Headline

Game On: Jide Sanwo-Olu Formally Declares for Lagos Guber Election (Full Text of Speech)

Published

7 years ago

September 16, 2018

Eric

Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, today put speculations to rest as to his desire to run for the governorship position of Lagos State under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) when he made an official declaration at the City Hall, Lagos Island.

Below is full text of Sanwo-Olu’s declaration

A CLARION CALL TO TAKE LAGOS STATE TO A GREATER LEVEL

Speech delivered by the All Progressives Congress Governorship Aspirant, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu at the formal declaration of his intention to contest for the Governor of Lagos State at the City Hall, Lagos Island on Sunday September 16, 2018.

All protocols observed.

With great enthusiasm and encouragement of family, friends, associates and well-wishers, I want to express my sincere thanks to everyone for creating the time to participate in this historic event of my declaration to contest the 2019 governorship election in Lagos State on the platform of our party, the All Progressives Congress.

Since 1922, when the first election was decreed in Lagos, our history has been shaped by the values of democratization and the primacy of the people in deciding who rules them. The process has thrown up great men like Herbert Macaulay, Sir Kitoye Ajasa, Dr. John Randle, Sapara Williams, Henry Carr, Candido da Rocha, Dr. Adeniyi Jones and Dr. Caulcrick among others. May the souls of these great Lagosians continue to rest in peace.

There is no way to review the history of Lagos in the last 50 years without placing on record the contributions of Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson, the first ever governor of Lagos State, Pa Lateef Jakande, the first civilian Governor and many other helmsmen who led the development of our people.

Modern Lagos State since the inception of the current civilian republic has been blessed with innovators and visionaries. Permit me to recognize, specially, the man who laid the foundation for the modernization of Lagos State; the celebrated tactician and renowned certified accountant who has applied his knowledge to democracy and development, our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The press, as ‘‘The Fourth Estate of The Realm’’, has planted in our consciousness the courage displayed by our leader in reforming and modernizing the revenue collection operations of Lagos State, converting government operations from analogue to digital and establishing a transparent, measurable and predictable system for running Lagos as a modern smart government.

The preparation of the visionary programme, ‘‘The Lagos State Economic Empowerment & Development Strategy’’ (LEEDS), listing out the path to development of modern Lagos on four pillars across 25 years of expansion continues to provide the development blueprint for our people. This vision, put together by eminent economists and passionate patriots, prepared our State ahead of its growing challenges. It remains to this day the most concrete manifestation of Asiwaju’s leadership and love for the great people of our State. I feel privileged to be part of the process that made it happen. I assure you all that it shall continue to be the roadmap when I become the next civilian governor of our dear State.

This foundation has survived the test of time because Asiwaju was able to recruit excellent and brilliant successors. But without the ratification of these men by Lagosians who voted massively for them during the general elections, his wish could not have become the popular choices of the people.

I wish to commend the former Governor of Lagos State,Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, for his contributions to this glorious path.

I am inspired by the courage and achievements of all the leaders who have charted the path of development for our great LAGOS. I have decided, like the great American President John F. Kennedy, not to continue to wait for what my State shall do for me, but to challenge myself on what to do for my State.

When I look back at my experience in public sector, I realise that God has prepared me for this moment. I served Lagos State Government for the first time as a Special Adviser to the then deputy Governor,Otunba Femi Pedro.

I believe that my contributions to the governing process made possible my appointment as the Acting Honourable Commissioner for Economic Planning &Budget and later Commissioner for Commerce & Industry in the final months of the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu administration. Following the inauguration of the Fashola administration, I was appointed the Honourable Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions.

My public sector career has crowned the glorious achievement of my journey through the private sector where I had worked in senior managerial positions in financial institutions such as Lead Merchant Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), First Atlantic Bank (now FCMB) and participated in major economic projects such as the privatization and commercialization of Federal Government-owned companies and parastatals.

The All Progressives Congress has been established as a grassroots party of the workers, artisans, middle class professionals and all those who desire the progressive development of Nigeria. The manifesto of our party promises welfarist programmes and building the capacity of our economy so that we can provide jobs for the youths and make our country stable and secure.

These are the values that I believe in.
These are the values I am ready to defend.
These are the values I am determined to propagate.
These are the values that drive my present desire.

If elected, I shall immediately embark on the full restoration of the glory of Lagos and make you the people the cornerstone of government revamp the environment that has become a cause of serious anxiety to Lagosians and relieve Lagos of the persistent gridlocks that have made our lives brutish and nasty.

Our government’s focal point shall be to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of the people of Lagos State.

I have invited you here today to join me in the journey to take Lagos State to a new dimension by transforming the manifesto of our party to the programme of action. I am sending a clarion call to our party members, men and women, youth and the elderly, that there is a lot of work to be done to achieve the Lagos of our dreams.

I present myself as a capable, competent and tested hand to make Lagos greater.

