Lagos, Nigeria, October 6, 2026: The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) has announced the addition of the Lagos, Delta, Imo and Ekiti state governments, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Access Bank Plc and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to the list of partners for its 10th Annual Conference.

The conference begins on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, 38 to 40 Isaac John Street, Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

The first day will feature a presentation by Max Amuchie, Publisher of Sundiata Post, on “The Sundiata Post Model: Building the African Newsroom for the Long Term.”

This will be followed by a presentation on “AI and Prompt Engineering for Online Publishing” by Biodun Durojaiye, Publisher of The Lagos Times.

The final presentation will be “Monetisation of Digital Media Business” by Dr Monday Ashibogwu, Publisher of Quick News.

The presentations will be followed by lunch with GOCOP partners, while the association’s Annual General Meeting will round off the day.

The second day of the conference, Thursday, October 8, will focus on the theme, “2027 Elections: Trust, Transparency and Shared Responsibilities.”

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, will deliver the keynote address, while Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, Founding Partner of Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), will chair the session.

The panel will feature CP Abayomi Shogunle, Commissioner of Police, Election Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Force Headquarters, Abuja; Prof Tayo Popoola, Head of Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos; Adaora Onyechere Sydney Jack, Creative Director of Gender Agenda and Founder of WEWE Network Afrique; and Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of the International Press Centre.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Deputy President of GOCOP and Chairman of the 2026 Conference Planning Committee, Mr Olumide Iyanda, said preparations had been concluded.

“All is set for our 10th anniversary conference. We are delighted that the Lagos State Government, the Imo State Government, the Delta State Government and the Ekiti State Government, as well as Access Bank, one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, and NASENI, Nigeria’s foremost agency driving indigenous technology and industrial innovation, have joined our long list of sponsors. Their support underscores the importance of the dialogue we are convening,” Iyanda said.

The new partners join those previously announced, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), Nigeria Customs Service, Dangote Group, Seplat Energy, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Bank of Industry (BoI), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), TAJBank, Emadeb Energy, Setraco Nigeria Limited, Sovereign Trust Insurance and Nestlé Nigeria Plc.

Iyanda thanked all sponsors and partners for their support, noting that their contributions would help GOCOP sustain its conference as a platform for engagement on professional journalism, democracy and national development.

GOCOP is a business membership organisation of 127 corporate online publishers in Nigeria. The Annual Conference, now in its 10th edition, brings together media executives, policymakers, academics, business leaders, civil society representatives and other stakeholders to discuss issues of national importance.

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, has expressed profound condolences to the families of the personnel and passengers who lost their lives following the accident involving Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR 42 aircraft, NAF 931, in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State.

The CAS described the incident as a deeply painful moment for the Nigerian Air Force and the nation, expressing heartfelt sympathies to the families, loved ones and colleagues of those who lost their lives. He assured the bereaved families of the Service’s full support during this difficult period.

NAF 931 had 25 persons on board, comprising five crew members and 20 passengers. The aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when the accident occurred. Search-and-rescue procedures were immediately activated, with response efforts conducted in coordination with relevant authorities to locate and account for all persons on board. No survivors have been found. The crew members were:

CREW
1. Squadron Leader MI Aburime (Flight Captain)
2. Squadron Leader AP Man-Ugwueje (Co-pilot)
3. Flight Lieutenant IS Bako (Co-pilot)
4. Warrant Officer Abubakar A (Aircraft Technician)
5. Corporal Uguru HC (Aircraft Technician)

PASSENGERS
6. Flight Lieutenant TL Lazarus
7. Flight Lieutenant M Akinloye
8. Flying Officer IM Adeshina
9. Master Warrant Officer Onwuka F
10. Master Warrant Officer Matini BA
11. Warrant Officer Nuhu FS
12. Flight Sergeant James RB
13. Flight Sergeant Mohammed AI
14. Sergeant Ani AE
15. Sergeant Izibenikien SI
16. Sergeant Alafuka C
17. Sergeant Mbadugha AN
18. Lance Corporal Ugwuba FC
19. Lance Corporal Eledan GE
20. Mrs Ezeh Nneka
21. Godstmine Tarabina
22. Joy Micheal
23. Sunday Micheal
24. Ukeme David
25. Gideon Omotola

The CAS has directed a comprehensive investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the accident. The Nigerian Air Force will continue to provide timely and verified updates as the investigation progresses and urges the public to refrain from speculation and the circulation of unverified information, while respecting the privacy and dignity of the affected families. A condolence register has also been opened at Headquarters Nigerian Air Force, Abuja, for senior government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, heads of security agencies, and other well-wishers who may wish to pay their respects and convey messages of sympathy to the families of the deceased and the Nigerian Air Force.

