Television Nigerian

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, has been named the first Chairman of the recently formed ECOWAS Business Council (EBC) by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The nomination was reportedly announced by ECOWAS Commission President Dr. Omar Touray on Wednesday in Abuja during the 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.

The EBC was founded as a stand-alone, private sector-led organization with the vital mission of promoting integration and economic progress throughout the subregion.

According to Dr. Touray, the Nigerian millionaire was selected because of his “vast business experience,” which extends beyond the ECOWAS subregion to the entire African continent.

He emphasized that the appointment is in line with ECOWAS’s new emphasis on raising regional capital as opposed to waiting for outside assistance.

He mentioned a few economic investment forums that were held in West Africa this year, including the Forum Senegal Invest, the West African Economic Summit in Nigeria, and the “Invest in District Savanes” forum in Côte d’Ivoire.

“This appetite for intra-regional investment underscores the necessity of mobilizing capital within our region to build our community instead of waiting for precarious foreign investments,” Touray stated.

“If given the right incentives and opportunities, I am confident that our regional private sector actors can lead the way in the development of our community with the kind of investments we have seen from people like Alhaji Dangote.”

He stated that ECOWAS would bring together business sector players to talk about regional development and economic integration through the EBC.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has been instructed by President Bola Tinubu to lead the National Economic Council’s (NEC) efforts to locate and restore grazing reserves around the country so they can be turned into ranches.

According to the President, the action was essential to resolving ongoing disputes between farmers and herders as well as to releasing the economic potential of Nigeria’s livestock industry.

Speaking at the Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House in Abuja, Tinubu assigned the NEC the responsibility of investigating potential grazing areas in different states that might be developed into livestock communities.

Tinubu stated, “I believe the Vice President should first get the NEC to see which villages or grazing reserves can be salvaged or rehabilitated into ranches, livestock settlements, especially livestock reform.”

The President emphasized that workable solutions that also provide financial benefits are needed to resolve the long-standing conflicts between farmers and herders.

“We need to make the cattle reform economically viable and remove any potential for confrontation. There is an opportunity. Let’s make use of it,” he said.

Tinubu added that the NEC must operate within the constitutional framework to ensure states that are willing to participate in the conversion process since land belongs to the states.

“And it’s in NEC. Let’s stop this conflict area and turn it into economic opportunities and prosperity if we exercise the constitutional requirement which states that the land belongs to the states, whichever one they can salvage and convert to a livestock village,” he continued.

The US government, led by President Donald Trump, is about to enact a new law requiring foreign visitors who are not required to have a visa to provide their social media history prior to entering the US.

According to an official notice published on Tuesday in the Federal Register, the proposed rule will apply to visitors from 42 visa-waiver nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Japan, who currently do not need a visa to enter the US.

It was reported that at present, travellers from these nations only need to apply for the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), which requires the provision of basic personal information.

However, the current proposal aims to make it “mandatory” for ESTA applicants to disclose their social media accounts and activities from the previous five years.

The notice states that visitors would be required to provide “social media histories from the last five years,” marking a significant expansion of the data the US demands from visa-free entrants.

The Trump administration plans to gather what it refers to as “high-value data fields” in addition to social media data.
Among them are:

phone numbers from the previous five years
Email addresses used in the past 10 years
Family members’ personal information

Biometric data
Before the draft rule is finalized, the public has been given sixty days to provide feedback.

The program constitutes part of the administration’s broader, years-long crackdown on migration and border security. In the guise of national security and integrity of vetting, the Trump administration has consistently increased entrance rules.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is anticipated to attract millions of tourists from all over the world, will be jointly hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada.

The latest proposal is likely to affect large numbers of football fans planning to travel for the global tournament, it was reported.

Following their meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, at least seven candidates running for governor of Osun State under the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform resigned.

In the upcoming primary, they have unanimously decided to back Bola Oyebamiji as the unanimous candidate for governor.
Iyiola Omisore, one of the candidates, abstained from the meeting that President Tinubu held at the Presidential Villa.

Prior to this, Omisore had called his main disqualification a joke.

Former Deputy Governor Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Dotun Babayemi, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Kunle Adegoke, Babatunde Haketer Oralusi, and Mulikat Abiola Jimoh are among the candidates that resigned.

Abubakar Malami, a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for violating the terms of his release.

A source from the commission verified the development, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, saying that Malami was detained until 10 p.m. on Tuesday due to his noncompliance with the bail criteria.

The anti-graft agency has questioned the former minister about money laundering-related matters, specifically the use of dubious accounts.

