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Amupitan wants INEC to be funded directly from federation’s account

Amupitan made the call while speaking in Abuja on Thursday during the public presentation of Shadows: Protest Essays on Africa’s Most Consequential Country (1999-2023), a two-volume book authored by Eniola Bello, managing director of ThisDay Newspaper.

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Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has demanded that the commission should be funded directly from the federation’s account to guarantee free, fair and credible elections.

Amupitan made the call while speaking in Abuja on Thursday during the public presentation of Shadows: Protest Essays on Africa’s Most Consequential Country (1999-2023), a two-volume book authored by Eniola Bello, managing director of ThisDay Newspaper.

The INEC chairman said that the current budgetary process undermines the commission’s financial independence and operational efficiency.

Amupitan said although the Constitution places the commission on the first-line charge, the existing funding framework does not guarantee genuine financial autonomy.

He said that INEC’s dependence on the annual appropriation process and the federal government’s envelope budgeting system makes it difficult for the electoral body to function independently.

“Experience over the years has shown that as long as INEC is still subject to the normal envelope system and the processes of appropriation, having to go to the national assembly, it is very difficult to operate in such a situation without wasting your time,” Amupitan said.

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ASCON To Be Rebranded “National School Of Government”

Situated at Topo, Badagry Lagos, President Tinubu said that the proposed institution would serve as a national centre for leadership development, policy delivery and executive capacity building.

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President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a bill seeking to repeal the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) Act and establish the National School of Government, Nigeria.

Situated at Topo, Badagry Lagos, President Tinubu said that the proposed institution would serve as a national centre for leadership development, policy delivery and executive capacity building.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the president’s letter transmitting the National School of Government Bill 2026 to the upper chamber during Wednesday plenary.

In the letter, Tinubu urged the Senate to give the proposed legislation expeditious consideration, stressing the need to establish a dedicated institution to strengthen leadership development and improve the capacity of public officials to deliver government policies.

The president invoked Section 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to formally transmit the bill to the Senate for legislative consideration.“Pursuant to Section 58 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, I forward herewith the National School of Government Bill 2026 for the kind consideration of the Senate,” Tinubu stated in the letter.

He expressed the hope that the lawmakers would give the bill the necessary attention and facilitate its consideration.

According to the president, the proposed institution would serve as a national centre for leadership development, policy delivery and executive capacity building.

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Sanwo-Olu Appoints Olatunbosun Ogunbanwo, 5 Others as Perm Secs

Ogunbanwo brings nearly three decades of experience in public service, strategic communication, public relations and information management.

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•Mr. Olatunbosun Ogunbanwo

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appointed Mr. Olatunbosun Ogunbanwo, Director of Public Affairs at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, as a Permanent Secretary in the State Public Service, alongside five other senior officers.

The five other senior officers appointed as Permanent Secretaries as conveyed by the Head of Service (HOS), Mr. Bode Agoro, in Circular Ref. No. CIR/HOS/’26/071, dated October 13, 2026, are Dr. Olawale Mahadiyu Adegbite, Director of Medical Services, Health Service Commission; Mrs. Folashade Aina Thomas-Orogan and Mr. Adebayo Mubashiru Haroun, both Directors, State Counsel at the Ministry of Justice.

The rest are Mrs. Olayinka Margret Oye-Bamgbose, Director of Administration and Human Resource at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and Mrs. Bilquees Toyin Adekoya, Principal/Director of Education at Education District VI.

The appointments, which take effect from October 13, 2026, were aimed at reinvigorating the State’s policy implementation apparatus and strengthening public service delivery.

Mr. Olatunbosun Ogunbanwo

Ogunbanwo brings nearly three decades of experience in public service, strategic communication, public relations and information management.

Before his appointment, Ogunbanwo served as Director of Public Affairs at the Ministry of Health and previously held the same position at the Ministry of Agriculture.

He also played key communication roles in Lagos State’s responses to public health emergencies, including Ebola, COVID-19, Lassa fever and diphtheria.

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NAF Crash: Residents Fear Disease as Body Parts Foul Community River

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Residents of Igbokoda in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State are grappling with a severe public health and environmental crisis following the crash of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 aircraft into a swamp near the community.

The aircraft, on a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos, crashed last Monday, killing all 25 people on board. Recovery efforts continue amid difficult swampy terrain, with large sections of the wreckage and human remains still unrecovered.

The traditional ruler of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, said residents have been battling an extremely offensive odour caused by decomposing human remains floating in the river. “The odour is extremely offensive. So many parts of the human body are floating around in the river. Some of the bodies have not been recovered. They have decomposed, and it is affecting everything,” he stated.

He warned that the river — the community’s main source of water for drinking, cooking and fishing — has been polluted by the remains and aviation fuel spillage. Residents can no longer safely use the water, raising fears of a disease outbreak.

Ondo State authorities confirmed they are assessing the environmental and public health impact, with plans for decontamination. Recovery teams, including the Navy, Air Force and emergency agencies, are intensifying efforts to retrieve remaining wreckage and remains.

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