
News
Save Nigeria from further collapse, Ohuabunwa tells Buhari in Open Letter
A former presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 general elections, Sam Ohuabunwa, on Saturday took a swipe on the state of the nation and wrote the President Muhammadu Buhari on the occasion of the 62nd Independence Day Anniversary of the country.
This was as Ohuabunwa, who is the Convener of the New Nigeria Group, observed that the country has reduced economically under Buhari, urging him to as a matter of urgency, do everything within his power to save the nation from further collapse.
In the letter, titled,:State of the Nation: Independence Day Open Letter to the President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR’, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent on Saturday, he stated that Buhari had not proved to Nigerians that he was capable of leading them for the past eight years, after contesting for the number 1 seat severally and failed.
The letter read, “Your Excellency, Today is Nigeria’s 62nd Independence Day anniversary, the last under your watch as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. How I wish I was writing you this piece under more pleasant circumstances. However, given the terrifying descent of our dear nation further down the path of multi-faceted disasters, I feel obligated to use the opportunity of Nigeria’s 62nd Independence anniversary to send you this feedback, with a hope and prayer that you can still do something to leave a good legacy.
“In 2015, after you were elected President, I wrote you twice expressing my expectations of your tenure. Primarily I had asserted that given your repeated efforts to become Nigeria’s Civilian President after your earlier but unconstitutional tenure as Military Head of State, that you must have some very important things you wanted to do for our Country. I then urged you to go right ahead and do those things without wasting time. A man could not run for the office of President of a Nation four times, one of which led to the death of many Nigerian citizens without a real desperation to make some significant changes to the fortunes of the Nation.

“But nearly 8 years after, many of us can not see the the REALLY SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CHANGE you have brought to our Nation to justify the desperate efforts you made to become President. Yes a few roads, bridges and sharing of cash to some some people! That does not justify the cost! Many People feel that you have brought this Nation to much lower levels than you found it in 2015. My undying quest for a New Nigeria that works for all, as convener of the New Nigeria Group and recent Presidential aspirant, compels me to further draw your attention, even at this twilight of your tenure to the outright degeneration of our country occasioned by the appalling failure of the government under your watch to address the various sinister challenges bedeviling us with seriousness and innovation. These challenges portend grave danger and need urgent interventions even now and should not wait till May 2023.
“Your Excellency, you and your aides may not find the tone and temper of this letter palatable, but the truth however bitter must still be told. Sometimes, I wonder if you are ever allowed to have a feel of what it is like to be an ordinary Nigerian in contemporary harsh Nigeria. How I wish you and your aspiring successors can take a ride on the road around Nigeria! Many of our leaders are completely aliens to the real Nigeria!!
“Indeed, what is evident does not need evidence. Nigeria’s rapid slide to a state of degeneration is self-evident. In the run up to the Presidential Primaries, I visited the 36 States of Nigeria twice and saw Nigeria’s devastation first hand. You would recall that during your campaign for president in 2015, you made two cardinal promises which involved dealing with the ravaging insecurity at that time and also fixing the economy.
“In the area of security, it is admitted that you inherited a bad situation, but under your watch it has gotten much worse and become a hydra-headed monster taking on new dimensions previously inconceivable. In addition to the Boko Haram insurgency which we were dealing with under the Jonathan era, we now have rampaging bandits, killer Herdsmen, unknown gunmen, ISWAP terrorists and so on.
“These new fiercer security challenges came with their own body counts. According to Dataphyte, an Abuja-based media research and data analytics organisation, over 39, 686 persons have been killed under this regime between May 2015 and May 2022. In another report by SBM Intelligence, over 3,379 persons in 500 incidents were kidnapped within a one year period between June 2021 and June 2022. Major highways in Enugu, Kaduna , Zamfara, Sokoto , Kastina, Anambra, Ondo, just to mention a few states, have become impassable due to worsening insecurity.
