Nelson Ugwuagbo

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has elected Prof. Chris Piwuna, a consultant psychiatrist at the University of Jos Teaching Hospital, as its new national president.

Prof. Piwuna, who also serves as the Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Jos, succeeds Prof. Victor Osodeke, a professor of soil science at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State.

The election took place during the union’s 23rd National Delegates Congress held on Sunday in Benin City, Edo State.

Piwuna emerged president after defeating Prof. Adamu Babayo of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.

His election comes amid rising concerns over possible industrial action, following unresolved issues relating to the sharing formula of the recently released earned Academic Allowances by the Federal Government, as well as ongoing challenges such as brain drain within the academic sector.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has constituted a reconciliation committee led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki to engage aggrieved members ahead of its forthcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

The decision was reached during a meeting held on Sunday night at the Abuja residence of the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed.

The meeting was attended by several key figures in the party, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who declined to speak with journalists after the session.

Also present were Governors Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), and Peter Mbah (Enugu). Former governors in attendance included Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Achike Udenwa (Imo), Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa).

The PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun, former Caretaker Committee Chairman Ahmed Makarfi, and other members of the party’s National Working Committee also participated in the meeting.

Speaking to journalists, Governor Mohammed said the meeting was part of efforts to prepare for the party’s NEC meeting scheduled for the end of May. He also addressed recent defections within the party, saying they would ultimately strengthen the PDP.

He noted that the party was working on strategies to reclaim states previously governed by the PDP.

The party has faced internal challenges following the 2023 general elections, with fresh concerns arising over the defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and members of his cabinet to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, was seen in a viral video on Friday stepping into a classroom to teach, in a gesture that has drawn widespread public attention and praise.

The video, shared via the Governor’s official Facebook page with the caption “Once a teacher, always a teacher,” captures Aiyedatiwa writing the word “Drugs” on the board and engaging pupils in an interactive session. At one point, he asked the students to name three types of drugs, encouraging participation and eliciting enthusiastic responses.

While the school featured in the video has yet to be identified, the moment comes weeks after the governor approved the recruitment of 1,100 primary school teachers across the 18 local government areas of the state.

The recruitment, announced in March 2025, is part of a broader initiative to improve basic education in Ondo State. According to the governor, the exercise is being funded through the 2023/2024 Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) intervention programme

British-Nigerian art expert Oghenochuko ‘Ochuko’ Ojiri, known for his appearances on the BBC programme Bargain Hunt, has pleaded guilty in a terrorism financing case for failing to report a series of high-value art sales to a sanctioned individual.

Ojiri, 53, admitted to eight counts of failing to make a disclosure in the course of business under the Terrorism Act 2000, marking the first prosecution of its kind in the United Kingdom under that section of the law.

At a hearing on Friday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, prosecutors revealed that between October 2020 and December 2021, Ojiri sold artworks worth £140,000 to Nazem Ahmad, a man accused by both US and UK authorities of financing the Lebanon-based proscribed group Hezbollah.

Prosecuting counsel Lyndon Harris told the court that Ojiri was aware of Ahmad’s sanctioned status, citing his involvement in conversations and media reports that highlighted Ahmad’s alleged ties to terrorism.

“There is one discussion where Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about [Ahmad’s] terrorism links,” Harris said.

Despite hiring a third party to provide compliance advice, Harris noted that the guidance was not properly implemented. Ojiri was said to have directly negotiated with Ahmad and congratulated him on his purchases.

Ahmad was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 and later by the UK in 2023, with the British government imposing asset freezes and prohibiting any business dealings with him. Authorities said Ahmad held an “extensive art collection in the UK” and had transactions with “multiple UK-based artists, art galleries and auction houses.”

Ojiri’s gallery, formerly known as Ramp Gallery and now operating as the Ojiri Gallery in east London, was the venue for the transactions in question.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has filed a petition before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order compelling the suspended lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, to delete a satirical apology video posted on her social media platforms.

In a fresh application filed by his lead counsel, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), Akpabio argued that the video violated an existing directive of the court. He urged the court to order Senator Natasha to remove the post from all her social media accounts.

The legal move follows a video shared by Akpoti-Uduaghan on April 27, in which she offered a sarcastic apology to Akpabio. In the clip, she stated she was “sorry for the crime of maintaining dignity and self-respect” and mocked the Senate President for allegedly not “having his way” with her.

The video has since gone viral, drawing widespread attention and fueling speculation over the growing tensions between both lawmakers.

The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has attributed the February 2024 helicopter crash that claimed the life of former Access Holdings Plc Group Chief Executive Officer, Herbert Wigwe, to pilot error arising from spatial disorientation.

In its final report released this week, the NTSB identified the “pilot’s decision to continue visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC)” as the primary cause of the crash. The report stated that this led to spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of control of the aircraft.

The crash, which occurred on February 9 near the California-Nevada border, resulted in the deaths of all six people on board, including Wigwe, his wife Doreen, their son Chizi, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former Group Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc.

The NTSB also criticized the helicopter operator for what it described as “inadequate oversight of its safety management processes.” It noted that the company failed to ensure pilots completed necessary flight risk assessments, addressed maintenance issues, and complied with pre-flight regulatory requirements.

The aircraft, a Eurocopter EC130 registered as N130CZ, was operating under visual flight rules at the time of the crash, despite deteriorating weather conditions that warranted a switch to instrument-based protocols.

The report underscores significant lapses in both decision-making by the pilot and systemic safety management by the operator.