Television Nigerian

On October 7, 2025, the Senate will make a decision regarding Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s return to official activities after her suspension.

This was revealed by Kenny Okolugbo, the Office of the Senate President’s Consultant for Communication and Strategy, during a Channels TV interview on Wednesday.

Remember how Kogi Central senator Natasha was suspended for six months on March 6, 2025, for allegedly breaking Senate rules?

Her disagreement with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, whom she claimed of sexual harassment but which he has denied, led to her suspension.

On Tuesday, the lawmaker’s office was opened after the six-month suspension ended.

Whether the politician has been permitted to return to her official legislative duties in spite of ongoing legal proceedings was unclear, though.

When asked if Natasha had only been granted access to her office and had not returned to her official responsibilities, Okolugbo only replied, “The senators will make all other decisions when they reconvene on October 7th.”

Okolugbo praised the upper parliamentary chamber’s leadership for opening Natasha’s office, emphasizing that since the ban is ended, she has the “right to go to her office.”

She now has access to her workplace and is fully permitted to visit it now that her six-month suspension has ended.

He went on to say, “The Senate leadership made a smart choice, even though the case is still in the court of appeals.”

The Senate is reportedly in recess and is scheduled to reconvene in plenary on October 7, 2025.

In an effort to revolutionize Africa’s involvement in global trade, the Nigerian technology business Eki.digital is getting ready for a significant relaunch in March 2026.

The company’s lofty ambition is to create the first “Global Trade Zone” in history, a digital marketplace that would link African companies with buyers around the world and boost the continent’s currently modest 3% share of global trade.

Owned by Eki Holdings, the platform has been relaunched after a purposeful break during which its founder, Dr. Godwin Aigboviose Omage, redesigned and repositioned the product to better suit the needs of the digital economy in the wake of the epidemic.

The impending relaunch, according to a statement he personally signed, is “both strategic and necessary,” as it aligns with the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to promote cross-border trade and integrate markets, and the growth in intra-African trade.

“Eki.digital was created to address a problem that is specific to Africa,” Omage stated. “Access is what our continent lacks, not talent.” Africa’s place in international trade can be changed by bringing entrepreneurs and purchasers together.

Omage claims that the relaunch has a clear goal: to change the economic narrative of Africa.

He clarified, “African businesses have been ancillary to the global economy for decades.” Our goal is to change that by offering a digital ecosystem that creates trust, breaks down trade barriers, and opens up new markets. Eki.digital is more than just an online store; it’s a global hub for African business and innovation.

The redesigned platform, which was designed as a complete “super app,” unifies many services under a single digital roof, such as e-commerce, job listings, real estate, and digital services.

One of the most enduring issues small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) on the continent confront will be resolved by its integrated digital wallet, which will facilitate safe and easy cross-border transactions.

Omage emphasized that a key component of the makeover was addressing payment issues.

He stated that receiving payments from overseas customers is one of the biggest challenges faced by African SMEs.

“Our integrated wallet is intended to remove that obstacle, enabling companies to conduct business with partners worldwide with assurance.”

For their first three months on the platform, new vendors will get a 10% sales bonus from Eki.digital as a way to reward early adopters. This is a component of a plan to promote adoption and foster trust, Omage clarified.

“From the beginning, we want our vendors to feel supported,” he stated. “The bonus is an indication of our faith in their abilities and our dedication to their achievement.”

Intentionally chosen as a cultural icon and a reminder of Africa’s long history of international trade, the platform’s name, “Eki,” means market in the Edo language of southern Nigeria.

Omage stated, “African economies have always been based on their markets.” “By giving our platform the name Eki, we are paying tribute to that heritage while reinventing the marketplace for the digital age.”

According to industry insiders, the project has the potential to be an important instrument in Nigeria’s efforts to diversify its economy and lessen its reliance on oil earnings.

Eki.digital, according to technology analyst Chika Okoye, is a “bold example of private-sector innovation that extends beyond solving local problems.”

The unique feature of Eki.digital, according to Okoye, is that it builds bridges to the global marketplace in addition to linking African customers and merchants. “The platform has the potential to empower thousands of SMEs and greatly enhance Africa’s standing in global trade if it is implemented successfully.”

Through the platform’s direct connection between African producers and international customers, its effects may also support the AfCFTA’s objective of removing trade obstacles throughout the continent.

