By Owei David

In line with globally recognised practices, professional bodies often engage governments in power to secure policy shifts that create an enabling operational environment for businesses.

It is against this backdrop that the ‘Tourism Vanguard for Tinubu (TVT)’ was initiated as a national movement of tourism stakeholders mobilizing support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, with a focus on transforming Nigeria’s tourism sector.

Stakeholders in the South-South geopolitical zone have since keyed into this vision and are actively running with it. The zone is set to inaugurate its South-South Zonal Council this week, alongside the appointment of State Coordinators to drive grassroots mobilization.

Announcing this in Port Harcourt, Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, former Senior Special Assistant to the Bayelsa State Governor on Tourism, who now serves as the South-South Coordinator for TVT, said the movement is committed to unlocking Nigeria’s tourism potential through strategic policy advocacy and stakeholder alignment with the Tinubu administration.

“The TVT is not just about politics; it is about positioning tourism as a key driver of jobs, revenue, and national image. The South-South, with its rich coastal and cultural assets, must take the lead,” Dr. Kiyaramo stated.

He added that the forthcoming inauguration of the Zonal Council will mark a major milestone in consolidating tourism stakeholders across Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers States for the 2027 agenda.

By Abdul-Ganiyy Akanbi

A non governmental organization, the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria, MMWG, has charged the Federal Government to shift attention to addressing insecurity in the country by tackling fake news by suspected criminals.

The group was reacting to the fake news and false report carried on the social media claiming that Bishop Mathew Kukah’s House, Cathedral and N1 billion Catholic Pastoral Centre were set ablazed by Islamists in Sokoto on Saturday.

In a statement signed by the MMWG national coordinator, Ibrahim Abdullahi, and released on Sunday, the group informed that the report has since been denied by Bishop Kukah himself in an official disclaimer signed by his Director of Communications at the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Rev. Father Pascal Salifu.

It added that the military and security agencies have also denied the report, and therefore, described it as not only false, but “irresponsible and highly condemnable.”

While calling on the military and other security agencies to advance their operations from reactive to proactive onslaught against terrorists, bandits, insurgents and kidnappers, the group called on President Bola Tinubu to scrap the Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy if its managers, including those in its agencies cannot technologically pick purveyors of fake news through their postings.

Describing purveyors of fake news as terrorists who should be arrested and prosecuted promptly, MMWG said the circulated video about Sokoto Catholic Diocese attack was recorded three years ago and has no bearing with the fake report they circulated.

The group noted that the federal ministries, departments and agencies were established to tackle problems facing the masses, failure of which they risk their continued existence.

It added that the Anti-Cyber Crimes Act, 2015 that was further amended in 2024 by the National Assembly is sufficient to deal with unpatriotic and destructive elements posting fake news to promote insecurity in Nigeria, lamenting that strong legislations that could checkmate fake news are available to punish culprits but arrests are not made.

While not ruling out political motives for spreading false reports, MMWG believes that politicizing insecurity is high unpatriotic and destructive, calling for urgent steps from Federal Government to stem the tide by ordering arrest of criminals whenever they commit the crime.

The group said all Northern states like Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Kwara and others that have porous borders with neighbouring countries must be secured by the military and other security agencies to ward-off continued insecurity “while the known habitat of criminals terrorising innocent citizens must be smashed and terrorists killed to put a stop to insecurity we are facing in Nigeria.”

“Unless we promptly arrest and prosecute posters of fake news and false reports, insecurity will persist in Nigeria (God forbid),” it stated.

It would be recalled that the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto had in official disclaimer signed by its Director of Communications, Rev. Fr. Pascal Salifu denied the setting ablaze of Bishop Kukah’s house, Cathedral and N1 billion Catholic Pastoral Centre by Islamists in Sokoto.

“We wish to inform the general public that this information is totally false.

“The Bishop’s residence, the Cathedral, and the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Sokoto remain safe, intact, and fully operational.

“This video started circulating in the wake of the brutal murder of Deborah Yakubu, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, in Sokoto, May 2022. This is the work of persons committed to causing havoc in our society.

“The Bishop expresses gratitude to the military and state security agencies who responded immediately the video started circulating,” the statement reads, adding that “Sokoto remains calm and peaceful.”

By David Owei

Governor Ademola Adeleke has summoned the management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBRDC) over persistent blackout at Osogbo and other major towns in the state, describing the situation as “unbearable for residents”

In a statement issued today Thursday, the governor lamented that field reports confirmed the worsening power supply and the negative effects on businesses and residents, affirming that the IBEDC needs to explain the challenges with a view to finding a lasting solution.

“I have received widespread complaints from all our major towns. Businesses are grinding to a halt. We cannot continue like this. I am inviting the management of the IBEDC for brainstorming to find a way out.

“As much as we know that the power sector is capital intensive and despite the fact that the matter is a national challenge, Osun is suffering a lot. We must work together with IBEDC for a short term solution.

“As a government, the medium and long term solution is to diversify sources of energy supply. Renewable energy is a sustainable alternative but it must be affordable. Our government is working hard to support the renewable energy sector.

“Our state now has the Osun Electricity law. Before long, we are setting up the Osun Electricity Regulatory Commission to licence power generating companies and regulate the power market system. This will open up the state energy sector and also protect the best interest of IBEDC customers.

“While that is ongoing, we must interrogate the IBEDC for immediate solutions. The Commissioner for Energy is to organise the consultation as quickly as possible. We will also invite consumer advocacy groups for the meeting”, the governor noted.

On the support for rainstorm victims, the governor said the state emergency agency is already compiling names and details of victims, adding that the agency has been directed to ensure that all victims are captured in the data compilation.

Governor Adeleke said victims are also encouraged to submit their details at the emergency agency office, promising that the state government is working on local and national support for the victims.

He disclosed that contacts have been established with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as the National Economic Council (NEC) to rally support for the victims, commending the Osun West Sentor, Lere Oyewumi for raising the unfortunate incident on the floor of the Senate.