President Bola Ahmed Tinubu returned to Abuja around 1:20am on Thursday after concluding a three-day state visit to Brazil that yielded a raft of bilateral agreements and high-level engagements aimed at deepening Nigeria’s economic and diplomatic ties with South America’s largest economy.
The President, who arrived aboard the presidential jet, was received at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by a high-powered delegation of political leaders and senior government officials.
Among those present were Governors Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau); Uba Sani (Kaduna); Hope Uzodinma (Imo) and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara).
Also on hand to welcome the President were Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; and some Ministers, including Nyesom Wike (FCT); Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Budget and Economic Planning) and Bello Matawalle (Defence, State).
President Tinubu’s visit to Brazil was marked by the signing of five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) covering aviation, trade, science, diplomacy, and finance.
At a joint press conference in Brasília, he welcomed the imminent return of Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil giant, to Nigeria—five years after it halted its joint ventures.
“We have the largest gas repository. So I don’t see why Petrobras doesn’t join as a partner in Nigeria as soon as possible. I appreciate President Lula’s promise that this will be done,” he said.
The agreements also included a Bilateral Air Services Agreement, paving the way for direct flights between Lagos and São Paulo, to be operated by Air Peace.
Other MoUs targeted political consultations, scientific collaboration, and agricultural financing through Nigeria’s Bank of Agriculture and Brazil’s National Bank for Economic and Social Development.
Beyond the MoUs, President Tinubu underscored his administration’s economic reforms, assuring Brazilian investors of a stable, transparent financial climate.
He cited Nigeria’s capital market growth as evidence of renewed investor confidence and pledged continued reforms to “unlock capital, protect investors, and drive innovation.”
In a meeting with Nigerians in Brazil, Tinubu called on the diaspora to contribute actively to nation-building, pledging technology-driven development and food security as the pillars of a prosperous future.
“We must bring Nigeria to the forefront of Africa’s progress, driven by technology, food sovereignty, and the courage to change our destiny,” he told the gathering.
The visit, which featured red-carpet honours, bilateral meetings with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and cultural engagements, signalled what both leaders described as a new era in Nigeria–Brazil relations.
Tinubu’s state visit to Brazil was preceded by his participation at the recently concluded ninth edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9). (Nation)
An All Progressives Congress (APC) rally held in Opi-Nsukka, Enugu State, was temporarily disrupted on Saturday following reported incidents of violence, including the destruction of canopies and rally materials.
Witnesses said the rally was interrupted multiple times before party supporters regrouped and continued the event. Party officials also alleged that campaign posters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu were torn during the disturbance.
A former governorship aspirant and ex-commissioner in the state, Mr. Peter Okonkwo, who addressed the crowd after the rally reconvened, described the disruption as an attack on the party’s peaceful assembly. He noted that despite the setback, party members remained resolute in their support for the APC and President Tinubu.
“They tried to disperse us multiple times, but we stood firm and came back stronger,” he said. “We are here to show our support for the President and our belief in the future of the APC.”
No official confirmation has been made regarding the identity of those responsible for the disruption. The incident took place on the same day the Enugu State Government commissioned several projects in Nsukka, including a 5,000-shop international market and roads.
Top APC leaders in the state condemned the incident and called for an investigation. They included:
Chief Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology
Barr. Ugochukwu Agballah, Enugu State APC Chairman
House of Representatives members: Hon. Sunday Umeha, Hon. Chimobi Atu, and Hon. Prof. Paul Nnamchi.
The party leaders urged the authorities to ensure the safety of political gatherings and allow all parties to freely mobilize support.
Despite the disruption, the rally proceeded with the reception of over 1,000 new members from other political parties including the PDP, Labour Party, APGA, ADP, and YPP.
Minister Nnaji praised the resilience of the attendees and the courage of the new members, describing their defection to the APC as “a significant step toward greater political participation.”
The APC chairman, Agballah, called for a peaceful and fair political environment in the state, noting that previous rallies in other areas had experienced similar challenges.
