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Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC Limited) has renewed its agreement with TotalEnergies to extend the deployment of the

The post NNPC, TotalEnergies deepen partnership to accelerate methane emission reduction appeared first on Tribune Online.

Traditional religion adherents under the auspices of the International Council for Ifa Religion, ICIR, have raised alarm over alleged discrimination against them by the Chairman, Board of Directors, Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State, BCOS, Mrs Dotun Olaitan.

ICIR made the allegation in a petition written against the BCOS boss, addressed to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and signed by its counsel, Kunle Sobaloju.

Sobaloju, in the petition written on behalf of ICIR said that on Tuesday, 2nd June, 2026, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU) of BCOS jointly organised an Interfaith Prayer Programme for members of staff of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State.

He, however, alleged that rather than embrace the spirit of religious tolerance, inclusiveness and peaceful coexistence which the programme sought to promote, Olaitan allegedly took exception to the participation of the representative of the Traditional Religion.

The petition alleged that Fakayode was subjected to open hostility, disrespect, discrimination and public humiliation solely because he represented the Ifa Traditional Religion at the event.

In the petition made available to DAILY POST on Wednesday, Sobaloju described the action of the BCOS boss as abuse of office, violation of constitutional rights and one that can cause breach of peaceful religious co-existence in the state.

The petitioner described Olaitan’s action as a direct assault on the dignity, legitimacy and constitutional rights of adherents of the Yoruba Traditional Religion.

He then implored Makinde to immediately investigate the matter.

The petitioner also urged the governor to direct the withdrawal and expungement of all warning letters, queries and disciplinary sanctions issued to staff members solely for facilitating the participation of the representative of the Traditional Religion.

The petition read, “On Tuesday, 2nd June, 2026, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU) of BCOS jointly organized an Interfaith Prayer Programme for members of staff of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State. The event was conceived as an inclusive interfaith gathering involving representatives of the three major religious traditions practised by citizens of Oyo State and Nigeria, namely Christianity, Islam and the Yoruba Traditional Religion.

“In furtherance of this objective, Dr Fayemi Fatunde Fakayode, PhD, JP, a respected scholar and representative of the Ifa Religion, was duly invited to participate in the programme. Rather than embrace the spirit of religious tolerance, inclusiveness and peaceful coexistence which the programme sought to promote, Mrs Dotun Olaitan allegedly took exception to the participation of the representative of the Traditional Religion. Our Client was informed that at the event, Dr Fayemi Fatunde Fakayode was subjected to open hostility, disrespect, discrimination and public humiliation solely because he represented the Ifa Traditional Religion.

“Section 38(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to manifest and propagate such religion or belief. Section 42 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the basis of religion. As a public institution established and funded by the Government of Oyo State, BCOS is under a constitutional obligation to maintain strict neutrality in matters of religion and to treat adherents of all faiths equally.

“In the circumstances, our Client respectfully urges Your Excellency to: Cause an immediate investigation to be conducted into the conduct of Mrs. Dotun Olaitan in relation to the events of 2nd June, 2026, and the subsequent disciplinary measures imposed on BCOS staff. Direct the withdrawal and expungement of all warning letters, queries and disciplinary sanctions issued to staff members solely for facilitating the participation of the representative of the Traditional Religion”.

But, Olaitan, when contacted, denied the allegations against her.

In a telephone conversation with DAILY POST on Wednesday, Olaitan noted that she did not disrespect Fakayode as claimed in the petition.

She said, “Thank you for calling me. We only requested a Muslim cleric and a pastor; we have the regular ones that we use. Nobody made a request for an Ifa priest. BCOS has a board and management. It is a new thing entirely, and if a new thing has to be added, we must carry everyone along. I told them to go ahead with the status quo, only for me to meet the Ifa priest.

“And I told the man, initially, I don’t want to go there, but it will send a wrong signal to the Ifa priest. I went there and I addressed them. And I left the place for my meetings and I took an excuse. The Ifa priest is a regular visitor on our channels. He is a regular caller on the radio and television. That I treated him unfairly is a lie. When did I disrespect him in the programme? I have the whole event on tape. I did not disrespect him”.

