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AFTER DARKNESS COMES THE GLORIOUS DAWN.
FULL TEXT OF THE NATIONAL BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU TO NIGERIANS ON CURRENT ECONOMIC CHALLENGES.
My fellow citizens,
1. I want to talk to you about our economy. It is important that you understand the reasons for the policy measures I have taken to combat the serious economic challenges this nation has long faced.
2. I am not going to talk in difficult terms by dwelling on economic jargon and concepts. I will speak in plain, clear language so that you know where I stand. More importantly, so that you see and hopefully will share my vision regarding the journey to a better, more productive economy for our beloved country
3. For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure had outlived its usefulness. The subsidy cost us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing, and even national security. Instead, it was being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals.
4. This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance. To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.
5. The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.
6. The preceding administration saw this looming danger as well. Indeed, it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year. Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable.
7. Also, the multiple exchange rate system that had been established became nothing but a highway of currency speculation. It diverted money that should have been used to create jobs, build factories and businesses for millions of people. Our national wealth was doled on favorable terms to a handful of people who have been made filthy rich simply by moving money from one hand to another. This too was extremely unfair.
8. It also compounded the threat that the illicit and mass accumulation of money posed to the future of our democratic system and its economy.
9. I had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued our economy. Ending the subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system was key to this fight. This fight is to define the fate and future of our nation. Much is in the balance.
10. Thus, the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite you might call them. As we moved to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.
29. In the same vein, we are also working in collaboration with the Labour unions to introduce a new national minimum wage for workers. I want to tell our workers this: your salary review is coming.
30. Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review, we will make budget provisions for it for immediate implementation.
31. I want to use this opportunity to salute many private employers in the Organised Private Sector who have already implemented general salary reviews for employees.
32. Fellow Nigerians, this period may be hard on us and there is no doubt about it that it is tough on us. But I urge you all to look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture. All of our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work.
33. Sadly, there was an unavoidable lag between subsidy removal and these plans coming fully online. However, we are swiftly closing the time gap. I plead with you to please have faith in our ability to deliver and in our concern for your well-being.
34. We will get out of this turbulence. And, due to the measures we have taken, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her.
35. In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion Naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters. That money will now be used more directly and more beneficially for you and your families.
36. For example, we shall fulfill our promise to make education more affordable to all and provide loans to higher education students who may need them. No Nigerian student will have to abandon his or her education because of lack of money.
37. Our commitment is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. On this principle, we shall never falter.
38. We are also monitoring the effects of the exchange rate and inflation on gasoline prices. If and when necessary, we will intervene.
39. I assure you my fellow countrymen and women that we are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn.
40. Now, I must get back to work to make this vision come true.
41. Thank you all for listening and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom Leaders Defend INEC Ward Delineation, Commend INEC for a Thorough Job.
Says Ogbe-Ijoh-Warri deserved more than three wards in Warri-South Local Government Area.
By Favour Bibaikefie
Leaders of the Ogbe-Ijoh (Ijaw) community have addressed recent protests by Itsekiri groups over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) fresh delineation of electoral wards in Warri South Local Government Area. In a press briefing held on April 11, 2025, Ogbe-Ijoh representatives reaffirmed their historical and legal presence in Warri South, citing court rulings and decades-old electoral structures. They condemned claims excluding them from the area and urged INEC to ignore such objections. Calling for at least five homogenous wards, they emphasized the need for fair representation and the creation of a dedicated Ijaw state constituency.
Read full Press Statement:
“PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OGBE-IJOH PEOPLE ON THE PROPOSED FRESH DELINEATION OF ELECTORAL WARDS/POLLING UNITS IN WARRI SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE BY THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC) IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT ON FRESH DELINEATION AND MATTERS THERETO
“Since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the 4th of April, 2025 released the report of its Fieldwork on the proposed delineation of electoral wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State, the Ogbe-Ijoh (Ijaw) people have noticed with keen interest series of protests by the Itseikiri and their allies in both print and electronic media including arguing that, the Ogbe-Ijoh (Ijaw) people are not part of Warri South Local Government. This press briefing is to clear this ignorance and set the records straight.
It is important to note with specific reference to the Supreme Court ordered delineation that, the issue of whether the Ogbe-Ijoh (Ijaw) people are part of Warri South Local Government Area or not was raised at the INEC stakeholders meeting by the Itsekiris, reflected in the minutes of stakeholders meetings and it was dealt with by the stakeholders in the said meetings by resolving that from available intelligence reports, legal documents, physical communities on ground and existing electoral polling units, the Ogbe-Ijoh (Ijaw) people are integral part of Warri South Local Government, but denied electoral representation by not having homogenous electoral wards of their own, but balkanised into different polling units in different wards in Warri South LGA. The Itsekiris too admitted this fact.
