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Meeting with Tinubu: What Renewed Hope leaders and ambassadors say

frontpageng — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:23:09 +0000

By TUNDE RAHMAN

Tinubu and Renewed Hope Amassadors

It was President Bola Tinubu’s inaugural meeting with the leaders and coordinators of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, the main vehicle for his 2027 re-election campaign. Held on Thursday April 16 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President delivered an outstanding speech at the meeting, challenging the ambassadors to boldly discharge their assignment while sparing no word for the opposition that is riding roughshod on the country’s legal system.

“You represent the conscience of a nation that wants to break the shackles of poverty and hopelessness. This is a lifetime opportunity to break the shackles of poverty and ignorance,’’ the President told the ambassadors, adding, “we cannot submit to disobedience of a lawful order of the court; we must embrace the judiciary, whether it favours us or not.

“We submit to this principle of democracy, separation of powers, and understanding of the dynamics of it, and the nationhood that Nigeria is, that we must build one country. That’s what Renewed Hope is all about. You must give them that hope. There’s no other path for us to attain national greatness other than to build one common vision for the progress and prosperity of our people. That is what we must do,’’ he added.

In attendance at the meeting were Vice President Kashim Shettima, All Progressives Congress National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, Deputy Director-General and Governor of Kaduna State Uba Sani and RHA National Secretary and Governor of Gombe State Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya. Also at the event were Governors Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Usman Ododo (Kogi), Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Agbu Kefas (Taraba) and Monday Okpebholo (Edo).

What the RNH leaders and ambassadors say at the event is both interesting and inspiring.

Governor Uzodimma:

“Our purpose is to brief Mr President on how far we have gone with this national assignment, to present the substance of the work already done, and to reaffirm that the structure he graciously created is not only alive but active, coordinated, and already creating measurable political and civic dividends across the nation.

“At the regional level, activities have begun in earnest. All the structures of all the local governments have been inaugurated, as in the electoral wards. We have kick–started the process of enumeration up to the polling unit level. We are continuously harvesting data during enrolment, taking the messages to the markets, schools and professional groups, women platforms and faith-based and grassroots political structures.”

Deputy DG and Kaduna Governor Uba Sanni:

“We have all it takes to take the message of renewed hope to every ward, local government and state. We have not done enough. I believe we have to do more. We have to continue telling our story. If we don’t tell our story, other people will tell the story their own way.

“No President in the history of Nigeria has supported the sub-nationals like President Tinubu. The opposition is not out to contest election; their agenda is anarchy. And that is the reason why governors, ministers, LG chairmen must take the message of renewed hope to the grassroots. We in the North are the major beneficiaries. And the ministers, heads of agencies must speak out.”

RHA Secretary and Gombe Governor Inuwa:

“We have what it takes, and we must deliver. All the ambassadors should go out. Governor Biodun Oyebanji spoke of President Tinubu’s support for the sub-nationals and how he is lucky to be a governor at this time. I was governor before 2023 and I’m governor now doing my second term, I know the difference better because I have experienced the two periods.”

RHA North-West Zonal Coordinator and former Governor of Katsina State Aminu Masari:

“We know very well that reformers are always finding it extremely difficult at the beginning. More especially, if you are reforming in a society that is very difficult to understand, and some are willing to make people not to understand.”

Commending President Tinubu for taking hard but necessary reforms that leaders before him could not, he said: “Nigeria has become better for it. You have done so much, Mr President, but don’t allow noisemakers to distract you. Your bashings are not for you alone. Even your detractors know that you have done well.

“Will anyone come tomorrow and say he will reverse the removal of fuel subsidy or return the nation to multiple foreign exchange rates?”

Ex-Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim:

“We are aware of the strategic importance of our assignment. The opposition is orchestrating mischief through misinformation and fake news. But we are ahead of them.

“The appointment of a political field marshal like Governor Uzodimma as Director-General is also strategic. A dynamic team leader, with him we are in the right direction.”

Ex-Nasarawa Governor Tanko AlMakura:

“No President was as prepared for the job as President Tinubu. That is why his policies were well thought out and redeeming the country.

With the government’s policies and RH agenda, we have all become homogenous in our commitment to the success of this administration”.

Former Delta Governor Okowa:

“President Tinubu has re-engineered the economy. The sub-national governments can now breathe and breathe well.

“The best way to educate our children is to give them education, sound education, Mr. President thank you for giving us the student loan scheme, NELFUND. Thank you for bringing this about. As of March this year, 1.16 million students had benefitted according to official statistics.

Others who spoke at the event included APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and Governor Abiodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State.

*Rahman, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties, is the Director of Communications, Renewed Hope Ambassadors.

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Pat Utomi: Time to take a back seat, By Temitope Ajayi

frontpageng — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:07:38 +0000

Since bursting into national consciousness, Professor Patrick Utomi has convinced himself that he is the Nigerian equivalent of Albert Einstein, Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes rolled into one.

For decades, as a public intellectual/commentator on national affairs and economic matters, Utomi has consistently shared his views on the world and on how Nigeria’s political economy should be constructed. Like Peter Obi, his newfound comrade-in-arms, Utomi copiously cites examples from South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Chile, among others. While there is no doubt about the quantum of economic theories Utomi has memorised, there is always a limit to book knowledge when the realities of the real world show up.

