•Odumegwu-Ojukwu

President Bola Tinubu has named Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu replaces Yusuf Tuggar who recently resigned to pursue the Bauchi governorship election in 2027.

Sola Enikanolaiye has been appointed as the new minister of state in the foreign ministry.

Friday, May 1, has been declared a public holiday to commemorate this year’s International Workers’ Day.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the announcement on behalf of the federal government in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Magdalene Ajani

The minister congratulates workers nationwide, commending their commitments and contributions to national development.

The minister emphasised that the dedication of Nigerian workers remains vital to the country’s growth and economic progress, urging them to sustain values of patriotism, productivity and diligence.

Tunji-Ojo also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving workers’ welfare, enhancing security and creating an enabling environment for economic expansion.

Photo: Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa said Monday that effectively from the September 2026 academic session, only the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC, approved textbooks will be use for instructional materials in primary , junior and senior secretary schools nationwide.

“Only a select number of top-ranked textbooks will be approved for use in schools per subject, effectively eliminating the glut of materials that has long plagued the system and confused teachers, students, and parents alike,” said Alausa.

He emphasised that any textbook not ranked under the new system will be barred from classrooms, regardless of its previous licensing status, signalling a firm commitment to raising standards and restoring order in the education sector.

He explained that under the new framework, the NERDC, will retain its statutory role of approving textbooks but will now go a step further by ranking them through a rigorous national evaluation process.

This ranking will be done by committees to determine the most suitable and highest-quality textbooks for each subject and level of education.

These committees will subject submitted textbooks to strict academic and pedagogical scrutiny, assessing their relevance, clarity, and alignment with national standards before assigning rankings.

The policy will be backed by nationwide sensitisation efforts targeting educators and key stakeholders to ensure compliance.

The government said that the reform aligns Nigeria with global best practices in instructional material standardisation and forms part of broader efforts to boost learning outcomes, strengthen quality assurance, and equip students with reliable, high-standard educational resources.