The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, rejected claims by the immediate past Justice Minister/Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, that he was being witch hunted for political reasons.
Malami was invited for questioning by the anti-graft agency last week for 18 alleged offences, including money laundering, abuse of office, and terrorism financing.
He was later granted bail but remains in custody because, according to the EFCC, he is yet to meet his bail conditions.
Malami, in a statement on Friday by his special assistant on media, Mohammed Bello Doka, had alleged that his bail was revoked because of his attendance at a political gathering in his home state of Kebbi.
He said he did not default on any bail requirements.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Abubakar Malami (SAN) did not default on any bail condition. His bail was revoked by the EFCC following his attendance at a political gathering in Kebbi State, not because he failed or refused to comply with any lawful requirement,” Doka said.
It said: “administrative bail is a discretionary temporary reprieve that allows a suspect to be released on stated conditions pending conclusion of investigation and arraignment in court.
“To this effect, after his brief interrogation on November 28, 2025, Malami was offered provisional bail hinged on five requirements. He has neither met any of the requirements nor shown readiness to keep faith with them.
“He was due back for further interrogation on December 1, 2025 , but in a curious twist, the former Minister pleaded with his investigators through a letter written to the Commission on December 4, 2025, to allow him to attend to his ‘ill-health’.
“The Commission compassionately granted his plea even while his bail conditions had not been met.
“He was initially required to commence reporting for further investigations on December 1, 2025 but this had to be deferred to December 4, 2025 largely owing to his ‘Request for an Adjournment on Grounds of Ill- Health’.
The anti-graft agency added that Malami neither provided a medical report nor credible proof of ill-health to the EFCC.
The agency insisted that it could not “ allow the latitude granted the former Minister on his health stand in the way of investigations.”
Continuing, it said: “on this score, he was invited again on December 8, 2025 for further interrogation and detained until the pending bail conditions are met.
“Evidently, the former minister’s claims of revocation of bail by the EFCC are untenable. It is equally ridiculous to insinuate that the Commission barred him ‘from granting media interviews and from participating in political activities in Kebbi State’.
“Such bogus claims from a former chief law officer of the nation are strange, as the EFCC has no interest in the political affiliation of its suspects. It bears reiterating that the Commission is apolitical. A former governor and ranking member of the ruling party was recently arraigned for alleged contract fraud.
“The Commission wishes to advise Malami to expend his energy on meeting the five bail conditions he acknowledged and signed on November 28, 2025.
“It would also serve his interest to cooperate with his team of interrogators rather than dissipate energy in whipping up sentiments through false claims in the media.”
You’re witch hunting him, Atiku, ADC tell EFCC
Malami’s political party the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and his ally, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, rallied to his defence, with both accusing the EFCC of witch hunting the former minister.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC was firmly with Malami and described the EFCC’s decision to withdraw his bail as politically motivated rather than a genuine act of law enforcement.
The ADC said all available evidence showed that Malami did not breach any of the conditions attached to his initial bail.
. It claimed that the revocation occurred shortly after the former SGF attended a political rally in Kebbi State where he is pursuing his governorship ambition.
According to the party, the timing of the action created the impression that the EFCC’s move was intended to restrict Malami’s political activities instead of advancing the cause of justice.
Atiku, in a separate statement , said the anti-corruption institution had abandoned its core responsibilities and converted the anti-graft campaign into a “full-blown political witch-hunt.”
He said the EFCC, and other agencies risked losing public confidence unless they “purge themselves of partisan contamination.”
Aliko Dangote stands at the summit of a fresh chapter, watching his refinery surge beyond Saudi Aramco’s benchmark by 250,000 barrels a day. It’s one rare feat among many by which he seduces the world into his orbit. The precocious child who once sold sweets for pocket change now commands the world’s largest single-train refinery, shepherding energy through steel corridors and silos for profit.
His Dangote Refinery is proudly Nigerian. A sprawling behemoth that remarkably stands taller than forecasts once imagined, besting the Arabian oil plant’s famed capacity of 430,000 barrels per day.
Dangote Refinery, however, is simply the first of a trifecta of feats that have reshaped global industry tables; second is the ascent of his cement empire to the world’s second summit; third is the elevation of his fertiliser enterprise to that same rare altitude; and an export arc that now bends toward the United States with 37 per cent of its output.
Dangote cuts the rare picture of the particular kind of man that history rewards: the one who walks into storms armed only with conviction, and refuses to buckle even when the odds stack to break him.
There is no gainsaying that he has spent the last decade battling an oil establishment so entrenched it once dictated the country’s economic trajectory. While the country grappled with scarcity, social upheaval and uncertainty, Dangote did what governments failed to do for fifty years: he ended fuel queues. And he did it while fighting what he openly calls “the oil mafia.”
His refinery, a $20–$23 billion undertaking, was never a venture for the faint-hearted. Describing it with a mixture of candour and fatalism, recently, he said: “It was the biggest risk of my life. If this didn’t work, I was dead.”
