Cancer Not Death Sentence – Former First Lady Amosun

A former Ogun State First Lady, Olufunso Amosun, has urged women not to see cancer as a death sentence, stressing that early detection and prompt treatment can save lives.
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Mrs Amosun made the call on Wednesday at the flag-off of the 2026 free breast and cervical cancer screening organised at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.

She said the annual screening exercise was more than a routine medical check, describing it as an opportunity to provide life-saving interventions and ensure that women have timely access to healthcare.

Mrs Amosun, while highlighting the growing burden of cancer in Nigeria, said breast cancer incidence in the country had risen by nearly 300 per cent over the past three decades.

Citing data from the Global Cancer Observatory 2022, she said Nigeria recorded 32,278 new breast cancer cases and 16,332 deaths, giving the country the highest burden on the African continent.

She, however, emphasised that early detection remained one of the most effective ways of reducing cancer-related deaths.

According to her, survival rates for patients diagnosed at an early stage could exceed 90 per cent, compared with less than 30 per cent for those diagnosed at an advanced stage.

Reflecting on the 2025 edition of the programme, the former first lady said more than 600 women benefited from the screening, while 22 women were found to have breast-related concerns.

“Out of these, 11 women diagnosed with suspicious breast lumps underwent free lumpectomy surgeries and post-operative care funded entirely by the foundation in November 2025.

Amosun encouraged women participating in the 2026 exercise to make preventive healthcare a priority, urging them not to allow fear to delay them from seeking medical attention.

She also called on the beneficiaries to become advocates for cancer awareness by sharing the message of early screening with their families, friends and communities.

Her message was simple: cancer may be a serious health challenge, but with awareness, early detection and timely treatment, it does not have to be a death sentence.

In his remarks, a Medical Consultant and Surgeon at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebenezer Nkom, de-emphasised the efficacy of native remedial measures, stating that early clinical detection will prevent mortality.

The medical expert also warned against narratives that sucking a human breast may cure breast cancer, appealing to Nigerians to pay attention to themselves.

He added that women should do away with fears of losing their breast; practitioners can reconstruct another artificial breast for the concerned.

Cancer Is Death Sentence

“You shouldn’t be afraid of losing your breast; it is when you are alive that you can talk of the beauty of your husband. Some of you even thought that when a man sucks your breast, you will be healed of cancer; that is not true. Go through screening and whenever you notice anything, meet a doctor immediately.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, Cancer is a disease where abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body.
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EFCC Declares Ex-pension Boss Abdularasheed Maina Wanted Again

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared the former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdularasheed Maina, wanted over an alleged case of receiving stolen property.
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The anti-graft agency made the announcement in a wanted notice issued on its X handle and signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.

The commission said Maina, aged 61, is an indigene of Biu in Borno State, and he is wanted in connection with an alleged case of receiving stolen property.

“The public is hereby notified that Abdularasheed Abdullahi Maina, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of receiving stolen property,” the commission said.

The agency urged members of the public with information on his whereabouts to assist in locating him.

“Anybody with useful information as to his whereabouts should please contact the Commission in its Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja offices,” it added.

The EFCC also advised anyone with relevant information to contact the commission through its designated telephone line or email address, info@efcc.gov.ng.

It further asked members of the public to provide information to the nearest police station or other security agencies.

However, the commission’s notice did not provide further details on the alleged stolen property case or state when the alleged offence occurred.

The latest development comes against the backdrop of Maina’s long-running legal troubles over allegations relating to pension funds.

Recall that Maina was previously declared wanted by the EFCC after he failed to appear for his trial in a case involving alleged N2 billion fraud linked to the pension reform programme.

He was subsequently arrested in Niger Republic in 2019 and brought back to Nigeria to face trial.

In November 2021, a Federal High Court in Abuja convicted Maina and sentenced him to eight years in prison for money laundering offences.

Abdularasheed Maina

Reports on the case said the prosecution had linked him to the handling of funds allegedly derived from unlawful activities.

The Nigerian Correctional Service later disclosed that Maina was released from custody on February 25, 2025, after serving part of his sentence.

The service attributed his release to good conduct in prison and said the decision was made in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
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NADF Sets to Boost Agricultural Funding with Non-interest Finance

The National Agricultural Development Fund has commenced the validation of its proposed Non-Interest Finance Framework and Guidelines to widen access to agricultural financing and support the Federal Government’s food security objectives.
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This was contained in a statement issued by NADF on Tuesday following a Strategic Roundtable and Validation Session on the proposed framework and guidelines.

According to the statement, the initiative is aimed at ensuring that farmers, agribusinesses and other players across the agricultural value chain have access to diverse and innovative financing options.

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of NADF, Mohammed Ibrahim, said non-interest finance had become an important component of Nigeria’s financial system, providing ethical, asset-backed and risk-sharing financing models that complemented conventional finance.

“Our objective is not simply to introduce another financing framework. It is to broaden the financing ecosystem for agriculture by ensuring that every credible financing option is available to Nigerian farmers, agribusinesses, and other value chain actors,” Ibrahim said.

According to the statement, the proposed framework would provide a structured and transparent basis for delivering agricultural interventions through licensed non-interest financial institutions while institutionalising governance, operational and Shari’ah compliance standards.

Ibrahim said the documents were deliberately presented as drafts to allow stakeholders to scrutinise them and contribute their expertise before finalisation.

“Today’s gathering marks an important milestone in that journey,” he said, urging participants to examine the draft documents critically, challenge assumptions where necessary and share practical experiences.

The statement quoted the Director of the Development Finance Advisory Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Paul Oluikpe, as saying that significant work remained to be done to improve access to agricultural finance in Nigeria.

Oluikpe welcomed the proposed non-interest finance framework, describing it as an opportunity to bring an often-overlooked dimension of agricultural financing into the mainstream.

Also speaking, the Deputy Chairman of the CBN’s Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts, Professor Bashir Aliyu Umar, said the proposed framework was consistent with efforts to promote financial inclusion and expand access to finance.

“What we are witnessing today is also following this trajectory of financial inclusion and easing access to finance and having a level playing field and even developmental perspective for the whole country whereby no segment of society is left out,” he said.

NADF

Providing an overview of the initiative, NADF’s Head of Investment, Olalekan Alabi, said the framework and guidelines were designed to establish a structured mechanism for deploying non-interest financing to eligible agricultural activities and value-chain interventions.

“Together, the Framework and Guidelines are expected to provide clarity on how NADF’s non-interest financing interventions will be structured, assessed, approved, implemented, monitored and reported,” Alabi said.

He added, “We are not here simply to confirm that the documents have been prepared. We are here to test their technical robustness and practical applicability.”

Alabi said stakeholders were expected to identify gaps, inconsistencies, overlaps and provisions requiring further clarification before the documents were finalised.

“Our objective is to have a set of Framework and Guidelines that are clear, technically sound, operationally practical, appropriately governed and capable of supporting NADF’s non-interest agricultural financing interventions,” he said.

The statement said the validation session brought together representatives of government institutions and regulatory agencies, development partners, non-interest finance experts, financial institutions and other stakeholders in the agricultural and financial sectors.
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