Air Force crash:  Late Pilot wedded only two weeks ago

 

It has been shockingly revealed that the air crash which occurred on Monday in Igbokoda community Ondo State and claimed lives of 25 occupants of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 931, also include a pilot, Ahamefule Aham Man-Ugwueje said to have just wedded two weeks ago.

 

Ugwueje, a Squadron Leader was one of the pilots, who tied the knot with Flight Lieutenant Damilola Adekunle on September 19, 2026, in an elaborate ceremony held in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory.

 

Details of the wedding invitation and posts on Facebook by vendors involved in the ceremony showed Man-Ugwueje’s hometown as Umuahia, Abia State, while Abuja is listed as his current town/city.

 

The post on the pages of the wedding planner and vendors involved in the ceremony showed videos and photographs from Man-Ugwueje and Adekunle’s wedding in Abuja while the videographers at the wedding, Beejay Creates, shared footage from the ceremony with the caption, “Love in every word.”

 

Wedding invitation showed that the couple’s Holy Matrimony was held at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, The Masters Place, Plot 826, Solomon Lar Way, opposite the NHIS Headquarters/Customary Court of Appeal, Utako, Abuja.

 

The late pilot was listed by the Nigerian Air Force among the five crew members who died in the crash, and identified him as the co-pilot of the aircraft, explaining that the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when the accident occurred.

 

Nigerian Air Force on Tuesday confirmed that all 25 people on board died in the accident and released their names.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, described the crash as a deeply painful moment for the Nigerian Air Force and the nation and expressed condolences to the families, loved ones and colleagues of the victims,

He also disclosed that a comprehensive investigation had been ordered to establish the circumstances surrounding the accident.

Atiku mourns 25 victims of Nigerian Air Force plane crash

 

Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar has expressed profound grief over the tragic Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Ondo State that claimed the lives of 25 Nigerians.

 

The aircraft, carrying 25 passengers and crew members, crashed near Igbokoda in Ondo State. Among the victims were airmen, soldiers and members of their families, reportedly including children who were returning to school.

 

Atiku described the tragedy as a painful national loss, noting that its circumstances make it particularly heartbreaking.

 

“The loss of our servicemen and women is deeply painful. But the knowledge that their family members, including young children returning to school, were also among those whose lives were cut short makes this tragedy even more devastating.

 

“These were men and women serving our country, alongside loved ones whose hopes, dreams and futures have been extinguished in one tragic moment.

 

“My thoughts and prayers are with every family that has lost a loved one. I extend my deepest condolences to the Nigerian Air Force, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the government and people of Ondo State, and indeed the entire nation.

 

“I pray that Almighty God grants eternal rest to the departed, comforts their grieving families and gives our nation the strength to bear this painful loss,” Atiku said.

 

The former Vice President also expressed the hope that the investigation into the crash would establish its cause and help strengthen aviation safety within the Armed Forces to prevent a recurrence.

Ondo crash: ADC questions Military budget funding, commiserates with victims’ families

 

African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised worries over funding for the maintenance of Nigerian Air Force aircraft fleet following Monday’s fatal ATR-42 crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State.

The Party asked why the Presidential Air Fleet received substantially higher maintenance funding than the aircraft operated by the Air Force.

It also expressed sadness over the death of 20 passenger and five crew members that lost their lives in military air crash on Monday in Ondo State.

 

ADC said available budget implementation figures showed that only about 13.98 per cent of the N34.71 billion allocated for Nigerian Air Force aircraft maintenance had been released by December 2025, compared with 97.76 per cent implementation of the N20.74 billion allocated for maintenance of the Presidential Air Fleet.

 

The ADC said the disparity required scrutiny, particularly following the crash of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft in Igbokoda. The Nigerian Air Force said the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when it crashed.

 

In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, expressed condolences to the families of the victims but said the tragedy should also prompt a broader examination of defence funding and aircraft maintenance.

 

“While we do not intend to prejudice ongoing investigations into the cause of this tragic crash, we believe that this sad moment also provides an opportunity to raise, yet again, questions about the non-implementation of the defence budget and the perennial neglect of military equipment,” the party said.

 

The Federal Government had released N4.5 billion, representing about 13.98 per cent of the N34.71 billion budgeted for maintenance of Nigerian Air Force aircrafts as of December 2025, ADC claimed lamenting that the figures contrasted this with the N20.74 billion budgeted for maintenance of the Presidential Air Fleet, of which N20.27 billion, or 97.76 per cent, had reportedly been released.

 

“Put simply, while the fleet that serves a handful of people in power got almost every kobo it asked for, the fleet that serves and protects 200 million Nigerians was left with crumbs.

