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Second Term: Tinubu Moves To secure Ekweremadu’s Premature Release To Deliver South-East Votes

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President Tinubu To Address World Leaders At 80th UNGA September 24

Second Term: Tinubu Moves To secure Ekweremadu’s Premature Release To Deliver South-East Votes

Second term: Tinubu moves to secure Ekweremadu’s premature release to deliver South-East votes. As a presidential candidate in 2023, Mr Tinubu could only poll a sour 4,772 votes in Enugu.

President Bola Tinubu’s ambition to secure a second term has driven him to send envoys to the UK to broker a deal for the premature release of Ike Ekweremadu, a former deputy Senate president sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for organ harvesting by a British court in 2023.

With opposition forces from different parties rallying under the ADC coalition ahead of the 2027 polls and renewed Christian genocide allegation by U.S. President Donald Trump, Mr Tinubu appears to be walking on eggshells while seeking new alliances to strengthen his re-election bid.

On Monday, Mr Tinubu’s administration announced that foreign affairs minister Yusuf Tuggar and attorney general of the federation Lateef Fagbemi landed in the UK to negotiate Mr Ekweremadu’s release, even though the organ trafficker has barely served three years of the nine years and eight months’ sentence.

The former lawmaker was convicted of luring a 21-year-old from Nigeria to the UK to donate his kidney for the politician’s ailing daughter, Sonia Ekweremadu. The man told the Metropolitan Police that he was only promised a job and was unaware of any plan to harvest his organ. Both Mr Ekweremadu and his wife were convicted and sentenced to prison in the UK for plotting to harvest the 21-year-old’s organ without his consent.
The timing of the envoy comes weeks after Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress, signalling that full politicking for the 2027 polls is now underway.

Mr Tinubu, until now, seemed indifferent to Mr Ekweremadu’s ordeal since 2022, when he was seriously campaigning for the presidency up until the then-legislator’s conviction and sentencing in March 2023, when he became president-elect, soaking in the spoils of his triumph.

However, his recent interest in securing Mr Ekweremadu’s release ahead of time, less than 15 months before the 2027 Nigerian elections, has ignited debates that the president is plotting his winning strategy by wooing voters in the South-East. The move also sparked conversations that he might be more scared of losing his re-election bid than he is letting on.
As a presidential candidate in 2023, Mr Tinubu could only poll a sour 4,772 votes in Enugu. The convicted and currently incarcerated Mr Ekweremadu is from Enugu.

President Tinubu To Address World Leaders At 80th UNGA September 24

President Tinubu

Mr Tinubu had the fewest votes from the South-East, a stronghold for his Labour Party rival, Peter Obi, in the 2023 presidential election. Mr Obi was ahead of Mr Tinubu by hundreds of thousands of votes in the geopolitical zone.

At issue again was the years-long detention of Nnamdi Kanu, headpin of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, accused of treason for advocating the secession of the South-East from Nigeria.

Mr Tinubu is largely unpopular in the South-East, and securing Mr Ekweremadu’s release might be his ticket to gaining the region’s favour.

Economy

Lagos Assembly Strongly Seeks Suspension Of Makoko Demolition

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Lagos Assembly

Lagos Assembly Strongly Seeks Suspension Of Makoko Demolition

Lagos assembly strongly seeks suspension of Makoko demolition. The Lagos state house of assembly has called for the suspension of demolition activities in Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro waterfront communities following protests by displaced residents and growing public concern over the exercise.

The call was announced on Tuesday by Noheem Adams, chairman of an ad hoc committee set up by Mudashiru Obasa, speaker of the house, during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Lateef Jakande auditorium.

Adams called on all state ministries to cease demolition work and promised compensation to the affected residents.
“On behalf of the speaker and all 40 members of the house, we are directing that all demolitions in Makoko, Oko-Agbon, and Shogunro communities should stop from today until further notice,” New Telegraph quoted Adams as saying.

