Compilations of top 10 key happenings that you might have missed this Wednesday evening, 17th December, 2025
NMDPRA CEO Farouk Ahmed, NUPRC boss resign as Tinubu names replacements
President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to confirm new chief executives for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission following the resignation of the current heads of the agencies.
The President’s request was contained in separate letters to the Senate on Wednesday.
Farouk Ahmed resigned as Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, while Gbenga Komolafe stepped down as Chief Executive of the NUPRC.
Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari after the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act.
This was announced in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga
Alaafin to install Seyi Tinubu as ‘Okanlomo of Yorubaland’ Saturday
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, is set to install Seyi, the son of President Bola Tinubu, as the “Okanlomo of Yorubaland” on Saturday.
The monarch on the same occasion will also install Senator Abdul’Aziz Yari representing Zamfara West as the “Obaloyin of Yorubaland”.
The chiefataincy installation of the duo was contained in a flier that was obtained by PUNCH Online on social media platforms on Wednesday.
In the flier, the monarch and his wife, Ayaba Abiwumi Owoade, invited the general public to the said installation and implored them to save the date of the event scheduled to hold on Saturday, December 21, 2025.
“Okanlomo of Yorubaland” is a prestigious Yoruba title meaning “the one dear to the hearts of all Yoruba people” or “beloved child,” signifying deep affection and importance to the race.
Ajaero, Sowore lead NLC protest against insecurity
Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress assembled at the NLC Secretariat, Labour House, Abuja, on Wednesday for a nationwide protest against rising insecurity and worsening economic conditions across the country.
President Bola Tinubu met with NLC leadership on Tuesday night in a bid to avert the protest, but Ajaero told newsmen there was no resolution to stop it.
According to Channels TV, those present included NLC President Joe Ajaero and civil society allies, such as Omoyele Sowore and colleagues from the Revolution Now Movement.
Also in Lagos, the protesters gathered at the Ikeja, carrying placards and chanting slogans demanding urgent action to curb violent crimes and kidnappings.
Reps consolidate INEC powers in Electoral Act amendment
The House of Representatives on Wednesday took steps toward a major overhaul of Nigeria’s electoral framework as it approved and amended several key provisions of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The move was aimed at strengthening the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission, entrenching electoral procedures and addressing weaknesses exposed during recent elections.
At a plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, lawmakers undertook a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill, adopting wide-ranging amendments designed to enhance transparency, improve the conduct of elections and reduce post-election litigation.
Clauses 3, 5 and 6, which deal with preliminary provisions and key interpretations under the Act, were approved to bring the law in line with current electoral realities.
Olawepo-Hashim vows multiparty democracy cannot be crushed
A former presidential candidate and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has affirmed that he is undeterred by legal or political manoeuvres aimed at weakening the PDP, insisting that Nigeria’s multiparty democracy is too deeply rooted to be destroyed.
In a strongly worded statement in Kaduna on Wednesday, Olawepo-Hashim said he was “not intimidated by the legal and political subterfuge sponsored by the ruling APC,” stressing that no individual or party can monopolise power in Nigeria.
The statement comes in the wake of recent mass defections from the PDP to the ruling party.
The Presidency, however, has dismissed opposition claims that President Bola Tinubu is undermining multiparty democracy.
According to Olawepo-Hashim, Nigeria has historically embraced pluralism as a tool for managing its diversity, noting that the nation’s founding fathers deliberately chose a multiparty system at independence.
Copyright row: Veteran Nollywood actor Lere Paimo seeks Makinde, Adeboye’s help
A legal luminary, Orioye Oluwasanmi, renowned firmmaker, Lere Osunpaimo popularly known as “Eda Onile Ola” and Baleqs-Paimo Abdullahi. Photo: Ademola Adegbite.
A renowned firmmaker, Lere Paimo, popularly known as “Eda Onile Ola,” on Wednesday, called on Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye and other well-to-do individuals in Nigeria to save him from being allegedly cheated over his long, originally produced “Ogbori Elemosho”.
He made this call during a press conference held in Ibadan, the state capital.
The classic Yoruba film “Ogbori Elemosho,” starring legendary actor Paimo, gained fame and was a significant epic released around the early 1980s.
However, some sources suggest it was a key work in the 1960s that built his reputation, establishing a historical drama genre in Nollywood.
The renowned filmmaker insisted that he was the original producer of Ogbori Elemosho, a work he described as pivotal to his career and legacy.
He said,
“The film earned me national recognition, including the award of the Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, and contributed to my chieftaincy title of Are Arobajo of Ogbomoso, conferred by the late Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Oyewumi Ajagungbade II.“
The current Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Olaoye, had earlier approached me with a proposal to remake Ogbori Elemosho and requested information on the cost implications.“
He estimated the project at about N100 million, after which the monarch suggested that the production could go beyond that budget and requested changes to the script, promising to revert.”
PDP draws battle line as 2027 reset begins
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday formally signalled the start of a broad political reset ahead of the 2027 general elections, pledging reconciliation, internal reforms and a renewed grassroots push as it positions itself as the main alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The message was delivered at the 83rd meeting of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) held in Abuja, where the BoT Chairman and former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, and the National Chairman of the party, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, addressed party leaders and stakeholders.
Wabara, in his opening remarks, congratulated the party on the successful conduct of its recent national convention, describing it as a reaffirmation of the PDP’s commitment to internal democracy, transparency and constitutional order.
He also endorsed the newly elected National Working Committee (NWC), assuring it of the BoT’s full support.
Buhari’s era misconstrued – Lai Mohammed
The former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says his new book is aimed at correcting misconceptions, providing context, and sharing firsthand accounts of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Mohammed stated this in Abuja on Wednesday at the presentation of his book, “Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration”.
He described the book as a personal effort to document his work as the longest-serving Minister of Information and Culture in Nigeria’s history, spanning information, culture, tourism and national orientation.
Edo government resolves community crisis to attract foreign investors
GOVERNOR Monday Okpebholo of Edo state on Wednesday brokered peace between host communities and investors on the use of government forest reserve land for agricultural purposes and investors.
The communities involved were Iguomon, Egbetta and Usen in two local government areas; Ovia South West and Ovia North East local government areas.
Okpebholo, who was represented by his deputy, Hon Dennis Idahosa, appealed to the various stakeholders at the meeting which took place in Benin City to always tow the line of peace at all times
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the deputy governor, Mr Friday Aghedo, quoted the governor as saying that by virtue of the Land Use Act, the land in dispute belongs to the Edo state government
Over 70 kidnappers in correctional centre in Kwara, says LG chair
Spokesperson of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Kwara state chapter and Chairman of Ifelodun local government, Alh Femi Yusuf, has said that over 70 Kidnappers have been prosecuted and sent to the Correctional Facility centre in Ilorin.
It should be noted that Ifelodun local government, the largest local government in the state, records the highest cases of abductions and other criminalities among others.He said this in an interview with journalists in Ilorin on Wednesday.
‘So far over 70 Kidnappers have been prosecuted and sent to the Correctional Centre Facility in Ilorin,and we are not relenting on our efforts,”he said.
The council chairman also expressed serious concerns over challenges of Informants in the state which has made problems of Kidnappings seemingly insurmountable.
