Osogbo Food Bonanza Turns Nightmare as Discount Vendor Vanishes With Customers’ Millions

Panic erupted in Osogbo, Osun State, on Monday after a food distribution outlet offering heavily discounted food items suddenly shut its premises, leaving hundreds of customers stranded and worried over millions of naira reportedly paid in advance for supplies.

The outlet, identified as Global Food Initiative, was located in the Odi-Olowo area of Osogbo, opposite the former NEPA office.

The business had reportedly attracted customers with unusually low prices for essential food commodities, including rice, cooking oil, spaghetti, semovita and other food items.

Customers were required to pay in advance and return after about a week to collect their purchases.

According to reports from the area, a 50kg bag of rice was being sold for about N27,000, far below the prevailing market price. Radio Nigeria reported that 25 litres of cooking oil was offered for N30,000, while a pack of spaghetti was sold for about N10,000.

The attractive prices reportedly drew traders and other residents from Osogbo and neighbouring communities, with some customers placing orders in large quantities for resale or personal events.

But the seemingly lucrative arrangement turned into anxiety on Monday when customers arrived at the premises expecting to collect their goods and found the outlet locked.

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Attempts to reach the operators by telephone reportedly failed, leaving customers gathered around the premises demanding answers and seeking the return of their money.

PUNCH reported that one customer, identified as Mistura, said she paid N300,000 for 11 bags of rice at N27,000 per bag. Another customer, Olamide, said she paid N1.2 million for various food items intended for a family wedding.

The newspaper also reported that some participants displayed evidence of much larger payments, with one woman reportedly claiming to have paid N35 million, while another man allegedly presented a receipt showing N10 million.

Vanguard similarly reported that customers presented receipts for payments ranging from tens of thousands of naira to much larger sums, while one trader was alleged to have committed as much as N50 million to the scheme. These figures are claims by participants and have not been independently established as the total amount involved.

Tension reportedly rose at the premises as some angry customers threatened to damage the building housing the outlet’s warehouse.

The development prompted the deployment of policemen to the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

The spokesperson for the Osun State Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the deployment, saying the police became aware of the situation after arriving at the scene to control the growing tension.

According to him, the command had not yet received a formal complaint from affected customers at the time of his statement, but officers were monitoring the situation.

He said the police had discovered at the scene that Global Food Initiative had been collecting money from people with promises of supplying subsidised food items after advance payment.

The incident has revived concerns over schemes that use exceptionally low prices to attract large numbers of customers before collecting advance payments.

For many of those affected, what initially appeared to be an opportunity to beat the rising cost of food has suddenly become a desperate search for their money and answers.

The Osogbo incident also bears similarities to reports of an earlier case in Auchi, Edo State, in July 2025, where a man reportedly sold 50kg bags of rice for N20,000, attracted more than 1,000 pre-orders and allegedly disappeared after collecting advance payments. Reports at the time put the alleged losses at more than N20 million. However, those figures were based largely on social-media reports and were not accompanied by an official police confirmation in the reports reviewed.

The latest development has therefore triggered renewed calls for residents to exercise caution before making large advance payments for commodities being offered at prices substantially below prevailing market rates.

As of the latest reports, the operators of Global Food Initiative had not publicly explained the closure or disclosed when the business would reopen, while affected customers continued to await clarification and possible recovery of their funds.

Osogbo Food Bonanza Turns Nightmare as Discount Vendor Vanishes With Customers’ Millions

24 Hours in Darkness: Iju Ishaga Residents, Businesses Count Losses as Ikeja Electric Fails to Restore Power

Residents of Iju Ishaga, Ake-Ayo and adjoining communities in Lagos have been thrown into frustration as a prolonged blackout entered its second day, forcing households and businesses to battle with the consequences of more than 24 hours without electricity.

The power outage began at about 5pm on Sunday, September 27, 2026, and had persisted as of Monday evening, leaving residents scrambling for alternative sources of electricity.

For many residents, the blackout has gone beyond the inconvenience of darkness, with business owners counting losses and households spending additional money on fuel to power generators.

Small businesses that depend heavily on electricity have been particularly affected.

Operators of laundries, barbing salons, hairdressing shops, restaurants, food businesses, refrigeration outlets and other electricity-dependent enterprises have either had to suspend operations or resort to generators at additional cost.

Residents said the prolonged outage was putting further pressure on household finances, with many already struggling with the rising cost of fuel and other essential commodities.

One resident said electricity supply disappeared around 5pm on Sunday and had still not returned as of Monday evening.

