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Nduka Obaigbena, a congenital blackmailer and hustler, “lies without shame” Says Alake and Onanuga

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Ordinarily, we consider it beneath us as well-bred media professionals to continue to engage in public spat with Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, a congenital blackmailer and hustler, especially in deference to ceasefire calls by well-meaning leaders and elders. The interventions followed our statement on Monday entitled “Obaigbena and His THISDAY/ARISE News’ Hypocritical Grandstanding On Public Morality”.
But we crave the indulgence of these well-meaning Nigerians to allow us respond to Obaigbena’s latest rambling, called a statement.

The largely diversionary composition was an attempt to deodorise his ethical problems.

Obaigbena tried to deflect attention from those pertinent issues we raised about ethics. There is nothing he said to creditably detract a jot from our accurate summation of his well-known perverse and ignoble approach to media practice over the years, a practice that continues to undermine the integrity of journalism profession in the country.

In his first statement attacking us, Obaigbena craftily attempted to mis-characterise as an attack on free speech, our principled stand against his blackmail to have Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu appear on Arise TV and its PDP sponsored Town Hall meetings.

In the second statement, he was still adamant that our candidate must attend his Town Hall debate, despite our stance that our candidate is already executing another communications strategy to reach the most important target: the Nigerian voters. We, repeat again: We will not make our candidate available to validate a scheme which, in the light of unassailable information at our disposal, is nothing but a racket by the Arise TV owner, designed to embarrass our candidate.

We now proceed to give a blow-by-blow response to Obaigbena’s latest very poor attempt at red-herring:

Rigmarole on Dasukigate:

How laughable that Obaigbena is now denying he was not in EFCC custody for receiving illicit funds from National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki. He attempted to rationalise that the money received was compensation for losses incurred by newspaper proprietors following the clampdown by security agents. But he craftily glossed over the meat of the matter: the grave misconduct to have the funds paid into the bank account of Hydrocarbon, a shell company (obviously set up for money-laundering) to which Obaigbena was the sole signatory. Since NPAN has bank accounts, why was the money not transferred there directly?

Moreover, the petty lie in Obaigbena’s statement was punctured by the joint disclaimer issued on 12 December 2015 by Tribune, New Telegraph and Peoples Daily in whose names he had collected money. The three newspapers said they did not receive a kobo.

His claim that he pocketed the chunk of the money received from Dasukigate as compensation for the alleged terrorist attack on his Abuja office is a laughable afterthought.

Rewriting June 12 story:

Contrary to Obaigbena’s lame attempt to rationalise his campaign against June 12 as action taken in furtherance of his membership of National Republican Convention (NRC), nothing can be further from the truth. His long story about sitting close to MKO Abiola on a London-Johannesburg flight begs the questions. He craftily sidestepped the issue of being recruited by the military regime to go on CNN to unconscionably declare “Abiola did not win any election”, shortly after NEC suspended the announcement of June 12 results. That dirty campaign was to prepare the grounds for the eventual annulment on June 23 of the election. If Obaigbena was pro-democracy as he falsely claims, why did he take up media consultancy work to Ernest Shonekan, the head of the Interim National Government, cobbled together by the junta to legitimise the illegality?

South African/London fiascos:

Obaigbena also tried to downplay the gravity of his misadventure in South Africa for which he had to flee, abandoning his office equipment and furniture till today. On one hand, he lied that it was President Nelson Mandela who asked that he set up the newspaper in South Africa because the dominant newspapers in the country were owned by the white establishment. On the other hand, he claimed that the same white establishment frustrated his venture. He forgot that when he floated ThisDay South Africa in 2003-4, a black President was in power!

Contrary to claims that he met a hostile environment, his habitual unethical practices gave him out. His business model of funding his newspapers and a champagne lifestyle from proceeds of blackmail rackets fell flat in South Africa where rules of a good society are rigidly enforced. To deceive advertisers, he inflated his circulation figures which the regulatory agency frowned at. Also, he owed printers and his workers. Gale of complaints against the “carpetbagger from Nigeria” soon reached the authorities and one official was quoted as famously saying, “You call yourself Thisday, very soon it will become That-day”. The prophecy came to pass with chilling accuracy soon after.

On his misadventure in London, Obaigbena disingenuously put it down to Forex crisis as if it happened this year or last year. The details of the judgment by the presiding judge were damning enough: Obaigbena lacks the personal honour and integrity to run any decent company.