Traditional religion adherents petition Makinde over alleged discrimination by BCOS boss

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has approved the appointment of Mathias Agbo Omikpa as Special Adviser on Rural Development and Community Mobilisation.

The appointment disclosed in a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Tersoo Kula, is in furtherance of Alia’s commitment to deepening grassroots governance.

Omikpa’s key work experience includes Executive Director, OMIX Group, Ugbokolo, 2012 until his appointment, where he oversaw operations, agricultural and enterprise management, staff supervision, and business development.

Kula said the governor expressed confidence that Omikpa’s wealth of experience and dedication to public service will contribute significantly to strengthening rural development initiatives and community mobilisation efforts across Benue State.

According to the statement, Omikpa “brings a strong background in administration, political coordination, and enterprise management”.

Benue: Gov Alia appoints Agbo Omikpa as Special Adviser

The Nigerian Correctional Service facility in the Afokang area of Calabar South LGA is reported to be harbouring suspected criminals in their shops and other properties. As a result, the residents have asked the federal government to relocate it to a less populated area.

They have also accused the Service of overlooking other suspected criminals who reside in the vicinity of the facility.

Speaking on behalf of the community, the Clan Head of Efut Akani Esuk in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Muri Eyo Effiong Okon V, alleged that the facility is no longer of benefit to his community or adding value, but is rather contributing to the crime wave.

“Their officials are not relating to our community, nor are they securing it nor aligning with our aspirations. They’ve fenced round their facility, leaving us prone to their ex-convicts and other persons with questionable characters in their properties, including shops and residential apartments built on their lands.

“They’re harbouring ex-convicts who are unable to trace where they hailed from after their release from the prison. These people have continued to perpetrate their crimes from the NCS facility. NCS should be held accountable for the ex-convicts hovering around their properties.

The monarch also alleged that NCS are giving out their undeveloped lands to persons without identity to the detriment of the community.

“They ought to build schools and hospitals in those portions of land to benefit the community.”

He emphatically called for the relocation of the facility to a less populated area, disclosing that when it was built, the Afokang neighbourhood was a thick bush.

In his reaction, the PRO of the Service in the state, Effanga Etim, said, “The comptroller of the Service in Cross River State, Aniekan Nyah, has constituted a five-man committee to investigate the allegations.

“It’s not true that we’ve blocked the access road of the Afokang community. The road in question is very accessible. We only blocked access into our yard, so that hoodlums don’t access our prison walls.”

Etim also denied that they harbour ex-convicts, adding “But let’s wait for the outcome of the five-man committee report.”

Shops around Afokang prison harbouring ex-convicts – Cross River community tells NCS

Lagos State Government has extended the implementation of the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) to private schools to

The post Why Lagos govt integrated private schools into NLP initiative — Commissioner appeared first on Tribune Online.

Youths of Umabor Eha-Alumonah community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State have protested what they described as decades of neglect by successive governments, threatening to boycott political campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The protesters took to the streets to draw attention to the poor state of infrastructure in the community, including roads, schools and health facilities.

They lamented that despite consistently supporting successive administrations in the state, the community had received little or no government intervention.

The youths also raised concerns over insecurity in the area, alleging frequent attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen and linking the situation to the deplorable condition of access roads.

According to them, politicians often make promises during election campaigns but fail to deliver after assuming office.

Some residents also took to social media to call for urgent government intervention.

One of the residents, Utonwa Michael, appealed to the Enugu State Government to rehabilitate existing schools in the community, noting that the distance between some villages and the state’s Smart Schools had limited access to quality education for many children.

He said many pupils were unable to benefit from the facilities due to challenges related to distance, transportation and safety.

“This is the current state of our primary and secondary schools as of this morning, 16th June 2026.

“While we appreciate the government for the Smart School Project and its commitment to improving education, we passionately appeal to them to come to our rescue.

“The distance between some of our villages and the Smart Schools is too far, thereby denying many of our sons and daughters access to quality and accessible education.

“As a result, many children are unable to benefit from these facilities due to the challenges of distance, transportation, and safety.

