1. Governorship candidates and political parties across the country have begun intensifying campaigns for the 2027 elections, unveiling policy agendas centred on security, agriculture, education, healthcare, workers’ welfare and economic development.
From the North-West to the South-East and South-West, the candidates are seeking to frame the contests around competing programmes, while parties and political actors are also making early appeals for peaceful, issue-based campaigns.
2. Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has declared a state of emergency on waste collection in the state, ordering immediate measures to address the challenges affecting the sector. Sanwo-Olu, accompanied by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, made the declaration during an inspection of the Olusosun dumpsite in Ojota on Wednesday. The governor also held a meeting with stakeholders in the waste management sector at the dumpsite, where he assessed the challenges affecting municipal waste collection and outlined immediate, medium and long-term solutions.
3. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Federal Government of dressing economic decline in bigger naira figures, declaring that the much-celebrated FAAC “boom” is a monetary illusion that collapses once the figures are tested against currency depreciation, inflation, purchasing power and the mounting liabilities of state governments. Atiku said Nigerians should not be deceived by the spectacle of trillions being announced every month.
4. The United Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dame Sarah Macintosh, has commended the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration in tackling Nigeria’s security and economic challenges. Macintosh made the remarks during a meeting with Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, at the Nigeria Mission House in New York
5. The Anambra State Police Command has arrested no fewer than 12 persons in connection with the killing of a popular comedian and town crier, Isaac Nwosu, popularly known as “Aiza Nwosu,” as well as other cult-related killings in Awka, the state capital. The command, however, denied allegations that its officers collected N600,000 to secure the release of Miss Nwosu Chikamso Jennifer, said to be a sister of one of the suspects.
6. The Federal Government has begun an overhaul of the accreditation system for tertiary institutions in the country, with the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, warning institutions against presenting borrowed staff, equipment and facilities during accreditation exercises. The minister also warned that officials of tertiary institutions who fail to comply with admission and accreditation requirements risk losing their jobs, while private institutions that violate regulatory standards could lose their operating licences.
7. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Wednesday rolled out a stronger supervisory framework that seeks to deter the use of Nigerian banks and financial institutions for terrorism financing and other abuses. In a statement, the apex bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications/Investor Relations Department, Hakama Sidi-Ali, said the CBN has made terrorism financing supervision one of its current priorities.
8. The Benue State Police Command has arrested 46 persons in connection with the obstruction of the movement of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, during his visit to the state on Tuesday. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Cletus Nwadiogbu, disclosed this on Wednesday at a press conference in Makurdi, saying the arrests followed intelligence-led operations launched immediately after the incident.
9. The Ondo State Government, on Wednesday, confirmed the deaths of 24 residents of Odigbo Local Government Area of the state following the consumption of a herbal liquid substance. It was gathered that no fewer than 24 residents of two communities in the council area, Araromi Obu and Odigbo town, reportedly lost their lives after consuming the substance.
10. The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has arrested a 27-year-old woman, Hafsat Abubakar, over the creation and circulation of a forged document falsely suggesting that fintech company OPay Nigeria Limited was shutting down its operations. The Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, disclosed this during a press briefing at the NPF-NCCC in Abuja on Wednesday.