No billionaire speaks like that unless the stakes are daunting. And they were. From the moment the project broke ground, he found himself in a conflict with forces that have long profited from keeping Nigeria dependent on imported fuel, comatose infrastructure and chronic dysfunction. These forces moved against him with precision: flooding the market with subsidised imports, sabotaging distribution channels, undercutting prices, and, in some cases, withholding crude that legislation required they supply.
“They tried to suffocate us,” he said. “The same way they killed other sectors, they now want to use in killing us.” It was an accusation, but more significantly, a map of battle lines. Dangote understood that to successfully build and operate a refinery, he must confront an economy organised around failure.
The conflict escalated when the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) reneged on investment terms, slashed crude commitments, and forced him to import feedstock from foreign markets. Local unions accused him of endangering jobs. Marketers accused him of distorting prices and international traders moved to drown the refinery in cheap imports.
But Dangote’s response was surgical. He tightened production schedules, expanded exports and resorted to litigation when need be. He launched a media battle too, speaking bluntly about his travails, lest his silence become complicity. And through it all, he repeated one line that felt less like a boast than a warning: “I’ve been fighting battles all my life, and I have not lost one yet.”
The refinery itself became his greatest rebuttal. Within months of operations — after the shaky start, the supply interruptions, and coordinated attempts to derail it — the plant began exporting over 1.6 billion litres of petrol. Nigeria’s retail price curve, which had spiked to nearly N1,100 per litre, fell toward N841 (fuel currently sells at N885 per litre at some Lagos filling stations). Fuel queues, a humiliation that had persisted since 1975, dissipated. Distribution improved with the rollout of thousands of CNG-powered trucks, and for the first time in decades, Nigeria’s demand for imported petrol plummeted.
Some deemed this an industrial victory, while others described it as a corrective civilisation. The undeniable variable in Dangote’s endurance and defiance of the oil mafia was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Determined to end the petroleum chaos, Tinubu backed reforms that strengthened local refining, stabilised pricing regimes, and blocked the monopoly of import cartels. This earned Dangote enemies but helped his refinery breathe.
In truth, Nigeria needed Dangote Refinery to survive. Thus, when Dangote paused naira-based petrol sales because the official exchange window made operations untenable, it was Tinubu who pushed the naira-for-crude policy that reset the market and slashed forex demand.
Dangote’s triumph is neither accident nor fortune’s fleeting kiss. It manifests in the marrow of his lineage; from recited lore in courtyards lit by patrician glow of the lanterns and legacy of the Dantatas, whose caravans traversed old trade routes across West Africa’s tracts.
Born on April 10, 1957, into an affluent and entrepreneurial Kano family, Dangote grew up under the watchful influence of his maternal grandfather, Alhaji Sanusi Dantata, one of West Africa’s most illustrious merchants. The latter who was arguably one of the richest Africans and traders of his generation, raised Dangote closely, teaching him the logic of enterprise and markets, until business felt less like a career to the lad and more like a native language.
For scholarship, he proceeded to Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, where he acquired a degree in Business Administration. Following his graduation at just 21, he chose to strike out on his own rather than settle into a comfortable role within the vast Dantata business empire. He secured a US$500,000 loan from his uncle, Alhaji Dantata, and moved to Lagos. With the capital, he began importing sugar from Brazil and rice from Thailand, and astonishingly paid off the loan within three months, thus earning the admiration of his maternal uncle and mentor, who died on June 28, 2025, at 94.
Dangote established Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) in April 1985. For two decades, he focused on importing staples—pasta, sugar, salt, and flour—before shifting into manufacturing in 1997. Dangote Industries had earlier incorporated Dangote Cement in 1981 and later acquired Obajana Cement Plc in 2002, a firm originally set up by the Kogi State government in 1992. By 2010, DIL owned the company outright, renaming it Dangote Cement Plc. The company became central to Nigeria’s push for self-sufficiency in cement production, a challenge first laid out by the Obasanjo administration in 2002.
By 2021, Nigeria had become a net exporter of cement. Today, DIL controls roughly 60 percent of the domestic cement market, manufactures cement in 10 African countries, and produces more than 52 million metric tons annually across the continent.
DIL’s most ambitious undertaking remains the US$20 billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals complex. With a 650,000-barrel-per-day refining capacity, it is designed to meet all of Nigeria’s petrol demand and support a sprawling network of fertilizer and petrochemical operations.
Dangote’s next major goal is to make Africa self-sufficient in fertiliser production within 40 months. Beyond cement, sugar, fertiliser, and oil, he turns his gaze toward medicine, unsettled by how Africa’s dependence on imported pharmaceuticals chains its health systems to distant factories. Thus, he envisages a partnership with Bill Gates, to the applause and chagrin of disparate actors.
