Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, believes Nigeria needs leaders who value public opinions to create a better nation.

Obi made this statement in Yola on Saturday while delivering the keynote speech at the American University of Nigeria’s 16th Annual Founder’s Day and 20th Anniversary celebration.

He emphasised that Nigeria’s development relies on leaders who collaborate with citizens for national progress.

“Leaders must be listeners and be ready to learn the right thing and to do it. Leaders must not act as though they know it all,” Obi said.

Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, defended the American University of Nigeria’s establishment during the ceremony.

He justified developing the university based on the American system, expressing his desire for Nigerians to access quality education without traveling to America.

Nigerian singer, Favor Anosike, also known as Ugoccie, has shared her experiences in the music industry, highlighting the opportunities that music has brought her way.

In a recent interview with saturday Beats, she discussed how music has enabled her to collaborate with her musical idols “One thing music has done for me is basically making me meet my idols and having the opportunity to work with them”, she stated

When asked about the highlights of her 2024, Ugoccie mentioned several notable moments, including collaborating with an Ogene group and Grammy-nominated artiste, Yemi Alade, as well as releasing her second EP.

“I have had many highlights, such as doing a song with an Ogene group and also doing a song with Grammy-nominated artiste, Yemi Alade. Dropping my second EP this year was also a highlight”, she said.

She also reflected on the challenges she faced in her career, including seeking funding for her first EP, which ultimately did not materialize.

She said: “I sought funding for my first EP, but it did not materialize. Nevertheless, that did not deter me from releasing the project, which features one of my most popular songs, Man on Fire.”

Ugoccie revealed that her latest single, “Ifemnacho,” draws inspiration from the theme of love.

She explained that the song was inspired by a TikTok live session and the feelings that come with love. She also noted that people relate to the concept of love, making it easy for them to create content around it.

“My new song Ifemnacho was inspired by love and the feelings that come with it. Someone called me that name during my TikTok live session, and then it came to mind. So, I started writing it. I also think people like the idea of love because it’s a reality they can relate to, which makes it easy for them to create videos or online content,” she added.

The Sokoto State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called off its planned strike regarding the implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage.

Speaking at a press briefing over the weekend, the state NLC chairman, Comrade Abdullahi Aliyu Jungle, confirmed that the new minimum wage would take effect in January 2024 and would benefit verified council workers and teachers across the state.

“The state branch of the NLC support the implementation of ₦70,000 announced by the state government effective January 2025.

“We will also assist the state government in the process of implementing the minimum wage even it means conducting screening and verification to ensure only genuinely employed workers benefit from the new minimum wage of ₦70,000,” he stated.

Jungle urged workers to remain patient, expressing confidence in the government’s dedication to introducing additional welfare measures for the state’s workforce.

“We are optimistic that more welfare packages will be rolled out for workers in the state,” he added.

It is worth recalling that Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, during the presentation of the proposed 2024 state budget to the State Assembly, announced January 2024 as the commencement date for implementing the ₦70,000 minimum wage.

One of Nigeria's most popular singers, Dare Art-Alade and his wife, Deola, are celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary today, November 30.

In a post shared on her Instagram page today, Deola listed the reasons they have remained marriage after all these years. 

She wrote; ‘’18 Years of Love, Lessons, and Growth.

Today, we celebrate 18 incredible years of marriage. 18 years of laughter, tears, joy, trials, victories, and everything in between. Standing here together, we know this truth: love isn’t perfect, and neither are we. But that’s what makes it so beautiful.

Marriage is a journey, not a destination. There were days we laughed so hard we couldn’t breathe, and there were days we weren’t sure we’d make it through. There were seasons of sunshine, and there were storms that tested the strength of our foundation. But through it all, we chose each other. Over and over again.

This milestone reminds us that real love is work. It’s showing up for your partner even when it’s hard. It’s forgiving when you’re hurt, learning when you’re wrong, and celebrating when you’re right. It’s praying, growing, and holding on—especially in moments when letting go seems easier.

To anyone out there struggling in their relationship or doubting if love can endure, let us tell you: IT CAN. Love requires effort, patience, grace, and the willingness to fight for what matters. There’s no perfect blueprint for marriage, but there is power in choosing to stay and build together.

We are living proof that you can overcome obstacles, rebuild when life feels broken, and find a love that not only survives but thrives. And trust me, it’s worth it.

To my partner, my love, my best friend, thank you for walking this road with me, for believing in us, for every sacrifice, and for the memories we’ve created. Here’s to the next chapter and the many more years we’ll share.

18 years and counting, baby. We did it—and we’re just getting started.

Yours in love

@deolaartalade & @dareynow

(aka Mr & Mrs Dee)''

Renowned Nigerian Christian filmmaker and founder of Mount Zion Faith Ministries, Pastor Mike Bamiloye, has opened up about a lesser-known struggle in his early years—an addiction, not to substances, but to secular writing.

He recounted the transformative power of surrendering one’s talents to God and embracing the call to Kingdom service.

