A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Commissioner for Finance In Ondo State, Wale Akinterinwa, has assured the party’s national leadership of overwhelming victory for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 Presidential Election in Ondo State

“President Bola Tinubu will win the 2027 Presidential Election in Ondo State. Let nobody misinform the public, let nobody deceive himself. The Ondo APC is solid. We will win in every polling unit, in all the 203 wards and in all the 18 Local Government Areas” Akinterinwa declared.

Akinterinwa spoke in the wake of fallacious assertions, made by an APC House of Representatives Aspirant, that President Tinubu might lose next year’s election on account of intra-party disputes that followed the National Assembly candidates’ nominations in the state. Describing the statement as a reckless misrepresentation of facts in Ondo State, the former Finance Commissioner advised politicians to exercise caution and discretion in their public utterances.

Akinterinwa said President Tinubu has done well for Nigeria and especially for Ondo State, and that he would be adequately rewarded with votes across Ondo State in the 2027 presidential election.

“In terms of performance, the President has raised the bar in service delivery, economic revival, large scale empowerment schemes and massive infrastructural development across the country”

Akinterinwa further asks
“Do you know the number of landmark federal road projects that are currently going on in the state?
Has it ever happened in the history of Ondo State to have three substantive ministers? This is the time to show the president that we’re grateful. He will win the election with a landslide margin. Any contrary opinion is self serving and cannot stand”

Akinterinwa commended APC leaders in the state for their collective investments towards the re-election of the President.

He called on those harbouring grievances to sheath their sword and embrace peace.

“The party is bigger than an individual’s interest. We must work together as a team, synergise efforts, focus on victory and organise a befitting funeral for the remnants of opposition parties in the state. That is the task ahead”

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three suspects linked to the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State to life imprisonment.

According to reports,
Justice Salim Ibrahim ordered that the life sentence should take effect from the date of the convicts’ arrest.

He handed down the sentence after convicting Abdulrazak Umar (also known as Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (Yunusa bin Musa) and Shamsu Adamu Sani (Abu Itisar) on charges connected to terrorism and the kidnapping incident.

The defendants had earlier pleaded guilty to some of the allegations brought against them by the Federal Government, while denying others.

They were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment of information, incitement and illegal mining.

The Federal Government accused the trio of belonging to Darul Salam, an affiliate of Jamaatu Asarul Muslima Fi Bilandis Sudan (Ansaru), a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria.

The prosecution alleged that the defendants, all from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, conspired with other suspects, including Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab, between January and May 2026 to facilitate the abduction of school children and teachers in Oyo State.

They were also accused of concealing information about the identities and activities of the alleged masterminds of the attack despite being aware of the plot.

During proceedings, the defendants admitted to concealing information about those responsible for the school attack and acknowledged their membership of Darul Salam.

While all three pleaded guilty to counts four and six of the charge, only Umar admitted guilt on additional counts bordering on providing training and instructions to members of the group through a WhatsApp platform titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace”.

However, they pleaded not guilty to the remaining counts.

Following their guilty pleas, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who led the prosecution team, urged the court to sentence the defendants on the counts they admitted.

Before the sentencing, counsel for the defendants pleaded with the court for leniency, describing them as first-time offenders who had shown remorse by pleading guilty.

The defence counsel argued that the charges they admitted were not directly related to the kidnapping itself and appealed to the court to consider their family responsibilities, noting that they were married men with children and had aged parents dependent on them.

He urged the court to give them an opportunity for a second chance.

However, prosecution counsel argued that the convicts were aware of the activities of those involved in the attack and, as responsible citizens, ought to have reported the information to security authorities.

The Federal Government had alleged that the defendants committed offences contrary to provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, including sections relating to conspiracy, aiding terrorism, concealment of terrorist activities and membership of a proscribed organisation.

The court, after considering the submissions of both parties, convicted the defendants and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

On May 15, gunmen invaded Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in the Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire LGA, abducting 46 people comprising 39 pupils and seven teachers.

The Assistant Headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, was killed while attempting to escape during the raid, while a Mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was killed by his abductors.

The remaining victims regained their freedom on July 10 following an intelligence-led military operation targeting the kidnappers’ hideouts in the Old Oyo National Park.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has revealed that the Nigeria Police Force and five federal ministries and agencies have the highest number of suspected fake workers uncovered during its payroll verification exercise.

ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed the findings while speaking on the commission’s investigation into payroll fraud across Federal Government institutions, according to a BBC Pidgin report on Wednesday.

The commission said it discovered suspected 908 ghost workers in at least 50 ministries, departments and agencies, recovering about N942m allegedly paid as fraudulent salaries.

According to the ICPC, ghost workers are fictitious names inserted into government payrolls to receive salaries fraudulently.

In some cases, salaries are allegedly diverted by officials who add relatives or associates to the payroll despite them not being employed.

Aliyu said investigators uncovered one case involving a man who allegedly placed the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law on the payroll while also collecting the salaries of 12 workers.

Among the institutions identified, the Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected fake workers.

“For this operation, we identified 570 people whom we suspect are among the fake workers collecting salaries without working,” the ICPC chairman said about the police data.

The National Water Resources Authority followed with 80 suspected fake workers.

“For this agency, we identified 80 names of people collecting salaries even though they are not workers of the agency,” Aliyu said.

The Federal Ministry of Works recorded 56 suspected fake workers, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 24.

The Ministry of Defence was found to have 19 suspected fake workers.

“For the Ministry of Defence, we identified 19 people acting as fake workers,” the ICPC chairman said.

Other affected institutions include the Federal Ministry of Electricity and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, with 17 suspected fake workers each; the Federal Ministry of Health with 15; and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation with 12.

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Interior were also listed among institutions affected by the payroll fraud, although the ICPC did not disclose the number of suspected fake workers found in the two offices.