 

“The safety of the President matters. But what also matters is the safety of the pilots and airmen who put their lives on the line in defence of the country. Patriotism does not replace spare parts, and condolence messages do not take the place of accountability,” it said.

Air Force plane crash: No survivors yet, only wreckage, IDs – Gov Aiyedatiwa

Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa has said no survivor has been recovered in the military aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.

He said rescue teams had so far recovered parts of the aircraft, identity cards and military uniforms but had yet to reach the main body of the aircraft, which reportedly plunged deep into a swamp.

He disclosed this on Monday night during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today adding that the surveillance aircraft had 32 people on board — 25 passengers and seven crew members — and was travelling from Benin to Lagos when it lost radio communication at about 9.15am.

Atiku taunts Tinubu over Teachers’ Day, questions his educational records


 
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his inability to identify former teachers and classmates, as Nigeria marked this year’s World Teachers’ Day.


The Former Vice President also decried the rising cost of living, saying teachers across the country were struggling to provide for their families despite continuing to perform their duties.


He spoke in a statement issued on Monday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu.

Atiku said: “Of course, I appreciate Nigerian teachers. I am a product of their work and the education I received in their classrooms. I still remember the names and faces of my early teachers in Jada, who saw potential in a young orphan when few others did.”

He then turned his attention to Tinubu’s educational background, questioning the President’s ability to recall details about his school years.

“It is both revealing and deeply embarrassing that Bola Tinubu cannot name a single teacher who stood before him or a classmate who sat beside him,” he said.
He criticised the government over the economic difficulties confronting teachers saying that teachers were battling rising costs of food, transportation, rent and electricity, while their earnings had failed to keep pace with the increase in living expenses.

“Government cannot praise teachers on this day and leave them to face hardship for the rest of the year. A commemorative message cannot pay a teacher’s bills. Respect must be reflected in fair conditions, reliable support and policies that make life affordable,” Atiku said.

2027: Elections’ll be driven by transparency, technology -INEC Chairman

 

 The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians that it is intensifying preparations for the 2027 general elections, with emphasis on transparency, technology, public trust and collaboration with the media and civil society.
 INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja at a strategic workshop organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with INEC.
The workshop, themed “Strengthening Democracy Through Partnership Among Editors, Civil Society and Electoral Institutions,” comes 101 days before the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections and 124 days before the February 6 governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
 Amupitan said the timing of the engagement was deliberate, stressing that credible elections could not be achieved by INEC alone.
 “The ultimate arbiter of electoral integrity is public trust,” he said, adding that such trust required “an active, transparent, and unshakeable partnership between the electoral umpire, civil society, and the free press.”
 The chairman said INEC had completed eight of the 14 major activities contained in its revised timetable for the 2027 elections and was advancing towards the ninth milestone.
 He announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) would commence on Friday, October 9, 2026, urging the media to educate voters on collection locations.
 According to him, the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrations, while the National Register of Voters now contains more than 103 million voters following the completion of the Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup.
 Amupitan said the Commission had also introduced online voter registration and printable PVC technology to reduce barriers associated with registration and collection of voter cards.
 On technology, the INEC chairman disclosed that 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices had been acquired, while existing devices had undergone software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration.
 He said the enhanced eEC8A system would enable polling-unit results to be digitised, authenticated and uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
 He added that INEC was integrating artificial intelligence tools for anomaly detection and cybersecurity.
 “We are committed to ensuring that every valid vote counts and is seen to count,” Amupitan said.
 He also warned political parties and candidates against vote-buying, saying INEC was working with the Federal Ministry of Justice, EFCC, ICPC and NFIU to monitor illegal campaign spending.
 “Elections must be decided by the conviction of the voter, not the depth of a candidate’s pocket,” he declared.
 The chairman further warned against political violence, intimidation and hate speech, saying the Commission would work through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to track incidents and dangerous campaign rhetoric.
 On the media, Amupitan urged editors to strengthen fact-checking and verification, particularly in the face of deepfakes, manipulated videos and coordinated disinformation.
 “When information is verified before publication, you perform a sacred public service,” he told editors.
 Earlier, NGE President, Mr Eze Anaba, said the workshop was critical to strengthening the relationship between the electoral body and the media.
 “Elections are not merely about casting ballots; they are about trust,” Anaba said.
 He expressed concern about the growing reliance on the courts to resolve electoral disputes, saying: “Hopefully, with this next round of elections, citizens’ votes will speak.”
 Anaba said credible elections were a shared responsibility involving INEC, political parties, the media and citizens, adding that “the credibility of the media itself is an essential component of the credibility of the electoral process.”
 Also speaking, Executive Director of the Centre for Media and Society, Dr Akin Akingbolu, warned that fabricated newspaper front pages, fake campaign materials and manipulated videos posed serious threats to the 2027 elections.
 He said public trust in the media remained an important resource, describing it as “a form of electoral infrastructure” that must be protected.
 Akingbolu urged news organisations to establish verification leads within election desks and ensure that election results were traced to lawful declarations.
 His message to journalists was simply “verify before you amplify.”
 He also called on INEC to improve the speed and clarity of its communication with newsrooms, warning that “when official information moves at the speed of rumour, unofficial information inevitably fills the vacuum.”
 Akingbolu proposed an **INEC-Editors Verification Compact** to establish clear commitments on information authentication, communication of discrepancies and responses to false information.
 INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, said the Commission had conducted several elections since Amupitan assumed office, including the Anambra, FCT, Ekiti and Osun elections, as well as several legislative bye-elections.
 Haruna said the elections had progressively improved, while acknowledging the contribution of stakeholders, particularly the media.
 He said the workshop was aimed at ensuring that stakeholders worked together to deliver credible elections in 2027.
 Haruna also announced that INEC would hold a press conference on Tuesday, October 6, marking 100 days to the first phase of the general elections, where the chairman would brief local and international media on the Commission’s state of readiness. Authority.

