society
Abiodun: Five Years of Governance Very Challenging, But Most Beautiful Experience of My Life
…Tackles Adebutu over comments on Shagamu-Iperu road
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has described the past five years of his administration as challenging, but added that his faith in God had brought the victory he desired.
Speaking during his 64th Birthday and 5th Year Thanksgiving Service held in his honour at the Ogun State Government House Chapel, Oke-Igbein, Abeokuta, on Sunday, Governor Abiodun recalled his journey to power despite all odds, attributing his victory to God Almighty.
He said: “The process through which I emerged as Governor was a very unusual one; one in which my predecessor who was in the same party with me was fighting me and campaigning for another person in another party, and I will sit down and ask myself, ‘Baba God, this is very unusual, why do I have to go through so much to assume this office?’ And then I will answer myself that it is because God wants to take that glory.
“The last five years of governance over the state of Ogun for me has been one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. It’s been extremely turbulent, it’s been very challenging, particularly, it has been rancorous. But the most important thing is that in all of this, God has given us victory.”
Gov Abiodun said his government was taking giant steps to reshape the economy of the state and that the steps were yielding results.
One of such steps, according to him, is the plan to make Ogun an oil producing State, as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would soon begin oil exploration in the state.
“Only on Friday, the leadership of the Ministry of Petroleum led by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, was here with three others and the chairman of Shell to make an announcement that they would soon begin to drill oil in Ogun State,” he said.
Prince Abiodun also seized the opportunity to respond to comments by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, Ladi Adebutu, on the Sagamu-Iperu road project.
Adebutu had criticised the 8-kilometer Sagamu-Iperu road project of the state government.
The governor said his focus was to continue the positive trajectory of the Gateway State and not to dwell on the submission of a man who could not see the over 600km of roads across the length and breadth of Ogun State done by his administration.
Prince Abiodun said he had learnt not to respond to people who had developed the habit of barking whenever they are no longer in the spotlight.
“I read on one of the papers that someone was saying that he was embarrassed that I was commissioning an 8-kilometre road, and a counterpart of mine was commissioning a 77-kilometer road,” he said, adding that he had learnt not to respond to such ignorant remarks.
He wondered that despite the stupendous wealth of the Adebutu family, the road that runs through their house was in a deplorable state for a long time and the family could not deploy a fraction of their wealth to repair it.
Governor Abiodun promised that his administration would continue to make life comfortable for the people of the state by embarking on the provision of more infrastructure that would, in turn, improve their well-being.
Earlier in his message, the Shepherd in charge of Grace Baptist Church, Abeokuta, Rev (Dr) Emmanuel Ajayi, who took his sermon from Psalm 92 verse 1, said that it was a good thing to praise the Lord because of who He is.
Rev. Ajayi, giving thanks to God brings more blessings to those who praise Him.
While calling on the people of God to imbibe the culture of giving thanks to God in their closet, Rev. Ajayi said that praises help Christians to show their gratitude to God Almighty.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade had, in an earlier statement in response to Adebutu’s comments, said the defeated PDP governorship candidate lacked the requisite mental capacity to assess Governor Abiodun’s performance in office.
He said: “It is rather laughable if not completely bizarre to learn that a suspect in the on going case of money laundering and electoral banditry in the 2023 gubernatorial election in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, could summon courage to speak on any issue whatsoever in the public space, not to talk of issues pertaining to governance.
“Adebutu’s recent gibberish in the media, where he queried the leadership capability of Governor Dapo Abiodun and his administration’s performance eloquently gives out the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate as a man with little mind and zero cognitive capacity.
“Obviously, no right thinking individual with sound mind could just wake up on the wrong side of his bed and start discrediting what the global community is applauding from all fronts. While we understand the limitations of Oladipupo Adebutu as a certified indolent and overfed brat, we never realized his mannerless tendency had grown to this level of nuisance.
“For crying out loud, what does a man that could not manage an ordinary small-scale business know about the government that superintend the affairs of over six million people in a geographical location of over 16000 square kilometres.
“Adebutu antecedents are majorly rooted in the life of recklessness and uncontrollable verbal diarrhoea, with no single achievement except the free money of his octogenarian father.”
Akinmade also said Adebutu pretended to be blind to the developmental projects and policies of Governor Abiodun in all the sectors of the State’s economy, ignorantly thinking he could score cheap political points and sneak out of his present oblivion.
“Like he himself rightly observed, he should be ashamed of himself for coming from the same town with a personality like Prince Dapo Abiodun, who has showcased leadership acumen and rare sagacity for inclusive governance beyond expectations.
