Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state has said that Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is the leader of the Rainbow Coalition.

Fubara, who made the remark while addressing supporters at the unveiling of the coalition’s candidates in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, with Wike in attendance, asked members of the Rainbow Coalition to stop identifying with different political figures as their leaders, describing Wike as the “leader of the Rainbow Coalition” and his “Oga”.

Fubara said some members who supported him during the political crisis in Rivers still maintained separate leadership identities despite the new political arrangement.

He said the different groups had now come together under one umbrella and should no longer see themselves as separate political camps.

“I’m aware that there are some issues when some persons who followed me when we had the crisis, when you’re in your meeting, you say, ‘my leader, my leader’,” he said.

“We are now in one house. And because we have one house, there is no issue about who is the leader.”

The governor added that although some members might still see him as their leader, they should recognise Wike’s position in the coalition.

He urged members to resolve the issue and move forward as one political family, cautioning against statements that could suggest competing leadership structures within the alliance.

“I might be your Oga, but we have a common leader now,” he said.

“So please, going forward, this issue of ‘my leader, my leader, my leader’—I want it resolved here.”

A Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has sentenced a former banker, Christopher Jackson Edeh, to a total of 39 years’ imprisonment for his involvement in a N2.7 billion fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a statement issued on Tuesday by Dele Oyewale, Head, Media & Publicity, said Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe convicted Edeh after finding him guilty of nine counts bordering on fraudulent false accounting and unauthorised access to a computer system.

The commission said Edeh was arraigned on February 28, 2024, over allegations that he altered the bank account details of several customers and government-related entities with intent to defraud.

The affected entities included the Kano State Government Power Intervention Fund, NNPC Trading Limited, Stallion Vision Ltd, the Lagos State Government Blue Line, the State Contributory Pension Account and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.

According to the EFCC, “In her judgment, Justice Abike-Fadipe held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted Edeh on the nine counts.”

The anti-graft agency said prosecuting counsel, Z.B. Atiku, called three witnesses and tendered several documents in evidence during the trial, while the defence called one witness.

The court sentenced Edeh to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on each of counts one to seven, which bordered on fraudulent false accounting.

He was also sentenced to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on each of counts eight and nine, relating to unauthorised access to a computer system with intent to facilitate the commission of crimes.

The EFCC added that “The court ordered that all the sentences run concurrently.”

1. The Federal Government has approved a N70,000 monthly transport allowance for public servants for six months, beginning in November, to cushion the impact of rising living costs.

The approval was one of the resolutions reached at a conciliation meeting between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja on Tuesday, following renewed pressure from organised labour over workers’ welfare, the rising cost of living and outstanding agreements.

2. State Police has virtually become a reality. The only steps remaining are the collation of state endorsements and the transmission of the Bill by the National Assembly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent. As at last count yesterday, 30 Houses of Assembly have concurred with the amendment of the Constitution to pave the way for State Police.

3. The wife of slain Katsina Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka, has recounted how gunmen killed her husband in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area of the state on Monday evening.
Hajiya Fatima Masussuka, who spoke with journalists at their residence in Dutsin-Ma on Tuesday, said the assailants attacked shortly after her husband left home to attend a teaching session with his Almajirai (Islamic pupils).

4. The Lagos State Government has given residents until December 31, 2026, to obtain health insurance, with enforcement of the mandatory coverage policy commencing on January 1, 2027. The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stated this on Tuesday while flagging off the enforcement of mandatory health insurance under Executive Order EO/BOS/01 of 2024.

5. The independent ministerial committee probing the deaths of miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Niger State has recommended the dismissal of the State Commandant and other personnel found culpable in the incident. This is one of the recommendations presented by the committee’s chairman, Jonathan Kure, in the report to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in Abuja on Tuesday.

6. The Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, have reached an agreement on a series of measures to ease the economic difficulties facing workers, including a N70,000 transport intervention and the payment of 19 months’ arrears owed health workers. The resolutions were reached at a conciliation meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment yesterday, following an earlier meeting convened on October 22.

7. A Federal High Court in Lagos has nullified the Independent National Electoral Commission’s publication of Ibrahim Lukman as the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate for Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency I in the 2027 general election, The PUNCH reports. In a judgment delivered on October 20, Justice Akintayo Aluko ruled that Lukman did not participate in the party’s primary election and held that INEC acted in breach of the Electoral Act 2026 by publishing Lukman’s name despite monitoring the May 29 primary at which Olumuyiwa Owadara emerged winner.

8. Five people lost their lives on Monday when a vehicle in the convoy of Gov. Mohammed Bago rammed into another vehicle, resulting in multiple fatalities. PUNCH Metro learnt on Tuesday that the accident, which occurred at Gidan Mangoro in Minna, involved a Toyota Hilux conveying the Director-General of the Government House, Mr Dauda Chikuba, and another vehicle conveying five students of the Federal University of Technology.

9. The Rainbow Coalition led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has unveiled its preferred candidates for the 2027 general elections in Rivers State, drawing from the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. The candidates were unveiled at a ceremony held at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, October 27, as the coalition seeks to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

10. Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has concluded its landmark Initial Public Offering (IPO).
It attracted investor applications from 120 countries across all six continents, including Africa’s 54 countries. This is seen as an unprecedented demonstration of the continent’s capacity to mobilise capital and broaden ownership of strategic industrial assets