandem with his Accord Party’s philosophy and manifesto, which is anchored on “corporatism, popularism and capitalism.”
“If elected governor, l will first and foremost, work to guarantee the security of lives and property in the state. Since security is the main purpose of government, we will rejig the security architecture in the state to ensure better results.
“We will invest in these two sectors to ensure sound minds, healthy and wealthy citizenry.
“We will also create jobs for our teeming but now largely idle youths. We will also do this by creating an enabling environment to will Osun State an investment-friendly state.
“If elected governor, l will also initiate and sustain an agricultural revolution in the state, by utilising our vast arable land, not only to attain food security but to generate huge revenue from the sector.
“We will make soft loans available for small-scale farmers to produce food and crop crops and by so doing, provide jobs for many Osun youths,” Mr Ogunbiyi promised.
Speaking further, he vowed to pursue massive infrastructural development in the rural areas and concentrate his envisioned agricultural revolution among the rural populace.
“We will unleash our energies and resources to boost industrialisation in the state by maximizing the benefits of our vast mineral resources-gold, kaoline, iron ore, Talc, columbite, etc. located in different parts of the state.
“We will intensify the mining of these deposits at a commercial level that will be beneficial to the state. We won’t play politics with such revenue-yielding ventures or enter into deals that will short-change the state.
“We will also assist artisans, women groups and youths through skill acquisition and soft loans to enable be self-sustaining and become employers of labour,” he said.
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.
