Ogun Pastor Says DSS Trailed Him After Criticising Governor Abiodun, Demands Formal Invitation

Pastor Olawoye Kayode of Zion Church, Ijoko, Ogun State, has alleged that DSS operatives are secretly trailing and attempting to intimidate him following his outspoken criticism of Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration. According to the cleric, two men claiming to be DSS officers visited his church seeking his whereabouts without presenting any official reason or documentation. After calling the numbers they left behind, he was told the new DSS boss in Ogun wanted to “familiarise” with him — a claim he found suspicious.
Kayode insisted he would only honour an invitation backed by a formal letter and his lawyer’s presence. He also said unmarked black SUVs believed to belong to DSS operatives have been seen around his church. The pastor has repeatedly criticised the state government over poor infrastructure and worsening hardship, asserting that Ogun State has suffered severe neglect. Despite the surveillance, he vowed not to bow to intimidation and demanded proper procedures from the DSS.

Ekiti Agro-Allied International Airport Begins Operations as United Nigeria Airlines Launches First Direct Flight

Ekiti State has commenced commercial operations at the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport following a N49.7 billion investment by successive administrations. United Nigeria Airlines operated the inaugural direct flight from Abuja, carrying dignitaries and marking the beginning of passenger services. Governor Biodun Oyebanji revealed that N14 billion was spent between 2019 and 2022, while his administration invested an additional N34 billion to complete crucial infrastructure, including the terminal, control tower, drainage systems, and Instrument Landing System.
The governor praised the contributions of former governors and Aare Afe Babalola, who donated $1.6 million worth of navigational equipment. Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo described the milestone as a boost for regional trade and job creation. In a related development, Ogun State’s Gateway International Airport is also preparing to receive its first commercial flight after securing regulatory approval.

JUST IN: The Ogun State Government has announced that residents caught violating environmental laws especially dumping refuse on roads will henceforth be arrested, corrected with compassion, and assigned community service as punishment.

New York Times Highlights Severe Lead Poisoning In Ogun State

South-West Governors meet in Ogun State over recent t€rrorist attacks in states

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, just arrived in Abeokuta, Ogun State, for the Southern Governors’ Forum meeting.

Rivers State Governor, SIM Fubara, just arrived in Abeokuta, Ogun State, for the Southern Governors’ Forum meeting.

Ogun State Govt Says 96% of Residents With HIV/AIDS Are Aware of Their Status

The Ogun State Government says it has made major strides in lowering the prevalence of HIV/AIDS within the state.
According to the Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, 96% of people living with HIV/AIDS in Ogun now know their status.

She disclosed this on Tuesday while presenting the keynote address at the 2025 World AIDS Day commemoration.

FLASH: Today, Governor @DapoAbiodunCON convened an emergency meeting with heads of security agencies in Ogun State in response to rising security concerns nationwide.

People in Isuku in Yewa North LGA of Ogun State cry out to VeryDarkMan to come to their aid by providing them with water.

TCN announces fresh three-day outage in Lagos.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria has announced a fresh three-day electricity disruption in parts of Lagos.

The agency said the electricity disruption is due to its planned maintenance of the Ala/Alagbon 330 kV transmission line from November 26th to 29th November 2025.

TCN’s spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, disclosed this in a notice on Friday.

The schedule will affect electricity distribution to Eko Electricity Distribution Company coverage in Lagos South and part of Ogun State, including Ojo, Festac, Ijora, Mushin (also Orile areas), Apapa, Lekki (also Ibeju areas), Lagos Island (also Ajele areas) and Agbara.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) wishes to inform the public that scheduled maintenance will be carried out on the Aja/Alagbon 330 kV transmission line from November 26 to 29, 2025, between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. daily.

“The exercise is to enable the TCN contractor to install wave traps on the 330kV line bays at the Aja and Alagbon Transmission Substations in Lagos State. During this period, supply from the Alagbon Substation will be diverted to the Ijora 132kV line, while supplies to the Akoka and Oworo Transmission Substations will be diverted to the Ikeja West 132kV line.

“TCN explains that there will be a brief load disruption due to the diversion on the affected lines, but the areas will continue to receive a normal power supply during the maintenance window.

“TCN regrets any inconvenience this may cause electricity consumers within the Eko Disco franchise and appeals for understanding, noting that the exercise is part of ongoing efforts to improve the reliability and efficiency of transmission infrastructure in Lagos State,” TCN stated.

In July and October this year, parts of Lagos were thrown into darkness over TCN’s maintenance exercises.

Trump’s threat: America couldn’t do anything without our knowledge under my watch – Obasanjo.

In a veiled remark on the ongoing controversy over President Donald Trump’s military invasion threat on Nigeria, the former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday disclosed that under his watch as the Nigeria’s Head of State, late United States President Jimmy Carter would not do anything in Africa without his knowledge.

