President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the removal of Mr Saidu Mohammed as the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

In a State House statement issued on Wednesday signed by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President also approved the nomination of Rabiu Abdullahi Umar as the new Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, with the appointment subject to Senate confirmation.

The decision, according to the statement, was made pursuant to the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and is aimed at strengthening regulatory effectiveness in the midstream and downstream petroleum sector in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Umar is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience across the energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors, and a proven track record in strategic leadership, operational transformation, and large-scale project delivery.

He is a graduate of Accounting from Bayero University and an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

•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.

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.