The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the South-West Development Commission (SWDC), Dr. Charles Akinola, has informed the commission is working on establishing a South-West Investment Fund to catalyse investment across the six states of the region.

Akinola said the proposed fund, which will be largely private sector-driven, is designed to attract capital for strategic regional projects and address the infrastructure needs of the South-West.

He stated on Thursday at the South-West Stakeholders’ Dialogue organised by Afenifere, the DAWN Commission, and the South-West Governors’ Forum, held in Akure, Ondo State, with the theme “Strengthening Democracy Through Dialogue: Assessing Progress, Charting the Future.”

“We are designing a best-in-class investment fund that can attract private capital to finance outstanding regional projects and meet the urgent infrastructure needs of the South-West,” Akinola said.

The SWDC boss explained that the commission is intensifying efforts to achieve greater regional connectivity and integrated development as part of a broader agenda to promote inclusive growth and shared prosperity across the region.

According to him, consultations have begun with development partners and private investors to design a framework for intra-regional transportation corridors, agricultural value chain enhancement, and technology-driven industrial clusters linking major cities and rural communities.

He noted that improving road networks, digital infrastructure, and economic linkages would facilitate trade and mobility while strengthening social cohesion and competitiveness across the South-West.

“The development commissions, like the SWDC, focus on regional projects that are often left unattended to. We’re looking at integrative initiatives such as regional connectivity by rail and highways.

“For instance, it took us about four hours to get from Ibadan to Akure, How do we get state governments, the federal government, and the private sector to collaborate on such critical infrastructure?” he asked.

Akinola stressed that the SWDC’s strategy aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s economic transformation agenda and the renewed commitment of South-West governors to a unified development blueprint.

He said improved connectivity will enable the region to leverage its human capital and economic potential to drive national growth, attract investment, and create jobs for millions of young people.

“We will be engaging in the coming weeks with a broad range of stakeholders – communities, governors, trade groups – to define a shared vision for the commission. This inclusiveness is critical to ensuring collective ownership and success,” he stated.

Akinola recalled that he previously chaired the expert group set up by South-West Governors between 2020 and 2021 to produce the technical report that laid the foundation for the establishment of the SWDC.

“We engaged governors across the states to identify priorities and shared perspectives on regional development. It’s an ongoing process. We cannot succeed without the active participation of the governors and the people,” he noted.

He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to working closely with traditional rulers, trade groups, youth associations, and market women to drive a shared vision of prosperity for the region.

“We stand on a covenant with the people of the South-West that we will do our best. Together with our partners, the governors, Kabiyesis, trade groups, and communities, we will pursue a united vision to drive prosperity through the work of the South-West Development Commission,” Akinola declared.

Multiple security sources confirmed to our correspondence on Tuesday that the army raid occurred at Sylva’s home in the Maitama area of Abuja.
Some Nigerian Army personnel have raided the Abuja residence of a former governor and former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, in connection with an alleged coup plot currently under investigation by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

Multiple security sources confirmed on Tuesday that the army raid occurred at Sylva’s home in the Maitama area of Abuja.

According to insiders, a “special military team” carried out the operation after intelligence linked the “former South-South governor” to secret meetings allegedly held with some of the detained military officers.

“Nigerian Army special team ransacked the home of Timipre Sylva, who is believed to have fled Nigeria,” one top source familiar with the development told Newsthumb

“He is the South-South former governor frequently mentioned in the case. His brother, named Paga, was picked up during the raid. The operation also extended to his Bayelsa residence.”

Another security insider said that while no official statement had been issued regarding the raid, the action was “not random” but “a direct response to intelligence linking certain political figures to the alleged plotters.”

This development comes amid growing tension within the armed forces following SaharaReporters’ exclusive report recently, that at least 16 senior military officers had been detained incommunicado by the DIA over an alleged coup plot.

The detained officers, drawn from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, have been held for over three weeks in an undisclosed Abuja facility under what sources described as “unusual and suspicious conditions.”

Family members told our correspondence they initially believed their relatives had been kidnapped, as there was no official communication from the military regarding their arrests.

“It’s been 18 days since those 16 officers were detained in an undisclosed location. At first, we thought our brother was kidnapped before finding out what transpired from his friend who works in the NSA office,” a family member had said.