“We hereby advise Adebutu to concentrate on his criminal case in court and face it squarely, while it is necessary for him to go for rehabilitation after facing the full wrath of the law on his atrocities,” he said.
CANAAN CITY RESIDENTS DEMAND IGP ACTION OVER POLICE-BACKED LAND INVASION IN ONDO
Ondo, Nigeria – The residents of Canaan City Crescent, Fagun, Ondo West Local Government Area, have called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to urgently intervene in an ongoing land invasion allegedly aided by officers of the Ondo State Police Command and SWAT operatives from Akure.
The disputed land, located at the end of Road 13 Avenue 14, Fagun, Ondo, has been the subject of multiple legal battles since 2007. From the Customary Court to the High Court and up to the Court of Appeal in Akure, the Fasimoye family has consistently been declared the lawful owner.
Despite these clear and repeated court judgments, in August 2023, a group led by Mr. Olanrewaju Fawehinmi and Mr. Williams allegedly invaded the land, destroying crops, obstructing access to property, and intimidating residents, with police backing. Since the invasion, residents have reported a spike in armed robbery, kidnapping, and burglary in the community.
A pending case at the Federal High Court, Akure, between the Fasimoye family and the Nigerian Police Force has not deterred the ongoing harassment and illegal occupation.
The residents are demanding that the IGP:
1. Launch an immediate investigation into the role of police officers in the illegal occupation.
2. Withdraw all police protection from the invaders until the court determines the case.
3. Guarantee the safety of lawful property owners and residents.
Speaking on behalf of the residents, Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi stated:
> “If the Nigerian Police can be weaponised by private interests to subvert court rulings, then no citizen’s property or peace is safe. We demand the IGP act now to restore the integrity of law enforcement.”
The residents warn that silence from the IGP will embolden further impunity and erode public trust in the Nigerian Police Force.
Contact:
Residents’ Association – Canaan City Crescent, Fagun, Ondo West LGA
Email: [email protected]
Revolutionizing Nigeria’s Energy Future: The Gbenga Komolafe Story
By Moses Udo
Among the constellation of Nigeria’s leadership, there are individuals whose vision and tenacity do more than just inspire people; they are representatives and architects of transformation. Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, helming the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), is irrevocably one such luminary. His leadership over this critical agency has been exceptionally administrative; it is emblematic of the purposeful reform that has become one of the answers to the clarion calls within the broader framework of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Komolafe’s leadership has yielded structural innovations, an article that can be likened to a Master builder who is laying the foundation for a high skyscraper. He is constructing a new framework for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. And for the record, he has championed non-kinetic strategies to quell crude oil theft, a feat which has remarkably reduced losses to 5,000 barrels per day, and has stabilized production at 1.7 million barrels per day. Under his Project 1 MMBOPD initiative, there is an expectation for an additional million barrels per day by December 2026. These types of gains are what cannot just be conjured from rhetoric, but only from disciplined execution by a focused leader.
However, what we can call the most compelling evidence of Komolafe’s reformative ascendancy lies in the report of N5.21 trillion mid-year revenue generated by the NUPRC in the first half of 2025 alone. To put this in a better context, this figure represents 42.7% of the record N12.2 trillion garnered in the entire year of 2024. Even against the N15 trillion target of 2025, this constitutes 34.7% already achieved in just six months. This is a sterling pace amid global oil market volatility and domestic production challenges. This monetary performance is not merely impressive; it is massive and undoubtedly transformative.
Moreover, Engineer Komolafe’s strategies have strengthened the confidence of investors and also repositioned Nigeria’s upstream sector as a reliable sector for the country’s revenue. It’s no mean feat that the nation now holds the largest gas reserves and the second-largest oil reserves in Africa; this enviable status owes much to the labor and strategic framework he has painstakingly put in place.
It is also worth noting to state that Komolafe’s tenure is equally defined by transparency, sustainability, and inclusivity. In achieving this feat, he has pioneered the Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) and the Carbon Credits Earning Framework, becoming a twin initiative that is positioned at the intersection of environmental responsibility and economic sustainability. These flagship projects are aimed at not just eliminating the challenges of gas flaring but also reducing methane emissions, encouraging carbon capture technologies, monetizing the decarbonization strategy, remaining at the vanguard of the country’s energy transition, and promoting sustainable energy practices.
In complementing these, he established the Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs) and an Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC), which help to create a participatory governance and further foster conflict resolution that once marred upstream operations.
Under his leadership, the upstream sector has achieved fiscal discipline through metering reforms, transparent cargo declarations, and simplified royalty frameworks as a result of his adoption of progressive regulation, which is a plan that is rooted in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the 10-Year Regulatory and Corporate Strategic Plan (2023–2033), and the 2024 Regulatory Action Plan.