Dangote’s interest springs from philanthropy as much as enterprise. The Aliko Dangote Foundation, endowed with $1.25 billion, channels an annual $35 million into nutrition, health, education, and empowerment. His foundation runs a $100 million war against childhood malnutrition, strengthens early childhood education through community-based programs in Kano, builds hostels for universities, including the N1.2 billion complex at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, funds vocational training and scholarships.
On Thursday, December 11, 2025, through his Aliko Dangote Foundation, the billionaire magnate pledged N1 trillion ($688 million) to support education in Nigeria over the coming decade. Starting with 45,000 scholars next year, the foundation expects to eventually support 1.33 million students with a focus on the so-called STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as the schooling of girls and teacher training.
That same instinct for timing and empathy surfaced on the same date (December 11) when the Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a sharp reduction in the ex-gantry price of petrol. The refinery cut the price to N699 per litre, a N129 drop from the previous N828. The adjustment pulled prices close to levels last seen two years earlier and arrived with deliberate precision ahead of the Christmas travel rush, when millions of Nigerians take to the roads.
“My mother instilled in me the ethos of giving back,” Dangote said. “I trust my three daughters will continue this legacy, just as they will continue to grow our business and impact. I want to be known not just as Africa’s richest person but also as its biggest philanthropist.”
His wealth story arcs like a long, unpredictable journey. Forbes first listed him in 2008 with $3.3 billion. When markets shifted, his worth dipped to $2.1 billion. But the winds reversed; cement boomed, and his wealth surged to $13.8 billion by 2011. The years swung between turbulence and triumph, yet he regained his position as Africa’s wealthiest by September 2024.
Dangote attained a new milestone, with his recent attainment of the $30.3 billion net worth, in October 2025, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Since he became Nigeria’s first billionaire, The Guardian (UK) has christened him the richest Black man on earth. TIME Magazine places him among the Titans in its inaugural TIME 100 Philanthropy list. Nigeria decorated him with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), a distinction once reserved for senior statesmen, among several honours.
While it is easy to romanticise Dangote as merely a billionaire with an oversized dream, the reality is grittier. The man operates like a titan forged in industrial fire. He visits his plant unannounced, sits with engineers for hours, and recalibrates operations line by line. He has repaid billions in loans. He has survived sabotage attempts he still will not fully describe. He has endured public attacks, private betrayals, and political complexities few business leaders could navigate without retreat.
But what qualifies him for the symbolic mantle of Person of the Year is not the size of his refinery, nor the wealth behind his name and status as “Africa’s richest billionaire.” It is his capacity to assert in vision and practice that Nigeria’s future does not lie in crude oil exports but in value creation.
Dangote represents the industrial future Nigeria has been too timid to claim; the possibility of an Africa that refines, manufactures, exports, and competes. His refinery, sprawling over 6,200 acres, may one day be recorded as the engineering feat by which Nigeria turned from perennial crisis to continental leadership.
Dangote is not a perfect figure. No titan ever is. But in a year that demanded audacity and an almost obstinate commitment to national rebirth, he stood where others buckled, delivering what half a century of governments failed to: stability in the sector that shapes the Nigerian economy.
His success may be traced back to his lineage, which held commerce as both duty and inheritance. From the Madrasa and classrooms of Birnin Kudu, where he sold sweets to classmates for profit, to Kano’s markets and Cairo’s lecture halls, Dangote evolves fully formed. He married early and raised his daughters, building a dynasty private enough to elude tabloid intrusion yet strong enough to anchor his empire. Nothing in his personal life distracts from his mission.
To honour such a man is to acknowledge fortitude and name, plainly, the one who reshaped Nigeria’s trajectory in a year defined by flux.
The refinery subsists beyond Dangote’s personal triumph. It is Nigeria’s proof of concept: that greatness is possible here, at scale, through a citizen’s grit and refusal to bow.
And in that sense, Dangote is unmistakably the Person of the Year.
Little about Alhaji Aliko Dangote fits his profile as a man of money. His voice is mellow, almost sleepy. He does not wear the part. Not a flowing babanriga, not a skyey cap, nor perfume that heralds his class. His pair of shoes does not shoo off the commoner. Rather, a familiar picture of a workman, helmet on, almost sweaty. Even his smile is economical, too grave for flamboyance. He is, therefore, a wealthy man as camouflage. But in the past year, his name has generated no ambiguity. There is no ambiguity about the rage of labour, fear of inflation, about hundreds of men that lost their jobs and got them back, about a rich man in battle with most tempestuous humans in the country: labour leaders. Above all, there is nothing foggy about the nation’s original sin: oil.
Dangote was enmeshed in all these and more in the course of the year. He was at war with the workers when he separated 800 hefty humans, most of them with mouths to feed. He dueled with DAPPMAN, otherwise known as Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria. He also stared down IPMAN, also known as the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria. Whether with DAPPMAN and IPMAN, Dangote always wanted to show that he was the man of oil in the country.