“We believe in democracy and the right to peaceful assembly,” he said. “We urge all stakeholders to respect that.” (Vanguard)
Ex-police personnel under the aegis of the Kwara State Chapter of Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria held a peaceful demonstration in Ilorin, on Monday, demanding that they be immediately exited from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
They said the scheme has been fraught with a number of challenges since its inception; hence, retired officers who fall in the category of the pension platform should be excused like those who rose to the position of Generals in the force.
In its stead, the protesters sought the establishment of a Police Pension Board with sole responsibility of overseeing the pension matters of the police as applicable in other security agencies.
The ex-Police officers who brandished placards with inscriptions such as “President, NASS and IGP should honourably exempt the police from the “CPS, Establish Police Pension Board to manage gratuity and pensions, “Mr President: Improve Police Welfare for effective service delivery”, If CPS is so good, why did AIGs, DIGs and Is exempt themselves from the scheme?”
The Chairman of the state chapter of ARPON, Yakubu Jimoh, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, who addressed his members during the peaceful demonstration to the Press Centre of the state Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ilorin, pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently come to their aid.
He said the retired police officers should be removed from the contributory pension scheme, adding the force pension board should be established to manage the pension of the officers.
Jimoh stated that the report of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Services on the bill for the establishment of Police Pension Board, which was held in public hearing in November last year, should be released, notwithstanding that it was conducted eight months ago.
He also called on the federal government and the National Assembly to fast-track the legislative process for the disbursement of the N758 billion, a pension shortfall owed to security agencies. He noted that retired officers were informed that payment was scheduled for June 2025, but expressed concern about the delay in the disbursement.
He appealed to the National Assembly to expedite action on the payment so as to assuage the suffering of the retirees and improve the retirement welfare of both serving and retired officers.
In the letter of agitation made available to the press, Jimoh said, “Our exit being advocated should be outright removal from the scheme. Since the inception of the contributory pension scheme, it has been one problem or another.
“It is unfortunate that officials of the National Pension Commission/Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), who came to deliver a lecture on the workings of the scheme, do not reveal their bitter experiences in the hands of their host to their masters when they get back.
“We have always resented this contributory pension scheme, which provides gratuity and monthly pension, but it is just a pittance and not a living wage. We are all witnesses to the lamentations of the retired police officers on social media. Imagine Superintendent of Police being paid N2.4million as his gratuity after 35 years of meritorious service and a paltry N30,000 as monthly pension.
“This, to say the least, is responsible for corruption in the Police Force, as the officers want to make it by all means. From Commissioners of Police down the ladder are lamentations of woe. Only the Police “Generalismos”, retired Inspector Generals, Deputy Inspector Generals and Assistant Inspector Generals recently exited the scheme while this agitation was on. They are getting fat pension benefits as the case may be.
“Back to memory lane, when the Military was to exit this scheme, their senior officers did not discriminate. They pulled out all the other ranks. In the case of the Police, IGP Egbetokun was asking a Police lecture parade of Senior Officers and men in Kwara State, Where are you expecting to? Because of the regimentality of the job, the audience kept mute and watched in “admiration” of the Speaker/IGP.
“The answer from retirees since then has been that we want to exit to where the Police Generals had gone to. Those agencies that exited the scheme, such as the Military, DSS, take more pension compared to their counterparts, of the same rank in the Police.”
The Legal Adviser of ARPON, Adekunle Iwalaiye, said the retired officers deserve to be paid living pension away from the crumbs they receive monthly.
Iwalaiye, a retired Superintendent of Police, tasked the government to act on the demand of the retirees, considering the meritorious services they rendered to the country for 35 years.
“We are here to get across to the press so that our voices can be heard in respect of the pains retired Police Officers have been passing through under the current pension scheme. What we are saying is that retired Police Officers are human beings too, that we deserve a living wage, that we are Nigerians with flesh and blood flowing in our veins.
“The set of people you are seeing here are Nigerians who have used 35 years of our youthful age to serve this country in various capacities. Some of us carried bullet wounds and various degrees of wounds suffered in the cause of our service to this nation.
“And that for God being so merciful enough for us to retire well, we deserve a living pension, and our demand is just simple. The government should just do the needful by pulling us out of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the same way it has been done to some other security agencies in the country.
