Nana Plaza, an otherwise unassuming building at Jos’s Old Airport Junction, undergoes a troubling transformation after dark. While the plaza hosts legitimate daytime businesses, the surrounding area becomes a hub for illicit activities at night, including the sale of cigarettes and drugs by a group known as the “Michika Boys.” More alarmingly, the open space behind the plaza has become a center for teenage prostitution, with some girls as young as 14 years old trading sex for money to survive. Interviews with some of these young women reveal that they have been driven into this life by extreme circumstances, including parental neglect, displacement from their communities due to violence, poverty, and the…
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Amid rising insecurity nationwide, why did the Senate refuse to investigate defence and security spending? The issue of insecurity is one no serious public official can pretend about any longer. The motion in question sought to establish a national committee to probe all financial releases to the military in prosecuting the war on banditry, kidnapping and terror. We don’t think that’s the right approach. Our military institutions are giving their best under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. This is not conventional warfare. This same military faced Boko Haram terrorists in battle and dislodged them. When terrorists had their flags flying over captured…
On Saturday, June 20, 2026, Ekiti wrote two stories with one ballot. Story one: Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji won re-election with a landslide. Story two: Apathy finished runner up — and it came dangerously close to victory. One story gives Ekiti hope. The other should give us sleepless nights. 1. BAO Wins: Ekiti chose continuity over gambleThe voters who showed up voted with their heads, not their emotions. After four years of salaries paid as and when due, hospitals upgraded, roads delivered, and budgets published in all 16 LGAs + 22 LCDAs, Ekiti rewarded performance. BAO’s model is quiet governance:…
Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has promised that his second term in office will deliver greater impact across every household in the state. Oyebanji made the pledge after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared him winner of Saturday’s governorship election. The governor, who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, described his victory as a humbling vote of confidence from the people of Ekiti He said the outcome of the election showed that residents had chosen continuity, stability and development. According to him, the message from voters across the state was clear. Oyebanji said the scale of the…
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has strongly condemned the burning of a police station in Isan-Ekiti, describing the incident as disturbing and unrelated to the ongoing governorship election in the state. Fayemi made the remarks on Saturday shortly after casting his ballot in the ongoing election across Ekiti State, where voters turned out in various polling units to elect a new governor under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Incident Has No Electoral Link” — Fayemi Speaking with journalists after voting alongside his wife, the former governor said the attack on the police facility should not…
Total Registered voters – 988,251. Accredited voters – 384,940. Total Votes Cast – 382,109. Total Valid Votes – 375, 777. APC – 319,224 votes PDP – 40, 533 votes ADC – 12,872 votes BREAK DOWN BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS; Efon Local Govt Collation officer: Prof. Joseph Ojo ADC – 201APC – 8742PDP – 2051 Ijero LG Collation Officer: Prof. Olaniran Akanni ADC – 2026APC – 25506PDP – 2479 Ikere LG Collation Officer: Prof. Kehinde Jayeoba ADC – 245APC – 11116PDP – 9872 Emure LG Collation Officer: Prof Emmanuel Oluwafemi ADC -732APC – 14325PDP – 851 Ekiti South West Collation Officer:…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has uploaded 85.32 per cent of polling unit results from Saturday’s Ekiti State governorship election to its Result Viewing (IReV) portal, as collation of votes continues across the state. Data obtained from the IReV portal showed that as of 7:12 p.m. on Saturday, a total of 2,086 results had been uploaded out of the expected 2,445 polling unit results across the state’s 16 local government areas. The development marks a significant milestone in the electoral process, providing political parties, election observers and members of the public with real-time access to polling unit results as…
The National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) has commenced the distribution of 100,800 bags of fertiliser to 25,200 smallholder farmers across Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and Jigawa states under the Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme (FISP). Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Katsina on Saturday, NADF Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Abu Ibrahim, said the initiative is designed to reduce production costs, improve access to quality farm inputs and boost food production in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He said each beneficiary farmer will receive four bags of fully subsidised fertiliser, while each participating…
When President Buhari and CBN’s Emefiele introduced the cashless policy before the 2023 elections, many of us dismissed it. We called it a political witch-hunt targeting specific politicians. Farmers and small businesses that relied heavily on cash cried foul. Few of us gave the policy any benefit of doubt. Today, the reality is different. In Nigeria, we politicize everything. Abduction, insecurity, banditry, kidnapping – we filter it through religion and ethnicity first. But facts don’t have ethnicity. Today, kidnapping for ransom is daily news. Even terrorist groups claiming to fight for religion have shifted to abductions for cash. The numbers…
Voting has officially concluded in most polling units across Ekiti State as the governorship election entered the vote-counting phase following the closure of polls at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The election witnessed a largely peaceful and orderly process across the state, with election officials, security personnel, party agents, and voters commended for their adherence to electoral guidelines. According to reports from the the Swift Reporters team on the field, all 2,445 polling units designated for the election were successfully opened for voting, demonstrating a high level of preparedness by electoral authorities and security agencies. Of the total number of polling…