News
Sanwo-Olu, Ambode Hold Talks Over ‘Future Of Lagos’
The cord of consanguinity within the All Progressives Congress (APC) family in Lagos State seems to be waxing strong with the refreshing sight of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his immediate predecessor Akinwunmi Ambode.
The two men beamed with pleasing teeth-opening smiles after a meeting on Monday.
“Today, I welcomed my brother and predecessor, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, back to Lagos House on a courtesy visit,” an elated Sanwo-Olu captioned social media photos of himself and his predecessor.
“Our conversation centred around the future of Lagos and building on the solid foundation already in place. I value his perspective as we all work together to ensure that Lagos remains on the path of growth and development.”
Monday’s meeting came over one year after Sanwo-Olu and Ambode met publicly at a reception organised in honour of President Bola Tinubu at the Lagos House in the Marina area of the state in June 2023.
It was the first time Sanwo-Olu, Ambode and another ex-Lagos governor Babatunde Fashola met in over four years since the wind of internal wrangling slapped the ruling political class in the state.
How It All StartedSince Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, Ambode is the only former governor of the state who was in office for a single term.
Tinubu was governor between 1999 and 2007 before he handed over to Fashola who was in office from 2007 to 2015 and later Nigeria’s Minister of Works and Housing between 2015 and 2023.
Ambode took over in 2015 but lost his re-election at the APC primary in the 2019 electioneering process due to intra-party squabbles as APC strongman in Lagos (Tinubu) was reported to have favoured the incumbent governor (Sanwo-Olu), over Ambode.
Since he ended his single term in 2019, Ambode has not been seen at political or social functions with his predecessors – Tinubu and Fashola. He has also not been seen at events with the incumbent governor.
The former governor has also been reticent at the few times he was pictured at APC events at the national level like in May 2021 when he was appointed the deputy chairman of the South-West sub-committee of the Contact and Strategy Committee of the ruling party.
There were reports that Ambode would contest the party’s governorship ticket with Sanwo-Olu at the primary in May 2022. Rather, his ally, Wale Oluwo, threw his hat in the ring but lost to Sanwo-Olu.
Unlike Fashola and Sanwo-Olu, Ambode did not publicly endorse Tinubu’s 2023 presidential ambition.
Ambode also did not make any comment on Tinubu’s victory after the polls. However, there were hints of reconciliation when Sanwo-Olu attended Ambode’s 60th birthday party in Lagos on June 14, 2023.
News
City Boy Movement: FTSE’s Nigeria frontier market restoration validates Tinubu’s reforms
The City Boy Movement, Nigeria’s premier youth advocacy organisation, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the economic reforms that paved the way for Nigeria’s return to FTSE Russell’s Frontier Market status, describing the development as an important vote of confidence in the Nigerian economy.
According to verified reports, FTSE Russell is proceeding with Nigeria’s reclassification from “Unclassified” to “Frontier Market” status, effective September 21, 2026. Nigeria was removed from the category in September 2023 following difficulties accessing foreign exchange and repatriating capital.
The Director General of the City Boy Movement, Francis Shoga, described the decision as a significant validation of the progress made under the Tinubu administration.
“When our grand patron, President Bola Tinubu, took office, Nigeria’s foreign exchange market was under severe pressure, with billions of dollars in investor funds trapped in the country.
Three years on, FTSE Russell reports that FX queues have cleared, and international institutional investors no longer face significant delays in repatriating their capital. Nigeria is rejoining the global investment benchmark after being removed.
“That is measurable progress, independently assessed by one of the world’s leading index providers,” Shoga said.
He further commended the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and capital market stakeholders for their role in strengthening market confidence and supporting the reforms.
“There is still work to be done, particularly in ensuring that these gains translate into better living standards for Nigerians but we should still acknowledge progress when independent global institutions recognise it. We therefore urge the subnationals to deepen investments in human capital and social development at the grassroots particularly for the youthful Nigerian population.
“On behalf of the City Boy Movement, we commend President Bola Tinubu for staying the course, appreciate the SEC, CBN and capital market stakeholders for their contributions, and congratulate Nigerians on this important milestone,” Shoga stated.
News
FG commissions 37 electric buses for civil servants
Walson-Jack described the commissioning as her “parting gift” to federal civil servants, coming less than 24 hours before the end of her tenure as Head of the Civil Service.
•Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack
The Federal Government has commissioned 37 electric buses as the first batch of 100 approved under the Renewed Hope Mass Transit Programme.
Each of the electric buses can carry up to 200 passengers and cover at least 200 kilometres on a full charge.
The full deployment will be completed by December 2026.
The buses were unveiled on Wednesday at Eagle Square, Abuja, with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, describing the initiative as a significant step towards improving working conditions for government employees.
Walson-Jack described the commissioning as her “parting gift” to federal civil servants, coming less than 24 hours before the end of her tenure as Head of the Civil Service.
“What we have here is 37 buses, being the first instalment of the 100 Electric Buses,” she said.
She noted that transportation costs and challenges directly affect workers’ finances, safety, punctuality and productivity.
“For many Civil Servants, the daily commute shapes their finances, their safety, their punctuality, and ultimately their productivity,” she said.
The buses will initially operate on selected routes under a pilot phase before being expanded nationwide.
They will eventually be deployed to Federal Secretariats across the states to extend the benefits to civil servants outside Abuja.
News
NIGCOMSAT To Procure Two New Communication Satellites
The deployment is expected to extend connectivity to underserved, unserved and hard -to- reach communities, strengthen national communications resilience and increase Nigeria’s capacity to deliver satellite e-enabled services.
The federal government, through the Federal Executive Council (FEC), has approved the acquisition of two communications satellites, NIGCOMSAT 2A and NIGCOMSAT 2B.
This was contained in a statement released by the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), and signed by the Acting Head, Corporate Affairs Division, Stephen Kwande.
He said that the satellites, to be deployed by Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), are designed to expand Nigeria’s satellite capacity and strengthen broadband, broadcasting, enterprise and critical communications services.
NIGCOMSAT will lead implementation under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
The deployment is expected to extend connectivity to underserved, unserved and hard -to- reach communities, strengthen national communications resilience and increase Nigeria’s capacity to deliver satellite e-enabled services.
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