“Christmas is coming and many Nigerians wonder how they can go to their Country homes without being kidnapped or killed on the way!
“On the economic front, it is no longer news that Nigeria is now the poverty capital of the world, overtaking India. Statistics indicate about 70% of the Nigerian people are poor with no real help and many with no hope. It has also been reported that about 35% of the general population remain unemployed while 55% are jobless among the Nigerian youth population, with job opportunities diminishing by the minute.”
He further urged the president to urgently seek for a wholistic and sectoral assistance in order to save the dire situation curently bedeviling the country, saying, “I would suggest that you eat the humble pie and do what an embattled man would do: Shout for help!”
He added, “Mr President,it is glaring that there is a huge fire on the Nigerian mountain and I enjoin you not to just wish to return to Daura next year ( because there maybe no road !) but should now act with urgency. It is time to admit the bitter truth of our dire situation and be humble enough to seek help. I would suggest that you eat the humble pie and do what an embattled man would do: Shout for help! This is because it does clearly appear that you have exhausted your options in proffering solutions to the many problems facing the country.
“In fact, in an interview you granted sometime last year, you confessed frankly and candidly that you have done your best in Security but your best was not good enough! Our security agencies are stretched beyond their limit, especially our military forces who have suffered heavy casualties for a country not at war! ( Or at war without knowing it !). According to a report by Dataphyte, 13, 268 officers have lost their lives to battles against insecurity. Our defence forces are highly demoralised and fatigued, needing crucial assistance. Countless security meetings with security chiefs summoned by you have not yielded much results.”
Business
Enugu Air Launches New Website
…moves online services to www.enuguairlines.ng
Enugu Air has announced the launch of its new official website, enuguairlines.ng, as part of efforts to provide passengers and customers with a better, safer and more convenient digital experience.
The airline said the migration to the new website is designed to improve how passengers connect with Enugu Air and access its services online, including flight bookings, schedules and the latest updates.
Announcing the development, the airline said: “We’ve moved! We’re innovating! We’ve migrated to a better, safer and convenient website to connect you to the world.”
Passengers can now access Enugu Air’s online services through its new web address, enuguairlines.ng, which the airline described as its new digital home.
The airline urged passengers and prospective travellers to save the new web address and use it for flight bookings, checking schedules and obtaining the latest information about its operations.

“Same Enugu Air. New web address,” the airline stated, emphasising that the change represents an improvement in its digital platform while retaining the Enugu Air brand and services.
The airline further encouraged customers to visit, www.enuguairlines.ng for all flight-related information and online services.
It further stated that the old website, enuguairlines•com has been discarded and no longer in use.
News
Kidnapped female Police officer found dead in Ebonyi
A kidnapped female police officer has been found dead in Ebonyi State after a suspected member of a kidnapping syndicate was arrested and led police operatives to the scene where her remains were recovered.
The Nigeria Police Force disclosed this in its state-by-state operational update issued by Force Public Relations Officer
Force Headquarters, Ani Iniedu on Monday, detailing several arrests, rescues and recoveries recorded across the country between September 19 and 20, 2026.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested following a sustained intelligence-led and technology-based investigation into the kidnapping of the female officer.
The suspect reportedly led combined police teams to the crime scene, where the remains of the officer were recovered.
The police said the case is being investigated by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Abakaliki.

In a separate operation in Adamawa State, police operatives rescued two kidnapped victims from a suspected kidnappers’ hideout in Shako Forest, Toungo Local Government Area.
The operation, carried out on September 20 following actionable intelligence, also led to the recovery of two magazines containing 10 rounds of 7.62×39mm live ammunition.
A National Identification Number (NIN) card, mobile phone, passport and chain were also recovered from the suspected hideout.
In the Federal Capital Territory, police arrested 334 suspects during coordinated raids on criminal hotspots, black spots and uncompleted buildings across several locations.
The operation, conducted on September 19, also resulted in the recovery of various quantities of substances suspected to be illicit drugs.