No showman, he was the show. If it was about pricing, he was accused of making the big buck at the expense of others. But when the story unveiled, we witnessed a paradox. The rich man was hailed by the people. How did that happen to the man who is accused often of monopoly everywhere? Wherever he turns, so goes the charge, he turns money his way, and all the money. Cement, transport, et al. Now in the nation’s jugular, they say he has come crude again, barreling his way through the market, lapping up all the juice of oil.
At one point, they said it was not fair that the price of gasoline was dropping. The people said it was fair. The marketers said it was not. It was not good for business. The man was turning himself it an ugly profiteer. Dangote gave us the billionaire’s paradox: a wealthy man on the people’s side.
The consortium was fighting against one man. The consortium was weeping against one man. One man was whipping them. The people saw it differently. It was the man fighting against a rabid oligopoly. The people did not use that word. They did not know that word. They did not care about that word. They cared about one thing: their pockets and their prices. Dangote seemed to abide by their creed: let the prices drop.
The people did not know the niceties of economics. They knew their lives. Costs were not soft, bread, yam, tomato and garri were not so cheap even though, in the course of the year, prices have consistently dropped. The price of fuel was always a sticking point. The Tinubu administration’s decision to remove fuel subsidies put the industry in special position. Dangote became a poster figure of that industry, especially since NNPC has been wrapped up in one form of opaque scandal after another. Dangote has become cause celebre and a sort of implementer of the fuel policy. The price of fuel became the excuse and cause of any inflationary iniquity, from house rent to house help.
Another script in the drama. Dangote turned into a guarantor of national security when PENGASSAN decided to call for strike. The man had fired 800 workers for alleged sabotage, and a strike, the perennial sledgehammer of labour, was invoked to teach the man a lesson. Suddenly, it was not about bread and butter alone. Not about families without breadwinners. It was whether the labour leaders wanted to jeopardise our collective safety. Bringing down the refinery was to lock the country down, although it was a threat to fuel flow with long queues looming in petrol stations. The billionaire stood against the labour leaders on the side of national security. the mass stood beside the Dangote. A billionaire as nationalist, as patriot?
Such images are rare in history. Billionaires treasure their nests so much that they often have no loyalties except to their treasures. Yet we have seen over the ages where they stood with the people. It is considered by historians as a great paradox. It is the coincidence of a nexus of money and public good. June 12 was about democracy as it was about Nigeria’s money giant fighting and dying for a popular cause. We saw that in the French young man of wealth Marquis de Lafeyette who defied his king and yielded to the romance of a revolution. He became a soldier in the American Revolution. Even among the Americans, one of the founding fathers Robert Morris was known as the financier of the revolution. George Soros, the defiant Hungarian, gained notoriety in the American right for sponsoring candidates for the people.
Such men take up such roles without intention. They are accidental populists because of the sovereignty of impulse. They pursue their businesses, and find themselves and their money on the side of the popular cause. Whether or not that is the intention of Dangote, he was the centre of the drama. For orchestrating the furies and hopes in the majority of Nigerians for the majority of the year, oil magnate Alhaji Aliko Dangote is The Nation’s PERSON OF THE YEAR.
In this edition, we also look at other highfliers for good or ill. For instance, former Central Bank governor hauls the scandal of the year for the forfeited Abuja Estate of 753 high-level homes that tells the acquisitive greed of one man in public office who almost ran to lead the country. The Mokwa flood showed the precedence of nature over humans as the disaster of the year. We saw an unthinking might of water lap up lifeblood after lifeblood. Nor can we forget the issue of the year, as governor after governor, lawmaker after lawmaker defected to the ruling party, stirring debate over whether we are running a pluralist politics. It was a beauty-and-the-beast story in the senate between Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and senate president Godswill Akpabio bringing up the controversy of the year. Akpoti-Uduaghan did not release a smoking gun as she promised and that made the story less about substance and more about a woman of smoky beauty stoking imaginations of forbidden passions that some saw as a political equivalent of a gang rape or a lying accuser.
Of course, Wike versus Fubara, godfather versus godson, politics as oedipal clash. It raked up dusts of state of emergency, presidential power, law and ethnic foreboding. It is our conflict of the year. The tax reform is policy of the year for all its political, regional and rich-versus-poor reverberations. It is a matter that will kick off in the new year, and its far-reaching consequences will visit every citizen. Gaza clutches the international conflict of the year, dwarfing Ukraine for its fatal mix of faith and murder.
Ola Olukoyede, EFCC boss, has been without any form of public vanity but he has pursued with singular zeal an integrity culminating in profit. He has let the thieves pay for our public good, including NELFUND.
We cannot play down our sports person of the year, Victor Osimhen, whose lopes and goals conjoined with a magisterial head to bring his country fame and joy. So were the Super Falcons who snag the team of the year for their exploits on the continent and world. Rema was no less an ambassador with his act as a throaty impresario from Benin to India with his song of the year in his Baby.
Joint local government accounts may soon be history in the country, according to proposals by the National Assembly.
