First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has taken her husband’s 2027 re-election campaign message to the South-East, asking voters in the region to support President Bola Tinubu for another term.

Speaking at a women’s empowerment programme in Owerri, Imo State, Mrs Tinubu said her support for the President’s second-term bid was partly driven by her desire to see Nigeria become a better place in her later years.

Addressing the women in Pidgin English, she said:

“Make una vote for Mr President, we go work for una and Nigeria go better.”

She went on to say she wanted to “enjoy Nigeria at old age” and would therefore continue working towards improving the country.

The event was part of a nationwide empowerment programme being implemented through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals.

The initiative is designed to reach 18,500 women across the country, with beneficiaries receiving equipment intended to help them establish or expand small businesses.

In the five South-East states, 500 women per state were provided with items including generators, grinding machines, gas cylinders and industrial ovens.

Imo received an additional boost after Governor Hope Uzodimma sponsored equipment for another 2,000 women. This brought the total number of beneficiaries in the state to 2,500.

Mrs Tinubu subsequently announced a ₦100,000 grant for each beneficiary who attended the event.

The First Lady’s political appeal comes as the race for the 2027 presidency gradually takes shape, with President Tinubu seeking to retain his position after winning the 2023 election.

Tinubu defeated Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi in the 2023 contest, securing 8,794,726 votes. Atiku, then the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, received 6,984,520 votes, while Obi, who contested on the Labour Party platform, polled 6,101,533 votes.

The political landscape has since changed, with Atiku now flying the African Democratic Congress flag and Obi contesting under the Nigeria Democratic Congress.

Tinubu’s administration has spent much of its first term pursuing major economic changes, most notably the removal of the petrol subsidy, reforms to the foreign exchange market and changes to the tax system.

While the government has defended the measures as necessary for long-term economic recovery, they have also generated considerable public criticism over their immediate effects on Nigerians.

Rising food and transport costs, inflation, the depreciation of the naira and insecurity remain among the issues likely to shape public opinion ahead of the 2027 election.

With the presidential contest drawing closer, Mrs Tinubu’s appeal in the South-East signals the administration’s efforts to court support in a region where the political contest is expected to be closely watched.

A 24-year-old Nigerian national, Gift Oladele, dragged a young woman into woodland and violently raped her has been jailed for 17 years after a judge described his actions as “truly depraved”.

Gift Oladele carried out the attack in Wrexham, North Wales, in September last year after approaching the victim, who was 19 at the time, as she walked home from a night out.

Oladele was convicted of rape and sexual assault at Mold Crown Court in March. He was sentenced on Thursday.

How the Attack Happened

The court heard that Oladele approached the woman and her friends outside a takeaway in Wrexham city centre. He initially appeared friendly and flirtatious before offering to walk home with her.

According to prosecutor James Coutts, Oladele accompanied the woman until they reached an isolated area, where he grabbed her by the mouth and forced her into the woods.

He then carried out a violent rape.

“She described being terrified,” Coutts told the court. “She did what she thought she needed to do to get through the attack.”

Oladele threatened to find and harm the victim if she reported the rape. He also threatened to take photographs of her and post them online.

Despite the threats, the woman returned home and immediately told her parents, who contacted the police.

Oladele was arrested the following day at his cousin’s home in Wrexham. Officers said he had attempted to hide a mobile phone, which contained searches relating to sexual attacks.

The court heard that Oladele had a “fascination in forced sexual abuse and rape” and that he appeared to be acting out a fantasy shown in the videos he had searched for.

Victim Describes Lasting Trauma

In a victim impact statement, the woman told the court that she continued to wake up from nightmares in which Oladele had tracked her down.

“I’m petrified,” she said.

She also described taking medication to prevent HIV infection after the assault and suffering long-term emotional and psychological effects.

“I feel ashamed, and somehow damaged, since what he did to me,” she said.

“The emotional impact has been very significant.

“I can’t go anywhere on my own anymore.

“I feel unsafe.”

Judge Simon Mills praised the woman for her courage during and after the attack.

“You showed exceptional courage during the incident and afterwards,” he told her.

Previous Conviction and Deportation Appeal

At the time of the Wrexham attack, Oladele was already on bail over another rape allegation in Manchester dating from November 2024.

He had also been jailed in 2022 for a sexually motivated attack.

The court heard that Oladele was later due to be deported to Nigeria but successfully challenged the decision on human rights grounds.

An immigration tribunal judge described the deportation case as “finely balanced”, acknowledging the seriousness of Oladele’s previous offence and the public interest in deporting foreign criminals.

However, the tribunal also considered his ties to the United Kingdom, where he had grown up, and the consequences of relocating to Nigeria.

The Home Office made two attempts to appeal the decision, but both appeals were rejected.

Judge Calls Defendant Dangerous

During sentencing, The Judge described Oladele’s actions as “truly depraved”.

“You subjected her to a terrible violation,” he said.

“You are a dangerous offender.”

The judge said Oladele posed an exceptionally high risk of harm to young women and had shown “absolutely no remorse whatsoever”.

The Home Office described the case as horrific and said Oladele’s imprisonment was the right outcome.

The victim’s account has highlighted not only the brutality of the attack but also the lasting fear and emotional damage that sexual violence can cause long after the offender has been convicted.

Nigeria’s federal lawmakers are putting the downstream energy sector under the microscope after audit records revealed that state oil firm NNPCL and private fuel marketers have piled up at least ₦432 billion in unpaid regulatory obligations.

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) confirmed the formal probe this week, following persistent warnings raised in the Auditor-General’s 2023 and 2024 annual reports.

Regulatory Levies Left Unpaid

The mountain of debt has accumulated over a six-year period from 2017 to 2023, remaining largely uncollected despite the country’s tight fiscal squeeze.

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The liabilities consist of statutory fees meant to fund national energy infrastructure, including the 1% Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, National Transport Average fees, Balancing Allowances, and lingering credit balances from import and coastal operations.

Audit records track a steep rise in default:

• The 2023 audit initially captured ₦392 billion in total arrears, with NNPCL carrying over ₦162 billion and commercial marketers responsible for ₦230 billion.
• The 2024 report revealed that private marketer debt alone had swelled to ₦432 billion, separate from state-owned NNPCL liabilities.
• Regulatory data from the NMDPRA confirms that 146 companies affiliated with DAPPMAN and MEMAN owed ₦327 billion by 2025.

No Hiding Place for Defaulters

PAC Chairman, Rep. Bamidele Salam, made it clear that parliament expects compliance from corporate leaders, issuing a firm directive against corporate stonewalling.

Salam emphasized that the committee will scrutinize why statutory revenues were permitted to sit idle without vigorous enforcement from the NMDPRA. Defaulters will be forced to present audit trails detailing every transaction, outstanding balances, and proof of any remittances made to date.

For lawmakers, the objective is unambiguous: plug commercial leakages, enforce fiscal discipline, and recover every outstanding naira owed to the federation.