His claim that his seven year directorship ban has been appealed is not the full story. He already lost one appeal at the Chancery in August.

Payment of salaries/pension:

Obaigbena tried to deflect his chronic indebtedness as something common in the media industry. It is an affliction peculiar to THISDAY/Arise which purports to make lots of money (as reflected by bumper advert patronage) but curiously still fails to pay workers as and when due. Even when the economy was relatively “good”, Obaigbena never paid workers regularly. His popular saying to staff, as well known in the industry, is that : “THISDAY/Arise ID card alone is your meal ticket”.

Such corrupt philosophy underlies the unethical practices in media companies run by Obaigbena.

A classic illustration of the untold hardship and dehumanization of his workers was provided by Mr. Paul Ibe, who is now the Special Adviser on Media to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Obaigbena tricked Ibe to South Africa with mouth-watering offers. But Ibe ended up enduring hunger there before finding his way back to Nigeria. Following a suit filed at the National Industrial Court in 2011 (suit no NICN/ABJ/26/2011), Mr. Ibe was awarded damages against Obaigbena for backlog of salaries, non-remittance of taxes and pension deducted from his wages over the years and outstanding entitlement. Tens of other staff of Thisday have died due to lack of money for medical care while awaiting Obaigbena to pay them their entitlements.

Open partisanship/Mefy racket:

We observe too that Obaigbena disingenuously sidestepped the questions raised about employing the services of Dr Reuben Abati, a card-carrying member of PDP as anchor person on Arise TV, as well as Obaigbena’s multi-million Naira consultancy role in the ill-fated attempt by a sitting Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele to compete for APC’ presidential ticket.

These are weighty moral issues Obaigbena, with all his resourceful facilities to lie and dissemble, could not defend.

Again, we challenge him to deny if Abati wasn’t the running-mate of Senator Buruji Kashamu on PDP’s platform in the governorship contest in Ogun in 2019. Kashamu was a wanted drug lord in the US. Of course, the same Abati, who never allows any opportunity to pass without attacking Asiwaju Tinubu daily, would have been one of those Obaigbena would have lined up at his dubious Town Hall meetings to “interrogate” Tinubu! Such shameless, unethical practice!

Further, while pontificating on public morality, Obaigbena conveniently ignored the perversity of collecting hundreds of millions as “media consultant” to Godwin Emefiele, the occupant of a critical public office from which utmost sobriety and non-partisanship is expected. Through patronizing reportage in THISDAY/Arise, Emefiele was egged on to openly descend into the political arena and bid for the presidential ticket of APC in its last primaries in what is now commonly called the “Mefy racket”.

This has antecedents: Obaigbena was also “consultant” to President Jonathan as he was to Chief Ernest Shonekan. Whatever happened to journalism ethics?

The culture of media merchandising:

In a futile attempt to burnish his image, Obaigbena resorted to dropping the names of U.S. and UK leaders who had attended events staged by him. Dropping the names and pictures of these former Western leaders who attended paid-for-appearance ThisDay events as if they attended when serving in office, is another Obaigbena’s vainglorious clout chasing scheme to scam the public. He failed to disclose that the high-profile personalities who delivered keynote addresses at such events were handsomely paid from money he collected through media blackmail from captains of industries notably bank chiefs. To con the outside world, Obaigbena had boasted in an interview with New York Times that he had corporate fortune of $100m accruing to his company annually. But later, tax officials in Lagos could not reconcile those bogus claims with his tax records and non-remittance of taxes deducted from workers. It was so easy to expose his fake lifestyle.

Since Nduka Obaigbena introduced his blackmail and extortionist brand of journalism into Nigeria, generation of Bank CEOs, company Chief Executives, politicians and Governors from 1999 have suffered in silence, seeking liberation from oppressive journalism by intimidation. In 2009, Nduka Obaigbena raided Niger Delta states with his Thisday Entertainment’s packaged Niger-Delta Peace Concert. He coerced the Niger-Delta Governors then to contribute hundreds of millions of Naira with a promise to bring A-list pop stars such as Jay-Z and Beyonce to perform. After collecting the money the promised superstars didn’t show up. One of the governors was at the airport till almost midnight waiting to receive the superstars. These governors complained and suffered in silence because they were afraid of Nduka and his Thisday Newspaper which he has turned to instrument of oppression.

We took notice of Reuben Abati’s ramblings on Arise TV on his Wednesday Morning Show where he laboured in vain to defend his despicable record and perversions. Abati queried our statement that he is a registered member of PDP.