In a Saturday post on his Facebook page, Bamiloye detailed how his journey to becoming a pioneer in Christian drama was marked by resistance, relapse, and ultimately, total surrender of his talents to God.

According to him, in 1982, a 22-year-old Bamiloye stood outside a crowded church hall during a convention, listening to the powerful ministration of a renowned gospel singer.

He described the experience as life-changing.

He said, “The anointing that morning was so heavy upon the congregation as the voice of that woman rent the hallowed chamber of the large hall.

“I couldn’t hold back my tears. I fell into deep prayer, crying out to God, ‘LORD, You are using a woman; use me too. I want to serve You. Use me too.'”

He said it was during this emotional plea that he heard a voice within him, urging him to surrender his writing gift for Kingdom purposes.

“I will use you if you surrender your gift at my feet,” the voice told him.

Transition struggles

Meanwhile, Bamiloye stated that at that time, he was already an accomplished writer of drama scripts and novels.

However, his works were secular, focusing on themes devoid of spiritual significance. The divine call to abandon his secular pursuits was daunting.

“I didn’t want to stop writing those theatrical dramatic pieces; I didn’t want to stop writing those adventurous and investigative novels that profited the Heavens nothing,” he admitted.

Despite his initial willingness to submit, Bamiloye soon found himself slipping back into his old habits. Writing had become more than a hobby—it was an obsession.

“It was like I was drugged. It was like I was addicted to writing those plays, poems, and novels. I was like a drunkard addicted to drinking. I was like a smoker addicted to smoking,” he asserted.

Divine call?

Several years later, already a few years into ministry, he revealed that he received a sobering warning through a dream.

According to him, in the dream, God made it clear that if he did not withdraw his secular scripts from the publishers, those works would be used by the enemy to undermine his ministry in the future.

“Unless you obey and urgently withdraw those scripts from the publishing companies, the devil will use the published books to rubbish your ministry later in life,” the dream warned.

He noted that the urgency of the message left him with no choice but to act immediately.

The pastor disclosed that he informed his wife of his decision and embarked on a mission to retrieve his manuscripts from various publishing houses.

One of the publishing directors, a Christian herself, he stated, tried to persuade him to reconsider, arguing that the scripts were harmless.

“I had come to withdraw my script from publishing. I never wanted it to be published again,” he recounted.

Consequently, he said that after signing the necessary documents, the manuscripts were returned to him.

“I hereby submit all my gifts at Your feet,” he declared.

Meanwhile, he admitted that his obedience, today, has yielded an abundant harvest.

Mount Zion Faith Ministries has produced countless gospel films and stage productions that have impacted lives across Nigeria and beyond, he noted.

“Have I not produced better drama scripts for the Lord? Have I not turned many drama scripts into great movies for the Kingdom of God?” he reflected.

Gifts, talents divine deposits

Furthermore, Bamiloye believed that his testimony was a challenge to everyone blessed with a talent.

He emphasised that gifts and talents are divine deposits, entrusted to men for the expansion of God’s kingdom.

“Every gift is deposited in a person’s life by God for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. It is not meant to serve your pleasures, nor was it given to you to do whatever you like with it,” the revered drama minister wrote.

Citing the parable of the talents from Matthew 25, he reminded believers that each of us is a servant entrusted with gifts by a Master who will one day return for an account.

To him, our talents are not our own. They are Kingdom assets, meant to serve a higher purpose.

He concluded, “Everyone possessing one talent or the other has been called to be a servant of God.

“It is a Kingdom issue. It is not a joke matter; it has to do with the matter of eternal life. Gift and talent is a kingdom issue.”

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU) in Bauchi has announced an indefinite strike to emphasize its call for improved working conditions from the university administration.

In a statement to the press following an emergency congress convened at the Yuli Campus in Bauchi, the ASUU Chairperson for the SAZU branch, Comrade Awwal Hussain Nuhu, indicated that the congress had determined it had exhausted all available avenues, with previous efforts to engage the authorities proving unsuccessful.

The chairperson highlighted that the congress recognized a lack of willingness and commitment from both the university administration and the government to address its concerns, despite numerous attempts made to facilitate dialogue.

“Therefore, a member of the union moved for a motion for the branch to embark on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike action which was seconded by another member.

“Consequently, the congress passed a resolution for the branch to embark on comprehensive and indefinite strike action until further notice.

“The strike action has to commence immediately at 12:00pm on Friday the 29th of November 2024. With this, all members of ASUU in SAZU are directed to comply as no academic activity of whatever form or meetings will take place while it lasted.

“Members are directed to embark on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike action until further notice. This implies that activities such as teaching, marking, meetings, accreditation and any other activities related to academic staff are suspended indefinitely,” the statement reads.

The leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has instructed workers in 14 states to begin an indefinite strike on Monday over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage and the continued payment of outdated salaries.

President Bola Tinubu in July signed the new Minimum Wage Act into law to increase the minimum monthly salary in the country from N30,000 to N70,000.