It would be recalled Trump, in a series of posts on X between October 31 and November 1, condemned continued killings in Nigeria, declaring America’s readiness to send its military to Nigeria if the Federal Government failed to stop the killings by jihadist groups, the remarks which has sparked divergent reactions from both the Federal Government and prominent Nigerian leaders and religious organizations in past weeks.

The federal government particularly rejected Trump’s allegations, insisting that the country’s insecurity affects all religious groups.

Speaking on Monday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the Presidential Youth Mentorship Retreat (6.0) organised by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Obasanjo did not make a direct remark to the ongoing controversy, but he tactfully recalled how the US under Carter held Nigeria in high esteem.

Obasanjo and Cater, who died recently in December 2024, were regarded as best of friends.

In January this year, Obasanjo held a memorial service in Abeokuta in honour of Carter, where he paid glowing tributes to the late US President who died at age 100.

According to Obasanjo, right from independence, the world and indeed America saw Nigeria as Africa’s leader, saying the country lost the confidence at some point before the Muritala-Obasanjo military regime “brought it back. “

Going down memory lane, Obasanjo said Cater as the US President would not do anything on African soil without informing the Nigerian government when he was Head of State.

Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Sunday, finally ended his long feud and political hostility with former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Fayose met Obasanjo at his residence within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Ogun Govt seals Adatan market, restaurant over environmental infractions.

The Ogun State Government has sealed the Adatan Market in Abeokuta for environmental infractions and illegal roadside trading.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency, OGEPA, Farouk Akintunde, who also doubles as the Chairman Ogun State Task Force on Environmental Compliance, made this known to journalists after an enforcement exercise on Tuesday.

Akintunde explained that Adatan Market was sealed due to traders dumping refuse indiscriminately in drainage channels and displaying goods on the walkways and drainages.

He warned that the government would no longer tolerate disregard for environmental regulations.

“Market traders across Ogun State should take ownership of drainage channels in front of their shops, desilt and clear them to prevent flooding, while they should also note that Thursday of the week has been set aside in Ogun State for markets to observe sanitation which must be strictly adhered to,” he said.

Akintunde revealed that the enforcement and eventual closure of the market followed several months of warnings and engagements with traders which they refused to yield to.

The OGEPA boss noted that the series of enforcement actions underscored the state government’s zero tolerance for environmental pollution and its renewed commitment to keeping the state clean.

Subsequently, Alaga Restaurant along Mercy road, Panseke and Cintinatti Bar in Oke-Ilewo, both in Abeokuta, were also sealed for poor management of waste water, discharged into the environment.

Obasanjo Finally Reveals Why He Rejected El-Rufai as His Successor in 2007.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has opened up on why he refused to choose former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as his preferred successor when he was leaving office in 2007.

Speaking at the second edition of the Ajibosin Platform Annual Symposium held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasanjo disclosed that El-Rufai was one of his trusted aides during his administration.

However, he turned down the suggestion to make him president because he believed the former FCT Minister was “not yet mature enough” to handle Nigeria’s leadership at the time.

According to Obasanjo, the idea was pushed to him towards the end of his administration, but he refused to yield, insisting that El-Rufai still had a lot to learn before being ready for such responsibility.

The former president made the revelation while reacting to a speech by former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, who delivered the keynote address at the event.

Chidoka had recalled how El-Rufai introduced him to Obasanjo at age 34; a meeting that later led to his appointment as the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

Interrupting Chidoka’s remarks, Obasanjo said with a smile, “Let him tell you. He didn’t mention that when I was leaving government, he was pushing that his friend, El-Rufai, should be brought in as my successor.” Turning to Chidoka, he added jokingly, “No be so?” to which Chidoka nodded in agreement.

Obasanjo continued, “I did not yield to the pressure. Later, he asked why I didn’t agree, and I told him El-Rufai needed to mature. Many years later, after seeing his performance, he came back to me and said, ‘You were absolutely correct — El-Rufai needed to mature.’”

Inside 150-year old Ogun community where students use tiles as white board, practice open defecation.

Forty pieces of ceramic white tiles arranged systematically serve as a maker board for students of the St Johns Anglican Primary School, Ebute-Igbooro, an agrarian community in the Yewa North Local Government area of Ogun State.

The tiles board, divided in three sections with a green marker, reads mathematics, english studies and basic technology.

While the date written on it bears 30/09/2025, the appearance is decades behind.

The school, with about 242 learners from different surrounding villages, presently has seven classrooms, a yellow and green painted three-block on the right and an unpainted crumbling and cracked four-block classroom on the left.

The St Johns Anglican Primary School, founded in 1955 also had an uncompleted classroom and other dilapidated structures with palm roof ceilings.

Ebute-Igbooro is a 150-year-old community that sits at the border between Nigeria and Benin Republic.

Founded in 1875, the community with its residents speaking the Yoruba Ketu dialect has its major occupation as farming, while the women supplement the household income by producing fufu, garri, and engaging in other petty trades.

Despite existing for 150 years, the community’s severe neglect and the harsh effects of economic hardship are starkly evident in some of its barefoot school children, who lacked uniforms, textbooks, and even school bags.

