The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Southern, Middle Belt forum plead with ASUU, NMA to shelve plan strike

    Southern, Middle Belt forum plead with ASUU, NMA to shelve plan strike

    The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has appealed to university lecturers and media practitioners to suspend their planned strike actions and return to the negotiation table with the federal government to find amicable solutions to their grievances.

    The appeal was contained in a communiqué issued after the Forum’s meeting on Wednesday, where members also deliberated on pressing national issues.

    Founded by the late Chief Edwin Clark, late Dan Suleiman, late Chukwuemeka Ezeife, late Ayo Adebanjo, and other prominent leaders, the SMBLF also urged the Federal Government to deploy maximum resources to tackle the country’s worsening security challenges.

    The communiqué was signed by Oba Oladipo Olaitan, Leader of Afenifere; Dr. Pogu Bitrus, President-General of the Middle Belt Forum; and Ambassador Godknows Boladei Igali, National Chairman of PANDEF.

    Addressing the planned strike by university lecturers, the Forum urged the government to continue negotiations with ASUU to avert any industrial action.

    Reading the communiqué, Oba Olaitan said: “The Forum notes the ongoing demands by various unions in the academic community toward ensuring commitments by the Federal Government to its members, especially ASUU. We call on the Federal Government to continue negotiating with ASUU to forestall any strike.”

    The Forum also appealed to the Nigerian Medical Association to consider the plight of ordinary Nigerians who will be most affected by any disruption in healthcare services.

    “We are also calling on the Federal Government to complete negotiations with resident doctors and end the ongoing strike. Ordinary Nigerians who cannot afford private medical care are the ones suffering. We therefore call on the Resident Doctors to reach an agreement with the government and end strikes in the medical sector,” it stated.

    On recent security incidents, including the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba and the abduction of students in Kebbi State, the Forum urged the Federal Government to seek support from global partners to tackle the challenges.

    Olaitan added, “We urge the Federal Government to deploy maximum resources to rescue the abducted schoolgirls and remain open to partnership with global allies, including the Americans, acting with sincerity. The government must also urgently present a public programme for the rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced families in the Middle Belt.”

    The Forum further demanded decisive action against extremist violence and condoled the families of Gen. Uba, his colleagues, and the Nigerian Army.

    Other resolutions reached at the meeting included a call for the continued protection and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

    “We therefore call on the leadership of the ruling political party to put a check on the rising tendencies of decamping and tilting political alliances without due consideration of ideology and political persuasion,” the group stated

    SMBLF also condemned “in the strongest terms the emerging tendency among the political class to railroad the country towards single-party control of the key democratic structures at the federal and subnational levels.”

    The group also expressed “serious concern over the state of factionalization and internal strife which seems to be occurring amongst some of the main opposition political parties.

    “In particular, the very barbaric show-of-shame which occurred at the National Secretariat of the main opposition party, People Democratic Party, on Tuesday, 18th November, 2025, led separately by a serving Minister in the cabinet of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on the one hand and serving Governors on the other.

    “The meeting condemns in its entirety the deployment and brazen use of security and law enforcement officers, especially men of the Nigeria Police Force, for partisan political activities and disruptions to the nation’s nascent democratic evolution”.

    SMBLF also charged the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission to take timely actions to redirect the emerging political trends ahead of the 2027 general elections.

  • BREAKING: Court convicts Nnamdi Kanu on three more counts

    BREAKING: Court convicts Nnamdi Kanu on three more counts

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted Nnamdi Kanu of the proscribed separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on offences relating to belonging to a proscribed terror group and inciting his followers to violence.

    Justice James Omotosho, in his ongoing judgment in Kanu’s terrorism trial, found him guilty in relation to counts three, four, and five of the seven-count charge being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS).

    Justice Omotosho held that the prosecution led credible evidence to establish that Kanu belonged to IPOB, which had been proscribed, and its affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

    The judge also held that the prosecution proved that, by his many broadcasts, he incited his followers to violence, which resulted in the killing of security personnel and the destruction of property, including police stations across the country.

    Details shortly…

  • Senate seeks fresh solutions to rising insecurity

    Senate seeks fresh solutions to rising insecurity

    Stakeholders across the Southeast on Thursday converged on Enugu for the zonal edition of the Senate’s National Security Summit.

    The forum was aimed at harvesting practical inputs toward ending the persistent security crisis in the region.