In the furnace of the real world, Utomi has been tried, tested and allowed to demonstrate the applicability and practicality of his ideas. While he has had the opportunity at many fora to defend his own record, the verdict remains that he did not cover himself in glory as Managing Director/Chief Executive of the defunct Volkswagen of Nigeria and as the Vice Chairman of BankPHB of equally blessed memory.

From the sordid details revealed in court after forensic investigators visited, Utomi essentially presided over a bank where depositors’ funds were converted into private pockets in the most primitive way. Alas, the enterprises that would have been a showpiece or foretaste of what Utomi is capable of doing at a higher level of public leadership went down under his “brilliant” watch.

At BankPHB, there was also a massive shareholder value erosion and insider abuse. Francis Atuche, the bank’s Chief Executive, is serving a jail term for the mismanagement of a bank in which Utomi served on its Board of Directors. Were Utomi really capable of any sense of propriety, he ought to be in self-seclusion over the unravelling of BankPHB and not continue his often annoying career of sophistry and peddling of untested economic doctrines.

The other side of Utomi was also exposed when Senator Ibikunle Amosun claimed an NGO controlled by the self-styled political economist had offered him an unsolicited award, ostensibly to influence him to approve an unfair consideration in a disputed property case before him while he was Ogun State Governor. So much for a moral crusader!

Overall, there is a pattern to Utomi’s intellectual arrogance. Every four years, he comes out to mount a moral high horse on who should lead Nigeria. He touts himself as a political strategist with an uncanny ability to cobble victory at the polls for whoever he backs. Yet, time and again, he has failed. But rather than accept loss with humility and introspect as an intellectual should do, he will rather raise a storm. That was what he did in 2023, using his social media platform to mislead the gullible at a critical time, proclaiming his candidate’s victory before the election results were announced.

As another election season is upon us, Utomi has again taken to shooting from the hip, even when facts and logic are not on his side, attempting to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s leadership of Nigeria and to describe his reform agenda in unflattering terms.

As another election season is upon us, Utomi has again taken to shooting from the hip, even when facts and logic are not on his side, attempting to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s leadership of Nigeria and to describe his reform agenda in unflattering terms.

Feeling over the moon immediately after the convention of his own faction of ADC in Abuja, Utomi was on television, pouring invectives on President Tinubu and the governing APC. He also took out a ThisDay newspaper back page where he labelled the ongoing economic reform programme as “ridiculous”, dismissing it as a “Ponzi scheme.” Here is a man who, out of political convenience, is attacking the same free-market economic offerings and prescriptions he built his public acclaim on.

For far too long, Utomi and those of his ilk have held themselves up as the moral arc of society and their economic prescriptions as canon.

Once any administration refuses to lean on them and their personal economic and political interests do not find immediate accommodation, personal frustration is then packaged and presented as national outrage. Yet, when he was finding favour in Asiwaju’s eyes, Utomi used to frequent his Bourdillon home, extolling his generous host to the high heavens as “visionary”. In fact, a viral video shows Utomi dancing ecstatically to “Sakara” music in a casual shirt and trousers behind Asiwaju Tinubu at his Bourdillon residence, moments after the APC was declared the winner of the 2015 polls.

He was among those who courted Tinubu to advance their own political ascendancy. If Tinubu had supported and funded his ambition to be Delta State governor in 2019, as he wanted, Utomi would be dancing to a different drumbeat today. While for decades, Utomi has told us many things that are wrong with Nigeria, even if he has failed at the micro level to demonstrate how to put things right, it is now time for him to take a back seat from his selective outrage.

*Ajayi is Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity.

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Tinubu assures Nigerians: I won’t let you down

Ezekiel Johnson — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 06:53:10 +0000

President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday in Abuja, reaffirmed his commitment to building a stable, peaceful, and prosperous nation, assuring that the well-being of Nigerians remained his top priority.

He stated that the political and economic structures that had long undermined Nigerians’ prosperity were being steadily replaced through the realignment of the economy to enable full participation.

Receiving a delegation of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors led by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State at the State House, President Tinubu pledged to sustain reforms aimed at creating more opportunities for poor and vulnerable citizens.

Vice President Kashim Shettima and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, also attended the event, alongside many governors: Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Mohammed Inuwa (Gombe), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Usman Ododo (Kogi), Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Agbu Kefas (Taraba), Monday Okpebholo (Edo), and Uba Sani (Kaduna), who also serves as deputy director-general of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors..

A host of former governors, including Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), and Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa), attended, as well as former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, the APC National Secretary Senator Ajibola Bashiru, zonal coordinators of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, directors and the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari.

President Tinubu emphasised that the more citizens participated in shaping their lives and future, the better society would be for generations to come.

He urged the Renewed Hope Ambassadors to continue sensitising and mobilising citizens, especially at the grassroots, on the government’s efforts to improve their livelihoods through economic reforms.

“You represent the conscience of a nation that wants to break the shackles of poverty and hopelessness,’’ he said.

President Tinubu assured that the administration would uphold the tenets of democracy, including the rule of law, the separation of powers and the rights of all citizens.

“We cannot submit to disobedience of a lawful order of the court; we must embrace the judiciary, whether it favours us or not. We submit to this principle of democracy, separation of powers, and understanding of the dynamics of it, and the nationhood that Nigeria is, that we must build one country. That’s what Renewed Hope is all about. You must give them that hope.

“There’s no other path for us to attain national greatness other than to build one common vision for the progress and prosperity of our people. That is what we must do,’’ he added.

He reiterated that his government was guided by a clear vision to foster inclusive growth, create opportunities for youth, and ensure that every Nigerian — regardless of background or region — had a stake in the country’s future.