2027: Put national unity first but protect your votes, Obi charges supporters

 The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to prioritise national unity in the 2027 presidential election and vote for a candidate capable of bringing the country together.
 Obi said a divided nation could not achieve meaningful development, stressing the need for leadership that would bridge Nigeria’s ethnic, religious and regional divides.
 The former Anambra State governor made the call on Sunday during a global digital town hall streamed through Zoom, YouTube and other social media platforms, where he addressed Nigerians at home and abroad on voter mobilisation, election security and strategies for protecting the electoral process.
 Obi said Nigerians who wanted to elect their preferred candidate must take responsibility for protecting their votes by remaining at polling units until the ballots were counted.
 “Our country needs unity. At present, we are not united. We are divided along ethnic and religious lines,” Obi said.
 According to him, the economic and security challenges facing Nigerians cut across ethnic and religious boundaries.
 “To the best of my knowledge, no tribe buys bread at a lower price, and no tribe buys fuel at a lower price. Similarly, no religion buys bread or fuel at a lower price,” he said.
 “The poverty affecting our country today is widespread across the entire nation. No tribe enjoys greater security than another. Insecurity affects every part of the country.”
 Obi said Nigeria needed a president who could unite citizens and work consistently to improve national security.
 He urged his supporters to intensify voter mobilisation and expand the deployment of polling agents across the country, saying citizens must remain engaged throughout the electoral process.
 The NDC candidate said his campaign was focused on building a nationwide network of polling agents and working with other political parties and stakeholders to promote free, fair and credible elections.
 He also warned voters against allowing money or intimidation to influence their choices during the election.
 “If you accept money from them, that is money they would otherwise have spent on security, hospitals, and education,” Obi said.
 He maintained that citizens must understand the long-term consequences of selling their votes, urging them to protect their electoral choices and insist that every ballot be counted.
 On insecurity, Obi called for improved funding, logistics and welfare for security personnel, saying security agencies must be adequately equipped to protect Nigerians.
 “We have security agencies, and they must function effectively. We must provide them with the logistics they need to perform their duties and ensure that we stand by them,” he said.
 He added that the welfare of security personnel and their families must also receive attention.
 “We must make certain that they are properly equipped and that their families are cared for if anything happens to them or they become unavailable. We need a president who will lead from the front,” Obi said.
 On election day, Obi urged voters not to leave polling units immediately after casting their ballots.
 He advised citizens to remain at their polling units until votes had been counted, stressing that active citizen participation was necessary to safeguard the electoral process.
 The former governor said Nigerians should remain vigilant and ensure that their votes were not only cast but properly counted and recorded.
 The Digital Global Town Hall forms part of Obi’s mobilisation activities ahead of the 2027 general election, with voter mobilisation, grassroots participation and protection of votes featuring prominently in the engagement. Authority.