    The event brought together lawmakers, traditional rulers, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, military and paramilitary agencies, local government chairmen, town union leaders, religious organisations, youth groups, farmers, traders, and vigilante operatives.

    Declaring the summit open, coordinator of the southeast event, Senator Austin Akobundu, said the Senate convened the national dialogue to gather first-hand perspectives from citizens and leaders in regions most affected by insecurity.

    He warned that the southeast’s worsening security environment, marked by killings, destruction, economic stagnation, school disruptions, and declining communal life, requires urgent, sincere action.

    “Whole communities are traumatized and displaced, farmlands abandoned, schools disrupted, with grave socioeconomic consequences including spikes in poverty, hunger, and illiteracy,” Akobundu said.

    He condemned violent agitations in the region, insisting that “violence solves nothing and can never be a pathway to self-determination,” but acknowledged that issues such as inequity, marginalisation, unemployment, and poverty must be addressed “headlong” to stem the crisis.

    Akobundu praised Southeast governors for their “uncommon grit” in confronting insecurity and assured that the Senate would act on recommendations from the summit, including amending or repealing existing laws and making new ones to strengthen national security.

    He also lauded frontline security personnel, saying, “Your sacrifices will never be forgotten. The Senate takes your welfare seriously.”

    The Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uche Ugwu, described the summit as an opportunity for the Southeast to “listen, understand, and suggest solutions in line with the realities on the ground.”

    He stressed that security must be rooted in intelligence gathering and socioeconomic stability.

    “We must invest in intelligence gathering while not neglecting the economic conditions that make our people, especially our young ones, vulnerable to criminal activities,” he said.

    Ugwu emphasised the need to rebuild trust between communities, government, and security agencies.

    “When communities trust their security agencies and when leaders speak with one voice, insecurity loses its strength,” he said.

    The Speaker also identified farmers-herders clashes and open grazing as major drivers of conflict in the Southeast, warning that “anything open grazing in the Southeast is against the peace of the land.”

    He called for urgent consideration of state police, arguing that decentralised policing would help create safer communities.

    “Security cannot be achieved by force alone,” he said. “The issue of state police is something we should look into to create an enabling environment in our communities.”

  • Health coalition backs NAFDAC as FG set to enforce ban on sachet alcohol beverages

    Health coalition backs NAFDAC as FG set to enforce ban on sachet alcohol beverages

    The Coalition for Healthy Food Advocacy (CHFA) has backed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) ahead of its December ban and January 2026 enforcement of the nationwide restriction on sachet and small-volume alcoholic beverages.

    The coalition, therefore, urged manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and market associations to ensure full compliance with the directive.

    It also called on security agencies and state governments to support NAFDAC in monitoring markets, eliminating illegal production, and preventing the banned products from re-entering circulation.

    The coalition also encouraged sustained public awareness to ensure communities understand the health reasons behind the ban.

    The coalition said the ban represents a necessary step to protect children, curb non-communicable diseases, and strengthen Nigeria’s food environment.

    In a press statement on Thursday, the coalition warned that the continued circulation of cheap, high-strength alcohol in sachets and containers below 200 millilitres poses serious risks to young people and low-income communities.

    It noted that those products have long been associated with early alcohol initiation because they are inexpensive, potent, and widely available in informal markets where age limits are rarely enforced.

    Enforcing the ban, it said, is essential to shield children and adolescents from exposure that can lead to lifelong health and social consequences.

    The coalition recalled that NAFDAC’s enforcement follows a five-year moratorium agreed in 2018 between the agency, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and beverage manufacturers, noting that the phased transition was intended to give producers adequate time to discontinue the high-risk packaging formats.

    According to community accounts gathered by the coalition, sachet alcohol has disproportionately harmed low-income neighbourhoods.

    CHFA explained that alcohol contributes to more than two hundred disease and injury conditions, including liver disease, hypertension, stroke, several cancers, and poorer outcomes for people living with diabetes.

    It noted that products sold in sachets or other small containers often carry high alcohol concentration and are typically consumed quickly, encouraging binge drinking and increasing the risk of road crashes, unsafe sexual behaviour, poisoning, and premature death.

    Beyond medical risks, the coalition highlighted alcohol’s broader impact on diet and nutrition, warning that consumption can displace healthy foods, fuel cravings for salty and fatty snacks, impair nutrient absorption, and worsen glycaemic control.

    Removing sachet alcohol, it said, supports ongoing national nutrition policies such as sodium reduction, trans-fat elimination, and the push for Front-of-Pack Labelling.

