COVER
Onaiyekan Defends Kuka, Says Bishop Not Against Buhari
By Orkula Shaagee, Abuja
The Emeritus Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, said yesterday called for restraints the propagating of issues, saying no nobody can stop the Bishop of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, from speaking against bad governance.
Onaiyekan, who appeared on Kakaaki, an AIT breakfast show, in Abuja, said he believed that genuine religious leaders had a role to play in politics, which included advancing the cause of the masses and speaking truth to power in the name of God.
“With all due respect to whoever is speaking for the Presidency, he has a wrong idea of politics.
Maybe, for him, politics have been just a game they play in the middle of the night.“But, if you understand politics as how you organise and manage the community for the common good, we are all supposed to be politicians.
“Does that mean that whenever we tell the truth and work to make our country better, we should shut up because we are playing politics? No, we refuse. We will continue to talk.
“In the whole project of nation building and good governance, people, have different roles to play. The role of Mr. President is, of course, the most important in terms of organizing everything.
“But, the role of religious leaders, if you are a genuine one, should be to be able to speak in the name of God. So, let no one stop Kukah and other religious leaders from speaking from their hearts. They cannot force you anyways.
“Kukah is not preparing a coup against Buhari. He is only concerned about the people he sees every day. Kukah is speaking for so many who do not have a voice.
“What we expected from the Presidency was to hear what Kukah had to say, and take the issues one-by-one; maybe give explanations, if there is a need for such, and hopefully consider considering his message in its future plans.’’
Speaking on the joint-call by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, for amnesty to bandits and terrorists, Onaiyekan said the move would amount to a cosmetic solution to the problems of insecurity and breed more criminals in parts of the country.
‘’We should not misread what Jesus Christ did in his relationship with sinners, criminals and worthless fellows. It is clear that Jesus condemned sin, even though he loved sinners. “We should be telling bandits and terrorists:
‘Go and sin no more’. We cannot in any way give them the impression that they are doing the right things. All the question of easy amnesty, under the pretence that they have repented and spending money on them is sad, especially when we say we have no money to spend on the victims.
“Kids’ glove treatment of criminals boils down to bribing them to keep calm, because the causes of criminality and insecurity will still be there”, he said.
Onaiyekan also spoke on the pockets of agitation for Nigeria’s breakup, saying they were basically cries of anguish and despair of the masses.
He said the country had never been so unsecured as in the past 20 years, compelling the people to seek to take their destinies into their hands.
“With what we have now, there is no way you can excuse the authorities. The first duty of the government is security of lives and properties. The separatist agitations across the country are cries of despair. If you cannot trust the government to protect you, where do you go?
“Government has not told us they are unable to protect us even through they have sometimes in the past told us to defend ourselves, but how are we supposed to do that? So, the agitation for separation is simply a cry of anguish.
Onaiyekan urged President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo not to merely preach to the people during religious festivals that all will be well, but to back up their messages with the right actions to produce results.
“Mr. President is not a bishop. So, he cannot not just preach to Nigerians in his Easter message. He should go beyond that and actually do something. Mr. Vice President cannot also do the same only. He is the next in the line of power and authority. They should do something to generate hope in Nigerians.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) has launched DAWN: DBN Action for Women in Nigeria, unveiled its Impact Report and presented MSME Data Assets at the seventh edition of Annual Lecture held in Abuja.
DBN, in a statement on Thursday, said while delivering a welcome address, its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tony Okpanachi, said the central challenge was no longer reforms themselves but ensuring benefits reach businesses at end of the chain.
He asked how to make sure benefits reach traders in Onitsha, fabricator in Aba, farmer in Kebbi and young founder in Yaba, noting that MSMEs accounted for about half of Nigeria’s GDP and more than eight in every ten jobs, adding that when reform works for MSMEs it works for most Nigerians.
He explained that reform becomes prosperity only when entrepreneurs can act on it whether through long tenor loans to buy equipment, banks willing to take risk or skills and records needed to grow.
He said working through Participating Financial Institutions DBN provides longer term funding, partial credit guarantees through subsidiary Impact Credit Guarantee Limited and capacity building including Entrepreneurship Training Programme.
He disclosed that as at December 2025 DBN had disbursed a cumulative N1.4 trillion to MSMEs through 84 Participating Financial Institutions creating about 1.6 million jobs nationwide.
Under the new five year strategy, the Bank aims to reach more than two million MSMEs with deliberate targets for women led businesses, youth led businesses and underserved states.