South-East Governors have neither “Yam nor Knife” on Peter Obi

By Ike Abonyi

In many of Prof. Chinua Achebe’s novels, he used proverbs to deepen his message; for instance, “having the yam and the knife” means that someone has complete control, absolute power, or the total ability to decide how a resource or situation is handled.
In Nigerian and West African contexts, such as Igbo or general political parlance, the yam represents the resource or sustenance, and the knife represents the tool to slice and distribute it.
Whoever holds both items decides who gets a share, how much they get, and when they get it. It is often used to describe wealthy leaders, powerful figures, or deities who dictate the terms of an outcome. Achebe used proverbs mostly to show the absolute power of the colonial masters, who controlled everything then.
The spirit of Western democracy which we practice removes such power from any individual or group and rests it on the people using their voting power. The truth is that certain individuals and groups exert some influence, but the absolute determinant rests with the people. Anywhere or at any time the absolute power leaves the people, then democracy is hindered.
Ahead of the January 16, 2027, Presidential Election, South-East Governors have been posturing themselves as having the yam and the knife as far as where Igbos will cast their votes is concerned.
It was these errors in political judgment that made them abandon their people to embrace the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC, which the region roundly rejected in 2023, in their wrong understanding that Tinubu has both the yam and the knife over the 2027 poll.
But they’ll all be shocked to learn, in the hard way, that the people of the South East, not Tinubu or governors, will decide the outcome of the January 16, 2027, poll. The people demonstrated that in 2023, and they will repeat it in 2027 because they are already seeing an Igbo man at the gate of Aso Rock.
There are two reasons why nobody in the South-East is losing sleep over the sabotaging position of South-East state governors against Peter Obi. One is because none or all of them combined are in control of the voters in the region; two is that history is a witness to how inglorious persons sabotaging the Igbo cause end.
A realistic path to victory for Peter Obi in 2027—even with all five South East state governors explicitly aligning with President Bola Tinubu and the ruling party—hinges on a clear electoral truth in Nigeria: state governors do not own individual votes, particularly in high-turnout presidential elections. In most government houses in Enugu, Awka, Owerri, Abakaliki, and Umuahia, Peter Obi will defeat Tinubu unless the votes are not counted.
In 2023, Peter Obi won sweeping majorities across the South East despite controlling zero state governments at the time. The premise that state executive machinery guarantees a presidential vote underestimates the organic nature of voter sentiment when citizens feel alienated by incumbent leadership.
The South-East governors may control state governments, but they do not control the votes of the people. That distinction could become one of the defining political questions of the 2027 election.
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has said that the five South-East governors resolved to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election. Nobody is losing sleep over that because that is just five votes, because in Anambra, for instance, Governor Soludo’s son Ozonna is not likely to vote where his father votes, on the presidency; ditto in other states.
Already, Governor Alex Otti has publicly rejected the suggestion that Uzodimma could speak for all five governors and stressed that the decision ultimately belongs to voters.
This exposes a fundamental distinction between the political establishment and the electorate.
The argument that Obi cannot prevail without the governors assumes that governors can simply transfer their political structures, influence, and supporters to another presidential candidate. But the 2023 election demonstrated that the South-East electorate could move overwhelmingly in a direction different from the preferences of many political elites: Obi won all five South-East states under the Labour Party.
The more important question for 2027, therefore, is not which governors endorse Obi, but whether their political choices correspond with the mood of their people.
The “knife and yam” adage used here copiously captures a longstanding Nigerian political calculation: stay close to whoever controls the federal machinery because he controls the immediate distribution of political rewards and risks.
That calculation can produce an apparent political paradox. Governors may believe that proximity to the presidency is safer for their political survival than confrontation with it.
Analysts have similarly identified federal leverage, political marginalisation, and survival considerations as factors behind the movement of governors towards the APC, but presidential elections are ultimately decided by voters.
Consequently, a governor’s alliance with the presidency should not automatically be interpreted as an equivalent alliance between the electorate and the presidency.
In conclusion, the holder of the piper can call the tune but get a drowning ovation from the crowd, which is what awaits Alex Oti (Abia), Charles Soludo (Anambra), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Peter Mbah (Enugu), and Hope Uzodimma (Imo) on January 16, 2027. God have mercy.

_Ike Abonyi is Editor @Large._

“Stop chasing shadows” – Obi’s camp fires back at Soludo over anti-Obi campaign

 

The political feud between the camp of former Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi, and the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo has escalated dramatically following a sharp counterpoint from Obi’s Media Adviser, Mr Idris Zekeri Jnr., Spokesman, Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR).

Reacting to a publication emanating from the state’s ruling circle urging the Anambra electorate to reject Obi and the opposition, the media office dismissed the move with heavy scorn. Citing traditional Igbo philosophy—adighi ibua ayi ara (you do not join a mad person in the public square)—the camp maintained they chose silence over a full-scale exchange to avoid dignifying what they termed institutional absurdity.