“It is disheartening for senior citizens to earn peanuts as monthly pension and even money that cannot get you anything as gratuity. Just imagine somebody, who retired after 35 years, being given less than N3million; the money cannot even buy a tricycle, assuming you want to go into a tricycle business.
“Somebody who retires, on a monthly basis, is being given less than N50,000 as pension that cannot even buy a bag of rice. Our wives and children are suffering. Most of our members are dying prematurely of all forms of illness. We can’t take care of our children, either.
“We have chosen not to be violent. We are not violent people. We have served this country diligently and we cannot be part of what will lead to breakdown of law and order,” he said (Punch)
The political storm cloud hanging over Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was swept away yesterday as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave him a public endorsement, dispelling lingering speculations of a rift between them.
At a high-stakes reconciliation meeting held at the President’s private residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, Tinubu, long regarded as Sanwo-Olu’s political mentor and benefactor, reportedly declared: “All is over. There is no need to beat around the bush or go into unnecessary talk. Continue with your work.”
The remarks were made before key members of the Lagos State Governance Advisory Council (GAC), the apex decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, led by its chairman, Tajudeen Olusi. The council had accompanied Sanwo-Olu to plead for forgiveness and reaffirm political loyalty.
This dramatic intervention followed days of swirling rumours and public tension. Since Tinubu’s arrival in Lagos last week, Sanwo-Olu had been visibly sidelined from major public engagements. The situation reached a climax when Tinubu appeared to snub the governor by refusing a handshake during a public event, an act that set off a firestorm of speculations over a fallout ahead of the 2027 elections.
Sources told The Guardian that the reconciliation meeting was facilitated after behind-the-scenes efforts by influential GAC members, who were alarmed by the escalating political drama. Olusi, in particular, was said to have appealed to Tinubu to forgive the governor, acknowledging that the President had been visibly unhappy with certain developments in Lagos.
Chairman of the GAC, Alhaji Olusi, reportedly told the President: “We know you are not pleased with some of us, especially the governor. We ask for mercy.”
In response, Tinubu, according to multiple sources present at the meeting, said: “It’s all over now. All is forgiven.”
The President also told Sanwo-Olu and the GAC members to go ahead with the planned local government elections scheduled to be held on July 12, saying, “I am too busy for council matters. Go ahead and ensure the right thing is done. Give fair opportunities to everyone.”
At that moment, Sanwo-Olu and members of the council were said to have prostrated before the President in a symbolic gesture of reconciliation and loyalty.
Though neither Sanwo-Olu nor Tinubu publicly confirmed a dispute, APC insiders at national, zonal, and state levels had hinted at growing friction. Sources cited Sanwo-Olu’s alleged attempts to assert greater independence by marginalising Tinubu loyalists within the state’s political structure. (Guardian)
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has extended his heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and many fans of Mike Ejeagha, one of Nigeria’s greatest folklorists, songwriters, and musicians in the Igbo language, who passed on to eternity on Friday at 95.
In a statement issued by the Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu lauded Mike Ejeagha for using his music and distinctive storytelling style to preserve and project Igbo culture and customs, inspiring generations.
“May the spirit and values of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha’s music continue to remind us that music has the power to revive, heal and redirect energy towards worthy causes that help build our nation,”President Tinubu says.
The President commended the Enugu State Government, led by Governor Peter Mbah, for honouring the music icon while still alive.
President Tinubu prays to God Almighty to grant the soul of the departed eternal rest and comfort to all who mourn his loss.
Mike Ejeagha, popularly known as “Gentleman Mike Ejeagha,” was a renowned Nigerian folklorist, songwriter, and highlife musician born on April 4, 1930, in Imezi Owa, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria.
He passed away on June 6, 2025, at the age of 95.
Ejeagha’s music enjoyed renewed popularity in 2024 when his 1983 track Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Ochewent viral through a dance challenge, introducing his work to younger audiences.
He is celebrated as one of Nigeria’s greatest folklorists and a custodian of Igbo culture through music. (VON)
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