Economy
Choose Leaders Based On Competence, Not tribe Or Religion, Jonathan Tells Youths
Choose Leaders Based On Competence, Not tribe Or Religion, Jonathan Tells Youths
Choose leaders based on competence, not tribe or religion, Jonathan tells youths. Former President Goodluck Jonathan has asked young Nigerians to prioritise competence over religion and tribe in choosing leaders.
Speaking in an interview on Talking Books African, a programme by the Rainbow Book Club, Jonathan said Nigeria’s deepening divisions along tribal and religious lines remain one of the biggest obstacles to national development.
The former president said tribe and religion are a major setback to the country’s leadership recruitment process.
“Nigeria today — we are divided along tribal and religious lines, and it worries me. And if we don’t make any changes, which are difficult to make, it may continue to our grandchildren because we started wrongly. There is no effort to make sure we change, and it is a major problem. Most of the problems we have today in the country are because of this division,” he said.
“Young people should know that the issue of tribe and religion is a major setback for this country. It creates problems of leadership recruitment. If somebody is holding a political office and wants to make an appointment, he begins to see that even if Mrs A knows the issue better than Mrs B, and Mrs B is from his tribe, he wants to use Mrs B.
“That is what happens in a system where we tend towards tribe, and that is one of the banes of Nigerian politics. The leadership recruitment process is skewed along tribal and religious interests. So, you see how difficult it is to get the best.
“There are some states where if you come from some parts of the state, you cannot be governor, even if you are the best material at the time. In Nigeria, if you want to contest an election, they first ask: ‘Is it our turn? Is it their turn? Is it the turn of the Muslims? Is it the turn of the Christians? This creates a problem in recruiting the best material.
“You are not assessing the person you want to recruit into a leadership position based on competence; you assess the person based on how he worships his God or the part of the map of the country he comes from.”
‘BREAK THE BARRIERS’
Jonathan warned that tribe and religion have continued to influence appointments and elections, often at the expense of merit.
He recalled the success of the Not Too Young to Run movement, which reduced the minimum age for contesting key political positions, including the presidency and governorship, and urged young people to replicate such kind of effort in changing how leaders are assessed.
“It’s not something you can do overnight. It’s difficult because the elders will continue to be pushing you back, but just like the young people came together and came up with the concept of Not Too Young to Run.
Before that time, when we came in 1999, for you to contest for deputy governor, governor, senator, vice president, or president, you had to be 40 years and above,” he said.
“The Not Too Young to Run law has now brought it down to 30. If you remember, when Yakubu Gowon became head of state, he was 32 years old.
Then, Alfred Diete-Spiff was 28 years old when he became the military governor of the then Rivers state (present-day Rivers and Bayelsa states), and he did very well. I don’t think we’ve had a governor who performed better than him at the age of 28. So I don’t believe in all these barriers.
Goodluck Jonathan
“Youths should assess people based on their competence, not how many years they’ve been sleeping on earth. Somebody can sleep for 40 years and know nothing. Another person of 25 years could even be more knowledgeable and more competent to manage society.
“But the key thing is: If younger people can begin to gradually downplay the issue of religion in Nigerian politics, the leadership recruitment process will improve — we will begin to recruit people better.”
Jonathan added that religious and tribal identity should not be a yardstick for leadership, urging youths to lead the charge in dismantling the tribe, age and religious barriers to leadership.
Navy Dismantles Illegal Refining Capacity, Destroys Site With 3 Storage Tanks in Rivers
The Nigerian Navy, through FOB BONNY, has dismantled an illegal refining site discovered in Promise Land Community along Nanabie Creek, Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, further denying criminal operators the infrastructure required to process stolen crude oil.
Eereporter.com
The site was discovered on 30 September 2026 following credible intelligence and comprised one large cooking pot and 3 large storage tanks intended for illegal refining activities. On 2 October 2026, the Commanding Officer, FOB BONNY, Captain SMC Umeh, led a team to the location, where the illegal refining site and associated equipment were destroyed in accordance with established regulations.
The intervention represents a further disruption of illegal refining capacity within the Bonny area, particularly by removing infrastructure that could be used to process and store stolen crude oil. It also follows recent operations by FOB BONNY under Operation DELTA SENTINEL that uncovered substantial volumes of suspected stolen crude oil and associated illegal refining infrastructure within its Area of Operations
Oil
The Nigerian Navy has continued to strengthen surveillance and monitoring across the area to prevent the establishment or reactivation of illegal refining sites and deny criminal operators the infrastructure required to sustain crude oil theft and related activities.
ABIODUN FOLORUNSHO
Navy Captain
Director Naval Information
Nigerian Navy
Eereporter.com
NNPC Ltd Offers N66 Fuel Discount Throughout the Nation
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has unveiled a nationwide ₦66 fuel discount promotion for customers using the NNPC Fuel App.