He encouraged citizens not to be discouraged by the misinformation championed by the opposition elements in the country.

He said the great accomplishments witnessed in modern times were achieved through visionary leadership, assuring that Nigeria is in safe hands.

To the opposition, he said: “They want to scare me off? It’s a lie. I’ve been through this path before. And if I have to come back over and over and over again, I’ll do the same thing. There is no better place than your own country. And no one can build it except you. We saw great things, skyscrapers. We wonder how the plane takes off and flies us from one destination to another. There was no magic of yesterday. It is the thinker of tomorrow and the future that can elevate life, that can reform us all.

“And being the transformative leaders that you are, you are in good company. Don’t be afraid. I’ve listened to you. I didn’t have to look back on the economy because the truth is, I took over from myself. The late Buhari was me. He was my partner. And if I took over from him. Is that not from me? So, if something is wrong, fine. Live with it, correct it, move on. The life voyage is not going to be easy. I can only stand before you and say you will not regret it. That is why we ask you to renew their hope. If they don’t want to see the hope and the roads and bridges, and the children we raise, the economy we are growing, we shall lend them Jigi-Bola, eyeglasses. One thing that you need from me is a promise that I won’t run away from the affair. With you, the deal is done.”

Turning to the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, President Tinubu promised to be their greatest champion.

“We act as one family. You represent a conscience, a nation that wants to break the shackles of poverty, ignorance, and hopelessness. You are in a good company. That’s all I can say. And all I can promise is I won’t give up.”

Earlier, the Director–General of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA)and Governor of Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, said they were at the State House to update the president on the progress made so far.

“Our purpose in coming is to brief Mr President on how far we have gone with this national assignment, to present the substance of the work already done, and to reaffirm that the structure you graciously created is not only alive but active, coordinated, and already creating measurable political and civic dividends across the nation.

“At the regional level, activities have begun in earnest. All the structures of all the local governments have been inaugurated, as in the electoral wards.

“We have kick-started the process of enumeration up to the polling unit level. We are continuously harvesting data during enrolment, taking the messages to the markets, schools and professional groups, women’s platforms and faith-based and grassroots political structures,” Governor Uzodimma said.

He lauded President Tinubu for his purposeful leadership and assured him of their loyalty and commitment to the success of the assignment.

The North-West Zonal Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors and former Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, commended the courage and political sagacity of the president, describing him as a dogged reformer despite the teething difficulties being experienced.

“We know very well that reformers are always finding it extremely difficult at the beginning, more especially, if you are reforming in a society that is very difficult to understand, and some are willing to make people not understand,” Masari said.

Masari commended the president for taking hard but necessary reforms that leaders before him could not, saying that Nigeria had become better for it.

He assured the president that most political heavyweights in the North-West Geo-Political Zone were solidly behind the All Progressives Congress, APC, stating that the struggle for a better Nigeria is for all to undertake.

He assured that the North West leaders had resolved to take a tour of the numerous federal projects in the zone to create greater awareness among citizens.

“You have done so much, Mr President, but don’t allow noise makers to distract you. Your bashings are not for you alone. Even your detractors know that you have done well.

“Will anyone come tomorrow and say he will reverse the removal of fuel subsidy or return the nation to multiple foreign exchange rates?”, Masari said.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, lauded President Tinubu for the infrastructural revolution across the nation, enabled by the several reform programmes of his administration, as attested to by state governors.

Former Governor Okowa, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, Governors Uba Sani and Biodun Oyebanji also delivered goodwill messages at the meeting.

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Pat Utomi: An economic buccaneer flirting with intellectualism

frontpageng — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:09:45 +0000

By SUNDAY DARE

Professor Pat Utomi has once again chosen to dance naked in the public square, playing to the gallery with a familiar cocktail of grandstanding and gloom. This time, he has come to dismiss the reform programme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “ridiculous,” “poorly structured,” and, in a flourish of intellectual overreach, a “Ponzi scheme.”

At this point, the issue is no longer what Utomi is saying. The issue is why his interventions consistently collapse under the weight of their own exaggeration, under the slightest scrutiny or interrogation.

Any reflective — indeed, discerning — mind would note that, after all these long years of sophistry and vacuous pontifications, all Utomi can possibly point to as his bonafides or bragging rights in the civic space today are the ruins of Volkswagen Automobile Ltd and BankPHB where his much touted “academic wizardry” was exposed as “Ponzi scheme”.

An Economy of Words, Not Results

Utomi’s public persona has long rested on the alarmist aura of a “political economist.” But strip away the titles, the panels, and the endless commentary, and a more uncomfortable question emerges: where is the evidence of all his posturings in the public space?

Nigeria’s economic distortions did not emerge in a vacuum. They were sustained over decades by a rotating class of commentators and advisers who:

* theorized dysfunction instead of dismantling it

* intellectualized failure instead of correcting it

and, crucially, found relevance within a broken system.

Utomi was not outside that ecosystem. He was part of it. Contrast this with measurable shifts under the current reform cycle:

* Fuel subsidy removal (May 2023): eliminated a multi-trillion-naira fiscal drain, freeing up revenues for subnational allocations and deficit reduction.

* Exchange rate unification: collapsed multiple FX windows into a single market-reflective rate—an essential step flagged for years by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. (The actual “Ponzi scheme” that benefited a few with privileged access through arbitrage.)

* FAAC disbursements have risen materially post-subsidy removal, improving state-level fiscal liquidity.

