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17th February 2026 07:58 PM 
PRESIDENT TINUBU SEEKS SENATE CONFIRMATION FOR INEC COMMISSIONER, NAHCON CHAIRMAN
President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has urged the Senate to confirm the nomination of Jamila Abubakar as National Commissioner representing Adamawa State at the Independent National Electoral Commission.
President Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and read at plenary on Tuesday.
Akpabio thereafter referred the request to the Senate Committee on INEC for further legislative action and directed it to report back to plenary in one week.
Similarly, President Tinubu, in a separate letter, urged the Upper Chamber to confirm the nomination of Amb. Ismail Yusuf for appointment as Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.
President Tinubu, in the letter, said the request for confirmation was in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of the NAHCON Act, 2026.
Meanwhile, Akpabio also referred the request to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative action and directed it to report back to plenary in one week.
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The Nigerian Senate has rescinded its earlier decision and re-passed the Electoral Act amendment Bill, retaining the proviso on Clause 60 that allows for manual transmission of election results if electronic transmission fails.
Recall that the proviso indicates that presiding officers can transmit results electronically, but if the system fails, they can use Form EC8A as a backup.
This development followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele at plenary on Tuesday, just as the bill was passed after a clause-by-clause consideration.
The Senate Leader said upon further critical review of the bill as passed, it was observed that the 360-day notice requirement prescribed in Clause 28 might result in the scheduling of the 2027 presidential and national assembly elections within the period of Ramadan.
Bamidele therefore revealed that the coincidence of the elections with the Ramadan period could adversely affect voters’ turnout, stressing that it can also affect logistical coordination, stakeholder engagement and the overall inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.
He said upon painstaking scrutiny of the bill, discrepancies were identified in the Long Title and Clauses 6, 9, 10, 22, 23, 28, 29, 32, 42, 47, 51, 60, 62, 64, 65, 73, 77, 86, 87, 89, 93 and 143.
This, he said, affected other clauses of the bill, including issues relating to cross-referencing, serial numbering and internal consistency.
However, if electronic transmission fails due to communication issues, the result contained in Form EC8A signed by the presiding officer and or countersigned by polling agents shall be the primary source of collation and declaration of results.
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The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday, has expressed concern over the inferno that razed the Singer Market in Kano, a major commercial hub in Northern Nigeria.
The lawmakers, at an emergency sitting, called for urgent investigation to determine the root cause of the fire outbreak.
They also directed the National Emergency Management Agency to provide immediate relief materials to affected victims.
Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, while raising the matter under a point of order, said the inferno destroyed property worth over N100 billion and crippled more than 1,000 businesses.
Jibrin stressed that the affected enterprises were largely small and medium-scale operators, regarded as the backbone of the local economy and critical drivers of commerce.
According to him, seven persons remain missing after the incident, leaving traders and their families in anguish amid mounting economic hardship and uncertainty.
Preliminary findings, he said, pointed to faulty firefighting infrastructure, weak emergency response systems and absence of modern safety mechanisms as factors that worsened the disaster.
Seconding the motion, Kawu Sumaila underscored the market’s strategic importance to regional and international trade, employment generation and broader economic activities across Northern Nigeria.
He commended President Bola Tinubu and Northern governors elected on the All Progressives Congress, APC, for donating N8 billion to support the victims of the inferno.
Sumaila said that the president contributed N5 billion, while the APC governors collectively donated N3 billion to assist traders struggling to recover from the losses.
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The First Lady of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu, on Tuesday, urged traditional and religious leaders to throw their full weight behind the Federal Government’s National Community Food Bank programme.
Oluremi also warned that no eligible family must be left behind as the initiative rolls out nationwide in April.
Speaking at the National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health 2026, held at the State House Banquet Hall, in Abuja, the First Lady said her Office was counting heavily on the moral authority and grassroots reach of traditional institutions and faith communities to drive the awareness and household sensitisation that government agencies alone could not achieve.