Baddie deploys her alleged soldier boyfriend to deal with a hotel owner who accused her of being rude

Tension erupted at Papalanto Bus Stop in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State on Saturday evening after two soldiers allegedly assaulted a hotelier during an argument that turned violent.

Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. at the busy Papalanto Junction along Ilaro Road, where a heavy traffic gridlock had built up. The altercation reportedly began when a young woman selling alcoholic drinks at the junction got into a disagreement with the hotelier over the use of a section of the road.

According to witnesses, the woman allegedly left the scene and returned shortly with two soldiers said to have come from the Alamala area of Abeokuta. The soldiers were accused of harassing and physically assaulting the hotelier, leaving him with internal ear injuries.

Opposition Kicks As National Assembly Moves To Shift 2027 Elections To 2026.

Opposition in the country is enraged over a fresh bid by the National Assembly to move the 2027 presidential and governorship elections to November 2026.

The proposal is part of amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act, which seeks to move the elections forward by about six months to allow all pre and post-election litigations to be concluded before the May 29, 2027, handover date.

If the bid is successful, the presidential and gubernatorial elections would be conducted in November 2026, rather than the traditional February or March dates.

The proposal forms part of the draft amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act, which stipulate that elections for both offices must be held no later than 185 days before the expiration of the incumbent’s tenure on May 29.

Section 4(7) of the proposed amendment states that “elections into the office of the president and governor of a state shall be held not later than 185 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office.”

For legislative elections, Section 4(5) of the proposed amendment provides that “elections into the state houses of assembly and the National Assembly shall be held not later than 185 days before the date on which each of the houses stands dissolved.”

At Monday’s joint public hearing, the House Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Adebayo Balogun, argued that moving the polls to November 2026 would help “ensure that all manner of election litigations are dispensed with before the swearing-in of winners.”

Balogun stated that the goal was to create sufficient time for the resolution of election petitions, as the committee also proposed an amendment that would reduce the 180-day tribunal judgment period to 90 days.

Ogun State Raises Alarm Over Rising Mental Health Cases, Treats 10,000 Patients in Six Months.

Dr. Tomi Coker, Ogun State’s Commissioner for Health, has expressed concern over the increasing prevalence of mental health disorders, with 10,000 patient visits recorded in the first half of 2025, including 1,000 new cases.

Represented by Dr. Kayode Oladeinde, the Permanent Secretary, she spoke at an event marking the 2025 World Mental Health Day, themed “Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies.” Coker highlighted that over 90% of Nigerians with mental health issues lack access to adequate care due to limited services, stigma, and costs.

She emphasized that mental health is a fundamental human right and noted the growing burden in Ogun State. Data from mental health facilities in Abeokuta, Ijebu Ode, Ilaro, and Ota revealed prevalent conditions such as psychosis, neurosis, epilepsy, depression, and substance use disorders. To address this, the state has formed a 26-member Mental Health Action Committee, chaired by Dr. Abayomi Olajide, a consultant psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta.

Coker called for collective action, urging families to foster open discussions on mental health, employers to create supportive work environments, and religious and community leaders to promote compassion and care access. She also encouraged the media to report responsibly to reduce stigma and inspire hope. The commissioner reassured residents that the government is committed to supporting those struggling with mental health challenges.

Additionally, Coker announced that community mental health hospitals have been established in Abeokuta, Ilaro, Ijebu-Ode, and Ota to improve access to care across the state.

Popular Activist Abiodun Aremu killed by Hit-and-Run Driver.

Prominent Nigerian activist and secretary of the Joint Action Front (JAF), Comrade Abiodun Aremu, has died following a hit-and-run accident in Ota, Ogun State. He was 65.

The tragic incident occurred on Sunday evening when the veteran pro-labour campaigner was struck by an unidentified driver while crossing the road around 6:00 p.m. Eyewitnesses said the driver fled the scene immediately, leaving Aremu critically injured.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors battled to save his life, but he was pronounced dead shortly after despite attempts to revive him with oxygen.

Confirming his passing, Owei Lakemfa, former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity and ex-acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), described Aremu’s death as a huge loss to the labour movement.

Lakemfa, speaking on behalf of the Nigeria Labour Movement, said the late activist “joined the pantheon of revolutionaries” on Sunday, October 12, 2025.

He described Aremu as “one of the greatest revolutionaries and internationalists of our time,” adding that his contributions to workers’ rights, democracy, and social justice in Nigeria would never be forgotten.

According to Lakemfa, Aremu will now be laid to rest on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at his residence located at No. 30, Kabiru Fatoye Street, Opposite Alaka Field, Ijako Sugar Bus Stop, Ifo Road, along the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway.

He explained that the burial date, originally scheduled for October 13, was shifted to allow adequate time for mobilisation of comrades, labour leaders, and civil society groups who wish to pay their final respects.

“The greatest honour we can give our fearless teacher and leader is to continue in his footsteps and build a world founded on social justice,” Lakemfa said.