These are not theoretical positions. They are structural actions with verifiable fiscal impact.

From Insider Comfort to Outsider Outrage

There is a pattern here that is too glaring to ignore. For years, the rent-seeking architecture of Nigeria’s economy—subsidy leakages, FX arbitrage, policy opacity—created space for a certain kind of “expert”: visible, vocal, and perpetually adjacent to power, yet rarely accountable for outcomes.

Now, that architecture is being disrupted. And suddenly, the volume of outrage has gone up. This is not a coincidence. It is a reaction.

When a system that once rewarded commentary begins to prioritize structural correction, those who thrived in the old order often rebrand themselves as its fiercest critics. Not out of principle—but out of displacement.

Meanwhile, early macro signals are adjusting:

* Oil revenue remittances have improved post-subsidy removal and reforms in NNPCL transparency frameworks.

* External reserves stability has strengthened relative to pre-reform volatility cycles.

* Debt service-to-revenue pressure has begun easing marginally as fiscal leakages are curtailed.

The “Ponzi Scheme” Claim: A Collapse of Serious Thinking

Let’s be blunt. Calling a national reform programme a “Ponzi scheme” is not provocative—it is intellectually hollow.

A Ponzi scheme is built on deception and zero value creation. Nigeria’s reforms—however painful—are attempting to:

* eliminate fiscal leakages

* restore price discovery in the FX market

* rebuild macroeconomic credibility

If anything resembled a Ponzi structure, it was the previous regime of:

* borrowing to sustain consumption.

* subsidizing inefficiency at scale.

* masking structural weakness with artificial stability.

An economy that sustained the likes of Utomi and his “Patitio’s gang” of economic bucaneers. Utomi’s analogy does not expose the present—it exposes a troubling looseness in his analytical discipline.

He ignores the fact that investor-facing fundamentals are being reset:

* FX backlog clearance efforts have improved confidence among foreign portfolio investors.

* Repatriation conditions—a long-standing investor concern—are gradually normalizing.

Under the Tinubu administration, policy signaling now aligns more closely with orthodox macroeconomic frameworks.

Noise Without Substance

What is most striking is not the criticism—it is the emptiness behind it.

Utomi offers:

* no coherent alternative framework.

* no credible sequencing model.

* no fiscal pathway that avoids the very crisis he warns about.

Just declarations. Just alarm. Just noise. For someone positioned as a thought leader, this is a remarkably thin offering. In contrast, reform-linked institutional moves are underway:

* Tax reform architecture (2025 Acts) aimed at broadening the base and improving compliance efficiency.

* e-invoicing rollout for large taxpayers—enhancing transparency and revenue assurance.

* Customs modernization and AEO programme—improving trade facilitation and compliance.

These are systems-level interventions—not soundbites.

The Familiar Playbook: Alarm, Amplify, Exit.

We have seen this pattern before:

Declare impending collapse.
Use dramatic language to command attention.
Avoid the burden of proposing solutions.
Harass Goverment into putting you on some commitee, think-tank or council to correct it all.

It is a performance—one that thrives in media cycles but adds little to policy depth. Yet the data trajectory, while imperfect, is not static:

* GDP growth has remained positive, avoiding contraction despite reform shocks.

* Non-oil revenue performance (VAT and CIT) has shown upward momentum.

* Subnational fiscal space has expanded due to higher distributable revenues.

A Waning Voice Struggling to Stay Relevant

There is also an underlying tension that cannot be ignored. This administration has not leaned on the usual circle of media intellectuals and policy commentators who, for years, occupied advisory and influence corridors within our national polity. And since then, some of those voices have grown increasingly strident—less analytical, more combative.

Utomi’s latest intervention fits that pattern uncomfortably well. When relevance is no longer assured, outrage often becomes therapeutic.

Meanwhile, reform continuity is being institutionalized:

* Medium-term fiscal frameworks now reflect post-subsidy realities.

* Targeted social intervention programmes are being recalibrated to cushion reform shocks.

* Investment promotion efforts are aligning with a more transparent FX and pricing regime.

Nigeria’s reforms are not beyond criticism. But they are on track and trackable. They demand scrutiny, refinement, and stronger social cushioning.

But what Professor Utomi has offered is not scrutiny. It is not even rigorous dissent. It is amplification without depth. Critique without responsibility. Rhetoric without rigour.

And in a moment that demands serious thinking, that kind of intervention is not just unhelpful—it is a distraction masquerading as insight—especially when set against a reform programme that, for the first time in years, is confronting the structural contradictions that voices like his long circled, but never resolved.

Utomi may do well to consider maintaining a dignified silence, hide his vacuousness and let President Tinubu do his work. Counsel is welcome, distraction is not.

*Dare is Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communication

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Flood alert: 14, 118 communities identified as high risk nationwide

Agency Report — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:15:05 +0000

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, has warned that no fewer than 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, will experience flooding in 2026, with 14,118 communities identified as high-risk nationwide.

Utsev gave the warning in Abuja on Wednesday at the public presentation of the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook, AFO, by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, NIHSA.

He said the high-risk communities were located in 266 local government areas based on scientific forecasts and hydrological assessments.

The affected states, according to him are Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna and Kano.

Others include Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara, including the FCT.

The minister said that 15,597 communities in 405 local government areas across 35 states would face moderate flood risk, while Ekiti remained the only state not affected.

He added that 923 communities in 77 local government areas across 24 states fell within the low flood risk category.

“States in this category include Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara,” he said.

