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According To Uba Sani, 70% of Adults In The North Do Not Have Bank Accounts.
The gubernatorial candidate of All Progressives Congress(APC) in Kaduna state, Senator Uba Sani, has said that 70% of adults in the North are unbanked, which partly explained the high level of poverty in the area.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
He said he is the only senator that has two bills that have been signed into law in the 9th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The lawmaker said that he has sponsored 31 bills and seven of them have been passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, waiting for the president’s assent, adding that ‘’and by the Grace of God, I will ensure that three or four of these bills are assented to before I leave the senate.’’
Senator Sani who represents Kaduna Central Senatorial District, challenged the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) gubernatorial candidate who was in the House of Representatives for 8 years on the bill he sponsored or moved a motion in the period.
The legislator further said that the New Nigerian Peoples Party(NNPP) candidate has moved a few motions in his four years as senator but there was not a single bill to his credit.
The gubernatorial candidate made these disclosures when he addressed the Political Committee of the Kaduna chapter of Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC) on Friday.
According to him, all his 31 bills, including the ones that have been assented by President Muhammadu Buhari, centre on people’s welfare, especially the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act(BOFIA) amendment Law which focuses on financial inclusion for the downtrodden.
Senator Uba Sani said that 70% of adults in northern Nigeria are unbanked and this partly explains the high level of poverty in the area, adding that that is why ‘’I included a clause in the BOFIA bill, mandating anyone that is 18 years and above should be financially included.’’
The Senator also said that the amendment Bill to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria(AMCON) Law, is aimed at instituting justice and equity as well as ensuring transparency.
‘’In 2009, when banks were going down because of the global economic recession, Nigerian government brought out N4.7 trillion to buy bad loans from the banks.
‘’ What it means is that individuals borrowed money from the banks to the tune of N4.7 trillion, and the banks themselves were going down and this will affect the entire economy.
Senator Sani recalled that AMCON was created to take over those loans and it paid money to the banks in order to keep them afloat and AMCON was mandated to recover that money.
‘’But when I came into the Senate in 2019, I looked at the list and realized that 350 Nigerians were responsible for the N3 trillion debt. And who are these Nigerians?
‘’Most of them have houses in America, in the United Kingdom and Dubai. Some of them even had private jets,’’ the gubernatorial candidate disclosed, adding that about 2,000 Nigerians were responsible for the remaining N1.7 trillion debt.
Senator Sani said that what these figures show is that Nigerian tax payers money was used to save some banks and AMCON has been unable to recoup this money from some rich people, who seem to be above the law.
According to him, it is unacceptable for few elites to live off the commonwealth of the nation and the practice is also undemocratic, adding that ‘’I kept complaining in the Senate and saying that we need to amend the AMCON Act.’’
The legislator then asked AMCON officials what the impediments against the recovery were and they said that most of the debtors are rich and powerful people who frustrated their efforts with endless litigations.
The gubernatorial candidate said that he discovered that most of the collaterals that these big time debtor pledged before taking the huge loans, were properties or assets that were less in value to the loans that they collected.
‘’The total loans against their names, like I said earlier, was N4.7 trillion but the value of their assets was just N700 billion. This means that there was insider trading. And most of these collaterals are assets located in their villages and towns,’’ he said.
Senator Sani who is the Chairman of Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, said that he amended the AMCON Act, by inserting a clause that allows for asset tracing, which means that AMCON can trace any of the debtors’ houses that is located in any part of the country, irrespective of the one that they pledged as collateral, and seize them.
‘’Those debtors have mansions in Abuja but they gave the houses in their villages as collaterals. As we are speaking, Mr President has assented to the amendment on 31st November 2021. Today, I was told that because of that amendment, AMCON has recovered N1.5 trillion,’’ he disclosed.
According to him, the money will be channeled to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) in Nigeria and the owners can access the loan with their Bank Verification Numbers as collaterals. ‘’That is why we have been given loans,’’ he added.
Former presidential aide Babafemi Ojudu has strongly criticized a Nigerian musician for comparing himself to the late Afrobeats legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Naija News reports that Wizkid recently clashed online with Seun Kuti, Fela’s son, claiming he was greater than the Afrobeat pioneer.
In a detailed Facebook post on Wednesday, Ojudu described Fela as an unparalleled cultural and musical icon whose influence transcends generations.
“Is it true that a Nigerian youngster said he is greater than Fela? I sincerely hope he was misquoted,” Ojudu wrote. “Even if he were to live ten lifetimes, his art and his life could not measure up to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.”
Ojudu highlighted Fela’s monumental contributions to music, activism, and African consciousness, calling him “a movement, a conscience, a revolution in human form.”
“Fela was not just a musician; he was a movement, a conscience, a revolution in human form. His music gave birth to Afrobeat—a genre now studied in universities worldwide, sampled by global superstars, and performed on the world’s greatest stages,” he added.
The former aide praised Fela’s courage and originality, emphasizing how his music challenged oppression and corruption during Nigeria’s military era.
