Headline

Lamido Sanusi Cautions against Electing Uneducated Leaders

Published

8 years ago

October 28, 2018

Eric

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Saturday said Nigerians must ensure they elect into public offices, leaders who “are educated and know the value of education.”

Sanusi said Nigerians had made mistakes in the past by electing leaders without education, who subsequently could not give quality education when they got into the government.

The Emir stated this at the 6th convocation of the Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, where he urged Nigerians not to elect leaders without quality education to public offices.

Sanusi, who was conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Science, alongside the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, said the Federal Government must use part of the trillions of naira it spent on subsiding petroleum products to educate the youth of the country.

The Emir said, “We have to take an interest in the quality of our leaders and representatives in the level of education. If you look around this country at many levels of leadership, we have elected and we have chosen to elect people who do not have education. And because they are not educated, they cannot give education.

“We need to lay more emphasis on the quality of people we elect to executive and legislative offices and we need to make sure that those to whom we entrust policy are themselves educated and know the value of education.

“Let us invest more in education and let us give up some of the privileges that we have such as the trillions we are spending subsiding petroleum products. That money should go into educating our young people.

In a remark, the Alaafin of Oyo commended the university for the award, saying the honour would motivate him to contribute more to the country.

Vice-Chancellor, Nile University, Prof Huseyin Sert, said 21 students bagged First Class; 67 got Second Class Upper; 96 got Second Class Lower Division, and two persons got Third Class, making a total number of 365 students who graduated.

Headline

UK Court Acquittal: Diezani Goes Spiritual, Says God Will Always Be God

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal by a London court after bribery charges brought against her were dismissed.

The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday acquitted the former minister of all charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief and said she and her family had endured years of emotional distress over the case.

Speaking to News Central, she said she has remained in the United Kingdom since the legal proceedings began 11 years ago.

She said: “I’m just thankful to God, it’s been arduous, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends, my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt and for my son.

“It has been a hard journey, but I tell you this, God will always do as He will. God will be God and God is not a man that He should lie; when He promises you something, He will see it through.

“For almost 11 years I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability.”

Headline

I Never Saw Report that Led to Natasha’s Suspension, Says Ireti Kingibe

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2026

Eric

The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she did not see any report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Kingibe made this disclosure on Wednesday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.

She said she was at a retreat with Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, when she heard about the report.

“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat. I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee.

“We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time.

“It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it.

“I even complained to other Senators, specifically to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report. I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.

Headline

UK Court Clears Ex-Petroleum Minister Alison-Madueke of All Corruption Charges

Published

4 days ago

June 17, 2026

Eric

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was on Wednesday found not guilty by a London jury of six bribery charges, after ‌a rare corruption trial of a high-profile former energy official.

Alison-Madueke, minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 under then-president Goodluck Jonathan, stood trial charged with five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, which she denied.

Prosecutors ⁠alleged Alison-Madueke, 65, was given “a life of luxury” in London from oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria, which has long grappled with mismanagement and corruption.

But the former minister, who was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said she never took any bribes and had no real influence over the awarding of lucrative government contracts.

After a trial at London’s Southwark ‌Crown ⁠Court, Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury of all six charges she faced after more than 46 hours of deliberation.

The not guilty verdicts are a major blow to British authorities, which began their investigation into corruption allegations against Alison-Madueke ⁠more than a decade ago.

Alison-Madueke stood trial alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who was charged with one count of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke ⁠and a separate count of bribery of a foreign public official.

Alison-Madueke’s brother Doye Agama, 69, was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery ⁠with his sister relating to payments made to Agama’s church.

Both Ayinde and Agama denied the charges against them and were also acquitted by the jury.

Source: Reuters