National News
Residents advise youths to embrace entrepreneurial skills, shun fraud

Residents advise youths to embrace entrepreneurial skills, shun fraud
A cross-section of Abuja residents on Saturday advised youths to shun internet fraud and acquire entrepreneurial skills to live a good life.
The residents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that doing legitimate businesses paid better than getting involved in dubious schemes.
Mr Jones Odia, a resident, said entrepreneurial skills paid more than internet fraud, adding that all it takes to do a legitimate business is to be focussed and patient.
Odia said he chose to be involved in legitimate business regardless of his poor background because he wanted to impact positively on others.
“Currently, I run a fashion business and a fashion institute for people to be trained in the art of tailoring.
“As a youth, fashion was my escape from a world of peer pressure as my friends got into the darker side of life, doing drugs and committing crimes.
“In my neighbourhood, I saw a lot of people who were my age mates got into drugs, some die, but I thank God for my dream to make people look good and that is what I am doing now,” he said.
Odia said he had always been allured by the fashion industry, even though he was a good footballer in the Pepsi Football Academy.
According to him, he left football and refused to bow to pressure from peer groups, adding that he pursued his passion for fashion and today he is a better person.
Odia advised the youth to be focused and pursue their dreams.
He also urged them to avoid peer pressure and embrace any skill of their choice to live a good life.
Victor Onwuchekwa, a veterinarian and agro-based businessman, said he knew exactly what he wanted from the moment he got his NYSC allowance.
“I used my NYSC allowance to repay a loan I took up to establish my business and that was how I started,” he said.
According to him, what supported the growth of his business is good communication with customers and social media marketing which is responsible for more than 60 per cent of his customers and referrals.
“I advise the youth to use their time to market their products on various social media platforms rather than engaging in fraud.
“I do a lot of marketing on my social media accounts and 60 per cent of my customer base is online, so I just deliver to them and referrals have been an important aspect of my growth too.
“As a youth, we all have our dreams and aspirations, go for your dreams, be focussed and avoid getting fast money, this is what leads people into fraud,” he said.
Oluwapelumi Ogah, a student and a makeup artist, advised the youth to reverence God and stop all forms of dubious businesses as they do not glorify God.
She said any youth with the fear of God would not go into the fraud of any kind, rather they would acquire skills to be good ambassadors of Christ and their country.
Ogah said she started the makeup business during one of the strikes embarked upon by the Academy Staff of Union of Universities (ASUU) and ever since had never regretted the bold step she took.
“I didn’t initially have a passion for make-up, but I needed to do something for myself and now I have progressed and grown in my skill.
“I made a lot of friends and customers that helped spread the word about my skill. Life is not all about money, there is much more to life, so we should be grateful to God,“ she said.
She advised anyone that would like to acquire any skill to do it with a purpose and enjoy what they do.
National News
VP SHETTIMA AND THE ILLOGICAL PERMUTATIONS FOR 2027

VP SHETTIMA AND THE ILLOGICAL PERMUTATIONS FOR 2027
By: Inuwa Bwala
As happened in 2023, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was to name his running mate, vested interests are again up in arms, trying to hoodwink or armstwist him into doing their bids.
What people forget, however, is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a master schemer and knows exactly what to do at the appropriate time. Contrary to what many people think, he has his own game plan and can not be compelled to play to the gallery.
In the last few weeks, I have read a plethora of writeups trying to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu prescriptions on how to chart a new political course if he hopes to achieve his second term bid in the 2027 general elections.
Many of the write ups contain permutations in the event of the emergence of a perceived strong opposition and that unless he drops his Vice President for another person, he will have a difficult task.
As a student of political history, and given our experiences, I dare say that if Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima could win in the face of all the obstacles placed in their ways from within and from without there does not appear any threat to this same ticket in 2027.
I must confess that I have not yet met a shrewed political strategist in Nigeria like the President who against all permutations settled for Kashim Shettima neither am I aware of any politician who could be as loyal dedicated and determined to his Boss as Shettima has demonstrated over the years.
The game is already on, and the biggest threat to Tinubu in 2027 is indeed any attempt to shift the goalpost in the mu
middle of the game.
As far as I know, the combination has given a very good account of itself, and with the rays of hope beyond the immediate horizon, Kashim Shettima remains President Bola Ahmed Tinubu best choice
I am aware that people have been trying to drive a wedge between them by framing false narratives that are neither here nor there. So as not to embolden those who are heating up the polity unnecessarily, the silence maintained on political permutations remains the best by both the president and the vice president.
Silence on certain issues has paid off for both of them before, and it will again pay off.
When people thought Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sick and weak and may even die before the end of his first tenure, he maintained a golden silence on his health status and rather magnified it as real thereby tricking all Nigerians into believing it was true.
Now that he has proven to be healthy and strong, the voices that predicted a doom for the presidency are silent.
VP SHETTIMA AND THE ILLOGICAL PERMUTATIONS FOR 2027
National News
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region

Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region
By: Our Reporter
A deserter from the Niger Republic Armed Forces who reportedly joined the terrorist group Boko Haram has surrendered to local authorities in Kindjandi, located in the Diffa Region of southeastern Niger Republic.
The individual, identified as Abba Ibrahim, had been serving with the Nigerien Armed Forces since 2022 before deserting his post in Bosso on March 8, 2025, according to military intelligence sources. He fled alongside a fellow soldier, Bandam Dala, and subsequently joined a Boko Haram faction active in the Lake Chad area.
Security sources disclosed that Ibrahim surrendered on April 21, 2025, arriving in Kindjandi on horseback with a rifle. He was accompanied by an unidentified young man whose details are yet to be confirmed.
Ibrahim was taken into custody by the Nigerien Armed Forces on the morning of April 22, 2025, and is currently undergoing debriefing and interrogation by military intelligence.
The Diffa Region has remained a hotspot for insurgent activity due to its proximity to Lake Chad and border areas with Nigeria, where Boko Haram and other extremist groups operate.
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region
National News
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch

ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
By: Michael Mike
The West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) has commended the initiative by ECOWAS to extend an invitation to the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger for the official launch of ECOWAS’ golden jubilee in Accra.
The Network, in a press statement on Tuesday, said it supports the initiative by ECOWAS to ease tensions and foster diplomacy in a bid to sustain the common heritage, shared history, and longstanding socio-cultural ties of the peoples.
The statement read: “As ECOWAS opens its doors and extends an arm of friendship and collaboration to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the Network encourages the three countries to reciprocate the gesture, upholding the spirit of good neighbourliness and cross-border cooperation. Such
cooperation is necessary now more than ever, especially as we require a concerted effort to confront matters of common interest to the subregion, such as security and trade.
“WADEMOS maintains the position that the restoration of trust and confidence between
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, on the one hand, and ECOWAS, on the other hand,
remains critical to sustaining cooperation and enhancing the free movement of goods and people. Building trust and confidence, we believe, is also critical to effectively combat the growing threat of terrorism across the subregion.
“Considering the close ties that exist among the West African peoples, WADEMOS
continues to urge the three Sahelian countries to be reconciliatory in their engagements with ECOWAS.”
WADEMOS is an independent and non-partisan network of diverse national and transnational civil society organisations and civic groups working to promote and defend democracy, good governance, and inclusive development in the West Africa region.
It mobilizes, coordinates, and leverages the collective voice and power of civil society and other pro-democracy actors, resources, and opportunities within the West Africa region to advance its mission. The current membership of WADEMOS stands at 47 spread across West Africa.
The WADEMOS Secretariat is based in Accra, Ghana.
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
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