Federal lawmakers who are in the process of amending the 1999 Constitution are rooting for greater autonomy for the third tier of government, The Nation has learnt.
Also, under consideration for inclusion in the amendment are state/community policing, independent candidacy, an electoral offences commission and separation of the position of Attorney General of the Federation from that of Justice Minister.
The proposals are contained in the report of the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review, sighted by our correspondent.
The report, which was prepared following the recent joint retreat of the National Assembly on Constitution Review, has just been distributed to the Reps for their perusal ahead of deliberation on the floor of the House.
In all, there are 44 provisions in the report.
The House is expected to discuss each of the provisions and vote on them.
A similar process will take place in the Senate.
The proposed Electoral Offences Commission will be responsible for the investigation of electoral offences and the prosecution of offenders.
It will be administered by a chairman and 12 members to be designated as commissioners.
Although participants at the Lagos joint retreat voted in support of the creation of seven additional states, including two in the South East, the report sighted by our correspondent says there shall be 36 states in the country grouped into six geo-political zones in Nigeria, namely, North East, North Central, North West, South East, South West, and South-South.
“Each Geo-Political Zone shall comprise the States prescribed in Part 1A of the First Schedule to this Constitution,” it explains.
One of the bills seeks to empower local government legislative houses to make laws for the good governance of the local government areas.
It says: “The legislative powers of a Local Government shall be vested in the Local Government Legislative Council. The Local Government Legislative Council shall make by-laws for the peace, order and good government of the Local Government or any part thereof with respect to the following matters (a) any matter contained in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution; and (b) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.”
It adds: “subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Executive Powers of a Local Government- (a) shall be vested in the Chairman of that Local Government, and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provision of any by-law made by the Legislative Council of that Local Government, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice Chairman of the Local Government or Supervisory Councilors of the Local Government Council or other officers in the public service of the Local Government.
“The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly the Government of every State shall, subject to section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils. No system of government, by whatever name called, shall be instituted to administer local government.
“The Government of every State shall, (a) subject to section 8 of this Constitution, ensure the existence of Local government Councils under a Law of the House of Assembly of that State; and (b) make laws for the structure and administration of Local Government subject to the provisions of this Constitution.”
On revenue allocations to the third tier of government, the proposed amendment states that “subject to the provisions of this Constitution – (a) the National Assembly shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to Local Governments in the Federation; and (b) the House of Assembly of a State shall make provisions for statutory allocation from internally generated public revenue to Local Government within the State.”
No provision is made for local government joint accounts.
Part of the proposed amendment seeks to amend Sections 162 (6)(7) to read “(6) Each local government council shall maintain a special account to be called ‘Local Government Council Allocation Account’ into which shall be directly paid allocations to the local government council from the Federation Account and from the Government of the State.
“Each State shall pay to local government councils in its area of jurisdiction such proportion of its total internally generated revenue on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by a Law of the House of Assembly of the State.
“The amount standing to the credit of local government councils of a State shall be distributed among the local government councils of that State on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of the State. Provided that the House of Assembly of the State shall make law for direct payment of at least five per cent from the amount standing to the credit of the local government Councils, to the head of the Traditional Council in each State.”
The proposed amendment prescribes a four-year tenure for elected local government chairmen and councillors.
The proposal amends Section 212 of the 1999 Constitution to provide that “subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the Chairman shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of four years commencing from the date when – (a) in the case of a person first elected as Chairman under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office, the person last elected to that office took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office or would, but for his death, have taken such oaths.”
It also provides that “in the determination of the four-year term, where a re-run election has taken place and the person earlier sworn in wins the re-run election, the time spent in office before the date the election was annulled shall be taken into account.”
The lawmakers will also be considering an amendment to the citizenship provision in the constitution to include the acquisition of Nigerian citizenship by foreign nationals through investment in the economic development of the Federation, under such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
It says any law made in regards to the issue of citizenship by investment shall (a) specify the categories of eligible investment, including, but not limited to (I) direct investment in designated priority sectors of the economy; (ii) investment in real estate above a prescribed minimum value; (iii) establishment of business enterprises that create employment or promote technology transfer; or (iv) contribution to a national development or sovereign investment fund established for that purpose.
Provisions are made for the creation of a senatorial seat in each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT, as well as one House of Reps seat per state and the FCT exclusively for women.
But it says the exclusive seats do not preclude women from contesting any other seat in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
“The provisions shall take effect after the expiration of the current National Assembly and shall be reviewed once the special Senate seat has rotated through all the States in each geopolitical zone, such that every State has taken its turn to produce a woman Senator for one term”.
Provisions are made for independent candidates to contest elections at all levels.
Such candidates are required to “obtain the verified signatures of at least twenty per cent of registered voters from each of the local government areas in the respective Senatorial District or Federal Constituency, as the case may be, provided that- “(a) a registered voter shall not sign for more than one independent candidate in respect of the same office; and the signatures shall be verified by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
The lawmakers are seeking to separate the functions of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General for the Federation.