The resident said many people initially expected the fault to be resolved within a few hours but became increasingly frustrated as the outage stretched into the following day.

The situation has also affected households dependent on electricity-powered water pumps, while residents with refrigerators and freezers have expressed concern about food and other perishable items.

Residents demand explanation

Frustrated consumers contacted personnel of Ikeja Electric Distribution Company to demand information about the cause of the outage and when supply would be restored.

A conversation with an Ikeja Electric staff member on Monday indicated that the company was aware of the problem and that efforts were being made to resolve it.

However, residents were still waiting for full restoration as of Monday evening.

The specific cause of the latest outage affecting Ake-Ayo, Iju Ishaga and surrounding communities had not been independently established as of the time of filing this report.

Previous prolonged outages in parts of Ikeja Electric’s network have been linked to faults involving distribution infrastructure as well as incidents on the transmission network.

Businesses bear the brunt

The prolonged blackout has created a fresh financial burden for small business operators in the affected communities.

For laundry operators, every hour without electricity can mean delayed jobs and customers waiting longer for their clothes.

Barbers and hairdressers have also been forced to depend on generators, while restaurants, food vendors and businesses dealing in frozen products face the additional challenge of preserving their stock.

Some business owners said the cost of purchasing fuel to run generators could further reduce their already narrow profit margins.

For households, the situation has also meant additional expenditure on fuel and other alternatives to electricity.

Anger mounts

As the outage continued into Monday evening, residents became increasingly frustrated over the absence of electricity and uncertainty surrounding the restoration time.

They appealed to Ikeja Electric to provide regular and transparent updates whenever prolonged faults occur, particularly when large communities are affected.

Residents also called for improved maintenance of electricity infrastructure to reduce the frequency and duration of outages.

The latest incident has once again highlighted the difficulties faced by residents and small businesses that depend on public electricity supply but are often forced to maintain generators as backup.

For the affected residents of Iju Ishaga, Ake-Ayo and neighbouring areas, the immediate demand is simple: restore the power and end the darkness.

But with the outage already stretching beyond 24 hours, many households and businesses are left counting the financial cost of another prolonged blackout.

24 Hours in Darkness: Iju Ishaga Residents, Businesses Count Losses as Ikeja Electric Fails to Restore Power

Why Akpabio Rejected ‘Acting President’ Title — Rufai Oseni

LAGOS — Arise Television Morning Show anchor, Rufai Oseni, has offered insight into why Senate President Godswill Akpabio reportedly rejected the title of “Acting President” during the recent absence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima from the country.

In a commentary that has sparked widespread debate across political circles, Oseni suggested that Akpabio’s refusal to embrace the title was not merely a matter of constitutional propriety, but a reflection of the legislature’s unwillingness to assert its independence as a co-equal branch of government.

The controversy arose when, with both the President and Vice President out of the country, some political associates reportedly began referring to Akpabio as the acting president. Akpabio swiftly moved to quell the speculation, clarifying that he remains the Senate President and that there is no vacancy in the presidency, noting that President Tinubu was still running the country from abroad.

However, Oseni, speaking on his morning show, argued that the situation raises fundamental questions about the balance of power in Nigeria’s presidential system. He contended that the Senate President’s eagerness to dismiss the acting title highlights a deeper issue: the National Assembly’s reluctance to genuinely challenge or check the executive arm of government.

Oseni pointed to the legislature’s earlier endorsement of a state of emergency in Rivers State as evidence that the current leadership under Akpabio would not stand up for the independence of the parliament. He questioned whether a Senate President who shies away from the constitutional implications of a power vacuum can effectively champion the legislature’s role as a separate arm of government.

“The refusal to accept the acting president title is not just about protocol; it is about the willingness of the National Assembly to assert its constitutional independence,” Oseni said during the broadcast. “If the Senate President cannot stand up for the legislature in a moment like this, it raises serious questions about the checks and balances in our democracy.”

The political analyst’s remarks have reignited conversations about the relationship between the executive and the legislature under the current administration, with critics arguing that the National Assembly has become increasingly subservient to the presidency.

While Akpabio’s allies maintain that his decision was a mark of respect for constitutional order and the sitting president, Oseni’s analysis suggests that the move may have wider implications for the balance of power in Abuja.

As the debate continues, observers say the incident underscores the ongoing tension between constitutional duty and political reality in Nigeria’s democratic experiment.

Why Akpabio Rejected ‘Acting President’ Title — Rufai Oseni