The query is rather for him. How did he become a deputy governorship candidate to the Late Senator Buruji Kashamu in 2019 without a membership of PDP as required by law?

We really do not expect much from Abati. He is a known pathological liar, who has lived on lies and deceit all his professional life. While he has successfully created the image of a conscientious public intellectual over the years, the fact is that he is a morally bankrupt man who has no scruples in selling his soul to the devil as long as money is involved.

Abati has very odious reputation within the corporate and political circles as “anything goes newspaper columnist” as long as the money is right.

Alake, Adviser, Media and Strategic Communication, and Onanuga, Director of Media and Publicity, sent the statement on behalf of All Progressives Congress (APC) Media and Communication Directorate

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Oyetola Seeks Stronger State, Private Sector Partnership to Unlock Blue Economy Potential

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Diri Advocates Stronger Coastal State Action

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, has called for stronger collaboration between the Federal Government, state governments, the private sector and development partners to accelerate the implementation of Nigeria’s National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy, describing sub-national participation as critical to unlocking the sector’s vast economic potential.

Speaking on Thursday at the Second Quarter 2026 Citizens’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Oyetola said Nigeria had moved beyond policy formulation and must now focus on implementation capable of delivering measurable economic benefits.

The engagement, themed “From Policy to Action: Mobilising Sub-National Governments for Effective Implementation of Nigeria’s National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy,” brought together government officials, diplomats, development partners, industry leaders, academics and representatives of state governments.

The minister said the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy had provided a strategic framework for harnessing Nigeria’s oceans, inland waterways, fisheries and coastal resources, but stressed that its success depended on coordinated action across all levels of government. He noted that many of the country’s blue economy assets were located within states and communities, making sub-national governments indispensable partners in driving investment, creating jobs, improving food security and promoting environmental sustainability.

Oyetola said reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda had strengthened stakeholder engagement, attracted investment, improved maritime safety and enhanced the competitiveness of Nigeria’s ports. He cited the 2025 Container Port Performance Index by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, which ranked Tin Can Island Port as the tenth most improved port globally and Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, as the twelfth most improved between 2020 and 2025. He added that ongoing port modernisation and plans to develop new deep seaports in states including Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Lagos and Ondo would further strengthen Nigeria’s position as West Africa’s preferred maritime hub.

The minister also noted that improved port operations had contributed to Nigeria recording a national trade surplus consistently since 2024. On inland waterway safety, he said the ministry had intensified collaboration with relevant agencies and state governments, distributed life jackets nationwide and urged states to replace unsafe wooden passenger boats with modern fibre boats. He further called on coastal states to align their development plans with the national policy while encouraging private investment in fisheries, aquaculture, maritime transport, tourism, shipbuilding, renewable energy and marine biotechnology.

Delivering the keynote address, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Duoye Diri, commended President Tinubu for establishing the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, describing it as a strategic step towards diversifying Nigeria’s economy. He said Bayelsa followed suit by creating its own Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in June 2024 to drive the blue economy component of the state’s A-S-S-U-R-E-D Prosperity Agenda.

Diri said the state ministry had commenced major fish production at the Bayelsa Aquaculture Village in Yenegwe, where an operational hatchery was breeding high-quality catfish fingerlings and juveniles to boost food security and create jobs. He added that the state had expanded its marine transport fleet and was aggressively pursuing the development of the proposed Agge Deep Seaport as the next maritime gateway for the Niger Delta.

The governor also proposed five key pathways for coastal states to maximise opportunities in the blue economy: establishing dedicated ministries of marine and blue economy, enacting enabling legislation, properly mapping and securing their maritime domains, investing in credible data collection and analysis, and developing skills, markets, innovation hubs and logistics infrastructure.

In his presentation on private sector investment and industrialisation, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, said the successful implementation of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy would depend largely on sustained private sector participation. He noted that the policy targets the creation of three million jobs within its first four years, annual sectoral growth of seven per cent and the reservation of at least 50 per cent of new jobs for young people aged between 18 and 35.

Dangote, who was represented by the Managing Director of Dangote Port Operations, Simeon Akin Omole, said industrial transformation required policy consistency, quality infrastructure, access to finance and investor confidence. He identified infrastructure-led industrialisation, value-chain development and stronger public-private partnerships as the three pillars needed to unlock the sector’s enormous potential.