“We respectfully call on the government to address this situation by rehabilitating existing schools within our communities and ensuring that every child, regardless of where they live, has access to quality education close to home.

“Education is a fundamental right, and we believe that no child should be disadvantaged simply because of where they reside.”

Another indigene, Christian Nnaemeka, expressed concern over the condition of roads and schools in the community, stating that residents had continued to fulfil their civic responsibilities during elections but often felt neglected afterwards.

He said the people were increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of visible development in critical sectors such as education, road infrastructure and security.

“The current state of roads and schools in Umabor, Nsukka LGA, is not encouraging at all.

“As a community, we come out in large numbers during elections and faithfully perform our civic responsibilities. Unfortunately, after elections, it often feels as though Umabor is forgotten.

“Our roads are in poor condition, many of our schools need serious attention, and security remains a growing concern. These are basic necessities that every community deserves.

“This time, our message is clear: leadership must be accompanied by tangible results. We will continue to demand good governance, quality education, improved security, and better road infrastructure for our people. Umabor deserves better,” Nnameka wrote.

Reacting to the situation, the spokesperson of the Umabor Unity Forum, Comrade Emmanuel Uzoh Ugwueze, described the state of public infrastructure in the community as alarming.

Ugwueze said previous appeals to successive governments had yielded little result, adding that the community had suffered prolonged neglect.

He noted that public facilities in the area required urgent intervention and called on Governor Peter Mbah to address the community’s concerns.

According to him, the poor condition of the Agu-Umabor Road has contributed to the security challenges facing residents.

He appealed to the governor to respond to the community’s demands and provide the needed infrastructure and security improvements.

“We are so pained as a community over the level of deterioration of public infrastructure in our area.

“I recall that even under previous governments, we cried out for intervention, but nothing came out of it. Umabor community has suffered neglect so much, and it is affecting all the public infrastructures in our place.

“All the public facilities in our community are in a sorrowful state, and demand emergency intervention.

“Apart from the bad state of the schools and other facilities in our area, the bad state of Agu-Umabor Road is contributing to the insecurity we are experiencing along that axis.

“We are again passionately pleading with His Excellency, the Governor of Enugu State, Barr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, to hear our cry,” Ugwueze stated.

Enugu community protests decades of neglect, threatens boycott of 2027 election

Ivory Coast star Elye Wahi was reportedly arrested less than two weeks before the World Cup on suspicion of match-fixing offences.

A report in The Athletic details that 23-year-old Wahi is the subject of an “active investigation” to establish whether the forward deliberately earned a yellow card while playing for Nice against Metz in Ligue 1 on 17 May.

The report adds that Wahi, who started Ivory Coast’s 1-0 win against Ecuador on Sunday night, was subsequently arrested by French police on 29 May and was released after an interview.

A spokesperson for Marseille public prosecutor’s office said: “We can confirm that a 23-year-old football player, competing in France’s Ligue 1, was arrested on May 29 as part of an investigation opened by the Marseille public prosecutor’s office into allegations of organized fraud, organized sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering.

“He was released after he was interviewed in police custody. The investigations remain ongoing. The football player is not a member of the French selection taking part in the World Cup.”

There’s no official comments from FIFA, the Ivorian Football Association and Wahi’s representatives.

Ivory Coast’s World Cup Player ‘Arrested Over Match-Fixing Offences’ is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

General Nafiu gave the warning while addressing the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Stream I Corps Members at the NYSC Lagos State Orientation Camp in Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, according to a statement by the Director of Public Relations, Caroline Embu, on Wednesday in Abuja. 

The post NYSC DG warns corps members against partisan politics during service year appeared first on Tribune Online.

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of all six bribery charges brought against her in the United Kingdom.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty on Wednesday after a 12-week trial that examined allegations of corruption during her tenure as Nigeria’s petroleum minister.

Alison-Madueke, who served in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015, had consistently denied all the allegations.

President Bola Tinubu has said that his administration is providing housing for judicial officers to reinforce the independence of the judiciary….

The post Judges Quarters: We’re fortifying vital pillar of our democracy — Tinubu appeared first on Tribune Online.