“We want to see African products everywhere—on store shelves, online, and in homes all over the world,” Omage continued. “Eki.digital is how we connect talent with opportunity and supply with demand, bringing that vision to life.”

If the project is successful, it may pave the way for a new wave of technical innovations spearheaded by Africans, showcasing the continent’s ability to spur economic change, encourage entrepreneurship, and reposition itself in the international industry.

After criticizing the international organization during his speech at the UN headquarters, President Donald Trump said that his nation supports the UN “100%.”

After his national speech to world leaders in New York, Mr. Trump made the announcement at the start of a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

During his presentation of the U.S. national statement, Mr. Trump criticized the organization harshly for its handling of issues including climate change, irregular migration, and conflicts.

The “potential for peace with this institution is so great,” the U.S. leader stated, despite his frequent criticism of the international organization.

“Our nation is completely lagging behind the United Nations,” Mr. Trump declared. “I believe that the United Nations has absolutely amazing potential. It has a lot of capabilities. I’m behind it, then. Even though I occasionally disagree with it, I really believe that there is a huge chance for peace with this institution. I would want to express my gratitude for your kind treatment of us. We are really grateful to be with you.

Speaking to the world’s leaders at the UN headquarters for the fifth time as president of the United States, Mr. Trump remarked that being there is always an honor.

Additionally, he mentioned the teleprompter when giving his speech and the broken escalator during his visit.

We’ve done this previously, and the escalator and teleprompter made it a little more thrilling, but these things do happen. He said, “But I will tell you that we have been treated with great respect by your people.”

The UN secretary-general previously stated that the United States played a significant role in the establishment of the UN.

“Thanks to the generosity of the American people, we have relied on the United States as our major political and financial supporter for decades, for which we are very grateful,” he said. However, I think there are a lot of other areas where we can work together constructively, and peace is probably the most crucial. You have chosen to make peace the main goal of your mandate.

“Going North and South, East and West, in all possible situations, getting, or trying to get, ceasefires,” according to Mr. Guterres, is what Trump has been doing.

Trump has been “relieving tensions, making peace agreements, or the building blocks of peace agreements,” the UN chief continued.

Mr. Guterres informed Mr. Trump that he has complete access to the UN’s leadership and all of its personnel at every level. On the basis of our shared principles and the US Constitution, he stated that this is “to be able to work together for a just peace in the world.”

For me, there is just one thing that matters: it is possible to end the terrible pain that millions of people endure worldwide. Your involvement on that matter is greatly appreciated,” the UN head stated.

The state government has been requested by the Katsina State House of Assembly to outlaw graduation ceremonies in all of the state’s schools.

The resolution was adopted during Tuesday’s plenary session in Katsina, which was chaired by Abduljal Runka, the deputy speaker.

Tasi’u Musa-Maigari, who represents the Zango constituency, presented the motion and claimed that these kinds of events frequently lead to social vices and raise security issues throughout the state.

Therefore, he urged other MPs to back the measure, emphasizing that prohibiting graduation ceremonies will contribute to maintaining peace and order.

Aliyu Abubakar-Albaba, who represents the Katsina seat, supported the motion and urged the government to address the growing issue of phone snatching immediately.

He said that quick action was required to stop the threat, which has expanded and could get out of control if left unchecked.

Following discussions, the house unanimously approved the resolutions, emphasizing the urgency of acting quickly to protect citizens throughout the state.

The clerk was instructed by the deputy speaker to forward the house resolutions to the executive branch for any appropriate action.

The house also demanded Ibrahim Ishaq, permanent member “I” of the State Universal Basic Education Board, be fired during the same plenary.

The house leader, Shamsuddeen Abubakar-Dabai, introduced a motion of urgent public significance, which was followed by the resolution.

The call, according to Mr. Abubakar-Dabai, was prompted by an alleged unguarded comment Ishaq made about the assembly at a public event.

He pointed out that Ishaq had previously been asked to clarify the remarks by the assembly, and that he had allegedly acknowledged uttering them.

The house recommended the administration to revoke Ishaq’s appointment, citing legal rules and the gravity of the misbehavior.

The deputy speaker instructed the clerk to forward the resolution to the executive branch for any necessary implementation once the motion was adopted.

Abbas Tajudeen, the speaker of the House of Representatives, has given African countries the responsibility of generating jobs and preventing income loss in order to ensure the economic future of the continent.