The report says: “There shall be a Minister of Justice who shall be a Minister and the Chief Law Officer of the Government of the Federation.”
Candidates for the office must be legal practitioners in Nigeria with a minimum of 15 years at the bar.
The Attorney-General of the Federation will be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the National Judicial Council and subject to confirmation by the Senate, and shall act independently and not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
If the amendment sails through, the Attorney-General of the Federation will be have power to among others, a) institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a court-martial, in respect of any offence created by or under an Act of the National Assembly; (b) take over and continue any such criminal proceedings that may have been instituted by any other person or authority.
He is also expected to have power to discontinue, at any stage before judgment is delivered, any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by him or any other person or authority as well as supervise, monitor, control and ensure that all government agencies with investigative and prosecutorial powers carry out their functions in accordance with the law establishing them; and perform such other functions as may be conferred upon him by an Act of the National Assembly.
The Attorney General, under the new constitution will be expected to hold office for a term of five years and may be reappointed for a further term of five years and no more, or he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier and can be removed from office by the President acting on a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be so removed for inability to perform the functions of his office.
The lawmakers are also altering the provisions of Section 187 to ensure that the removal of a deputy-governor or deputy-governorship candidate on account of qualification or disqualification by a Court or Tribunal does not affect the election of a governorship candidate or governor-elect, while allowing the governor or governorship candidate the right to nominate another person as deputy-governor or deputy-governorship candidate.
The constitution review committee also recommended the establishment of state and community policing in addition to the federal police to maintain law and order at the state and community levels.
The proposal explained that “Community Police” means a policing approach in which law enforcement personnel work in close partnership with residents, community institutions, and local stakeholders to prevent crime, maintain public safety, and resolve security concerns through collaboration, problem-solving, trust-building, and regular engagement with the community and includes proactive, nonviolent, preventive, and service-oriented policing activities carried out within the community to enhance security, uphold human rights, and strengthen public confidence in law enforcement”.
Another proposal says: “the President shall cause to be prepared and laid before the joint session of the National Assembly, at least at least 60 days before the end of the preceding financial year, estimates of revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the succeeding financial year.”
The committee wants to strip the President and the governors the power to issue proclamation for the first sitting of the National or state House of Assembly by inserting a new subsection which states that “subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the first session of the National Assembly shall hold and be deemed to be convened on the second Tuesday of June at a time not later than 12 noon.”
The amendment also states that “the Supreme Court shall, to the exclusion of any other court of law in Nigeria, have original jurisdiction to hear and determine any question as to whether – (a) any person has been validly elected to the office of President or Vice President under this Constitution, (b) the term of office of the President or Vice President has ceased, or (c) the office of President or Vice President has become vacant.
“In the hearing and determination of any election petition under subsection (1A), the Supreme Court shall be duly constituted if it consists of at least five Justices of the Supreme Court. In every Presidential election petition, the Supreme Court shall deliver its judgement in writing within 60 days of filing of the suit.
Rivers federal lawmaker, Awaji-Inombek Dagomie Abiante, on Saturday laid his late wife, Agnes Nwakaego Abiante, to rest at his family compound in Ukwa Community, Ngo Urban, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, amid tributes that highlighted her humility, support for family and commitment to service.
The funeral drew a large gathering of mourners, including the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, who attended the funeral and participated fully in the service.
Also present were lawmakers from the National Assembly, community leaders, women groups and associates of the bereaved family.
Abiante, who represents Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, described his late wife as a pillar of strength and a partner whose influence shaped his personal life and public service.
“I was married to an angel in human form,” the lawmaker said in an emotional tribute.
He described her as someone who embodied humility, kindness, philanthropy and an entrepreneurial spirit, adding that she consistently challenged him to become a better man.
According to him, the late Agnes Abiante built a strong support system around him, serving as a dependable ally, companion and friend. He said their marriage was a union he believed was divinely ordained, stressing that the memories they shared would remain difficult to erase.
The lawmaker said the loss of his wife had re-emphasised what he described as the emptiness of life, noting that personal tragedy had a way of stripping away illusions about power, status and material achievement.
“For me, it has always been work and the fear of God,” he said, adding that life was not embodied in possessions or titles but in memories, hope and the positive impact made on others.
Abiante cautioned people in positions of authority against the abuse of power, saying no amount of influence or wealth could ultimately prevent death.
“No matter the powers you have wielded, the day the Lord closes your chapter, everything becomes useless to you,” he said, urging leaders to exercise authority with humility and to the glory of God.
He said death was a common denominator for all, regardless of social status, wealth or position, noting that life’s defining moments came to everyone in equal measure.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Rep. Rodney Ambaiowei, member representing Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency, who represented said the late Mrs. Abiante was widely loved within and beyond her community.
“If you mentioned her name anywhere in the community and beyond, she was appreciated,” he said, urging women to continue to support their husbands, describing such support as vital to family stability and success.
