Nigeria’s external position has strengthened sharply under President Bola Tinubu, with the current account surplus rising 67.9% to $7.54 billion in the second quarter of 2026. According to provisional balance of payments data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the surplus increased from $4.49 billion in the preceding quarter. It also came in 45.8% higher than the $5.17 billion recorded in the same period of 2025. The surplus jumped by almost two-thirds quarter-on-quarter, exceeding many market expectations. The expansion was supported by stronger export receipts and increased diaspora remittances. The goods account posted a wider surplus, helping to offset some…
Author: Abiola
Atiku Abubakar and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas, have been thrust into the centre of the Mambilla hydropower controversy after Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, told an international arbitration tribunal that the $500,000 he transferred to Douglas in January 2003 was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku. The claim directly connects the former vice-president to money paid to his then wife as negotiations around the Mambilla project gathered pace. Podium Reporters gathered that the payment was made on January 30, 2003 less than four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a build-operate-transfer…
In a landmark legal victory that has been linked to President Bola Tinubu’s current diplomatic and working visit to France, Nigeria has secured a decisive win at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. The tribunal dismissed a $2.35 billion arbitration claim brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company over the long-stalled Mambilla hydropower project. The ruling, issued on Thursday by a three-member panel chaired by Melaine van Leeuwen, threw out Sunrise’s argument that the Federal Government breached its obligations under a 2020 settlement agreement. The tribunal also rejected the company’s separate demand for a $400 million settlement and…
In one of the most bizarre twists in Nigeria’s long-running power saga, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has revealed that some citizens are now pleading with him to reduce electricity supply, because their freezers are working too well. Tegbe dropped the bombshell on Wednesday in Abuja while commissioning a 3-megawatt solar hybrid project at Yakubu Gowon University. According to him, communities that previously spent up to three months in total darkness are now enjoying as much as 18 hours of daily power. “Some areas called me to say, look, I should slow down, that everything in their freezer is…
Not all mad men are unclad, I came across an old paper where the former governor of Anambra, His Excellency Peter Obi, gave a testimony in church that he was once mad. Now, I’m not one to judge a man’s spiritual journey, but if you look at his recent political career, you have to wonder if the madness never really left. It’s like he traded one form of delusion for another only now, instead of wandering the streets, he’s wandering through interviews, spouting numbers that don’t add up and mumbling like he’s speaking in tongues. Let’s talk about his relationship…
The political temperature just rose. The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, gave former Vice President Atiku Abubakar a seven-day window to serve President Bola Tinubu with his suit challenging the President’s eligibility for the 2027 poll. Justice Inyang Ekwo approved substituted service through the All Progressives Congress after Atiku’s lawyer moved the motion. Atiku’s case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, alleges that Tinubu submitted a forged NYSC discharge certificate to INEC bearing the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle.” In a 25-paragraph affidavit he personally deposed to, Atiku insisted the certificate belongs to one Adekunle, not Tinubu, and that it has been paraded…
Podium Reporters gathered that the Nigerian entertainment industry has been thrown into deep mourning following the death of veteran actor and film executive, Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs. He was 84. His son, Olusoji Jacobs, announced the devastating news in an Instagram post on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. The family said they were announcing his passing “with gratitude to God for a life well lived and fought,” describing the legendary thespian as “The Lion of Lufodo.” They also appealed to bloggers and social media influencers to respect their privacy during this difficult time. Born on July 11,…
Podium Reporters gathered that the Anambra State Government has escalated its ongoing financial dispute with former Governor Peter Obi, releasing a detailed press statement on September 16, 2026, titled “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.” The government stated it was compelled to respond to Obi’s viral post labeling the state’s debt claims as “Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy,” noting that while it is campaign season, transparency and accountability demand a factual rebuttal. According to the document released by the state’s New Media team, the administration of Governor Charles Soludo has…
A leaked budget review by Podium Reporters has shattered Peter Obi’s carefully curated image as Nigeria’s frugal saviour, revealing how the former Anambra governor splurged public funds on Government House frivolities while preaching austerity. Official records show total actual overhead for Government House ballooned from N4.56bn in 2012 to N7.23bn in 2013. Total recurrent expenditure hit N7.42bn against an approved N6.45bn; an extra N974m beyond approval. The overhead budget was exceeded by N1.33bn. “Other Services” surged from N3.46bn to N5.43bn, overshooting its N4.33bn budget by over N1.10bn. Most damning: Government House traveling for training dropped from N428.5m to N390.6m; yet…
Karl-Marx Edward Ikemefuna William George Okeke-Vonbatten, the $1.2 million-a-year lobbyist hired by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in March 2026, was convicted of domestic violence in a Washington, D.C. court more than two decades ago, a confidential investigative report dated September 11, 2026, reveals. Case No. 2003 DVM 002653 was filed on August 2, 2003, at the District of Columbia Superior Court. The defendant, then identified as Karl-Marx Okeke, faced a charge of Simple Assault/Domestic. He was found guilty on October 8, 2003, and sentenced to 180 days in jail, suspended, along with one year of supervised probation. Court records…