On DAWN, Okpanachi said finance alone had not enabled enough women-led businesses to scale.
He said initiative brings together financing, guarantees and credit support, technical assistance, outcome linked grants and market linkages delivered through banks, microfinance institutions, fintechs, aggregators, cooperatives and direct channels.
Its priority sectors are agriculture and exports, healthcare, arts and creatives, technology and green business.
He said DAWN is about moving gender focused lending beyond intention and turning access into opportunity.
On the sidelines of the lecture DBN and African Development Bank held a signing ceremony of AfDB DBN 61 million United States dollars Gender Line of Credit development that reinforces Bank commitment to women led enterprises.
Okpanachi urged Participating Financial Institutions to extend lending into sectors and states where access to finance has been limited, policymakers and regulators to measure reform by what changes for business at end of chain and MSMEs to formalise, keep good records and use support now available.
The Vice President as Special Guest of Honour was represented by Dr Fred Iklaga Senior Technical Adviser in the Office of Special Adviser to the President on Economy.
Keynote speakers were Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Dr Karl Toriola, and Chairman of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Dr Segun Ogunsanya.
Fireside chat featured Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Abubakar Suleiman, manufacturing and trade entrepreneur Mrs Omoyemi Chukwurah and by video Kola Masha of Babban Gona.
The Secretary to the Government of Federation, represented by Augusta Warren Bekaredebo, said 2026 tax reforms would bring relief to many small businesses expressing optimism that a lot of businesses will be smiling by next year because they will be exempted from tax.
By Tambaya Julius, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened possible nationwide industrial action following the failure of talks with the Federal Government over workers’ welfare, petrol prices and other outstanding labour demands.
The warning came after a meeting between the government and organised labour at the Ministry of Labour in Abuja on Thursday, October 22, ended without an agreement.
The congress has given the Federal Government until Tuesday, October 27, to make meaningful progress on the issues, warning that its relevant organs would decide the next line of action if the next meeting fails to produce concrete commitments.
The NLC has also directed its affiliates, state councils and civil society allies to begin mobilising members for possible nationwide action.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the NLC Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, expressed disappointment over what he described as the government delegation’s lack of preparedness for the negotiations.
According to the congress, organised labour presented its demands in good faith but left the meeting without any concrete commitments from the government.
The demands include a reduction in petrol prices to 2024 levels, renegotiation of the national minimum wage, implementation of agreed tax relief measures and resolution of the terms of settlement involving the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).
The congress also called for the resolution of issues raised by the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) over peculiar allowances, wage awards and hazard allowances.
The NLC said the government delegation lacked the necessary authority to engage meaningfully on the issues presented by labour representatives.
“The meeting between the Federal Government and organised labour, convened at the Ministry of Labour in Abuja on 22nd October 2026, has ended without resolution,” the statement said.
It added that the Minister of Labour requested that the meeting be adjourned until October 27 to allow the government to prepare adequately for further discussions.
The preparations, according to the statement, would include bringing relevant ministers and heads of departments and agencies to the negotiating table.
The congress said it remained open to dialogue but would not accept continued delays in addressing workers’ concerns.
“We will report back to our organs, and if no meaningful progress is made on Tuesday, the relevant organs of the NLC will decide the next line of action,” it said.
The labour body urged workers and members of the public to remain calm while the negotiations continue, even as it directed its affiliates and allies to prepare for possible industrial action.
“However, we urge all affiliates of NLC and TUC; all state councils and our civil society allies to be alert and start mobilising for a possible action across the nation while we hope that the tenets of our demands are met by the government,” the statement added.
The October 27 meeting is expected to provide another opportunity for both sides to address the outstanding issues and prevent a possible escalation of the dispute.
However, the NLC’s decision to begin mobilisation suggests that tensions could rise if the next round of talks fails to produce meaningful progress.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has barred its personnel from escorting politicians during campaigns for the 2027 general elections.
Zonal Commanding Officer, RS6, ACM Abimbola Owolabi, gave the directive during her maiden visit to the Cross River Command in Calabar on Wednesday.
Owolabi said patrol vehicles and sirens must not be used for political activities or private engagements, including weddings and funeral processions.
She directed officers deployed to campaign venues to focus exclusively on traffic management to prevent congestion and road crashes.
The zonal head warned personnel against leading political convoys or providing escorts for politicians, stressing that official vehicles must not be used for unauthorised purposes.
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