The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ali Isa JC, who attended the funeral with other lawmakers, said the late Agnes Abiante was not only a pillar to her husband but also to the wider community.
“We are here to mourn with our colleague,” he said, praying for eternal rest for the deceased and reminding those alive of the need to live purposeful lives, conscious of life’s fleeting nature.
The Association of Wives of Lawmakers also paid tribute to the deceased, describing her as an active and committed member of the group.
Speaking on behalf of the association, Dame Akpama said Agnes Abiante served as the association’s provost before her death and was known for her dedication and discipline.
“She was someone that, being with her, there was no dull moment,” Akpama said, recalling that the late Agnes was cheerful and lively, yet firm in enforcing standards within the association.
According to her, the deceased was usually among the first to arrive at official functions and ensured that members who arrived late fulfilled their obligations. She said her leadership style combined warmth with responsibility.
Akpama said members of the association visited Agnes Abiante several times during her illness and prayed with her, expressing gratitude to God despite the loss.
“We wanted her to live by all means, but we say to God be the glory. He knows best,” she said, praying for strength for the husband, children and entire family.
She described the death as a loss on earth but a gain in heaven, noting that the late Agnes would be remembered for her commitment to family, faith and service.
The funeral service also featured a sermon delivered by Pastor David Fubara of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), who urged mourners to reflect on life, death and eternity. He described the late Agnes Abiante as a woman of honour whose life reflected the virtues outlined in Proverbs 31.
The pastor said testimonies presented during the service portrayed her as graceful, dignified and impactful, noting that her influence extended beyond her immediate family.
He told the congregation that death was an appointment every human being would one day keep, regardless of status, wealth or background, and urged people to prepare for that inevitability by living lives of purpose.
“What matters is what you will be remembered for,” he said, adding that believers should focus on leaving behind good works and positive legacies.
To encourage the bereaved family, the pastor recounted the story of a wealthy Chicago lawyer who suffered multiple losses, including the death of his four daughters in a shipwreck, yet chose to cling to faith rather than despair.
He explained that the man, after losing his properties in a major fire and later his children at sea, did not turn away from God but turned towards Him, finding comfort in faith and eventually expressing his hope through the famous hymn, It Is Well With My Soul.
The pastor said the story illustrated resilience in the face of loss and urged the family of the deceased to trust God for comfort, reconciliation and strength.
“God will give you strength and wipe away your tears,” he said, assuring the family that joy would come after mourning.
Throughout the service, several testimonies from friends, associates and community members extolled the virtues of the late Agnes Abiante, describing her as supportive, selfless and committed to the well-being of others.
Lawmakers present at the ceremony said their attendance was a show of solidarity with their colleague, reflecting the respect Abiante commands within the National Assembly.
The burial ceremony concluded with prayers for the repose of the soul of the deceased and for strength for the bereaved family, as mourners filed past to pay their final respects.
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Olufemi Ajadi, has met councillors, pledging to build on the developmental strides of Governor Seyi Makinde.
Speaking at Iseyin City Hall, Iseyin where members of Oyo State Councillors Forum met, he said his aspiration to govern Oyo State was driven by a commitment to protect and deepen Makinde’s governance reforms as well as strengthen grassroots participation in decision-making.
He said: “I am here because you are the closest leaders to the people. Governor Makinde has done well, and Oyo State cannot afford to hand over this progress to the wrong person. This is why I say I represent ‘Omituntun 3.0’ — continuity of good governance.”
The gathering brought together councillors from the 33 local governments, marking the first time, according to participants, a governorship aspirant would engage Councillors Forum at such a level. The forum has 351 members, with three confirmed dead.
Ajadi, who identified himself as ‘a son of the soil’, is the son of Ibadan business magnate, Chief Bode Amoo and hails from Ward 8, Osengere, Egbeda Local Government.
The Chairman of Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, Mrs Muhibat Rufai-Adeyemi, yesterday laid before the Legislative Council, N9,800,563,905 budget for 2026 fiscal year.
It is tagged: ‘Budget of Renewed Hope’.
The presentation was held at the Legislative Chamber of the council.
Addressing the councillors, the chairman said the budget was a covenant; a solemn pledge of her administration’s commitment to the vision of a transformed, prosperous and secure Ojo.
She said: ‘’This budget is our strategic blueprint to consolidate on our gains and aggressively pursue the fulfilment of our promises to you, the people.
“This Renewed Hope is anchored on the solid foundations we have been building together since the inception of our administration.
“You entrusted us with a mandate based on our Works and Infrastructure, Health and Social Welfare, Agriculture, Capacity-Development, Education/Library Services & ICT, and Security (WHACES) agenda, and we have pursued it with vigour.
“Our commitment to easing life and expanding access is evident.”
Rufai-Adeyemi assured the people that WHACES agenda would see intensified implementation.
“We will embark on more road construction and rehabilitation, complete ongoing projects and initiate new ones based on DA priorities, including drainage systems to combat flooding.