He warned of possible flash and urban flooding in major cities, including Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Kano.

He said coastal and riverine flooding was expected in Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and Ondo due to rising sea levels and tidal surges.

”The AFO is not just a scientific report; it is a call to action. Early warning saves lives and reduces economic losses,” he emphasised.

Utsev attributed increasing flood incidents to climate variability, rapid urbanisation, inadequate drainage infrastructure and poor land-use practices.

He revealed that the federal government was strengthening hydrological monitoring through improved data systems, automated river gauges and advanced modelling techniques.

He added that collaboration with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, and the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, were being enhanced to improve forecast accuracy and early warning dissemination.

The minister urged state governments to integrate flood risk considerations into land-use planning, urban development and infrastructure design.

He also called for improved drainage systems, effective floodplain management and stronger community preparedness to minimise impacts.

Earlier, President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said flooding remained a major national challenge, with recurring incidents recorded since 2012.

Tinubu said his administration had initiated policies and programmes, including flood control projects, to address the persistent threat.

He said that the 2024 Maiduguri flood marked a turning point toward proactive flood and disaster management.

According to him, the Anticipatory Action initiative, led by the Office of the Vice-President, is strengthening early warning, preparedness and coordinated response.

Tinubu described the AFO as a key planning document guiding early action, mitigation and evacuation strategies nationwide.

He urged stakeholders to utilise the forecasts to protect lives, livelihoods and critical infrastructure.

The president also emphasised the need to harness water resources to drive economic diversification and sustainable development.

Also speaking, the Director-General of NIHSA, Umar Mohammed, said the forecast was based on comprehensive, data-driven analysis of flood-prone areas.

Mohammed said the AFO served as an early warning tool to support planning and coordinated disaster response nationwide.

He added that the agency had upgraded its forecasting system to a hybrid AI-integrated model to improve accuracy and lead time.

He also said that the Flood Dashboard now enabled real-time monitoring and dissemination of alerts to stakeholders.

He urged residents in vulnerable areas to heed early warnings and adopt preventive measures to reduce risks.

The NIHSA director general called for wider dissemination of the outlook to strengthen preparedness and resilience in communities.

He appreciated the federal government and development partners for their support in the preparation of the 2026 outlook.

Goodwill messages were delivered by representatives of the World Meteorological Organisation, NiMet, NEMA, the Minister of Livestock Development, Dr Idi Maiha, and other stakeholders.

Source: NAN

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Unlike old ones, new tax laws’ll make Nigerians prosperous -Tinubu

Ezekiel Johnson — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:06:26 +0000

President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday in Abuja, said colonial-era tax laws impoverished Nigerians through fragmentation, multiplicity, and inconsistencies, and assured that the new reforms will deliver greater prosperity and inclusivity.

President Tinubu emphasised that the new tax system is designed to be people-centred and investment-friendly, thereby advancing the nation’s development goals.

The president made these remarks at the inauguration of the 16-storey Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS, Headquarters.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, were in attendance, along with ministers, senators, members of the House of Representatives, private-sector leaders, and the governors of Kwara, Imo, Borno, Kogi, Plateau, and Anambra states.

President Tinubu explained that the new tax laws, which became fully operational in January, were intended to liberate the economy from the constraints of archaic laws and make it more globally competitive.

“On my inauguration day, I made a solemn pledge that we will move Nigerians from the dimness of uncertainty into the clear light of renewed hope. I committed to confronting structural weaknesses, restoring financial stability, and building an economy anchored in discipline, equity, and opportunity. Today, I stand before you to reaffirm that these words were not rhetoric; they were a covenant with the Nigerian people.”

The president commended the Executive Chairman of the NRS, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, for his exceptional performance and the successful completion of the edifice, which provides a conducive working environment for 3,000 staff, along with a data processing centre, clinic, auditorium, training facilities, a gym, and a library.

He expressed delight that the NRS headquarters was completed in 30 months, after more than two decades since the foundation was laid.

“We are not gathered here merely to commission an edifice. We are here to mark a milestone in a larger national journey: the deliberate strengthening of our fiscal foundation and rebuilding of confidence in public institutions. No serious nation can achieve lasting prosperity on a weak and fragmented revenue system. No government can demand trust from its citizens when taxation is opaque, inefficient or unjust.

“That is why this administration took the bold decision to embark on far-reaching tax and fiscal reforms,’’ he said.

President Tinubu also thanked the Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, for his leadership in modernising colonial-era tax laws into “manageable, realisable, and understandable levels.”

Addressing concerns about the new tax reforms, President Tinubu assured that the NRS had repositioned itself as a revenue hub, equipped with capacity and technology, backed by research and data-driven policies, and sensitive to the needs of the people, particularly the vulnerable.

“The reforms are designed to simplify our system, eliminate distortions and create a fair, transparent and investment-friendly environment. Our direction is clear: to have a revenue system that rewards enterprise, supports growth, and ensures that every contribution to the national cause is matched by feasible value for the people.

“The early results are encouraging and fantastic. Mr Adedeji, thank you very much. We are witnessing improved fiscal stability, strength, stronger foreign reserves, a more efficient trade ecosystem and increased investor confidence in Nigeria’s economic direction,’’ the president added.

“These gains are not incidental. They are the products of deliberate policy, sustained effort, and a commitment to doing what is right for the long-term prosperity of our nation. It is within this context that we commission the headquarters of the Nigerian Revenue Service.