According to the First Lady, the programme, being developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, will operate through the nationwide network of Primary Health Centres.
Tinubu disclosed that the initiative would be bankrolled through a Trust Fund fed by willing private sector partners and public-spirited Nigerians, with oversight entrusted to credible Nigerians to ensure accountability.
She described the programme as a direct expression of President Bola Tinubu’s placement of health at the heart of the Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that without the well-being of the people, no amount of infrastructure or natural resource endowment could translate into national development.
The First Lady also officially flagged off the Advocacy and Awareness Campaign for the National Community Food Bank Programme and congratulated the National Health Fellows, health volunteers deployed one per local government area, on the commencement of their second cohort, wishing them success in their service to the nation.
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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has arraigned a Director with the Federal Ministry of Works, Blessing Lere-Adams, on charges bordering on money laundering and corruption.
Lere-Adams was brought before the Federal High Court, in Abuja, on six charges under the Money Laundering, Prevention and Prohibition, Act, 2022; the Penal Code, Northern Nigeria, Federal Provisions Act; and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
A statement on Tuesday by the ICPC spokesman, John Odey, said the alleged offences were committed between August 2022 and January 2024 in Abuja.
The ICPC, led by prosecuting counsel Onwuka Ngozi, alleged that the defendant received various sums of money from her subordinate, Henry David, which she knew or ought reasonably to have known were proceeds of corruption.
The commission further alleged that Lere-Adams transferred parts of the funds to her husband, Olujimi Lere-Adams, and to a Fidelity Bank account belonging to her son, Jafe Lere-Adams.
One of the counts read, “That you, Blessing Adiobome Lere-Adams, on or about August 18, 2022 at Abuja, FCT within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court while being a Director at Federal Ministry of Works and Housing directly took possession of and retained N2,000,000.00 transferred to your First Bank account number 3002361584 by one Henry David, your subordinate, when you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption.
Odey said Lere-Adams, represented by her counsel, Nduka, pleaded not guilty to all the charges and subsequently applied for bail on liberal terms.
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Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi has announced that schools will remain shut in Amasiri community of Afikpo Local Government Area in spite of the relaxation of curfew in the area.
Recall that Amasiri was recently involved in a renewed land dispute with neighbouring Okporojo, in Oso community of Edda LGA which led to several deaths and destruction of several property.
The killings assumed a gruesome dimension with the attackers beheading four of the victims and escaping with the severed heads.
Nwifuru, during a visit to the area on January 31, reeled sanctions on Amasiri which included sacking of its political appointees, dethronement of its traditional rulers, placement of curfew, closure of schools, among others.
The governor, while briefing reporters at the end of the state Security Council meeting on Tuesday, announced that schools would remain shut in the area in spite of the relaxation of the curfew.
He therefore noted that opening of schools presently had its disadvantages due to the dire security situation in the area, maintaining that the Amasiri people must produce the severed heads of the Okporo indigenes as the government was not taking the issue lightly.
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The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has condemned the reckless driving habits of some truck operators plying the Sango–Ota corridor following a fatal accident at the Ota Toll Gate area that claimed seven lives.
The crash, which involved a trailer tanker reportedly affected by brake failure, resulted in the deaths of six men and one woman.
Meanwhile, two other victims, a male and a female sustained critical injuries and are currently receiving medical attention. In total, nine persons were involved in the incident.
Describing the development as painful and unacceptable, the governor, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, said the loss of innocent lives due to preventable negligence is one too many.
He therefore extended his condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for strength and comfort for them during the difficult period.
In a related development, the Executive Chairman of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, Lawal Adewale Wasiu, visited the scene shortly after the incident alongside key local government officials, where he received briefings from security operatives coordinating rescue and control efforts.
The chairman expressed sorrow over the tragedy and reiterated the need for strict adherence to traffic regulations.