It was on this basis that, at the stakeholders meeting of Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo held on 8th of July, 2024 at Government House Annex, Warri preparatory to starting the Fieldwork in Warri South LGA, a team of INEC Field Officers were assigned to the Ijaw areas in Warri South LGA, just as INEC Field Officers were assigned to the Itsekiri and Urhobo areas. Furthermore, the INEC field officers assigned to the Ijaw areas were the only ones who covered the Ijaw areas covered by the proposed Ewein, Bulouama, Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Urban and part of GRA wards of Warri South LGA. The INEC field officers assigned to Itsekiri and Urhobo areas did not and could not have covered these areas because they are indigenous Ijaw communities, where the Ijaws resides to the knowledge of all persons and authorities. These facts are known to the Itsekiri leaders and especially those who participated in the INEC fieldwork, but are not telling the public.
“For historical purposes and to educate younger Itsekiri people who do not know the founding history of Warri, Ogbe-Ijoh is recorded as the first settlement in the present Warri Urban along the Ogbe-Ijoh-Warri River (otherwise known as the Warri anchorage) in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State. Indeed, the present Warri started from Ogbe-Ijoh. In 1955, when the first local administrative structure was established and electoral delineation done in Warri Urban, the Ogbe-Ijoh (Ijaw) people were included in the Warri Urban District Council together with a section of Urhobo and Itsekiri as defined by Western Region Laws of Nigeria No 177 of 1955. The said law created four autonomous electoral wards for the Ijaw people of Ogbe-Ijoh, which were– Alders town B3, Ogbe-Ijoh Ward C1, Ogbe-Ijoh Ward C2 and Government Area F1. This structure with elected Ogbe-Ijoh Councillors remained operational till sometime in 1976, when the Olusegun Obasanjo’s Military Government introduced local Government reforms giving birth to the present local Government structure. The defunct Warri Urban District Council is today known as the Warri South Local Government Council.
“It is important to note that, before the introduction of Local Government administration, there were Seven (7) District Councils in the Warri area, including the Warri Urban District Council, which was only the Warri main City. But the Ode-Itsekiri District Council which was not part of the Warri Urban District Council was included to make up the present Warri South LGA.
“The introduction of Local Government Administration and the subsequent delineation of electoral wards in the area concerned led to the balkanization of the hitherto homogenous Ijaw fours in Warri South LGA into mere polling units in different wards mainly as minorities. The electoral wards that, the Ogbe-Ijoh people were balkanized into before the Supreme Court Ordered delineation of electoral wards were Pessu, GRA, Bowen and Okere wards. The Ogbe-Ijoh areas were balkanized into these electoral wards and thereby making them minorities and politically weak. Since the 1976 balkanization of our homogenous four electoral wards, we have always protested and made known to successive electoral bodies of the need to balance the lopsided electoral wards in Warri South Local Government without much success before a group of patriotic Ijaw men sought legal redress leading to the celebrated Supreme Court judgement in December 2nd, 2022.
“It is these Ijaw areas previously delineated in 1955 as Alder’s town B2, Ogbe-Ijoh C1, Ogbe-Ijoh C2 and Government area F1, that the INEC Field Officers assigned to the Ijaw areas visited and delineated as Bulou-Ama Ward 02, Ewein Ward 07 and Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Urban Ward 12 and the part of Ogbe-Ijoh areas in the GRA Ward 08. Hence, the delineation of electoral wards and polling units to cover the Ijaw areas in Warri Urban is not a new development, but has been in existence for decades even before those protesting were born. The recent exercise only seeks to correct an obvious injustice where the Ijaws in Warri South LGA are delineated into different polling units and denied representation in the Warri South LGA administration.
“We wish to state further that, contrary to the false impression been created by the Itsekiris, the Ijaw areas have always been separated from the Itsekiri areas in Warri Urban. It is for this reason that, the Chiefs Law of 1957, CAP 19, provides that, the authority of the Itsekiri monarch, the Olu of Warri excludes Ogbe-Ijoh Areas. The 1979 Bendel State Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Edict, B.S.L.N 44, described the Amaokosu of Ogbe-Ijoh as the prescribed authority of Ogbe-Ijoh lands and people in Warri metropolis. This meant that, all the lands of the Ijaw of Ogbe-Ijoh are excluded from claims by the Itsekiri people.
