General
Wema Bank Employees Donate Salaries to Save Children at Hospitals
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For the second year in a row, members of staff of Wema Bank Plc have donated their salary for the treatment of children in emergency wards of three government-owned hospitals across the country.
Since 2016, Wema Bank, one of the leading financial institutions in Nigeria, has made February its month of giving by donating funds to mark St. Valentine’s Day, which holds every 14th of the second month of the year.
The initiative, called Purple Nectar, is designed to touch the lives of people in the communities where the bank operates.
It involves each interested staff donating a day’s Salary for Love as a way of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day.
“Every 14th of February, the world celebrates St. Valentine’s Day. Usually, couples go out on this day as a way of showing love to each other.
“But at Wema Bank, we decided that while it is fine for couples to show love to each other on this day, our focus as a bank should be on showing love to those who need it but are not getting it,” said the Managing Director/CEO of Wema Bank Plc, Mr Segun Oloketuyi.
Mr Oloketuyi, while presenting a cheque to one of the beneficiaries of the 2017 Purple Nectar Initiative at the Children Emergency Ward of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said further that, “Some are in critical situations and they need all the help they can get.
“In our own little way of showing love, the staff of Wema Bank decided to put their salaries for that particular day (February 14) together and looked for people who need our love. The demonstration of this love is to support those who need help, especially in health-related issues.”
Children present at the LUTH Emergency Ward when Wema Bank visited were being treated for several ailments.
The mother of a 7-month old baby who benefitted from the initiative, Mrs Ngene broke down in tears as the Wema Bank Managing Director presented a cheque to her.
She thanked the staff of Wema Bank for the kind gesture and managed to smile before Mr Oloketuyi left her son’s bed side.
Another patient at LUTH who benefitted from the Purple Nectar Initiative is a 10-year-old girl who is undergoing chemotherapy. Within the 12 hours before the Wema Bank staff visited, she had taken more than 9 pints of blood.
Her mother, Mrs Soetan, who said her daughter had been at the hospital for 3 months expressed appreciation for the bank’s donation and prayed that God blesses the Wema Bank staff who donated to her ailing daughter.
Wema Bank’s Purple Nectar began in 2016 as part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives focused at helping the less-privileged in the society.
One of last year’s beneficiaries, a physically challenged hairdresser bought herself a wheelchair and set up a beauty shop after getting the Purple Nectar funding. She is doing well and has started production of her beauty care line.
The beneficiaries of this year’s Purple Nectar include patients at the Children’s emergency ward at LUTH, Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Old GRA Port Harcourt and Wuse General Hospital, Abuja.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has attributed the poor power supply facing a considerable number of Nigerians to inadequate gas supply to thermal power plants.
Business Post reports that epileptic power supply has plagued consumers in Lagos, Oyo, Abuja, and Osun, among others, this month, leading to worries. Also, some businesses have recorded losses due to the epileptic power supply in their areas.
In a statement posted on its X handle, NISO disclosed that average available generation on the national grid currently stands at about 4,300 megawatts (MW), with the low output primarily attributed to gas supply constraints.
The system operator noted that thermal power plants, which account for the dominant share of Nigeria’s electricity generation mix, require an estimated 1,629.75 million standard cubic feet (MMSCF) of gas per day to operate at optimal capacity. However, as of February 23, 2026, actual gas supply to the plants was approximately 692.00 MMSCF per day.
The available supply represents less than 43 per cent of the daily gas requirement, resulting in constrained generation output and reduced electricity allocation to Distribution Companies (DisCos).
NISO, which independently manages the nation’s electricity grid, explained that any disruption or limitation in gas supply directly affects available generation capacity and overall grid output, given the heavy reliance on thermal plants.
It added that when total system generation drops significantly, the operator is compelled to implement load shedding across the network while dispatching available energy in line with allocation percentages approved under the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) framework of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to maintain grid stability and prevent system disturbances.
While expressing regret over the inconvenience to electricity consumers and market participants, NISO said it is working closely with relevant stakeholders to restore full energy allocation once gas supply improves and generation capacity returns to normal levels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife, Mrs Asabe Bashir, and son, Mr Abdulaziz Malami, on money laundering charges.
They were brought before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, following the re-assignment of the case to the new trial judge.
Upon resumed hearing, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), informed the court that the matter was scheduled for defendants’ re-arraignment.
“The matter is coming before your lordship this morning for the very first time. I will be applying for the plea of the defendants to be taken,” he said.
Mr Okutepa equally applied that the sums listed in Counts 11 and 12 be corrected to read N325 million instead of N325 billion for Count 11, and N120 million instead of N120 billion for Count 12.
When it was not opposed by the defence lawyer, Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), Justice Abdulmalik granted the oral application by Mr Okutepa.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the 16 counts preferred against them by the anti-graft agency bordering on money laundering.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu had, on February 12, withdrawn from the case shortly after the civil case filed by the EFCC was brought to him.
The case was formerly before Justice Emeka Nwite, who sat as a vacation judge during the Christmas/New Year break.
After the vacation period, the CJ reassigned the cases to Justice Egwuatu, who had now recused himself, before it was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik.
The former AGF, his wife, and son were earlier arraigned before Justice Nwite on December 30, 2025.
While Malami and his son were remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre, Asabe was remanded at Suleja Correctional Centre before they were admitted to N500 million bail each, on January 7, with two sureties each in the like sum.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria will hold next year’s presidential and National Assembly elections a month earlier than planned, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revised the polling schedule.
The elections will be held on January 16, instead of the previously announced date of February 20, INEC said in an X post, signed by Mr Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.
There were also changes to the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections initially fixed for Saturday, March 6 2027, in line with the Electoral Act, 2022, have now been moved to Saturday, February 6, 2027.
The electoral commission said the changes were caused by the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026 and the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022, which introduced adjustments to statutory timelines governing pre-election and electoral activities.
“The Commission reviewed and realigned the schedule to ensure compliance with the new legal framework,” it said.
INEC said party primaries (including resolution of disputes) will commence on April 23, 2026 and end on May 30, 2026, after which Presidential and National Assembly campaigns will begin on August 19, 2026, while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly campaigns will begin on September 9, 2026.
It noted that campaigns will end 24 hours before Election Day, and political parties have been advised to strictly adhere to the timelines.
INEC also stated it will enforce compliance with the law.
The electoral body also rescheduled the Osun Governorship election which was earlier scheduled for Saturday, August 8 2026, by a week to Saturday, August 15, 2026.
INEC noted that some activities regarding the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections have already been conducted, and the remaining activities will be implemented in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026.
Speaking at a news briefing in Abuja two weeks ago, the chairman of INEC, Mr Joash Amupitan, expressed the readiness of the commission to conduct the polls next year.
The timetable issued by the organisation for the polls at the time came when the federal parliament had yet to transmit the amended electoral bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Later that week, the Senate passed the electoral bill, reducing the notice of elections from 360 days to 180 days, while the transmission of results was mandated with a proviso.
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