Eereporter.com
In a post obtained from its X handle on Friday, the promotion, which runs from October 1 to 7, is being held across NNPC stations nationwide as part of activities marking the period.
“The ₦66 Discount Promo is ongoing & the excitement is already happening across our stations nationwide!
“All over Nigeria, our customers are getting in on the action & there’s still time for you to benefit!
The promo runs from 1–7 October on the NNPC Fuel App,” the post read.
NNPC said customers across the country have already begun participating in the promotion, with highlights from the first day showing activities at several stations.
“Keep fueling, keep transacting and keep your eyes on our pages,” the post read.
NNPC
NNPC also shared moments from the first day of the promotion and said more pictures and activities from stations across the country would be released.
The company urged customers not to miss the opportunity to participate before the promotion ends on October 7.
The ₦66 discount offer is available through the NNPC Fuel App during the stated promotional period.
Eereporter.com
President Tinubu Tells EFCC: You Have Justified my Confidence in You
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has applauded the efforts and performance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in tackling economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption in the country, stressing that it has justified the confidence reposed on it.
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He gave this commendation on Friday, October 2, 2026 in Awka, Anambra State at the commissioning of a new Zonal Directorate of the EFCC. The President pointed out that there are evidential proofs of the success of the Commission in convictions, recoveries and other landmark achievements
Represented by Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker, House of Representatives, Tinubu noted that “supporting the EFCC is not particularly difficult. The agency has consistently demonstrated that the confidence reposed on it is well founded. Without mincing words, the evidential proof of the EFCC’s success speaks loudly in convictions secured, assets and properties recovered”
He affirmed that the strides of the Commission are in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration.
“When we came in three years ago, I highlighted nine major focal areas of my administration. Two of which are reforming the economy for sustained and inclusive growth and promotion of good governance. The anti-graft agency compliments this agenda as they are focused on accountability and transparency and appropriate deployment of resources”, he said.
At the commissioning, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede restated the commitment of the Commission to preventive frameworks in tackling economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption in the country.
According to him, the Commission will continue its focus on making corrupt practices difficult by blocking avenues through which they may happen.
“This new Directorate will not only enforce the law professionally and courageously, it will be high on corruption prevention. It will engage government institutions, businesses, financial institutions, professional bodies, schools, markets, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, religious bodies and communities. It will educate stakeholders, build relationships and mobilise the people to own the fight against all forms of corrupt practices in the zone”, he said
He assured Nigerians that the EFCC would not relent in the pursuit of its mandate, recalling the achievements of the Commission in the last 34 months and describing them as impressive progress.
“The pursuit of our mandate has been our dominant engagement and in the past few years, we have made impressive progress. Between October 2023 and July 2026, the Commission received 49, 673 petitions, investigated 39, 615 cases, filed 14, 476 cases in court and secured 10, 872 convictions. This gives a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 percent. In the first half of 2026 alone, we recorded 1, 370 convictions from 1, 889 filings. The Commission also recorded recoveries of N1, 233, 612, 040, 411. 11, $684, 478, 457. 32, £373, 905. 78, €9, 343, 803. 66 inn addition to recoveries in other currencies”, he said.
He noted that at the institutional level, the Commission has made radical reforms that have been yielding optimal results as there are consequential improvements in the agency’s processes and procedures, which partly explains the impacts the EFCC has made and will continue to make in all the matrices of law enforcement.
“Reforms that have strengthened the Commission during the period include new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations, the establishment of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, the Security Department, the Immigration and Visa Section and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre”, he said.
While charging Ndi Anambra on whistleblowing, the anti-graft czar said that the Commission has established channels through which members of the public can submit petitions and provide information. He noted that the Commission’s Eagle Eye App allows citizens to provide details of suspected wrongdoing and makes the provision of an informant’s personal details optional. “However, whistleblowing must be responsible and based on facts. It must not become an instrument for settling scores”, he said.
EFCC
He thereafter said that Anambra and Imo States deserve effective and responsive institutional presence as they are renowned for enterprise, innovation, commerce and an extraordinary culture of industry, adding that these legitimate activities must be protected from fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, investment fraud, diversion of public resources and other forms of economic and financial crimes. “Therefore, our coming to Awka is beyond geographical expansion. It is about taking the mandate of the EFCC closer to the people and closer to the economic activities we are meant to protect”, he said.
In their remarks, His Excellencies, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Anambra State and Senator Hope Uzodinma, Governor of Imo State said that they were pleased with the activities and management of the EFCC under the leadership of Olukoyede. They pledged their support to the Commission as it opened a new Zonal Directorate in their domain.
The commissioning of the new Directorate witnessed massive turn out of distinguished Nigerians, including members of the National Assembly, civil society organisations, community leaders, students, media among others.
Eereporter.com
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