At the commencement of the seventh Annual African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices meeting in Abuja, Mr. Tajudeen delivered the charge.

The week-long conference’s theme is “The Role of PBOs in African Parliaments: Contribution to the African 2063 Development Agenda” in relation to fiscal oversight.

People from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Cape Verde, Gambia, Somalia, Uganda, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania, Malawi, and Liberia attended the meeting.

Africa, home to around 1.4 billion people, or one-sixth of the world’s population, is at a pivotal juncture in its history, the speaker added.

According to the congressman, the African continent is young, developing, and full of great potential.

With a population of over 200 million and a projected GDP of $477 billion in 2022, Nigeria bears a unique duty in this African tale.

“The African Union’s Agenda 2063, which serves as the blueprint for the Africa we desire, reflects our ambitious goals and we are a continent full of smart young people and plentiful resources. But the road to achieving this goal is still rocky,” he stated.

He said Sub-Saharan Africa was seeing a slight recovery in economic development, with the World Bank predicting an uptick from 3.3% in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025.

“While positive, this is insufficient to address our development needs at this time. As of 2024, 464 million Africans are predicted to be living in extreme poverty, demonstrating the pervasiveness of poverty, Mr. Tajudeen stated.

He went on to say that underemployment and unemployment, particularly among youth, were pressing problems.

Only about three million formal employment are created annually, despite 12 million young Africans entering the workforce. This opportunity gap demonstrates a demographic dividend that, if we do nothing, might become a demographic risk,” he cautioned.

Government budgets must appropriately reflect development goals in different countries, including national and continental development plans, and be backed by strong supervision systems, according to Mr. Tajudeen.

Africans looked on their parliaments, he added, to carefully match public spending with more general development goals and to take citizens’ opinions into account when making fiscal decisions.

The African Development Bank estimates that capital flight costs Africa around $587 billion a year, the speaker said.

According to him, the money departed the continent via a variety of means, including profit shifting by international firms, corruption, illegal commerce, and mispricing.

He said it was estimated that corruption alone costs Africa $148 billion a year.

Nigeria, the speaker said, served as a warning about the difficulty and necessity of supervision.

Solomon Dalung, a former minister of sports, has charged that the Federal Government favors terrorists while exposing regular Nigerians to ongoing violent bandit attacks.
Dalung said that Nigeria’s centralized security system had broken down and that a perilous double standard had been established in a statement titled “Beyond State Police: The Urgent Case for Citizens’ Right to Bear Arms,” which he shared on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

“It is ironic that terrorists and bandits openly display sophisticated weapons at government-sponsored peace meetings, sometimes in front of soldiers and police,” the former minister said, adding that regular people run the possibility of being arrested for possessing even simple self-defense gear.
Dalung argued that Nigeria’s worsening security crisis had gone beyond the debate over state police.

He urged the National Assembly to embark on a constitutional amendment that not only enables the creation of state, local government, and community policing but also gives citizens the legal right to bear arms for self-defence.

He said: “Today, gunmen, terrorists and drug criminals are using weapons, modern guns, grenades, even unimportant aircraft technology, to harm innocent and poor citizens. The sad thing is, these bad people are considered big mouths at reconciliation rallies organised by some state governments, where they display their weapons in front of security agents, including the military. But if the poor man keeps a knife in the kitchen to defend himself, the security forces will arrest him.

“This nation leaves people as the defenceless and weak in the security system that protects the rich, terrorists and criminals, but oppresses the poor.

“The current security system of Nigeria has shown a lot of injustice to the masses. It has been proven that a single police system fails to protect lives and property of the public, instead it protects big politicians, criminal organizations and terrorist sponsors.

“According to the U.S., where the constitution of the President of Nigeria comes from, there are different levels of police at federal, state, district and city levels. Also, the laws of the country give citizens the right to hold arms legally. This system strengthens security and enables police to respond directly to the needs of the community.

Dalung Accuses Opponents of Dishonesty
The former minister accused those resisting state police and citizens’ right to bear arms of dishonesty, alleging that many of them benefit from the broken system or shield terrorist financiers.

According to him, Nigeria must adopt a layered policing structure similar to that of the United States to restore public trust and secure communities.

“This double standard has left the masses exposed, helpless, and trapped in a system that protects the rich and violent actors while criminalising the defenceless poor,” he said.