The Energy Policy Advancement Centre (EPAC) lauded this performance as a salient testament to strategic governance, foresight, and institutional discipline. Their Director-General, Dr. Ibrahim Musa, asserted, “NUPRC has moved beyond passive regulation to active value generation”, and he further emphasized that what sets this leadership apart “is not just the quantum of revenue but the discipline with which it is being pursued”.
Musa also praised NUPRC’s debt recovery drive, which yielded $459,226 from outstanding obligations — part of a cumulative $1.436 billion owed from crude oil lifting contracts.
He said: “Debt recovery may not attract headlines, but it is the backbone of fiscal discipline. Every dollar recovered is a step towards stabilising government finances and strengthening our economic resilience. The NUPRC’s persistence in this regard is commendable.”
But why do all these matter within President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda? At its heart, the president’s agenda seeks to restore public confidence, strengthen institutional capacity, and rejuvenate Nigeria’s struggling economy. Fortunately for Nigerians, Engr. Komolafe’s conduct encapsulates these ideals. Komolafe is not merely an agent of reform; he is an embodiment of that agenda’s promise. His work is the praxis through which Renewed Hope becomes a loved reality, and more than just a campaign slogan it used to be known for.
History praises visionaries because they alone perceive possibilities where others see only patches, and Komolafe exemplifies this through his strategic foresight in curbing theft and production stabilization within the oil and gas sector. His holistic reforms have integrated environmental imperatives, enshrined accountability within the NUPRC, and created community welfare; His ability to leverage policies and frameworks to recalibrate oil and gas governance has fostered institutional renewal; and his ability to deliver tangible gains for the federation’s revenue base has ensured fiscal prominence.
As we have found ourselves in an era where grandiloquence often eclipses genuine progress, and political ambition serves personal interest, the tenure of Eng. Gbenga Komolafe in NUPRC has stood among others as impactful, transformative, and substantive. He is not a mere bureaucrat; he is an architect of modern Nigeria’s energy future, who builds a legacy of reforms, and not rhetoric.
His contributions ripple outside the confines of the oil and gas sector, nourishing the ethos and reinforcing the Renewed Hope Agenda upon which our collective future depends. Thanks to him, the oil Industry is now much more efficient as a result of the implemented strategic reform, which drastically reduced capital and operational expenditure in oil production.
Indeed, a man of vision is not just an asset but a lodestar to his nation. In Gbenga Komolafe, we find a man of vision who is unequivocally an invaluable asset to our great nation.
Udo is a public affairs analyst writing from Glasgow, United Kingdom.
PMAN Backs Police Report on Kukwaba Land Dispute, Cuts Ties with Olusco
Abuja, Nigeria — The Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) has endorsed the findings of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Monitoring Unit on alleged fraudulent activities linked to Olusco Heritage & Investment Ltd and its Managing Director, Mr. Olufemi Olumeyan, about Plot 504, Kukwaba, Abuja.
According to the police investigation, there is a prima facie case of fraud, intimidation, violence, and breach of peace arising from unauthorised dealings on the land. PMAN, the rightful title holder, said the report confirms long-standing concerns about irregular transactions and thanked the police for their professionalism.
The controversy began in 2023 when PMAN signed a joint venture agreement with Olusco. The agreement, however, was subject to the payment of a premium which Olusco never fulfilled, leaving it unenforceable. Despite this, Olusco allegedly went ahead to advertise and sell portions of the land.
PMAN said the situation worsened after Olusco requested that foreign investment funds be paid into a personal account, a move the association rejected. Later, it emerged that Olusco had struck a separate ₦350 million development deal with G & D Building & Engineering Ltd before disputes arose, leading to petitions to the police.
The Monitoring Unit also flagged the involvement of former PMAN officials, including Mr. Boniface Itodo and entertainer Mr. Zakky Azzay, who were accused of impersonating executives after their dismissal, thereby misleading the public and aggravating the crisis.
On December 7, 2024, PMAN formally terminated its arrangement with Olusco, citing breaches and risks to the public. The association has since tightened security on the site with police support. During one operation, officers dispersed trespassers, and one person sustained a minor injury while fleeing. PMAN clarified that no shots were fired, countering sensational online reports.
National President, Pretty Okafor, said PMAN’s focus is now on accountability and protecting members of the public. “Anyone who paid money to unauthorised parties should come forward. We are working with the IGP Monitoring Unit and EFCC to trace funds, identify victims, and ensure justice,” he said.
PMAN stressed that no sale or allocation on Plot 504 is valid without its written approval and urged potential buyers to exercise caution
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