He also cautioned against roadside trading and other risky activities that expose residents and commuters to avoidable danger, assuring that the council would collaborate with relevant agencies to strengthen safety compliance within the axis.
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PRESIDENT TINUBU UNVEILS NIGERIA’S INDUSTRIAL POLICY 2025
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, unveiled Nigeria’s Industrial Policy 2025 with a charge to relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, of government to ensure speedy implementation.
President Tinubu, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima inaugurated the policy at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, in Abuja.
The president explained that the policy was a roadmap for re-engineering Nigeria’s industrial base, adding that the document would unlock value across sectors, and place production, competitiveness, and jobs at the centre of the nation’s economic strategy.
He regretted that for too long, Nigeria had grappled with fragmented value chains, high production costs, infrastructure gaps, policy inconsistency, and insufficient coordination between government and industry.
Tinubu insisted on the timely implementation and execution of the policy, noting that when his administration came on board in 2023, it did so with a promise to redefine Nigeria’s industrial ambition.
The president said it prioritised strategic sector focus anchored on the nation’s comparative and competitive advantages.
He added that the minister had demonstrated that policy leadership was not about noise, but about substance, coordination, and follow-through.
He also applauded the Ministry’s technical teams, industry stakeholders, manufacturers, investors, and practitioners for shaping the “policy into a document.
The Chairman, Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, thanked the Federal Government for introducing a progressive industrial policy.
Dangote observed that Nigeria was the only country in Africa where the private sector is bigger than the government.
Dangote said domestic manufacturers are pleased with the policy the Tinubu administration has created, expressing firm belief that “the Naira, this year, will be at ₦1,000 to $100.”
He disclosed that many investors were willing to invest in Nigeria due to exchange rate stability and other economic reforms.
Dangote suggested that the only thing remaining is the protection of indigenous industries, saying, “if there is no protection, there is no way any industry will thrive here.
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Veteran United States civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson, one of the nation’s most influential Black voices, died peacefully on Tuesday morning.
The Family of the veteran activist revealed that he died at the age of 84.
Recall that Jackson, a Baptist minister, had been a civil rights leader since the 1960s, when he marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and helped fundraise for the cause.
The family did not release a cause of death, but Jackson revealed in 2017 that he had the degenerative neurological disease Parkinson’s.
He was hospitalized for observation in November in connection to another neurodegenerative condition, according to media reports.
A dynamic orator and a successful mediator in international disputes, the long-time Baptist minister expanded the space for African Americans on the national stage for more than six decades.
He was present for many consequential moments in the long battle for racial justice in the United States, including with King in Memphis in 1968 when the civil rights leader was slain.
The activist openly wept in the crowd as Obama celebrated his 2008 presidential election, and he stood with George Floyd’s family in 2021 after a court convicted an ex-police officer of the unarmed Black man’s murder.
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Nigeria’s Super Falcons is set to face Cameroon in two friendly matches as part of preparations ahead of the 2026 Women Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON, scheduled for Morocco.
Both teams will clash in Yaounde on February 28 and March 3rd.
In a statement by Head of NFF Communications, Ademola Olajire, noted that the federation was committed to ensuring proper preparation for the team.
He therefore stressed that the Nigerian Football Federation have concluded everything that has to do with the two friendly matches, in conjunction with our counterpart body in Cameroon.
All four semi-finalists at the WAFCON billed to begin from March 17 to April 3rd, 2026, will qualify directly to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Brazil.
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Tottenham Hotspur Football Club are facing criticism from the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust over claims that the club selectively edited the minutes of a fans’ meeting held on February 3, 2026, just days before manager Thomas Frank was dismissed.
As reported by BBC Sport on Tuesday, Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’, says the published notes omitted key concerns raised by supporters, including fears over the team’s relegation risk and how the optimism following the Europa League victory had faded.
The Trust also claimed the minutes removed a line stating that the board welcomed the input of THST.”
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