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The coalition of Lagos indigenous youths has rejected the endorsement of Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu, as Lagos State governor in 2027.

The endorsement was made by the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders (CONYL), which represents youth groups across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

The CONYL issued the endorsement statement on Tuesday in Owerri, Imo State, asserting that Seyi Tinubu is free to run for governor in either Osun or Imo State, where his family is reportedly from.

However, in a statement signed on their behalf by Abdul Kareem Whyte, the Lagos indigenous youths, who criticised this move, said that non-indigenes should not be allowed to govern Lagos State.

They emphasised that since 1999, no true Lagos indigene had held the position of governor, and they described the endorsement as an attempt to marginalise the state’s indigenous population.

The group further expressed concerns about the under-development of the state and the distortion of its traditional system due to successive governments.

The youths also warned the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, to be cautious of attempts to gain endorsements from traditional rulers ahead of the 2027 election.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, yesterday, spoke on his ambition of contesting for the governorship in Lagos State, saying that becoming a governor is secondary as he has not given it serious consideration.

He stated this, yesterday, during the presentation of the budget by the governor.

He said: “Of course, I have never denied the fact that I am Obasa. Rather, I have never claimed to be related to Onikoyi, Oniru, or any of the other popular Lagos families as the case may be. I can indeed never run from the fact that I am related to my Obasa family in Ojo. But I do not need local validity to contest or run. If eventually I am contesting, I will do so from Agege.”

The Nigerian government has confirmed that it has stopped the October monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue payment to Rivers State.

The development comes amid the ongoing face-off between Governor Simi Fubara and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike.

According to the Spokesperson of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, the decision to stop the payment was made in respect of a court order.

Mokwa disclosed that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) will respect the court order, which barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian government from disbursing monthly allocations to the Rivers State government.

His words: “What I got is that the October 2024 FAAC has not been distributed yet. However, the Federal Government will obey the court order on the matter of Rivers State allocation.

“We are going to follow due diligence as long as there is no contrary order. In case there is a contrary, the status will remain.”

He added, “The process of disbursement of the October 2024 monthly allocation is going.”

The court order was obtained by the factional Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, who had filed an originating summons against the Rivers State Executive, under the leadership of Simi Fubara.

The Amaewhule faction had alleged that the Rivers State Executive was yet to comply with the order of a Federal High Court directing it to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, has said Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, is not fit to be the next governor of Lagos state.

Igbokwe shared his reservation in a Facebook post.

His comments come after the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders (CONYL) endorsed Seyi for the position in 2027.

Igbokwe criticized the groups supporting Seyi, describing the situation as a distraction and an attempt to pull President Tinubu down. The APC chieftain also questioned the credibility of those pushing for Seyi’s candidacy, labelling them “faceless people.”

“Who are these faceless people pushing Seyi Tinubu for Lagos Governor? This is a needless distraction.

“To pull PBAT down is their target. Please allow PBAT to do his very engaging and tasking job. Ruling Lagos is not the job of boys?” he wrote.

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced that Nigerians will be required to pay for the new multipurpose national identity cards due to limited government revenue.

Peter Iwegbu, NIMC head of card management services, disclosed this on Thursday during a two-day press conference in Lagos.

According to Iwegbu, the decision aims to ensure that only those who genuinely need the card receive it, thereby avoiding the inefficiencies of previous free distribution efforts. He noted that over two million identity cards produced in earlier attempts remain uncollected.

“Before we stopped due to funding, we produced more than two million cards, but a lot of them are still in our office. People were not able to pick them up because they didn’t need it,” Iwegbu explained.

He attributed the decision to low collection rates and the government’s inability to fund the production of ID cards amid revenue constraints.

“The government’s limited revenue is a major factor in the decision to make Nigerians pay for the new ID card,” he added.

To simplify access, Iwegbu said NIMC is collaborating with banks nationwide to enable citizens to request and obtain the cards at their nearest bank branch.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that food scarcity, insecurity, and rising costs have forced 65 percent of Nigerian households to forgo healthy meals due to financial constraints.

The findings, released in the General Household Survey Panel (Wave 5) conducted in partnership with the World Bank, highlight a growing food insecurity crisis across the country.

According to the report, 71 percent of households experienced price increases in major food items, while over one-third faced food shortages within the past year, particularly during June, July, and August.

As a result, nearly half (48.8 percent) of households reported reducing their food consumption as a coping mechanism. The survey also noted a sharp rise in concerns over food scarcity, with 62.4 percent of households worried about having insufficient food, compared to 36.9 percent in 2019 (Wave 4).

The NBS attributed this surge to worsening food insecurity, with over half of Nigerian families struggling to meet dietary needs.

“Approximately two out of three households (65.8 percent) reported being unable to eat healthy, nutritious, or preferred foods due to lack of money in the last 30 days,” the report revealed.

Additional findings showed:

63.8 percent of households consumed only limited types of food due to financial challenges.

60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should.

12.3 percent of households reported at least one person going without food for an entire day.

20.8 percent relied on borrowing food or assistance from friends and relatives.

Regional disparities were also evident, with southern zones reporting higher incidents of food insecurity. The proportion of households skipping meals ranged from 50.1 percent in the South West to 62.4 percent in the South East. In the northern zones, the rates varied between 34.0 percent in the North Central and 48.3 percent in the North East.

The report underscores the urgent need for interventions to address Nigeria’s deepening food insecurity and rising poverty levels.

The Supreme Court has invalidated the National Lottery Act 2005, ruling that the National Assembly lacked the constitutional authority to legislate on matters related to lotteries and games of chance.

In a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel, delivered on Friday, the court declared that only state Houses of Assembly have exclusive jurisdiction over such issues. The lead judgment was read by Justice Mohammed Idris.

The ruling follows a 2008 lawsuit filed by Lagos State and other states challenging the National Assembly’s powers to enact the law.

The court further ordered that the National Lottery Act 2005 should no longer be enforced in any state of the federation, except in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which falls under the legislative authority of the National Assembly.