“Furthermore, the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Chiefs and Council Law, Vol. 3, now cap T3 Laws of Delta State, 2006 recognizes four Clans in Warri Metropolis: Itsekiri Kingdom, where the Olu is the prescribed authority, Okere-Urhobo Kingdom where the Orosuen of Okere-Urhobo is the prescribed authority, Agbassa Kingdom where the Ovie of Agbarha is the prescribed authority and the Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom where the Amaokosu of Ogbe-Ijoh is the prescribed authority of Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom in Warri metropolis.
The purpose of the above laws is to the effect that, the Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom and their lands in Warri metropolis in Warri South Local Government Area are excluded from the claim of the Itsekiri people. This position has been confirmed by the Court of Appeal in Appeal No CA/AS/441/2016 in a judgement delivered on the 5th of June, 2023.
“In conclusion, we commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for being able to commence the delineation process despite series of litigation against the Commission by the Itseikiri. We also commend the Commission in Warri South Local Government for being fair to all the ethnic nationalities and stakeholders. However, the Ogbe-Ijoh people state that, their areas should have been delineated into atleast five homogenous electoral wards. If the Ogbe-Ijoh people had four electoral wards as far back as 1955, it is only fair for the number to be increased decades after. We therefore call for the creation of more electoral wards for Ijaws in Warri Urban and also urge the Independent National Electoral Commission to disregard frivolous protests against the delineation exercise in Warri South LGA by the Itsekiris.
“We wish to call on the INEC for creation of additional wards and state Constituency for the Ijaws of Warri South. This is predicated on the ground that the Itsekiris and Urhobos already have their own Constituencies in the Warri South.”
Sign for Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom:
Hon. Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor,
(Ijaw Focal Person)
Chief M. Keme,
Comrade Moses Fiyebor.
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President Tinubu Reportedly Dismisses INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, Nominates Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan as Replacement
By Favour Bibaikefie
In a development that has stirred major political discourse across Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has allegedly relieved the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of his duties.
A reliable source from within the Presidency revealed that Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan has been nominated as the new head of the electoral commission, subject to confirmation by the Senate.
While no official announcement has been made at the time of reporting, the move was said to have been decided during a confidential meeting held earlier today at the Presidential Villa. The motivation behind the abrupt leadership shift remains uncertain. However, political commentators speculate that it could be tied to ongoing electoral reform efforts and dissatisfaction with INEC’s handling of recent elections.
Appointed initially in 2015 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed in 2020, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has overseen two national elections and numerous off-cycle polls. His tenure has faced criticism over logistical setbacks and claims of electoral malpractice.
His proposed successor, Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan, is a respected academic with deep expertise in constitutional law and a history of contributing to electoral policy reforms. His selection has already sparked debate among political stakeholders and civil society organizations.
As the nation awaits formal communication from the Presidency and a decision by the Senate, uncertainty surrounds what impact this leadership change may have on INEC’s integrity and readiness for upcoming elections.
By Divine Perezide
A recent video of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has sparked concern across social media platforms after he was seen limping noticeably during a public appearance. The footage, which has quickly circulated online, shows the minister walking with an apparent limp, triggering widespread speculation and public concern about his health.
The video has led many Nigerians to question whether Wike might have truly collapsed as alleged last week but struggling to conceal his health status. Social media users have urged him to slow down and prioritize his well-being amidst his busy political schedule. Some speculated that the limp could be an early indication of a more serious condition, such as a partial stroke, while others blamed his relentless political activities for possible physical strain.
Commentary on X (formerly Twitter) captured a mix of concern and empathy:
@kennywrites said, “Wike has been everywhere lately. Maybe it’s time he rests a bit. Health is wealth.”
@DRealIfeanyi added, “I don’t support his politics, but I wish him well. No one deserves to be in pain.”
@NaijaUpdates247 commented, “Hope Wike is okay. That limp didn’t look minor. He should get it checked out and take some time off if needed.”
Other remarks circulating online included: “Wike didn’t collapse o. We lied.” and “Instead of him to take time off and heal of his partial stroke, he is struggling to conceal it.”
Another concerned user wrote, “Wike, rest small, politics will always be here.”
As of now, the minister’s declaration that, he never collapsed at any time last week end is still being read with a lot of meanigs in people’s minds as the online community continues to call for caution and self-care.