He said the Federal Government’s approvals for major deep seaport projects in various parts of the country would stimulate industrial clusters incorporating agro-processing, petrochemicals, shipbuilding, cold-chain logistics and maritime technology, while also boosting Nigeria’s competitiveness.

Dangote further identified the fisheries value chain as a major investment opportunity, noting that despite rising domestic production, Nigeria still imported fish worth nearly one billion dollars annually due to a significant supply deficit. He said investments in aquaculture, hatcheries, feed production, processing, cold-chain logistics and export infrastructure could reduce imports, conserve foreign exchange, create more than 500,000 jobs and position Nigeria as a leading exporter of fisheries products.

He also stressed that public-private partnerships should go beyond financing arrangements to become strategic collaborations involving government, investors, research institutions and coastal communities. According to him, coastal industrial clusters supported by modern ports, Special Economic Zones and digital infrastructure would attract long-term investment and accelerate industrialisation.

Goodwill messages were delivered by the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator (Dr) Akon Eyakenyi, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Wasiu Sanni Eshinlokun, representatives of the governors of Ondo and Borno states, and private sector operators, all of whom pledged continued support for the successful implementation of Nigeria’s marine and blue economy agenda.


L-R: Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Duoye Diri; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, and Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator (Dr) Akon Eyakenyi, at the Second Quarter 2026 Citizens’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Thursday.

 


L-R: Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Wasiu Sanni Eshinlokun; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy; Mrs. Fatima Mahmood; Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy; Dr. Adeboyega Oyetola and Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator (Dr.) Akon Eyakenyi, at the Second Quarter 2026 Citizens’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Thursday.

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Update : Adeyemi Matthew Is a Fraudster Plotting to Implicate Chief of Staff, Says Onanuga

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…says Gbajabiamila first reported fake presidential agency to DSS, Police

…adds police file eight-count charge against suspect, two accomplices

The Presidency on Wednesday described Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew as a con artist with a long record of elaborate scams, warning politicians and the public against using his claims to falsely implicate the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said Matthew had been parading himself as Director-General of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

Onanuga said the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President was, in fact, the first to alert security agencies to the activities of the illegal body after complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council that another so-called government agency appeared to be working at cross-purposes with it. NigeriaCurrent Affairs

According to the statement, the Chief of Staff had, in a letter dated October 17, 2025, asked the Department of State Services and the Police to investigate “fraudsters and impostors” forging appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.

The forged documents, the Presidency said, carried fake signatures, reference numbers and seals, and were being used to claim appointments into non-existent bodies, especially the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

Gbajabiamila’s petition also alleged that Adeyemi Matthew operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja, held meetings with Nigerians and foreigners, and requested a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate United States visas for some of his purported staff.

The Presidency said the Chief of Staff warned the security agencies that the development constituted a serious criminal act capable of undermining the integrity of the Presidency and official government communication.

The statement said the petition was accompanied by copies of the forged appointment letter, a request for a note verbale to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and pictures of engagements obtained from the illegal agency’s website.

It further added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also raised concern about the fake agency after Adeyemi Matthew held a meeting with ambassadors at Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments, Asokoro, on October 10, 2025, without recourse to the ministry.

In a letter dated October 15, 2025, signed by Ambassador Anderson Madubuike, the ministry wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff requesting clarification on Adeyemi Matthew’s agency, describing his action as a breach of diplomatic practice.

“This act contravenes extant rules and regulations guiding diplomatic practices globally”, the ministry stated.

The Presidency said the Office of the National Security Adviser later wrote to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on October 20, while the OSGF, on October 29, wrote to the Chief of Staff seeking clarification following inquiries from government and non-governmental bodies.

The statement explained that Gbajabiamila had already sent a clear rebuttal to the Foreign Affairs Ministry two days earlier, stating that he never issued any appointment letter to Adeyemi Matthew as Director-General of the fake council.

He said the Chief of Staff could not have appointed anyone into a non-existent agency, adding that appointments and appointment letters are the responsibility of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, not the Chief of Staff.

In another response to the OSGF on November 5, 2025, Gbajabiamila again denied knowledge of Adeyemi Matthew and the fake agency, saying Matthew and the so-called Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council were unknown to his office.

The Presidency said the Police, acting on the Chief of Staff’s October 17 petition, arrested Adeyemi Matthew on October 27, 2025, at the Abuja office where he allegedly operated the scam.

