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Tinubu Renames National Theatre after Soyinka, Tasks CBN on Endowment Fund

Published

5 months ago

October 2, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee to establish an endowment fund to ensure the sustainability of the newly re-unveiled National Arts Theatre now renamed as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts.

Tinubu gave this directive in Lagos on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, while speaking at the event which also marked Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day celebration. Tinubu said the fund would guarantee jobs, maintenance, accessibility, and long-term commitment to the cultural landmark. “It’s now left with Cardoso and others to put together an endowment fund. And I’m going to be a contributor. And it’s not a bad thing for us to use this opportunity to create jobs, maintenance, accessibility, and commitment. This place will not go derelict again,” he said.

The President also used the occasion to urge Nigerians in the diaspora and at home to stop projecting the country in a negative light. According to him, “Stop talking about Nigeria in the negative tone. We are a country of very proud people. We know what we are. It’s about ourselves, believing. Please, lift Nigeria. Believe in Nigeria. Put Nigeria first.”

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, who spoke on behalf of the financial sector partners, noted that the Bankers’ Committee alone committed about N68 billion to the restoration of the theatre. He stressed that the project was more than corporate social responsibility but a deliberate investment in Nigeria’s cultural future. “This project stands as proof that when the public and private sectors unite behind a shared national purpose, there is no limit to what Nigeria can achieve,” Cardoso said.

He explained that the restoration had preserved the iconic silhouette of the structure while modernising it with performance halls, cinema spaces, exhibition galleries, an African literature library, rehearsal rooms, and upgraded infrastructure. “The Wole Soyinka Centre is more than a renovation; it is a rebirth,” he said.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, earlier in his address, described the centre as a heartbeat of Nigeria’s identity that would anchor the state’s growing creative economy. “We gather not only to witness the commissioning of a renovated edifice or to celebrate the rebirth of a national icon, the National Arts Theatre, now rightfully named as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts. This landmark is more than concrete and steel. It is a heartbeat of our nation’s costume to development,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu recalled the glory of FESTAC ’77 held at the theatre and said Lagos State was proud to have contributed land and infrastructural support to the revival project. He added that linking the theatre to the Lagos Blue Line Metro and dedicating space for a creative hub were part of the state’s commitment to making the centre sustainable.

Responding to the honour of having the theatre named after him, Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, while appreciating the President, admitted he accepted with “mixed feelings.” He said that he conceded that the transformation of the one-dilapidated structure into a modern cultural hub had forced him to reconsider.

“My hope is that with the recreation of this institution, we wouldn’t need to go all the way to a foreign land to watch African theatre. I want to thank everyone who contributed to this, for doing what I considered and pronounced impossible,” he added.

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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.”

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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.

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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.