“My administration will ensure the newly-built PHCs are equipped and staffed, and we will expand our health outreach programmes.’’
Leader, Legislative Arm, Ojo Local Government, Mr Jimoh Ramon,
said: ‘’We will immediately convene and start work on the budget.’’
He lauded the chairman for early presentation of the budget to the house.
Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria will tomorrow inaugurate the Board of Trustees of its newly-created Ansar-Ud-Deen Foundation. The event will take place at La Scala Restaurant, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
The society described the inauguration as an important step in strengthening its long history of faith-based service, education and community development.
For more than 100 years, Ansar-Ud-Deen has promoted Islamic knowledge, moral values and social support across communities. The foundation is expected to help organise and expand these efforts in a more structured and sustainable way.
According to the President of the society, Prince Mosediq Kazeem, SAN, the foundation would focus on major areas such as education, health care, youth empowerment and community development.
He said it would operate based on Qur’anic principles of charity, fairness and compassion.
Kazeem said: “The Board of Trustees will be made up of respected men and women, who have shown integrity, vision and dedication to service.’’
He said the foundation would act as a permanent endowment to support key projects of the society.”
One of its main responsibilities will be the renovation and maintenance of Ansar-Ud-Deen mosques nationwide.
“Our mosques must be accommodating and welcoming. We must be proud of any Ansar-Ud-Deen mosque we visit,” he said.
Other areas of focus include improving the infrastructure of Ansar-Ud-Deen schools, supporting Summit University, Offa, and funding social welfare and empowerment programmes for Muslims and the larger community.
The foundation will also handle investments and donations on behalf of the society, ensuring resources are well managed, transparently reported and invested in halal and ethical ventures that provide long-term benefits.
The Chairman of Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Oluyemisi Rosiji, has hosted the grand finale of 100 days in office and 2026 budget stakeholders’ forum.
She started the programme by inaugurating the newly-completed roads with pavements, drainages and solar streetlights at Olujola Street, Anifowoshe Street, Ipetu Ilesha Street, Musibau Oseni Street and Asuku Street.
The chairman also donated five vehicles — four to each of the divisional police stations in Ojokoro LCDA and one to Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC). Additionally, she procured a new motorcycle for the council secretariat to facilitate prompt administrative duties and enhance internal mobility for council operations.
Residents expressed joy and appreciation, showering prayers and praises on the chairman and her administration for delivering on her promises and transforming their communities within a short period.
It was indeed an atmosphere of reflection, accountability and renewed commitment at Ojokoro LCDA secretariat, as Rosiji hosted the grand finale of her administration’s first 100 days in office alongside the 2026 Budget Stakeholders’ Forum.
The event brought together a cross section of Ojokoro community — from political leaders and community leaders to market leaders, youth representatives and religious figures — to review the council’s early achievements and deliberate on developmental priorities for the 2026 fiscal year.
Declaring the event open, the Council Manager, Mrs. Mojisola Akinola, lauded the leadership style of the chairman. She encouraged continuous support for the chairman, describing her as a visionary leader committed to inclusive growth and sustainable progress in Ojokoro LCDA.
Rosiji expressed gratitude to the people of Ojokoro for their support and reaffirmed her dedication to transparent and participatory governance.
The event was concluded with a vote of thanks by the Vice Chairman, Tunde Oyekunle, who praised the inclusive governance approach of the administration and reaffirmed the council’s resolve to sustain developmental momentum.
Dignitaries in attendance included: Salvador Adegboyega Adebayo — Political Leader, Ojokoro LCDA; James Adisa Owolabi — former member, House of Representatives, Ifako Ijaiye Federal Constituency; Ipoola Omisore — former member, Lagos State House of Assembly; representatives of the Community Development Committee (CDC); members of the Legislative Council; APC chieftains; management staff of the council; market leaders, artisans, traditional rulers, security agencies, among others.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, Sen. Yunus Akintunde and Akeem Adeyemi were among dignitaries who received honorary Fellowship Award by Federal School of Surveying (FSS), Oyo.
The awardees were shortlisted in recognition of their efforts towards the progress and advancement of education in Nigeria, particularly in FSS, Oyo.
Speaking at the 22nd convocation, Akume reiterated Federal Government’s continued support to the school, saying government would support and strengthen legal framework that established it for its optimal performance.
He said government had been working towards ensuring quality and affordable education was made accessible to Nigerians through its educational friendly policies such as Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and others
Akume urged graduands of FSS to put in practice knowledge and skills they had acquired while in the institution, to uplift survey practice.
The Surveyor General of the Federation, Abuduganiyu Adebomeyin, represented by Dr. Olusegun Adekunle, described the event as a great achievement in the history of the school.
He urged the graduands to be good ambassador of the institution.
The Rector, Dupe Olayinka-Dosunmu, said the institution had produced professionals, technologists, technicians of high repute in Surveying and Geoinformatics and others for national economy.