Police investigators also searched the office and Adeyemi Matthew’s residence in Suleja, recovering documents and exhibits.

In his statement to the Police, Adeyemi Matthew allegedly claimed that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in procuring the fake appointment letter. Police later discovered that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel, Abuja, on October 22, five days before Matthew’s arrest.

According to Onanuga, the Police established that Adeyemi Matthew’s purported agency was fictitious, that he forged his appointment letter and other recovered documents, and that he falsely paraded himself as a government appointee.

The Police also found that he falsely solicited a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to secure United States visas for himself and his purported staff.

The statement further disclosed that Adeyemi Matthew operated 34 bank accounts, including nine opened in the names of fictitious agencies identified as FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership, FIPA-APP, and FCT Investment Promotion Act.

It said Adeyemi Matthew allegedly used fake documents to fraudulently open a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, though no government money had been transferred into the account. NigeriaCurrent Affairs

Quoting the police investigation report by Assistant Commissioner Kabir Mogaji, the Presidency said Adeyemi Matthew’s conduct amounted to criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, bringing the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Presidency into disrepute before the public and the international community.

Based on the investigation, the Police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi Matthew and two alleged accomplices at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 27, 2025. He is expected in court on July 27.

The Presidency said Adeyemi Matthew was on police bail when he recently claimed that the Chief of Staff appointed him as Director-General of the fictitious agency, a claim Onanuga said contradicted his statement to the Police in November 2025.

The fresh claim, according to the statement, prompted the Chief of Staff to issue a disclaimer on June 8, 2026, consistent with earlier advisories that Adeyemi Matthew was an impostor.

“The case of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a clear case of a con artist who appears to have built a web of false claims to deceive unsuspecting government officials and the public into playing by his scam book,” Onanuga said.

He added that Adeyemi Matthew had a history of fraudulent misrepresentation, recalling that in November 2016, he allegedly paraded himself as an ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation, which he claimed was affiliated with the United Nations.

The statement said Adeyemi Matthew claimed to have been elected in New Delhi, India, and was celebrated by local media until the United Nations denied the existence of such a body.

The Presidency advised politicians and members of the public to disregard Adeyemi Matthew’s claims against the Chief of Staff rather than accepting his narrative without scrutiny.

It urged them to await the trial of Adeyemi Matthew and his alleged accomplices, as well as the court’s judgment, warning that public comments on the matter are sub judice.

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Update : NIMC Records Facilitate Arrest of Seven Boko Haram, ISWAP Commanders – Ojo Reveals

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‎NIMC database helped arrest seven Boko Haram, ISWAP commanders returning from Hajj – Minister

‎The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said on Friday that Nigeria’s integrated identity management system led to the arrest of seven suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders returning from the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage.

‎Tunji-Ojo disclosed this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after President Bola Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission Act 2026 into law, as contained in a statement signed by the President’s aide, Bayo Onanuga.

‎According to the minister, the suspects were arrested last Thursday at the Katsina airport after returning from Mecca and were subsequently handed over to the Department of State Services.

‎He said the arrests were made possible through the integration of the National Identity Management Commission database with the Nigeria Immigration Service database and its connection to Interpol.

‎”I know, sometime ago, the Senate President was alarmed by how some terrorists went on pilgrimage, wondering how they crossed our borders. We inherited a fractured system.

‎”But I’m happy to tell you that even last week, Thursday, seven of the known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP at the point of coming back from Mecca were arrested in Katsina at the airport and were handed over to the DSS.

‎”This is only possible because NIMC’s ID is already connected with the immigration database, and it’s already speaking to even the Interpol 24/7, and we have been able to automate this,” the minister said.

Tinubu signs NIMC Act into law
‎Tunji-Ojo said the newly signed NIMC Act would further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture by accelerating the harmonisation of identity databases and improving inter-agency collaboration.

‎According to him, the law will enhance the integrity of the National Identity Number system while boosting the country’s capacity to combat identity theft, terrorism, financial crimes and other security threats.

‎He said that before the current administration, identity management systems were fragmented, noting that services such as passport issuance and driver’s licence processing were disconnected from the national identity database.

‎”When Mr President came on board, we had a disconnected system within our identity data management system. At that time, getting a passport and getting a driving permit were completely disconnected from our identity database.

‎”But today, you can’t get a Nigerian passport without pulling data from NIMC,” he stated.

‎Tinubu signed the NIMC Act 2026 on Friday in the presence of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu and other senior government officials.

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