 

Lifting the lid on internal dysfunction within the state’s leadership, Zekeri revealed that insiders in the administration had recently lamented that Governor Soludo spends half of executive council (EXCO) meetings obsessing over Peter Obi, treating his fixation on Obi as more vital than pressing state matters. Adding a searing punchline, Zekeri remarked that if the governor’s obsession borders on clinical psychosis, stakeholders should promptly advise him to seek professional psychological aid rather than dragging the entire state into his mental fixations.

 

The statement lamented that as his obsession becomes magnified, the state is falling apart. Citing a recent meeting held in Port Harcourt, he pointed out that the National emergency agency explicitly noted that Anambra only truly had it good under Obi, managing disasters and public safety with utmost competence. They were talking about the state’s preparedness for the recent flood that took lives in the state. “The only reason they gave to justify what the flood destroyed was that NIMET announced the impending flood, after they failed to follow the preemptive NINET prescribed.”

 

He recalled that as Governor, Obi uniquely engaged the UN-Habitat to formulate comprehensive master and structure plans for the state’s major cities, rigorously implementing them to the extent that by 2010, Onitsha was globally recognised among the fastest-growing cities in the world. Yet, rather than building on such visionary foundations, Soludo has completely abandoned these structural frameworks, choosing instead to focus his energy on petty political planning against Obi.

 

Zekeri further alleged that the state administration recently mobilised a cyber-army of over 500 internet trolls dedicated solely to attacking Peter Obi, with recruits supposedly promised the right to nominate cronies for state engagement, scaling the network up to 1,000 operatives based on hit-piece performance. The Obi camp slammed the strategy as a gross misallocation of state resources, lamenting that public funds are being aggressively funnelled into digital vandalism while governance issues pile up. Pre-empting what they described as a predictable scapegoating script, the media office stated they were putting the administration on formal record so officials could not tomorrow claim Peter Obi was the phantom distraction keeping them from working.

 

“Instead of obsessing over Obi, the governor should use those hours to tour Anambra and see how state funds are being wasted on roads that crumble while construction is still ongoing,” the statement fired. Pointing to massive grassroots receptions—such as the large turnouts at the Nnewi Cathedral and the coronation of the Igwe of Adazi-Ani—the camp challenged the administration to read the political room, stressing that no amount of propaganda can erase the deep-seated bond between Ndigbo and Peter Obi.

 

Against this backdrop, Zekeri formally called on Anambra elders, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and key stakeholders to urgently call Governor Soludo to order, advising him to face the pressing issues of governance and stop self-destructing through needless distractions.

 

Tearing into the state’s economic scorecard, the media office contrasted Soludo’s administration with the benchmarks established during Obi’s tenure, highlighting independent indices like the Phillips Consulting State Performance Index, where Anambra has nosedived from 1st position during Obi’s era down to 27th position under the current watch. The statement underscored that while Obi operated on a lean average federal allocation of about 3 billion monthly, Soludo now commands a combined allocation of roughly ₦25 billion monthly – meaning the current government receives in just two months what Obi managed in an entire year.

 

Anambra people are aware that his Commissioner for Finance was his houseboy. Why would things not go wrong?

 

The camp queried why higher institutions have not seen a single new building erected or positive intervention directed to schools since Obi left office, with recent NECO results showing the state slipping back down from previous historic highs. Lamenting that the state is allegedly being branded one of the dirtiest in the country while ecological erosion ravages communities with zero effective combat, the statement concluded that when a leadership facing monumental challenges chooses obsession with an individual over governance, something is seriously wrong.

Helicopter ​‌‍​‌‌​‍⁠⁠‍​​‌‍‍‌‍⁠‌​crashes into swamp in Ondo

 

A helicopter crashed into a swamp near Naval Base in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Monday.

The incident occurred at about 11.00a.m during heavy down pour, throwing the coastal community into panic.

The number of people on board of the helicopter was yet to be officially confirmed, while the condition of possible survivors cannot be confirmed.

Confirming the incident, Mr Morris Oripenaiye, the Chairman of the local government, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that he could not ascertain the number of the victims.

Oripenaye also said he was yet to ascertain the identity of the crashed helicopter and the passengers.

“It happened during the heavy rainfall at about 11.00a.m. I cannot confirm the number of the people on board.

“I have deployed some youths to the area for rescue purpose,” he told NAN.

Similarly, the Police Command in Ondo State while confirming the crash, said details surrounding the incident were still emerging.

The command in a statement by its spokesperson, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, in Akure, said efforts were ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crash.

 

NCC’s Communiqué From Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum 2026

 

“The Command urges members of the public, particularly residents of Igbokoda and adjoining communities, to remain calm and refrain from circulating unverified information.

“The public will be duly informed as soon as further credible information becomes available,” it stated. theconclaveng