Security analysts have questioned why the DIA, an intelligence agency under the Ministry of Defence, is spearheading the investigation instead of allowing each military service to handle its personnel internally, a move seen as “highly political.”

“If the military were truly conducting a disciplinary operation, over 10,000 cases could emerge. Why only 16 officers, and why hand them to the DIA?” one retired officer asked. “This smells of politics. There’s clearly more going on behind the scenes.”

Speculations are now rife that the alleged plot and subsequent arrests may have deeper political undertones, potentially involving some former office holders with ties to late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa State and a close ally of late Buhari, served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources between 2019 and 2023.

He was also the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the November 2023 Bayelsa election, which he lost to incumbent Governor Douye Diri of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Former Petroleum Minister, Timipre Sylva who is under investigations for plotting a Military coup to topple the Government of President Bola Tinubu, fled Nigeria to Senegal from where he is to go into hiding in Argentina, a South American country.

Insiders said the former Minister fled through the creeks immediately he got wind that the coup plot had leaked.
Sylva allegedly has several businesses in Senegal and Argentina and was lobbying to be made Nigerian Ambassador to Argentina.

Highly placed sources told me that the first military officer arrested in connection with the coup plot wasted no time in naming Sylva as the arrowhead and financier of the coup plot.
The source also confirmed that about N46billion was traced to an account linked to the former Petroleum Minister.

The Abuja home of the former was raided by officials from the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA. His brother, Paga, was picked up during the raid. This was after his Bayelsa residence had earlier been raided where incriminating evidence were allegedly found including cash in foreign denominations.

Sylva is alleged to have provided fundings for the coup operation.

The outgoing President of the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria (GFN) had earlier conducted an election which was later nullified by the National Sports Commission (NSC) for failing to meet the required legal standards.

The Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, has promised to address and resolve the leadership crisis currently engulfing the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria.

This follows renewed calls by one of the chairmanship candidates, Alhaja Kafilat Olalere, who insisted on a transparent and all-inclusive election to choose the executives of the federation.

The NSC had fixed dates for fresh elections on two different occasions, but both attempts failed to materialize. This left many delegates—who had converged on Abuja over the weekend to participate in elections into various sporting federations—bewildered and dissatisfied.

Speaking during the elections of other federations under the NSC, held in Abuja, Olopade said he would meet with the two key contenders in the GFN to resolve the crisis.

However, Olalere, who is contesting for the GFN presidency against Kelvin Erunmwase, maintained that the only way to resolve the impasse is to proceed with an election.

She emphasized that only a properly conducted election—one that allows all stakeholders to participate—would be acceptable to her.

Olalere told journalists that elections into other federations had been encouraging and peaceful.

She said:

“We are just not happy that our federation’s election did not hold. That is, the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria. We received correspondence from the Sports Commission that there would be an election on the 25th.

Every delegate who was elected and expected to vote is here. Everybody came from across the nation, only to be told that there would be no election.

But we have not been informed as to why the election is not going to hold. Hopefully, before the end of the entire election process, we will get feedback on when it will be conducted. People have come in from every state of the federation to participate, so we are still waiting. The election is still very much in process—the day is still young.”

Responding to the DG’s promise to resolve the crisis through dialogue between the two candidates, Olalere said:

“No, it has to be an election. We’ve had enough round tables and back-and-forths. The only thing that will resolve this issue once and for all is an election.

Yes, there was a round table meeting before now, but it was inconclusive. If a proposition is made and one party still disagrees, then we must go to the polls.

The election is what determines who wins and who loses. We just want everything to be transparent. We want an election, not a selection.

Stakeholders want to participate in choosing who leads them for the next four years. Disenfranchising any group will not sit well with the gymnastics community.

We need peace and harmony in the next administration, and the only way to achieve that is to allow people to exercise their constitutional right to vote for their preferred candidate.”

Other stakeholders of the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria echoed the same position, stressing that an election is the only way out of the current logjam.

Dr. Ajibola Samson of the Nigeria Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreation, Sports, and Dance (NAPHER-SD) emphasized that the process must be inclusive, with no group under the federation left out.

Similarly, Richard Jatau (North East Representative), John Abiodun Oyewuwo (South West Representative), and Dr. Oladipo Samuel, a stakeholder from Ekiti, expressed disappointment that the GFN election did not hold as scheduled on Saturday.