    The coalition also drew attention to the economic burden of harmful alcohol use, citing evidence of rising healthcare expenditure, productivity losses, road traffic injuries, and social disruption.

    It argued that these costs far outweigh revenues generated from alcohol sales and that protecting young people from harmful exposure is vital to strengthening Nigeria’s human capital and ensuring sustainable economic growth.

    The group quoted Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, as saying these communities have endured alcohol-fuelled violence, addiction, and worsening economic hardship.

    Oluwafemi said the ban underscores that public health must take precedence over profit and urged industry operators to support full compliance.

    Quoting Dr Jerome Mafeni, Lead Technical Advisor at the Network for Health Equity and Development and Secretariat Lead for CHFA, the statement said removing sachet alcohol aligns with measures aimed at preventing hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

    He maintained that a healthier population is central to national development and that alcohol-related harm imposes a far heavier economic burden than industry stakeholders acknowledge.

    According to CHFA, eliminating sachet alcohol from the market is a necessary step toward building a healthier, safer, and more productive Nigeria.

  • Nigeria tightens wine market standards to combat fake products

    Nigeria tightens wine market standards to combat fake products

    Nigeria’s wine market is intensifying efforts to eliminate counterfeit and substandard products amid rising concerns over public health, consumer confidence, and loss of government revenue.

    At a wine-tasting event in Lagos, Chinedu Rita Rosa, Founder of Vines by Rosa, said the campaign aims to ensure Nigerians have access to quality wines at fair prices while protecting them from fraudulent dealers.

    Rosa, the first African Black woman wine consultant, with 26 years of experience spanning importing, wholesaling, and wine education, said transparency in the supply chain is crucial.

    She said, “We introduce you to our importers, our distributors, the restaurants and the hotels that carry our wine for you to have confidence that no one is selling fake wine to you.”

    Rosa emphasized that consumer education is crucial in combating the counterfeit wine trade, noting that many consumers lack the ability to distinguish genuine labels from imitations without proper guidance.

    “Go online. Check what you are buying and where it’s coming from, both the winery and the people who exist,” she advised.

    She also highlighted the economic benefits of removing fake products from circulation, explaining that each bottle of legitimate wine contributes to government revenue through taxes and customs duties.

    Beyond market integrity, Rosa warned of the public-health risks posed by substandard wines.

    “We don’t want people drinking substandard wines and falling sick. The worst thing you want in a country is people who are sick, because that also affects our GDP,” she said.

    While Nigeria is not a wine-producing nation, she noted that its strong consumer base and high import volumes make regulatory vigilance vital.

    “We are consumers, and on every wine bottle opened, there are taxes. The government is making a lot of revenue,” she added.

    Export manager for Settecani and Fina wineries, Roberto Cardinale, said wine appreciation in Nigeria is rising steadily, driven partly by Nigerians returning from abroad with more refined tastes.

    “The appreciation is growing, and the level of wine consumed is getting higher. Nigerians want to experience the same quality they enjoy overseas,” he said.

    The renewed push for higher standards comes as stakeholders seek to protect consumers, support legitimate businesses, and strengthen Nigeria’s growing position in the global wine market.

  • Kikelomo Solomon-Ayeni wins African iconic fine art photographer of the year at AFDA 2025

    Kikelomo Solomon-Ayeni wins African iconic fine art photographer of the year at AFDA 2025

    The African Fashion Designer Award (AFDA) 2025 has recognised one of Nigeria’s rising cultural voices in visual storytelling, as Kikelomo Solomon-Ayeni was announced winner of the African Iconic Fine Art Photographer of the Year category, a prestigious title newly introduced to honour excellence in visual arts beyond fashion design.

    Her award-winning body of work, “African Preggy Ready to Party,” stood out for its bold, culture-rooted narrative that celebrates pregnancy, womanhood, and African identity through colour, composition, and symbolic styling. The series blends fashion, fine art, and cultural heritage, reimagining the African pregnant woman as radiant, confident, and beautifully visible.

    This year’s AFDA selection process combined expert curation with public voting, giving the award both artistic credibility and widespread cultural validation. I

    n the words of one of the AFDA Team, “Kikelomo’s work does more than capture maternity, it reframes it. She brings elegance, strength, and joy to, a subject often approached with limitation. This is fine art with cultural memory and modern energy.”

    Other nominees for the award were Kester Kanayo Onyemaechi, Olamide Bakare, Tosin Bakre, Edirin John Duvwiama.