Ehimen Ejodame
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force

6 October 2026

The political feud between the camp of former Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi, and the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo has escalated dramatically following a sharp counterpoint from Obi’s Media Adviser, Mr Idris Zekeri Jnr., Spokesman, Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR).

Reacting to a publication emanating from the state’s ruling circle urging the Anambra electorate to reject Obi and the opposition, the media office dismissed the move with heavy scorn. Citing traditional Igbo philosophy—adighi ibua ayi ara (you do not join a mad person in the public square)—the camp maintained they chose silence over a full-scale exchange to avoid dignifying what they termed institutional absurdity.

Lifting the lid on internal dysfunction within the state’s leadership, Zekeri revealed that insiders in the administration had recently lamented that Governor Soludo spends half of executive council (EXCO) meetings obsessing over Peter Obi, treating his fixation on Obi as more vital than pressing state matters.

Adding a searing punchline, Zekeri remarked that if the governor’s obsession borders on clinical psychosis, stakeholders should promptly advise him to seek professional psychological aid rather than dragging the entire state into his mental fixations.

The statement lamented that as his obsession becomes magnified, the state is falling apart. Citing a recent meeting held in Port Harcourt, he pointed out that the National emergency agency explicitly noted that Anambra only truly had it good under Obi, managing disasters and public safety with utmost competence.

They were talking about the state’s preparedness for the recent flood that took lives in the state. “The only reason they gave to justify what the flood destroyed was that NIMET announced the impending flood, after they failed to follow the preemptive NINET prescribed.”

He recalled that as Governor, Obi uniquely engaged the UN-Habitat to formulate comprehensive master and structure plans for the state’s major cities, rigorously implementing them to the extent that by 2010, Onitsha was globally recognised among the fastest-growing cities in the world. Yet, rather than building on such visionary foundations, Soludo has completely abandoned these structural frameworks, choosing instead to focus his energy on petty political planning against Obi.

Zekeri further alleged that the state administration recently mobilised a cyber-army of over 500 internet trolls dedicated solely to attacking Peter Obi, with recruits supposedly promised the right to nominate cronies for state engagement, scaling the network up to 1,000 operatives based on hit-piece performance.

The Obi camp slammed the strategy as a gross misallocation of state resources, lamenting that public funds are being aggressively funnelled into digital vandalism while governance issues pile up.

Pre-empting what they described as a predictable scapegoating script, the media office stated they were putting the administration on formal record so officials could not tomorrow claim Peter Obi was the phantom distraction keeping them from working.

“Instead of obsessing over Obi, the governor should use those hours to tour Anambra and see how state funds are being wasted on roads that crumble while construction is still ongoing,” the statement fired.

Pointing to massive grassroots receptions—such as the large turnouts at the Nnewi Cathedral and the coronation of the Igwe of Adazi-Ani—the camp challenged the administration to read the political room, stressing that no amount of propaganda can erase the deep-seated bond between Ndigbo and Peter Obi.

Against this backdrop, Zekeri formally called on Anambra elders, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and key stakeholders to urgently call Governor Soludo to order, advising him to face the pressing issues of governance and stop self-destructing through needless distractions.

Tearing into the state’s economic scorecard, the media office contrasted Soludo’s administration with the benchmarks established during Obi’s tenure, highlighting independent indices like the Phillips Consulting State Performance Index, where Anambra has nosedived from 1st position during Obi’s era down to 27th position under the current watch.

The statement underscored that while Obi operated on a lean average federal allocation of about 3 billion monthly, Soludo now commands a combined allocation of roughly ₦25 billion monthly – meaning the current government receives in just two months what Obi managed in an entire year.

“Anambra people are aware that his Commissioner for Finance was his houseboy. Why would things not go wrong?”

The camp queried why higher institutions have not seen a single new building erected or positive intervention directed to schools since Obi left office, with recent NECO results showing the state slipping back down from previous historic highs.

Lamenting that the state is allegedly being branded one of the dirtiest in the country while ecological erosion ravages communities with zero effective combat, the statement concluded that when a leadership facing monumental challenges chooses obsession with an individual over governance, something is seriously wrong.