Compilations of top 10 key latest stories that you need to know this Monday morning, 23rd February, 2026
NNPC, NUPRC fear financial squeeze after Tinubu’s order
Fresh questions, concerns, and uncertainty have deepened at the oil and gas agencies affected in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s new executive order directing immediate reallocation of oil and gas revenues to the Federation Account for onward distribution among the three tiers of government.
The PUNCH gathered on Sunday that the directive, which effectively halts the retention of certain internally generated revenues by agencies in the sector, has sparked deep concerns within the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and the board and management of the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund.
The uncertainty, according to industry operators and experts, centres on the absence of a clearly defined alternative funding model for the NUPRC to meet its statutory obligations following the reallocation of oil and gas royalties to the Federation Account.
They also rejected a possible solution of conventional budgetary funding and approval through the National Assembly, insisting that such a move would undermine NUPRC’s operational independence and efficiency.
Rigging: INEC RECs risk two-year jail term
The National Assembly has unveiled far-reaching reforms in the newly enacted Electoral Act, 2026, including a two-year jail term for any Resident Electoral Commissioner who withholds vital electoral documents and the creation of a dedicated fund to guarantee the financial autonomy of the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the 2027 general election.
The reforms, which followed two years of legislative engagement and consultations, were highlighted on Sunday by the Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, in a statement issued in Abuja.
Bamidele’s attempt to highlight the benefits of the electoral reform comes barely 24 hours after opposition parties fumed that provisions in the 2026 Act on primaries, campaign funding, and election timelines tilted the playing field in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
While the Presidency and the APC have defended the amendments as necessary reforms to deepen democracy and strengthen electoral integrity, opposition figures insisted the changes were skewed to weaken political competition.
FCT poll: PDP drags APC to court after five-council sweep
The Peoples Democratic Party has inaugurated a special legal team to challenge the results of Saturday’s election held across the Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory.
As declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, candidates of the All Progressives Congress won five of the six chairmanship seats in the council elections.
The APC won the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abaji, Bwari, Kwali and Kuje, while the PDP secured the chairmanship seat in Gwagwalada.
The exercise, conducted to fill six chairmanship and 62 councillorship seats, was marred by widespread voter apathy and reported vote-buying.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, on Sunday, the party congratulated its winning candidates but alleged irregularities.
The party said its legal team would be headed by its National Legal Adviser, Shafi Bara’u, Esq., and urged aggrieved candidates to act promptly.
“We specifically congratulate the chairman-elect of Gwagwalada Area Council, Mohammed Kasim, and the councillors who have been declared successful by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
India deports over 2,356 Nigerians in five years
The Government of India deported at least 2,356 Nigerians between 2019 and 2024, with removals quadrupling from 339 in 2021 to 1,470 in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.This is according to data obtained by The PUNCH from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs.
The figures were drawn from three separate MHA annual reports for which Nigeria-specific data is publicly available.
In the most recent reporting period from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, Nigerians emerged as the most deported nationality from India, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all foreign nationals removed from the South Asian country.
Indian authorities deported over 2,331 persons during the period, with Nigerians representing 63 per cent of all removals carried out by the Foreigners Regional Registration Offices across seven major Indian cities.
Sell 51% stake in NNPCL refineries, PENGASSAN urges FG
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria on Sunday renewed its call for the Federal Government to divest majority shares in the nation’s state-owned refineries, urging authorities to adopt the Nigeria LNG model by selling at least 51 per cent equity to core investors.
Under this arrangement, the government would retain a minority stake while selling a majority shareholding to core investors.
The National President of PENGASSAN and the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, made the recommendation when he featured as a guest on Politics Today on Channels Television.
Osifo said the union had consistently canvassed partial privatisation of the refineries over the past two decades, insisting that government ownership structure had hindered efficiency and commercial viability.
Dollar to Naira exchange rate today, February 23, 2026
The Nigerian Naira opened the new trading week with a slight gain against the US Dollar on Monday, February 23, 2026.
Data from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) and informal trading desk indicates a continued trend of relative stability as the central bank maintains its strategic interventions in the market.
In the official window, the Naira showed resilience, trading at an opening rate of 1,339.18 per dollar.
This reflects a modest appreciation from the closing rate of 1,343.36 recorded during the previous session on Sunday.
Throughout the early hours of Monday, the rate fluctuated within a tight corridor, touching a high of 1,342.98 before settling lower.
The current performance follows a period of active price discovery, with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) citing its latest macroeconomic outlook as a guiding force for the currency’s current path.
The official mean rate for the month remains near 1,346.32, suggesting that today’s early trading figures are slightly stronger than the recent average.
Democracy under siege: Tinubu’s chokehold suffocating Nigeria — Atiku
Former Vice President of Nigeria and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has raised alarm over the low voter turnout recorded in Saturday’s FCT Area Council elections.
Reacting to the exercise, Atiku described the turnout—averaging below 20 per cent, with the Abuja Municipal Area Council recording 7.8 per cent—as a damning verdict on the state of Nigeria’s democracy under the current administration.
According to him, such poor civic participation in the nation’s capital is not accidental but the result of “a political environment poisoned by intolerance, intimidation, and the systematic weakening of opposition voices.
”The Waziri Adamawa accused the Bola Tinubu-led government of shrinking the democratic space, harassing dissenters, and fostering a climate where alternative political views are treated as threats.
“When citizens lose faith that their votes matter, democracy begins to die,” he said.
“This is not mere voter apathy. Democracy in Nigeria is being suffocated—slowly and dangerously.”
2027 polls: APC, 4 parties ready, 16 others in candidates’ crisis
The release of the timetable for the February 20, 2027 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, may have caught most of the registered political parties in the country unprepared for the contest, and they have a tough nut to crack to make up for lost ground.
The situation may be dire for the parties, if the electoral commission brings the polls forward to January 2027 following complaints Muslim leaders and groups that the February 20 date would clash with the Ramadan fast and hugely affect voters’ turnout.
The inability of most of the political parties to put their houses in order and solidify the structures for electing officials and establishing their presence across the country, have put them in a difficult position to compete with the few that are ready for the polls next year.
Findings by Vanguard have revealed that only the All Progressives Congress, APC, and four other parties are on the ground and can proceed with the necessary processes that can lead to the fielding of candidates nationwide, while 16 others are struggling with weak organisation, leadership disputes, funding shortages, and unresolved legal battles.
How APC dominated FCT council polls
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has won five of the six chairmanship seats in the area council election in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, won the remaining one.
The party also won the two House of Assembly bye-elections by sons of the two dead members of the legislature in Kano; and equally won the by-election in Rivers State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conducted elections in the six area councils in the nation’s capital, including AMAC, Bwari, Kwali, Abaji, Gwagwalada and Kuje.
In AMAC, Christopher Maikalangu was reelected.
The Collation Officer for AMAC, Prof. Andrew Abue, said Maikalangu, who is the incumbent AMAC chairman, was returned elected, having scored the highest number of votes cast, 40,295 out of the total number of Valid Votes of 62,861 in the election.
Relief for pensioners as PenCom unveils online recapture portal
In a major boost for pension contributors and retirees, the National Pension Commission, PenCom, has announced the launch of a self-service online data recapture platform designed to simplify and fast-track pension record updates.
The new platform, known as the Data Recapture Self-Service Platform, PENCAP, officially went live on February 1.
Developed in collaboration with Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, the initiative allows Retirement Savings Account, RSA, holders to update their personal records remotely without visiting PFA offices.
PenCom said the platform targets RSA holders who joined the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, on or before July 1, 2019, and have yet to complete the mandatory data recapture exercise.