    Solomon-Ayeni’s win is especially significant because the AFDA platform is known for spotlighting Africa’s most innovative voices in fashion, culture, and design. The expansion into photographic arts marks a deeper recognition of visual storytelling as part of Africa’s creative ecosystem.

    This victory also adds to a remarkable run for Kikelomo in recent months, including international exhibitions in London, Berlin, Venice, and Spain, as well as cross-cultural projects through her organization, Red19 Global.

    “African Preggy Ready to Party” continues to spark global conversations on representation, family, and the changing visual language around African women. And now, with this award, Kikelomo’s work takes its place among the continent’s most influential artistic contributions, proving once again that African creativity is not only evolving, but leading.

  • Resident doctors reject FG’s claims, vow to sustain nationwide strike

    Resident doctors reject FG’s claims, vow to sustain nationwide strike

    The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has dismissed claims by the Federal Ministry of Labour that the government has met a significant portion of the doctors’ demands, describing the claim as misleading and inconsistent with the realities of the ongoing nationwide strike.

    The association insisted that the indefinite strike, which commenced on 1 November, will continue until the government meets its minimum conditions.

    NARD also refuted comments by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Adekunle Salako, that it refused to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. The association clarified that it declined to endorse the document because it contained no binding timelines, verifiable actions, or guarantees of implementation.

    According to NARD, signing such an agreement would amount to legitimising promises that have repeatedly gone unfulfilled.

    “On the refusal to sign the MoU, the Minister’s insinuation that NARD outrightly refused to sign the MoU is a misrepresentation of fact.

    “We refuse to sign any Memorandum of Understanding that is built on a foundation of unfulfilled promises and lacks clear, binding, and time-bound deliverables.

    “We will not be party to an agreement that merely papers over cracks while our members continue to suffer. A MoU that does not guarantee immediate and verifiable action is not worth the paper it is written on”.

    The association’s position was contained in a rebuttal issued on Thursday and jointly signed by Dr Mohammad Usman Suleiman, President; Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim, Secretary General; and Dr Abdulmajid Yahya Ibrahim, Publicity and Social Secretary, where the association said none of its 19 core demands has been fully or verifiably met.

    NARD said its Extra-Ordinary National Executive Council meeting of 17 November reviewed the government’s position and found that what the ministry presented as progress amounted to unfulfilled promises, unimplemented decisions, and newly formed committees.

    The association regretted that government tactics mirror the pattern of delays and broken assurances that triggered the industrial action.

    The doctors dismissed the ministry’s claims on the commencement of the 25 percent and 35 percent CONMESS review payments and the 2024 accoutrement allowance.

    They argued that no member of the association has received the payments and that ongoing attempts to reconcile omissions and failed transfers only confirm the lack of implementation.

    NARD said anticipation of payment cannot be portrayed as actual progress, faulting the ministry’s handling of outstanding arrears, allowances and specialist payments in several federal hospitals.

    It said the admission that the government is still compiling lists for the Budget Office, despite years of dialogue, shows the absence of urgency, noting this reinforces its members’ frustration with a system that repeatedly defers action while worsening working conditions persist.

    On welfare concerns, NARD criticised the reliance on committees to address issues such as the disengagement of doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; manpower shortages; and casualisation.

    The association said the concerns require direct intervention, not another layer of bureaucracy, demanding the immediate reinstatement of the dismissed doctors and the full implementation of the one-for-one replacement policy to curb burnout across teaching hospitals.

    These include the reinstatement of the five disengaged doctors in Lokoja, immediate payment of corrected professional allowances and all outstanding arrears, and concrete implementation of specialist allowances and staffing policies.

    NARD accused the Ministry of Labour of lecturing doctors on compliance with labour laws while failing to uphold previously agreed timelines and obligations.

    It said its patience has been stretched by years of meetings that produce communiqués but no action.

    The association restated its willingness to engage in dialogue but insisted that discussions must lead to tangible outcomes, while urging the government to shift focus from issuing what it described as misleading statements and instead take the steps needed to resolve the industrial crisis.

    According to NARD, the government bears full responsibility for restoring stability to the health sector, which remains burdened by unresolved welfare, staffing and remuneration issues.

    Meanwhile, as the nationwide strike by resident doctors entered its 20th day, coupled with the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) strike, a visit to the National Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre in Abuja on Thursday revealed the deepening paralysis of services, with both facilities recording sharply reduced patient turnout and limited clinical activity.