He called for transparency by demanding the full list of taskforce members and the criteria used for engagement, insisting that residents must be actively involved in the process.

“That the taskforce that was constituted, we want to see the list of the taskforce because we want the residents to be duly involved and to be carried along. So we want to have the schedule of those task forces and the criteria for those that we are inviting,” Adams added.

Lagos Assembly

Lagos Assembly

“To the residents of Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro communities, as your representatives, we are giving you all assurances that they will stop demolitions henceforth and there will be compensations for all those whose properties have been demolished.”

Stephen Ogundipe, member of the ad-hoc, said there is need for clear communication, adding that residents targeted for relocation or redevelopment must be informed of the government’s plans in advance.

Babatunde Olajide, special adviser to governor of Lagos on E-GIS and urban renewal, confirmed that $2 million had been earmarked since 2021 to transform Makoko into a modern, internationally compliant water city.

He said enumeration of affected properties is underway and reiterated the administration’s commitment to handling the situation with a human face, prioritizing resident safety and fair compensation.

Yusuf Sagra, baale of Makoko, described the assembly’s decision as a “word of peace,” while Orioye Ogungbure, another leader of the community, praised the “democratic responsiveness” of the government.

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Crime

EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video

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EFCC Probes Man

EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video

EFCC arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for alleged naira mutilation in viral video. The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,   on Tuesday, February 3, 2026  arrested a Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa over alleged Naira mutilation.

Inuwa was arrested following a viral video circulated on social media platforms where she was seen conspicuously cleaning mucus from her nose using Naira notes.

EFCC Probes Man

EFCC

Following the release of the viral video, the Commission swung into action by tracing and subsequently arrested her to answer questions.
She is currently being held at the Commission’s detention facility while investigation is ongoing.

The suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Dele Oyewale
Head,  Media & Publicity
February 3, 2026

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Economy

Access Bank Gets New Board Chair Ifeyinwa Osime

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National Bank Of Kenya

Access Bank Gets New Board Chair Ifeyinwa Osime

Access Bank gets new board chair Ifeyinwa Osime. Access Bank Plc has appointed Ifeyinwa Osime as chair of the board of directors, following the retirement of Paul Usoro, on January 29.

Access Bank Plc has appointed Ifeyinwa Osime as chair of the board of directors, following the retirement of Paul Usoro, on January 29, according to a statement to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Monday.

Ms Osime, a legal practitioner, joined Access Bank’s board in November 2019 as an independent non-executive director and had chaired its Human Resources and Sustainability Committee and the Governance, Nomination, and Remuneration Committee. This role made her contribute significantly to the bank’s corporate governance, leadership development, and sustainability initiatives.

Additionally, Ms Osime is a director at Ebudo Trust Ltd. and a partner at McPherson Legal Practitioners, where she advises on corporate and commercial matters and contributes to strategic leadership.

She is also a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Women Corporate Directors, Nigeria Chapter, and the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria, where she serves on the Executive Committee of the Women Sectoral Group.

National Bank Of Kenya

Access Bank Gets New Board Chair Ifeyinwa Osime

Beyond her professional responsibilities, Ms Osime is committed to mentoring youths and is actively involved in the Autism and Developmental Delays Support Community, reflecting her dedication to inclusion and social impact.
Speaking on her appointment, the group chairman, Aigboje Aig-lmoukhuede, said, “Mrs Osime is a principled and experienced leader with a deep understanding of the Bank’s strategy and values.

“She has demonstrated strong commitment to the bank’s vision and mission, and I am confident that, under her leadership, the bank will continue to advance its strategic objectives of delivering sustainable value to shareholders and other stakeholders in the pursuit of its vision to become the world’s most respected African bank.”

Mr Aig-lmoukhuede also congratulated Mr Usoro on the completion of his tenure and on his exemplary leadership, dedication, and significant contributions to the group, saying he remains a valued member of the Access family.

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