“We have apprehended him because of his involvement in financing terrorism and the whereabouts of Abacha loot that was found in Switzerland and the UK’s Jersey Island. Until he meets the standards, he would be in custody.

He was arrested for failing to comply with his bail requirements, and he will be in our custody until he does. We are currently in charge of him. He was first given bail, but he didn’t fulfill the requirements. There are numerous offenses against him, according to the EFCC source.

The former minister was told by the anti-graft agency to show up for questioning every day in December.

We are currently looking into him for eighteen separate offenses. Money laundering, office misuse, and financing terrorism are a few of them.

The source revealed, “We keep uncovering some of the deals as we investigate, so we cannot put a figure to the amount involved now.”

A state of emergency has been proclaimed by ECOWAS Commission President Dr. Omar Touray in response to growing acts of terrorism and violent extremism, military takeovers, banditry, and political unrest throughout the subregion.

Touray made this declaration on Tuesday at the Ministerial level of the 55th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC) in Abuja.

He claimed that the past few weeks’ events had demonstrated the necessity of serious reflection on the future of democracy and the pressing need to make investments in the security of the subregion.

He claims that country-by-country evaluations of member states reveal varying levels of risk throughout the sub-region, ranging from high to medium, with an average of high risk, necessitating prompt and coordinated action.

Given the circumstances, it is reasonable to proclaim a state of emergency for our town.

“We ought to give these threats the consideration they require.

In order to do this, the mediation and security council sessions ought to be held more frequently than the two regular sessions during the course of the following year.

“To combat the threats posed by terrorism and banditry, which disregard national borders, we must pool our resources.”

“Therefore, we need to make choices and take steps that will stop this trend,” he stated.

Despite this, Touray claimed that elections in the subregion have become a significant cause of instability.

ECOWAS’s best efforts to protect its democratic credentials and stability while establishing norms of constitutional convergence.

In keeping with the urgency, he stated that in order to provide direction and facilitate regional action, the MSC must continuously monitor the political and security situation in West Africa.

In light of the destructive impact of terrorism along their shared borders, he stated that ECOWAS must also engage in negotiations with its Alliance of Sahel States (AES) neighbors, particularly with reference to their security cooperation.

Elections in Guinea, the Republic of Benin, the Gambia, and Cape Verde will take place in the days and months leading up to next year.

He added, “We will also be handling the aftermath of the coup attempt in the Republic of Benin and the coup in Guinea-Bissau.”

According to the president of the panel, West Africa also faced humanitarian issues, with families, women, and children bearing the burden of instability.

According to him, the number of people who were forcefully displaced in West and Central Africa as of October 2025 was roughly 7.6 million, up from 7.4 million in March.

According to Touray, who cited information from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 6,506,270 of this number were internally displaced people (IDPs), with Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali having the biggest numbers.

There are also 1,094,742 asylum seekers and refugees. The 10 nations with the biggest numbers of asylum seekers, in descending order, are Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Senegal, and Gambia.

“Let me reassure the people in our community that we will not stop working. For the benefit of all community members, we will keep working harder to advance a stronger, more peaceful, and stable region.

He declared, “Let’s all continue to be dedicated to upholding the Community’s Constitutional Convergence Principles, promoting peace, and maintaining regional unity.”

Timothy Kabba, the Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs for Sierra Leone, issued a warning that the sub-region’s growing political and security unrest jeopardized democratic governance and undermined public trust.

It makes sense that our citizens are worried. They are looking to us for leadership that turns commitment into action, not simply for statements of concern.

Our people no longer tolerate unfulfilled promises, therefore our resolutions need to go beyond rhetoric. They anticipate unity, earnestness, and purpose,” he continued.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the meeting’s goal was to assess the political and security environment in the subregion in order to create strategic plans to deal with new issues.

The Senate grants Tinubu’s request to send troops to the Benin Republic

In the meantime, President Bola Tinubu’s proposal to send Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin for a peacekeeping mission in the wake of last Sunday’s abortive coup was expedited by the Senate on Tuesday during a plenary session.

The upper legislative chamber’s approval came after Tinubu’s letter to that effect was considered by the Committee of the Whole, which unanimously approved the deployment and provided parliamentary support for the regional security intervention.

The decision is a positive step, according to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who pointed out that any neighboring country’s instability threatens the entire area.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” he stated.

During the session, Tinubu’s appeal was read from a letter he wrote to the Senate President.

The President claims that the letter was sent in response to the Republic of Benin’s request for extraordinary air help from Nigeria’s Armed Forces following an attempt by soldiers to remove President Patrice Talon.

