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Akpabio: Nigerian lawmakers most ridiculed

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Akpabio: Nigerian lawmakers most ridiculed
• Senate President Godswill Akpabio
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Senate President Godswill Akpabio has described Nigeria’s legislature as the least misunderstood arm of government, saying the body has always been the subject of attacks and ridicule.

He spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State, at the 100th birthday colloquium in honour Senator Kunle Oyero, a member of the Senate in the Second Republic, representing Ogun Central.

The colloquium themed “Legislation in Nigeria: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” was organised by the Abeokuta Grammar School Old Boys’ Association (AGSOBA).

The panel session moderated by a veteran journalist and former Presidential Spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, had Chief Akin Delano, SAN, Prof Idowu Adegbite, Prof Ademola Araoye and Prof Oluwole Akinbode, as discussants.

In his remarks, Akpabio said a number of Nigerians don’t even see the necessity of the legislature.

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Represented by the Ogun Central Senator, Shuaib Afolabi Salis, the Senate President told critics of the National Assembly that if there was legislature in place in 2007, the country would have since had a life president.

“The one arm of government that people don’t really understand and it’s always a subject of ridicule and attack is the legislature. In fact, people sometimes don’t think the legislature is doing anything at all.

“But picture a situation where there was no legislature in 2007, there would have been a life president in Nigeria. Picture a situation in Nigeria where there was no legislature, a number of things would have gone wrong in Nigeria.

“Because people don’t understand the legislature, there is also a problem. Like someone puts it, Legislators are sometimes the victim of the system.

“I gave Dr Reuben Abati (a moderator at the event) a few examples. In the ninth legislature, there were some senators that even from afar, you could say they were doing what senators should do. They were moving motions, sponsoring bills and making the right interventions.

“In the chamber, roles of the legislature are three: making laws, oversight function and appropriation. Most of those senators were doing those things, but guess what? None of them returned back. This is because the metric of measuring the performance (of senators) by the people who vote is different from what the syllabus dictates.

“The syllabus will say as a legislator your role is to make law, perform oversight and make appropriation, those are the three things a legislator is expected to do. But any senator, any member of the National Assembly that confines himself to that will not get a return ticket even in his party.

“… because the metric of measuring the performance of legislators is the number of transformers…’Distinguished Senator, my wife has put to bed, ‘Distinguished Senator, my mother-in-law is dead’, ‘Distinguished Senator, I want to do a freedom ceremony from my apprenticeship,” among other requests are those of the things that people who truly vote, measure your performances with,” he said.

He expressed worry that the elite have left the voting power to those “who do not understand the choices before them,” and asked them to take keen interest and participation in the election process.

Akpabio described Oyero as the last of Nigerian Senate’s living legend and assured him that the Red Chamber would continue to follow his footprints.

The AGSOBA Global President, Sunday Oduntan said the colloquium was meant to immortalize Oyero while alive, describing him as a blessing to the school and Nigeria.

Oduntan also unveiled planned construction of a bridge named “Senator Kunle Oyero Bridge”, in honour of the celebrant.

The Chairman of the occasion, Senator Femi Okunrounmu asked the current lawmakers in the country to emulate Oyero’s virtues for Nigeria to become a better place.

“The Senate of Senator Kunle Oyero’s days jealously guarded the principles of separation of powers between the executive and the legislature and would not tolerate any form of executive interference in matters that were constitutionally the province of the legislature.

“Many, like Senator Kunle Oyero, served with honour and integrity, with the welfare of their constituents and indeed, of the nation, foremost in their consciousness. They saw their primary duty as serving the people without counting the cost.

“It is my hope that many of our youths today, particularly those aspiring to enter politics, will take a cue from and seek to uphold the legacy which our celebrant of today has so honourably bequeathed to them. If they do, Nigeria can yet rise again!,” the elder statesman said. (Daily Trust)

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Enugu Air Launches New Website

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…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.

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“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.

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Kidnapped female Police officer found dead in Ebonyi

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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.

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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.

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UK excludes Nigerian, Ghanaian-trained teachers from teaching qualification list

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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.

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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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