“The building is more than concrete and steel. It is a symbol of a new standard of professionalism, transparency, efficiency and service. It reflects our resolve that institutions must rise to meet the demand of reforms and the expectations of the Nigerian people. We must thank all Nigerian people for enduring and persevering,’’ he stated.

The president urged the Executive Chairman of the NRS to ensure that the institution upheld the highest standards.

“It must not only collect revenue, but it must also build trust, ensure fairness, and demonstrate that government can be accountable, efficient, and responsible.

“It must become a model institution that earns confidence at home and respect abroad. Let the future be better than the past. Let’s make and keep that promise sincerely for the future. Let those who will come after us, politics apart, be ready to build on history that is greater than the achievements of their forbears,’’ the president said.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio urged Nigerians to be patient with the Tinubu administration, noting that the economic reforms were already yielding results.

“Nobody has noticed that since we came on board, we have not had 3-5 km of vehicles lined up at fuel stations to buy petrol. There was a time that we were prepared to pay even N10,000 per litre for fuel, but they could not see the fuel. But today, there is no single fuel queue in Nigeria.

“Nobody is saying that because we encouraged and partnered with the private sector for the first time, we are now producing what we consume and consuming what we produce. We even go to the extent of sending it to other countries,’’ the Senate President noted.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, commended the president for strengthening the economy with new reforms.

“For many years, our revenue system struggled less from a lack of effort than from a lack of coherence. We operated multiple regimes, overlapping mandates and fragmented legal frameworks. The result was predictable—high effort, low yields, limited public confidence.

“What has come under your administration is not only the policy directive, but also the underlying logic of the system. The reforms have sought to align rules, institutions and incentives within a single framework,” Abbas said.

In his welcome address, the Executive Chairman of the NRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji, described the inauguration of the headquarters building as “the culmination of a defining institutional journey.”

“When this administration assumed office, Nigeria faced a critical inflexion point marked by fiscal constraints, weakened investor confidence and structural distortion across key sectors. What followed was not an incremental adjustment but a comprehensive concept of the nation’s economic and financial architecture.

“Through your decisive actions, you restored microeconomic credibility, unified foreign exchange markets, cleared long-standing backlogs and re-established confidence in Nigeria’s ability to operate a transparent and market-driven system,” he added.

Adedeji thanked the president for providing visionary leadership and support to the NRS.

“These were not easy decisions, but they were necessary. History will recognise and be kind to you for them. Building on this foundation, your administration undertook one of the most significant revenue reforms in Nigeria’s history.

“To put this in perspective, the first tax laws in this country were enacted in 1903, 133 years ago. We changed that. Over 60 fragmented tax laws were streamlined into a simplified and more coherent framework, strengthening compliance, improving predictability, and enabling efficient administration,” Adedeji noted.

He emphasised that the new tax laws were not “driven by a higher tax burden, but by a better system with broadened coverage and improved structural governance.”

According to Adedeji, “Five years ago, the total collection for Nigeria’s revenue was N6.8 trillion, and by 2025, we ended the year with N28.7 trillion.”

He added that, beyond taxation, fiscal governance had been strengthened to improve remittances, enhance transparency, and tighten control over public finance flows.

“To put this in perspective, Mr President, in May 2023, when you assumed office, the total money available for the federation was N711 billion. By September 2025, it was N3.6 trillion, which is 400% above what we inherited, and you can see that from the commissioning you’ve done in the states. They allude to the fact that you’ve given them what no government in the history of Nigeria has given to them.

“Trade has been modernised through the recently launched National Single Window (NSW), reducing inefficiency and boosting revenue. Ten years ago, we tried to implement the National Single Window six times. In less than three years under your leadership, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, we launched the National Single Window on March 27th,” Adedeji stated.

Guan Shuai, the Managing Director of China Civil Engineering and Construction Company, CECC, which completed the edifice, delivered a goodwill message.

He stated that President Tinubu had demonstrated visionary leadership within less than three years in office, by taking tough decisions that would benefit the nation and posterity.

Shuai noted that the Renewed Hope Agenda had repositioned the economy for foreign direct investment, with the President consistently commissioning infrastructure projects across states.

“When I was a young man, I saw him use his leadership and visionary planning to achieve so much in Lagos, and now he has established a party and united many people,’’ he stated.

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The town that fed a snake, By Funke Egbemode

frontpageng — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:33:59 +0000

If I am ‘accused’ of being pregnant with twins, shouldn’t the onus be on me to confirm or deny the unusual news? Why would Dr Lasisi Olagunju or Bamidele Johnson decide to climb the roof to shout themselves hoarse that Funke is not pregnant and indeed (for good measure), she is a virgin? So, the Federal Government released the list of Suspected Terror Sponsors (STS) last week after many moons of consultations with the gods and the ancestors. Within minutes of the release, some people started protesting on behalf of the listed, even accusing President Bola Tinubu of witch hunting. Well, it is witchcraft to thumb your chest and say you know a pregnant tortoise just by watching it crawl. Are those protesting on behalf of those not protesting witches or not? Me, I made a long mental note of their names and I have put them on a Supplementary List I’m trying to find a name for.

As if that was not enough, I did not hear any noise or dirges when Brigadier-General, dozens of soldiers were slaughtered like they had no wives, children or parents. Encouraged, terrorists took out a Colonel, Commanding Officer and more gallant soldiers. Nobody cited their fundamental human rights. They signed up for the job, they must have rationalised. But such sudden departures, amputation without anaesthesia of dreams are always painful irrespective of the job you signed up for. It doesn’t matter whether you are a trader at a market shut down five years ago or a soldier trapped in an armoured tank with a dead engine.