Meanwhile, police in Anambra State arrested a suspected child trafficker who was allegedly intercepted while travelling with a six-month-old baby boy.
The baby was recovered and handed over to the appropriate authorities for necessary action, according to the police.
In Kaduna State, four suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate were arrested following intelligence-led operations.
Police said the suspects confessed to their alleged involvement in kidnapping and provided information about fleeing accomplices. A locally made Dane gun was recovered.
Another suspected kidnapping syndicate member was arrested at Soba Market in the state. Police said the suspect also confessed and gave information implicating five fleeing accomplices.
In Ogun State, police arrested a suspect linked to a fatal shooting incident in Isara, Remo North Local Government Area.
One single-barrel gun, one live cartridge and one expended shell were recovered during the operation.
In Imo State, a suspect was arrested during a raid on a suspected criminal gathering at Nekede, Owerri West Local Government Area, with police recovering a locally made cut-to-size single-barrel gun.
Police in Ekiti State also arrested two suspects linked to multiple shop-breaking and stealing incidents in Ado-Ekiti and recovered suspected stolen iron rods.
In another operation in Ado-Ekiti, police recovered an abandoned white sack containing a pump-action gun loaded with two live cartridges and a locally made single-barrel gun from a farmland.
In Benue State, police tactical teams, supported by personnel of the Police Mobile Force and military, intervened in a renewed communal conflict at Akpa-Mbakor Community in Tarka Local Government Area.
The security teams dispersed the rampaging youths and restored normalcy in the area, according to the police.
In Oyo State, police arrested a truck driver allegedly involved in a fatal road traffic incident along the Ijebu-Ode/Idi Ayunre Road.
The truck was impounded for further inspection and investigation.
The police said all the cases remain under investigation by the respective State Criminal Investigation Departments.
News
UK excludes Nigerian, Ghanaian-trained teachers from teaching qualification list
Teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana are no longer eligible to apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England under the United Kingdom’s overseas-trained teacher application route.
The change took effect on September 9 and means teachers trained in the two West African countries can no longer use the route to obtain QTS, a status recognised by many schools in England.
The UK Department for Education said countries included in the scheme must meet specific requirements to ensure that applicants’ qualifications, professional standing and teaching experience can be properly verified. One of the requirements is that a country must have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional status and providing authenticated references.
According to the department, Nigeria and Ghana did not meet the reference-verification requirement.
“Our data shows that more than 70% of applications from teachers in Ghana and Nigeria include work history references that use public email addresses, such as Gmail or Hotmail, rather than a school’s official email domain. This means assessors spend additional time and resources trying to verify information provided in applications,” the department said.

The UK department said about 90 percent of applications are assessed within 12 months.
India was also removed from the eligible list because it does not have a national regulator capable of confirming teachers’ professional standing.
South Africa is now the only African country remaining on the list of countries whose teachers can use the QTS application route.
The department said the verification process was necessary to ensure that information provided by applicants was genuine and that teachers awarded QTS possessed the required skills and experience to teach in England.
To apply for QTS, overseas-trained teachers must have a valid passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree and professional recognition as a teacher in the country where they trained.
Applicants must also have completed any mandatory induction requirements needed for full teacher registration in their country of qualification.
They are required to demonstrate that they are qualified to teach children aged between five and 16 and have at least nine months of teaching experience gained after qualifying as a teacher.
Applicants must also provide employment references that verify their work history and use an email address linked to the school’s official domain.
Depending on the country where a teacher trained, additional requirements may include qualifications to teach pupils aged between 11 and 16 and a specialism in subjects such as mathematics, science, biology, chemistry, physics, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian or Spanish.
However, because teachers in England are employed by individual schools rather than the Department for Education, schools may consider alternative routes into teaching.
The department said teachers who are no longer eligible to use the QTS application service can explore other routes into teaching in England.
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