Citing Section 30 (5), Part II of the 1999 Constitution (as modified), Tinubu said he had discussed the request with the National Defense Council before to sending it.

He pointed out that a regional peacekeeping mission now needed Senate approval.

In order to prevent “an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power and the destruction and destabilization of democratic institutions,” President Tinubu called on the Senate to move quickly.

According to the current security arrangements of the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, Nigeria has a historical obligation to assist Benin, he continued.

He claims that in order to help restore stability and stop further disintegration of order, the situation necessitates “urgent external intervention.”

The request was then forwarded by the Senate President to the Committee of the Whole for prompt consideration.

Recall that on Sunday, soldiers under the command of Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri’s “Military Committee for Refoundation” briefly took control of Cotonou’s state television station and declared the overthrow of President Patrice Talon’s government. However, President Tinubu’s troops and fighter jets intervened to prevent the coup.

The Senate has called Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, and other important industry players for an urgent meeting to mitigate the impact on air travelers in response to public outrage over soaring domestic prices in Nigeria.

We specifically asked Keyamo, airline operators, regulators, and other industry stakeholders to appear before the upper legislative chamber’s Committee on Aviation this week to explain the causes of the skyrocketing fares and to devise a quick plan for stabilizing them prior to the Yuletide travel rush.

The Senate’s resolution came after Senator AbdulFatai Buhari (APC Oyo North) made a motion during Tuesday’s plenary on a matter of urgent national importance, warning that the abrupt increase in airfares poses a serious threat to mobility and could cause travel disruptions across the country in the coming days.

A one-way ticket from Abuja to Lagos now costs between N400,000 and N600,000, which many individuals can no longer afford, Buhari stated during the motion’s presentation.

He pointed out that Nigerians who travel by air have experienced significant inconvenience as a result of the situation, claiming that increased insecurity in the nation is forcing them to give up using roads and railroads.

“We must ask our airline agencies’ stakeholders to engage and discuss the problems. The congressman stated that immediate action must be taken prior to the holiday season.

Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Ogun West), who contributed to the motion, stated that airline companies should be held responsible for the price increases because they have already received a number of concessions, especially with regard to the pricing of spare parts.

According to Senator Adamu Aliero (APC Kebbi Central), the abrupt increase in airfares necessitated the invitation of the minister and other interested parties in order to find a solution.

Additionally, while calling for the creation of a national carrier, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi (APC Ebonyi North) declared the 400 percent increase unacceptable and urged the Aviation Minister to step up.

However, a number of senators vehemently disagreed with Senator Orji Kalu’s (APC Abia North) justification of the flight fare rises, citing growing operating expenses and the skyrocketing cost of spare parts.

Commercial banks operating in Nigeria have been given four days to submit all requested documentation regarding their charges by an Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives that is looking into the deduction of taxes and other charges from the earnings of civil and public servants as well as multiple bank charges on customer accounts in Nigeria.

Additionally, the House probe panel rejected the representation of any bank CEO without a properly signed authorization letter to the panel and demanded that the CEOs of major financial organizations attend at the investigative session.

In a statement made at the start of the House panel session on Tuesday in Abuja, House Committee Chairman Hon. Kelechi Nwogu stated that the House investigative panel’s mandate is to make sure that all bank deductions of charges on customers’ accounts are appropriately used and fined.

He added that the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Nigerian commercial banks were invited to participate in the probe by the House Committee.

During the probe, members of the House Committee claimed that commercial banks were illegally taking money out of the bank accounts of public employees, civil officials, and other clients without providing remittances.

The chairman of the House Committee and a few members who objected to the CEOs of GT Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and other commercial banks being represented cannot hold water because they maintained that they must consistently appear before the panel.

“You cannot appear here without an identity,” he declared. We are not alone here. The people who elected us to parliament have given us this mandate.

“We have decided to meet on Wednesday of next week. All required paperwork must be sent in by Monday at the latest.

“After reviewing all the paperwork, we’ll put you under oath.”

If we ask you back and you tell us the same story, it won’t be good. Any bank that does not submit the required documentation by Monday will be sanctioned, as per our deadline.

According to the House Committee Chairman, every effort is being made by the House panel to determine the reason behind the commercial banks’ fraudulent charges on their clients’ accounts.

During the hearing, several panelists, including Hon. Chidi Mark Obeta and Hon. Engr. Dominic Okafor, spoke in favor of the requirement that bank CEOs consistently appear before the panel.