This was after the government, the organised labour and the private sector concluded months-long negotiations on the minimum wage when Tinubu haggled down labour’s N250,000/month demand to N70,000/month.

Since the enactment of the new law barely six months ago, only 23 states, excluding Federal Capital Territory(Abuja), have domesticated the law. 

In a press statement issued on Friday, NLC said: “Recall that the NEC of 8th November 2024 in Portharcourt directed that industrial action to compel implementation of the new national minimum wage should commence in any state that has not complied by the end of November 2024. This position was reinforced by the CWC in Kano on the 27th of November 2024.

“Flowing from the above it is our information that some states have not commenced the said implementation as workers are still being paid on the old structure and there is no subsisting agreement to show a date of commencement of implementations They are as follows: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory, Imo, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Oyo, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states.

“We therefore request that you direct your state councils in the following states to proceed on the said needed actions to compel the implementation as resolved by the NEC & CWC.

“Please do oblige us with copies of your letters to your state councils in this regard for effective mobilisation.”

Nigerian investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo, has expressed concern over the kind of security cover available for oil bunkers in the country.

Naija News reports that the founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), in an interview with Arise TV morning show, said he was conducting an undercover investigation when the Nigerian Army arrested him.

Soyombo stated that there are innocent military men, but there is a need to sanitise the saboteurs who enable oil bunkers to thrive.

According to the journalist, it is not only oil bunkers that are thieves but also those who are meant to supervise the sector, adding that “What we would need is an overhaul of the system.”

He said, “It would shock you the kind of people who escort illegal oil bunkers out of Port-Harcourt.

“The army spokesman already compromised my security by going online to say that they found illegal bunkers.

“There are clean men in the military but we need to clean up the saboteurs who enable oil bunkerers to thrive.

“This is a new level for me that I need to do it. Rather than change approach, I will rather stop, maybe I have one, two, three under-cover investigations and I will stop.

“It is not the fun of it but the situations we found ourselves. Imagine the story I did on smugglers. People have to know that in their country they can be safe, and we need to expose these wrongdoings.

“The figure being put out in terms of Crude oil theft are an underestimation of what’s happening. The Crude we were to move was for 50,000 barrel, if the man who got annoyed that he wasn’t bribed didn’t talk, we would have had two trucks move out. There is no institution that can say for a fact the barrels are being lifted daily.”

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, has appealed to Nigerians to shelve any plan of leaving the country because of economic hardship.

Yemi Cardoso said the current economic hardship in the country required the collective effort of all Nigerians to fix it.

He stated that the government through its policies is building an economy that would sustain and help businesses thrive.

The CBN Governor made the appeal in a keynote address at the 59th annual Bankers Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, in Lagos.

“It is not a good idea to japa at this stage. Two reasons. One, those who may decide they are going to do that, they will sell and get rid of their assets.

“You’ll be doing it for cheap. Predators, who are outside looking for bargains, will come and take it and pocket it, put it in their pocket and wait for the turnaround and sell it away.

“Number two, you want to be part of the solution. You want to be part of the solution, and this is time that we need all hands on them,” Daily Post quoted him.

While acknowledging the hardship Nigerians face because of the government’s economic reforms, he said “the reforms were focused on tackling challenges of today and on securing the opportunities of tomorrow with the aim of building an economy where everybody thrives”.

Abuja-based herbalist identified as Ismail Usman has sustained a severe injury while testing a self-made bulletproof charm.

Naija News learnt that the incident occurred on November 23 at the Kuchibuyi village in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In a statement on Saturday, the FCT police command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said Usman picked a locally fabricated gun after fortifying himself with the charm he had prepared.

Usman reportedly shot himself in the stomach, and the charm failed to protect him, leaving him severely injured.

Adeh said the police received a distress call from a resident at the incident, stressing that officers from the Byazhin Division arrived at the scene and rushed Usman to Kubwa General Hospital.

The police spokesperson further stated that due to the severity of his injuries, the herbalist was later transferred to Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, where doctors are working tirelessly to save his life.

She said Usman would face charges for unlawful possession of firearms and attempted suicide, which violates Section 231 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria.

The statement read, “A distress call from Shandam Michael reported a shocking event involving Ismail Usman, a local herbalist known for his unconventional methods. In a misguided attempt to test the effectiveness of a self-made ‘bulletproof’ charm, Usman shot himself in the stomach with a shotgun.

“Unfortunately, the charm failed to protect him, resulting in life-threatening injuries. Officers from the Byazhin Division responded swiftly, arriving at the scene to find Usman in critical condition. He was quickly transported to Kubwa General Hospital for emergency treatment and later transferred to Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital for further care.

“In the aftermath, police conducted a thorough search of Usman’s home, recovering the homemade gun and an array of charms used in his reckless experiment. 

“Investigations are ongoing, and Usman is expected to face charges for unlawful possession of firearms and attempted suicide under Section 231 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria.

“Commissioner of Police FCT, CP Olatunji Disu, condemned the incident, highlighting the dangers associated with illegal firearms.”