Featured

Finland Moves to Checkmate Simon Ekpa’s Activities

Published

3 years ago

February 16, 2023

Eric

Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen, has said Finland cannot trade its relations with Nigeria for anything.

This was even as Pylvanainen said it has been 60 years of excellent relationship and cooperation between Nigeria and Finland.

Ibrahim Aliyu, special assistant to the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, said the envoy gave the assurance during a meeting in Abuja with Dada over threat by Simon Ekpa, a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to bar elections in the South East.

Pylvanainen said Ekpa’s activities were of serious concern to Finland and efforts ongoing to address the issue. He added that Finland was watching to see how the situation fits into the legal framework of Finland.

The Finnish envoy also said Ekpa has dual citizenship, adding that there was the need to take his rights into consideration.

She stated that Finland has very much interest in ensuring safe and peaceful conduct of elections in Nigeria and condemned in strong terms, any threat to peaceful elections in the country.

“We share very much, the concerns regarding the security situation in the Southeast. Yes, there are problems in other parts of the country as well, but this is an issue that we are directly concerned with. This is an issue we have been discussing, we share the concerns. We have discussed the matter and as I mentioned, our law enforcement agencies are in touch and are cooperating,” Pylvanaine said.

Dada called on the Finnish Government to take drastic action against the activities of Ekpa who lives in Finland, but sent inciting messages back home to instigate violence activities in part of the country with the sole aim of disrupting the conduct of the 2023 general election.

While expressing displeasure over the orders given by Ekpa to his teeming followers whom he said, “consequently embarked on killings, maiming, burning and other destructive activities,” Dada further said Ekpa’s action is fast becoming a threat to the forthcoming election.

He added that the Federal Government would not take it lightly if nothing drastic was done to stop Ekpa.

“The Ekpa-led faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had reportedly declared that elections will not be allowed to hold in the South-East, and had declared the period of the elections as sit-at-home. Simon Ekpa is living in the comfort of his home in Finland and dishing out dangerous orders to his followers not to allow elections to hold, which is threatening the peace of the South-eastern Nigeria in particular and the peaceful conduct of the election in general. We’ve had some time to ensure that we arrest this situation, but it appears the situation is getting out of hand. And we’re saying enough is enough,” Dada said.

The Sun

Featured

Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

Featured

Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

Featured

DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.