“Fela stood alone, fearless in the face of military dictatorships, unapologetic in resisting oppression. He used his music as a weapon against injustice, corruption, colonial mentality, and state violence. He was arrested over 200 times, brutalized, imprisoned, tortured, exiled, and silenced, yet never broken,” Ojudu said.
He also recalled the personal sacrifices Fela endured, including the murder of his mother, the burning of his home—the Kalakuta Republic—and the seizure of his property, yet he remained defiant.
“His mother was murdered by the state. His house was burned to the ground. His property seized. He was flogged, beaten, and jailed from Alagbon to Panti, hounded by police and soldiers alike. Yet after every assault, Fela returned with sharper lyrics, deeper rhythms, and more defiant truth,” Ojudu wrote.
In a sharp warning, he said anyone daring to compare themselves to Fela “must first walk the corridors of Nigerian jailhouses” and endure the persecution Fela faced.
“For any young person, musician or not, to compare himself to Fela, he must first experience police cells and military tribunals, lose everything, go into exile, and still return with his creative spirit intact,” Ojudu said.
He underscored Fela’s enduring legacy as “a multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, philosopher, and cultural theorist” whose influence remains global.
“Fela did not chase acceptance. The world came to him,” he added.
Concluding, Ojudu dismissed Wizkid’s claim as unworthy of attention.
“So, whoever made such a claim should simply be ignored. He may be one of those who would flee the country the moment the police knock once on his car window in Ojuelegba. Fela did not run. Fela stood. Fela fought. And Fela remains immortal. Anikulapo, the man who carried death in his pouch,” Ojudu wrote.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld the exclusion of Labour Party (LP) candidates from the upcoming Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, scheduled for February 21.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Peter Lifu refused to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept or publish the list of candidates submitted by the Labour Party.
The court dismissed the suit, filed by the Labour Party and its candidates against INEC under case number FHC/ABJ/CS/2110/2025, on the grounds that it was statute-barred.
Justice Lifu noted that the matter was a pre-election dispute under the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and was not filed within the legally required timeframe. While the Labour Party filed the suit on October 7, 2025, the cause of action—the exclusion of its candidates by INEC—occurred on October 22, 2025.
The judge referenced Section 285(14)(c) of the Constitution, which requires pre-election suits to be filed within 14 days of the cause of action. “Having not been filed within the statutory period, this court no longer has the jurisdiction to entertain the matter,” he ruled.
Justice Lifu also noted that a similar case involving the same parties was pending before a High Court in Nasarawa State, which he said suggested forum shopping and further weakened the Labour Party’s position.
The Labour Party had argued that INEC acted unlawfully by excluding its candidates and omitting its logo from the list of participating parties, despite sending letters to the INEC Chairman on September 8 and October 2, 2025, which went unanswered. The party maintained that without court intervention, it would be unfairly denied the chance to field candidates in the FCT council elections.
However, the court rejected all reliefs sought by the LP and dismissed the case entirely.
INEC’s decision to exclude Labour Party candidates was influenced by the ongoing leadership crisis within the party, which prevented the electoral body from recognising the list of candidates submitted by its rival factions.
A retired Nigerian Army Major General, Danjuma Hamisu Ali-Keffi, has urged a thorough investigation into the release of 48 terrorism financing suspects, including a man identified by foreign intelligence agencies as a top Boko Haram leader, who were previously held by the military.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Ali-Keffi, who in October 2020 was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the covert Operation Service Wide (OSW), described the circumstances surrounding their release as a major national security concern. OSW, which included personnel from the military, intelligence agencies, and legal officers from the Attorney-General’s office, was tasked with investigating terrorism financiers and collaborators.
In an interview with SaharaReporters, Ali-Keffi revealed that the task force collaborated with 33 countries, including the US, UK, and the EU, through the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). He alleged that the National Assembly failed to investigate the matter due to compromises involving a former Army chief.
According to Ali-Keffi, OSW had arrested 48 individuals tied to terrorism financing, including a principal Boko Haram leader as identified by Western and Middle Eastern intelligence agencies. He claimed that substantial counterterrorism funds were diverted to prominent military and government officials, including some National Assembly members, and suggested that putting the suspects on trial would have exposed this misappropriation.
Ali-Keffi further alleged that some of the suspects operated Bureau De Change firms as fronts to launder funds both for officials and Boko Haram operations. He specifically questioned the release of Hima Abubakar, whose $600 million offshore account was traced by the NFIU.
“Who ordered the release of these 48 terror financing suspects? Why were they freed without trial? And why did the government request the US to unfreeze Abubakar’s $600 million account despite prior indictments by the Committee on Defence and Arms Procurement (CADEP)?” he asked.
He also condemned the release of Alhaji Saidu Ahmed, aka Saidu Gold, identified as a top Boko Haram leader, despite intelligence linking him to recruits later jailed in Dubai for terrorism.
Ali-Keffi recalled that the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, had started a forensic audit into counterterrorism funds and unfinished procurement projects but died days before acting on the findings, which he claimed were suppressed.
He called for a full-scale investigation into terrorism financing and the handling of counterterrorism funds, warning that a public release of OSW’s findings would implicate many military and government officials, including lawmakers.
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