We should mourn, mourn wisely, mourn decently.

They said it was accidental.

A bomb meant for shadows fell on a market full of mothers, traders, children—people whose only crime was showing up for life. Somewhere between Borno State and Yobe State, grief rose like smoke again, stubborn, familiar, Nigerian.

And as we mourn, as we shake our heads and count the dead in whispers, a harder question pushes through the silence:

What kind of people hide terrorists?

What kind of people trade with them?

Let me answer you with a story. Not from the headlines, but from the old paths our grandmothers walked—where stories did not just entertain, they warned.

We must kill this snake before it kills Nigeria. That is why I’m suspicious of those who insist this monster-deity has fundamental rights. As how now?

Long before asphalt roads and security briefings, there was a quiet town called Aduke-Oke, named after a powerful priestess and healer.

It sat between two forests. One gave fruit. The other gave fear.

The people of Aduke-Oke were farmers, traders, hunters. They slept with their doors open. Goats wandered into neighbours’ compounds and came back fat. Trust was their currency.

Until the night the forest changed.

At first, it was whispers, suspicion discussed in hushed tones.

Travellers spoke of men who did not farm but ate, men who did not invest but came to collect dividends. They came at night and left tears behind.

Bandits. Thieves. Agbalowomeeri, the ones who snatched from the poor had taken over.

The Baale (village head) sent the town-crier out. ‘Do not leave a snake on your roof, it will find its way into your bedchamber. A snake is wicked even when it looks tiny and harmless. No matter what these snatchers tell you, do not let them live in your hut. Do not trade with them or accept their gifts.

Everyone nodded and agreed with Baale.

Everyone… except Akanmu.

Akanmu was not poor. That is what makes this story bitter. He had land. He had barns. He had wives who cooked steaming meals and many children. Pounded yam and bush meat were not just for festive occasions. It was just dinner.

But Akanmu had a hunger that his large farms could not satisfy—the hunger for more, irrespective of the source of that more.

So when the bandits came—not with guns blazing but with quiet requests, Akanmu listened.

“We need food,” they said.

“We will pay.”

Not coins. Not naira.

Gold.

And when evil pays, it pays well. It spoils his victim until he loses his sense of reasoning and decency.

At first, Akanmu only sold them yams. Then goats. Then information.

“Which houses are wealthy?”

“Who just sold harvest?”

“Which road has no vigilantes?”

Akanmu knew everything and Akanmu said everything.

Soon Aduke-Oke began to bleed.

One market day, the bandits struck.

They did not come for Akanmu’s house. No.

‘A kii fi omo ore bo ore.’

He was one of the bandits now so his compound had immunity. The monster refused to eat the man feeding him.

The thieves came for the market.

Women were dragged. Men were beaten. Goods were stolen. A boy who tried to run did not get far.

The village cried. The elders cursed the forest, then prayed to the ancestors.

Akanmu, as an untouchable, counted his gold with his wives in the hut.

While the village buried its dead, Akanmu built a bigger barn, acquired more land.

He became “Oloye Akanmu”.

People greeted him with forced smiles and quiet suspicion because no one really could swear with facts.

Soon, the monster finished its regular victims but it was still hungry. As the Yorubas say, when what we enjoy eating finishes, the things we used to ignore should get ready to be eaten.

The bandits grew bolder. Why wouldn’t they? Someone was feeding them. Someone was guiding them. Their heartless partners profited from the blood and gore.

One night, they came again but this time, they did not go to the market.

They went to Akanmu’s compound.

Perhaps greed made them careless, perhaps evil does not keep loyalty.

Perhaps karma finally found the road to an evil man’s hut.

They broke his doors, scattered his barns and carted away his gold. Even when Akanmu shouted, “I am your friend!”

They laughed.

Friend?

A man who betrays his own people is not anybody’s friend. He is a tool and tools can be discarded when they have outlived their usefulness.

By daybreak, Akanmu’s compound was smoke and silence, and ghost of its once bubbly self. Well, the bubble had burst. One wife was gone. The second wife was groaning in the throes of childbirth, unattended. Another lay wounded.

His children, those barefoot, laughing children, were all cowering in their mothers’ huts. The village gathered, not in anger this time, but in cold understanding.

The elders did not curse him.

They simply said, “The snake has found its keeper.”

Akanmu was not killed that day. No. He lived. That was his punishment. He died in instalments. The gods ensured his shame. Both those who feared him and the ones who called him Baba Oloye watched him from afar as he sat in the ruins of what greed built.

To remember every warning he ignored.

To know that the evil he fed had finally learned his name and was calling him nonstop.

Now, let’s return to our reality.

What kind of people hide terrorists?

They are not always poor.

They are not always forced.

Sometimes, they are Akanmu.

People who just profit from evil. They sell food to killers, give shelter to destroyers.

They trade information for profit, knowing that their decisions would cause death of many. They are feeding babies and pregnant women to monsters. They collect money to kill our soldiers. They send their children to private universities with money made from increasing the number of widows and widowers.

They sit among us. They smile with us. They mourn with us.

And then they return to the shadows to feed the very fire that will one day burn our roofs, our hopes, our dreams.

Here’s the bitter truth Nigeria must face.

Terrorism does not survive on guns alone. It survives on information from insiders, supplies from enablers, silence from communities.