I declare that, I, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-olu shall be a true party man in the real definition of the word by running an inclusive government according to the ideology of the APC and the long-term benefits of the great citizens of Lagos State. Loyalty is the currency of politics. I shall be loyal to the people of Lagos State, the organs and the leadership of the party.

I call on party members and citizens to join me to elevate our State in all facets of human endeavour through improvements, enlightenment and development.

I urge you all to come out with your membership cards and slips to vote for me at the direct primaries ordered by the party so that we can continue the journey towards peace, order and development for the good people of our dear Lagos State.

History is not made in a day, but it is made on the day that you start to make the labours of the past and the hope for the future the touchstone of our endeavours. That day is today.

I pray that God Almighty shall crown all our efforts with resounding success.

Thank you and God bless.

Long Live the All progressives Congress

Long Live Lagos State

Long Live Federal Republic of Nigeria

BABAJIDE OLUSOLA SANWO-OLU

GUBERNATORIAL ASPIRANT

ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS

LAGOS STATE

Headline

Adenuga, Dangote, Otedola, Rabiu Make 2026 Forbes Africa Billionaires List

Published

7 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Eric

Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Femi Otedola, and Abdulsamad Rabiu have been named among Africa’s richest individuals in 2026.

According to the latest Africa Billionaires ranking released by Forbes, Dangote retained his position as Africa’s richest man, with an estimated net worth of $28.5 billion. He added about $4.6 billion to his fortune over the past year, largely driven by the strong performance of Dangote Cement on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

Telecommunications magnate Adenuga also retained his place among Africa’s billionaires.

The founder of Globacom and chairman of Conoil Producing remains one of Nigeria’s most influential entrepreneurs with diversified interests spanning telecoms, oil and gas, and banking.

Otedola, chairman of Geregu Power Plc, also featured on the list despite a slight dip in his wealth over the past year. Forbes estimates that the billionaire investor lost about $200 million following the sale of a majority stake in the power generation company at a discount to its market price.

The increase in Rabiu’s net worth was largely driven by the performance of BUA Cement, whose shares rose 135% over the past year, outperforming the broader rally on the Nigerian stock market.

The 23 billionaires on the continent are now worth a combined $126.7 billion, representing a 21% increase from 2025 after they collectively added $20.3 billion to their net worth.

Across the continent, billionaire fortunes were boosted by strong equity market performance, record corporate profits, and improving currency stability in several African economies.

South Africa remains the highest number of billionaires on the list, with seven individuals, followed by Egypt with five, Nigeria with four, and Morocco with three.

No female billionaires from Africa appeared on the 2026 ranking list.

Headline

Israeli Ambassador Accuses Iran of Spreading Terror, Sponsoring Extremist Activities in Nigeria

Published

4 days ago

March 6, 2026

Eric

Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has accused Iran of sponsoring extremist activities in Nigeria and other parts of the world, alleging that Tehran supports groups aimed at destabilising countries while pursuing its hostility against Israel.

Freeman made the remarks on Friday while speaking during an interview on The Morning Show on Arise News.

The envoy claimed that Iran is the only country within the United Nations that openly expresses a desire to destroy another sovereign state, referring to repeated threats against Israel.

According to him, the Iranian government has, over several decades, supported militant groups and terror organisations around the world in pursuit of that objective.

Freeman alleged that Iran has backed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, adding that Tehran was also behind the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas against Israel.

He further claimed that Iranian activities aimed at spreading instability have been observed across several regions, including Europe, Australia, and parts of Africa.

Speaking specifically about Nigeria, the Israeli ambassador alleged that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria receives backing from the Iranian government.

According to Freeman, statements of support from Iran’s leadership, including posts by Ali Khamenei on social media, have openly indicated such ties.

He said: “The issue here is about Iran. Iran is the only country in the world, in the United Nations, who expressly desires to wipe another country off the face of the earth. Iran has stated its very policy is to destroy Israel. Is to wipe Israel off the map is to make sure they kill every single person and no regime, no country that has an express desire to destroy Israel, and it’s not only an expressed desire.

“We’ve seen over 47 years, they’ve taken all the actions they can in order for that to happen. We’ve seen them sponsor terror organizations. They were behind October the seventh massacre of Hamas. We’ve seen them sponsoring Hezbollah. We’ve seen them acting in Europe. We’ve seen them acting in Australia. We’ve seen them acting in Nigeria.

“We’ve seen these people acting all across the world in order to spread disturbance for them to try and carry out their aim of destroying Israel, and Israel will not allow another country to have nuclear weapons when they’ve expressly stated they want those weapons to destroy Israel”.

“I think that it is well documented. We know that there are certain movements, for example, the Islamic movement of Nigeria is sponsored and is backed by the Iranian regime. This is not me saying this, we’ve seen that documented by the Iranian regime.

The Supreme Leader posted on X his support and his backing there. So that’s very open. And there are other areas as well that Iran is working for, destabilizing, not only Nigeria, but all of West Africa.”