    At both centres, resident doctors and many categories of health workers were absent from their duty posts, leaving consultants, nurses and a handful of other staff to keep skeletal services running.

    In several departments, those present were seen sitting idle, with little or no patient flow, however, a handful of in-patients were noticed on their beds.

    A nurse who spoke at the National Hospital said they were compelled to remain on duty despite the strike.

    “We (nurses) are not on strike yet, so we have to be at work because there may be emergencies and we have to do what we have to,” she said.

    The National Trauma Centre within the National Hospital also remained open, but activity was similarly reduced with only consultants and nurses seen around.

    At the emergency department, the impact was more visible, with the hall empty of patients and several beds folded away.

    At the centre, a nurse and a consultant were overheard advising a parent who came in to inquire whether his child, who had been involved in a domestic bicycle accident, could be treated at the facility.

    The consultant explained the limitations caused by the ongoing strike, offering careful guidance.

    “If his situation is not life-threatening, I will advise you to take him to a private hospital. Even if we ask you to bring him, your location is too far from here, besides, we can’t access other necessary departments, critical to his examination and care as they are on strike,” the consultant said.

    He added that emergency care would still be provided in critical circumstances, “If the situation is life-threatening and you bring him here immediately, we will attend to him and advise you on the next right step to take.”

  • UNICEF, IWEI to return 1,500 out-of-school children to classrooms in Jigawa

    UNICEF, IWEI to return 1,500 out-of-school children to classrooms in Jigawa

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative (IWEI) and the Jigawa State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), is set to return about 1,500 out-of-school children to classrooms across Jigawa State.

    Executive Director of IWEI, Hajiya Amina Hanga, disclosed this while addressing journalists at the close-out event of the Building Community Power to End Harmful Practices project held at the Ahmadu Bello Hall, Jigawa State Secretariat, Dutse.

    Hanga said UNICEF and IWEI had concluded arrangements to reintegrate a significant number of project participants, most of whom are out-of-school children. She explained that the project, implemented across Jigawa and Katsina states, covered eight communities in four local government areas in Jigawa.

    As part of the initiative, IWEI and UNICEF worked closely with SUBEB to finalise all preparations for the children’s re-enrolment at appropriate class levels to ensure continuity in their education.

    Hanga noted that IWEI—established in 2009 as a non-governmental, non-profit organisation—focuses on equipping young women and girls with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to achieve financial independence and contribute meaningfully to society.

    “In collaboration with UNICEF, IWEI executed the Building Community Power to End Harmful Practices (Child Marriage) project in Jigawa State,” she said.

    She revealed that the first phase of the project, conducted between January and June 2025, reached 1,500 out-of-school girls, while the second phase, implemented from August to November 2025, introduced Gender Transformative Positive Parenting (GTP) sessions that engaged 1,200 parents—60 per cent male and 40 per cent female.

    According to her, the GTP sessions promoted positive parenting, strengthened gender-equitable decision-making, and expanded family support for girls’ education and empowerment.

    She added that the project also improved the well-being of 500 adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24 across Dutse, Birnin Kudu, Jahun, and Kiyawa local government areas, giving beneficiaries access to vocational skills, financial inclusion schemes, and enhanced economic opportunities. Communities also recorded increased commitment to ending harmful practices, including child marriage.

  • JUST IN: Fuel tanker explodes in Delta, razes houses, shop

    JUST IN: Fuel tanker explodes in Delta, razes houses, shop

    A fuel-laden tanker burst into flames after falling along the dilapidated Eku-Abraka Road in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.

    Although details remain sketchy, reports indicated that the fire was triggered by residents scooping fuel from the fallen tanker near the Eku Market.

    No casualties have been confirmed as of press time, but the inferno reportedly destroyed several houses and shops in the vicinity.

    Details shortly…

  • JUST IN: Court convicts Kanu on two counts of engaging in terrorism act

    JUST IN: Court convicts Kanu on two counts of engaging in terrorism act

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted Nnamdi Kanu of the proscribed separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on the offence of engaging in act of terrorism.

    Justice James Omotosho, in his ongoing judgment in Kanu’s terrorism trial, found him guilty in relation to counts one and two of the seven-count charge being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS). 

    Justice Omotosho held that the threats of violence and killings, including the declaration of sit at home in the South East states, in his many broadcasts constitute acts of terrorism.

    The judge has now moved to count three.

    Details shortly…