Every terrorist hiding in the forest has a friend in town, parents who know his ways are not pure, wives or side-chicks who profit from his blood and sorrow enterprise.

We can continue to mumble “It is not my business.” But is our business, our pain, our losses, our disappearing nation. Like Akanmu, like that market between Borno State and Yobe State where innocent lives were lost not just to a bomb but to a long chain of complicity we refuse to break.

It is easy to blame government, to blame soldiers, the system. However, let us ask ourselves: who is feeding the snake? A terrorist in the bush is dangerous but a collaborator in the village? That one is deadlier. The snake Nigeria and its terrorists sympathisers, banditry rationalisers and sponsors have fed over the years has become a monster-deity demanding the flesh of army generals and blood of Colonels. It is no longer satisfied with staying in its grove, it wants new territories, daily sacrifice.

We must kill this snake before it kills Nigeria. That is why I’m suspicious of those who insist this monster-deity has fundamental rights. As how now?

*Egbemode (egbemode3@gmail.com)

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The post The town that fed a snake, By Funke Egbemode appeared first on Frontpageng.

Obafemi Hamzat: Scrutinising the man who may become the next governor of Lagos State

frontpageng — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:51:16 +0000

In the ever-evolving chessboard of Lagos politics, succession conversations often begin long before election season officially arrives. And as the 2027 governorship race gradually enters public discourse, one name increasingly echoes through political circles, policy rooms, and grassroots conversations: Dr. Obafemi Kadri Hamzat.

Whether by design, destiny, or political calculation, Hamzat, born on September 19, 1964 and married to Oluremi, has emerged as perhaps the most visible, talked about and institutionally prepared figure in the conversation about who may occupy Alausa after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. If Lagos chooses experience, technocratic competence, and continuity over political theatrics, then Hamzat may well be the man to beat.

Unlike many politicians whose public careers began in party structures, Hamzat’s rise was first forged in academia and professional excellence. An engineer by training, he earned a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State before adding a master’s degree and later a doctorate in System Process Engineering from Cranefield University, England. His academic trajectory, no doubt, established him early as a serious-minded intellectual with a strong technical and analytical grounding.

And in a political environment where anti-intellectualism sometimes thrives, Hamzat has consistently projected the image of a cerebral leader – one more comfortable discussing policy frameworks, digital transformation, and governance systems than engaging in populist grandstanding and unnecessary controversies.

If Lagos chooses preparation over populism, competence over noise, and continuity over experimentation, KOH may indeed be the man who becomes the next governor of Lagos State.

Before politics finally arrested him, Hamzat had built a reputation in engineering, systems management, and technology-driven administration. His expertise in technology and infrastructure made him a natural fit for public service at a time when Lagos was aggressively modernising its governance systems.

That technical competence became his entry point into the political establishment. He served as Commissioner for Science and Technology, later Special Adviser on Works. Across these roles, he developed a reputation as a policy wonk and implementation-driven administrator.

Interestingly, Hamzat’s political evolution has been unusual by Nigerian standards.

He is not usually the loudest politician in the room. In fact, he is rarely seen engaging in needless drama. He does not even dominate headlines with flamboyant rhetoric. Yet, within Lagos’ political machinery, his influence has steadily grown.

Born into a politically conscious family, his late father, Oba Mufutau Hamzat, was himself a notable political figure in Lagos. But unlike many second-generation politicians who rely solely on legacy, Hamzat has spent nearly two decades building his own political résumé. His eventual emergence as Deputy Governor in 2019 was not accidental; it was the culmination of years of strategic positioning, administrative competence, and loyalty within the Lagos APC establishment. Since then, he has served as Governor Sanwo-Olu’s dependable deputy, helping to shape and execute the administration’s developmental agenda.

Several factors, of course, make Hamzat a compelling governorship prospect. First, he understands Lagos and its operations as an ‘insider.’ Unlike other contenders who know little about the bureaucracy, infrastructure ecosystem, and policy architecture of the state as intimately as he does.

Second is that he is a technocrat with measurable governance experience.

Third is political acceptability, especially within the APC hierarchy. Yes, Hamzat is widely viewed as disciplined, loyal, and non-disruptive – traits often prized in succession politics.

The fourth is public perception. To many Lagosians, he projects calm intelligence, competence, and seriousness – qualities that contrast favourably with the theatrics often associated with Nigerian politics. Recent endorsements and increasing public succession conversations further reinforce his growing profile as a leading contender.

Challenges, however, cannot be ruled out. Especially because Lagos politics is never straightforward.

Competence alone often does not secure power in Nigeria. Political equations involving zoning, ethnic balancing, party interests, religious leaning, godfatherism, and grassroots calculations will all influence who eventually gets the nod.

Nonetheless, Obafemi Kadir Hamzat represents a rare breed in Nigerian politics: the scholar-technocrat who successfully transitioned into high-level political leadership without sacrificing his intellectual identity.

He has the education, the experience, the institutional knowledge, and the political grooming to govern Lagos. But whether he eventually becomes governor will depend not only on his credentials but on how well he navigates the intricate power dynamics of Lagos politics, under the firm grip of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the months ahead.

But one thing is clear: If Lagos chooses preparation over populism, competence over noise, and continuity over experimentation, KOH may indeed be the man who becomes the next governor of Lagos State.

*Azuh Arinze, FNGE, is the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine and author of important books like The CEO’s Bible 1 and 2, Anything and Everything Journalism, Success Is Not Served A La Carte, My Story of Many Colours, etc.