Headline

Why Nigerians Must Reject INEC’s Revised Timetable – ADC

Published

1 week ago

February 28, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), during the week, released a fresh elections timetable, with major amendments to accommodate the just passed and signed Electoral Act 2026 by the National Assembly and President Bola Tinubu respectively.

Following the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026, which introduced adjustments to statutory timelines governing pre-election and electoral activities, the Commission has reviewed and realigned the Schedule to ensure full compliance with the new legal framework.

Accordingly, the Commission has resolved as follows:

Presidential and National Assembly Elections will now hold on Saturday, 16th January 2027 as against the earlier stated February 20, 2027
Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections will now hold on Saturday, 6th February 2027 as against the former date of March 6, 2027

Also in accordance with the approved Schedule of Activities, the electoral bidy noted in the revised timetable that:

Conduct of Party Primaries, including resolution of disputes arising from primaries, will commence on 23rd April 2026 and end on 30th May 2026.

Presidential and National Assembly campaigns will commence on 19th August 2026.

Governorship and State Houses of Assembly campaigns will commence on 9th September 2026.

As provided by law, campaigns shall end 24 hours before Election Day. Political parties are strongly advised to adhere strictly to these timelines. The Commission will enforce compliance with the law.

But in a swift reaction, the opposition coalition, African Democratic Congress (ADC), rejected the revised 2026–2027 general election timetable, describing it as a politically biased schedule designed to favour the re-election agenda of President Bola Tinubu, and calling on all Nigerians to speak up enmasse to reject the revised timetable.

The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday argued that the new deadlines and compliance requirements under the Electoral Act 2026 create near-impossible hurdles for opposition parties seeking to field candidates.

On February 13, INEC initially scheduled the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections for February 20, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were fixed for March 6, 2027.

The timetable, however, faced objections from some Muslim stakeholders who noted that the dates coincided with the 2027 Ramadan period.

Following the concerns, the National Assembly amended Clause 28 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, reducing the required election notice period from 360 to 300 days, allowing INEC to adjust the election dates.

Subsequently, INEC released a revised schedule on Thursday, signed by its Chairman, Joash Amupitan, moving the Presidential and National Assembly elections to January 16, 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections to February 6, 2027.

Reacting, the ADC said the requirement that political parties submit a comprehensive digital membership register by April 2, 2026, effectively bars opposition parties from participating.

The party stated: “The African Democratic Congress rejects the updated 2026–2027 electoral timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission. What has been presented as a routine administrative schedule of the upcoming general elections is, in fact, a political instrument carefully structured to narrow democratic space and strengthen the incumbent administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“According to the timetable, party primaries are to be conducted between April 23 and May 30, 2026, just 55 to 92 days from today. However, more significant is that, pursuant to Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026, political parties are required to submit their digital membership registers to INEC not later than April 2, 2026.

“That is only about 34 days away. Section 77(7) further provides that any party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated time shall not be eligible to field a candidate. These are not routine administrative rules but are deliberately constructed barriers designed to exclude the opposition from participating in the election.”

The party further noted that Section 77(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires the digital register of members to contain name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number (NIN) and photograph in both hard and soft copies, while Section 77(6) prohibits the use of any pre-existing register that does not contain the specified information. It warned that failure to meet these requirements would lead to disqualification.

The ADC questioned the fairness of the digital membership requirement, noting that the ruling All Progressives Congress began its registration process in February 2025, long before the requirement became mandatory.

“It is not a product of foresight but insider advantage. They knew what was coming. They therefore had one full year to carry out an exercise that other political parties are expected to complete in one month, during which they must collect, process, collate and transmit large volumes of digital data to INEC under the threat of exclusion. This is practically impossible.

“Democratic competition is based on a level playing field that does not give any contestant an undue advantage. A system where one party exploits incumbency to gain a one-year head start on a requirement that other parties only became aware of when it was nearly too late is a rigged system.”

The ADC said it has joined other opposition parties in rejecting the Electoral Act 2026, adding that the INEC timetable is equally rejected as it appears designed to serve what it described as a self-succession agenda.

“Let it be clear that ADC will not take any action that appears to confer legitimacy on a fraudulent system. We are reviewing our options and will make our position known in the coming days,” the party said.

The party also called on civil society organisations, democratic stakeholders and Nigerians to scrutinise the timetable and demand fairness, stressing that democracy cannot survive when electoral rules are structured to produce predetermined outcomes.

The party has consistently accused the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) of scheming to silence the opposition as the 2027 General Elections draw closer, citing his manipulation of state governors and Assembly members from jumping ship, and settling with the ruling party.

Presently, the president’s party has a total of 31 out of 36 states governors, more than majority of the national and states Houses of Assembly.

A frontline publisher and chieftain of the ADC, Chief Dele Momodu, has warned that Tinubu is gradually transforming into full-blown dictatorship, stressing that his second term in office would turn state governors into ‘total slaves’.