ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The African Democratic Congress Senatorial Candidate for Ekiti North, Funso Ayeni, has condemned the attack and vandalisation of his campaign office, calling on law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter.

Ayeni spoke at Ido Ekiti, the headquarters of the senatorial district, on Saturday during an assessment visit to the damaged office.

The campaign office was inaugurated on Thursday last week.

The candidate condemned political violence and intimidation in any form in the state, as he urged that the 2027 elections should be remembered for ideas and accountability, and not destruction.

The campaign office after the attack.
He said, “Whatever the circumstances surrounding the damage to this office are, political disagreement must never become a pathway to destruction, intimidation or violence. I believe Ekiti must not walk the road of political violence.

“Ekiti State is too knowledgeable, too educated and too politically conscious to allow such a culture to take place. I, therefore, call on the relevant security and law enforcement authorities to investigate what happened here and establish the facts.

Political competition should be about ideas; it should be about programmes, it should be about records and the service we are about to offer our people, not destruction of one’s property or another person’s political office. I will continue to advocate for a peaceful, issue-based and responsible political environment in Ekiti North and across Ekiti State.

We can disagree without destroying; let us compete without violence and let us ensure that the 2027 political session is remembered for ideas, for accountability and not for intimidation nor destruction, and not for bloodshed.”

Ayeni appealed to his supporters across the senatorial district to remain calm and not take the law into their hands despite the provocation.

He said, “I am here today not only to merely inspect that damaged office, but to draw attention to a development that should concern every peace-loving citizen of Ekiti State and in particular Ekiti North Senatorial District.”

The senatorial candidate urged politicians in the state to learn from the recently conducted governorship election in Osun State, “where destruction of campaign materials and political property became part of a broader atmosphere of political tension and violence, with subsequent attacks and loss of lives reported. We must learn from Osun not to repeat the painful experience in Ekiti.”

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

As Nigeria prepares for the conduct of general elections to usher in fresh sets of political office holders across the country, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has visited the Prayer Ground of St. Padre PIO, at St Giovanni Rotondo in Italy, to offer prayers to God for a peaceful 2027 elections and an end to banditry and terrorism in Nigeria.

Answering questions from St Padre PIO TV/ Radio in Italy, Akpabio said, ” we are all from Nigeria. We came to offer prayers and get blessings from God for ourselves, families and our dear country that is currently being ravaged by banditry and terrorism.

” We are here on this prayer ground and we are going home fulfilled, that we were able to touch this Holy ground, drop our intentions which he will take to God on our behalf”.

Akpabio described the ground as a holy one, noting that ” I am very impressed that the place has been well kept. This is a Holy ground. Some people who are here might not even understand the significance of this ground but those of us who are adherents and followers of PIO, believe in his intercessions.”

To further buttress his belief in the efficacy of the name; PIO, Akpabio went down memory lane on how St PIO intereceded for the miraculous healing of his wife, Mrs Unoma Akpabio, after she was 98 percent dead.

According to him, ” My wife was in a comma for six months in a hospital in Germany. She was 98 percent dead. I used the picture of PIO to make a sign of the cross on her, instead of putting-off the life- support machine she was on. She had an operation that went wrong. I cried to Mother Mary; the mother of Jesus Christ and called on PIO to interceed.

” Miraculously, she woke up. That hospital, uptill today, is yet to understand what happened. As someone who has experienced the powers in where I am standing, I can understand it more than anyone else”, he noted.

He stated further that,” this is my 10th time here. When my wife was finally discharged from the hospital, she waited for three months before she could remember my name and those of the children. We are here today, to give thanks to God and to thank PIO for always interceeding for us.

“We honored PIO by giving our son the baptismal name; PIO. We equally established a big academy which we called PIO Football Academy, where we train and offer scholarships to children of the poor from 9 years up to university level, all in memory of PIO. May his soul rest in perfect peace”.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

*****Stakeholders, CSOs Call For Sack Of NAICOM Commissioner

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has widened its probe into the controversial insurance industry recapitalisation exercise, with invitation letters now being issued to other operators beyond the initial petitioners.

A letter dated 3rd September 2026 and addressed to the Managing Director of Linkage Assurance Plc, Mr Daniel Braie, at the company’s Abuja office, 29 Aswan Street, Wuse Zone 3, confirms the expansion.

Titled “Investigation activities letter of invitation – Re: capitalisation exercise in the insurance sector,” the correspondence from the EFCC’s Capital Market and Insurance Fraud Section requires Braie to report for an interview on Thursday, 24th September 2026.

The development comes amid growing pressure on Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), to step aside.

Industry stakeholders and civil society organisations have intensified calls for his immediate suspension or sack, arguing that his continued presence in office while the investigation deepens compromises the integrity of the process.

“The EFCC’s decision to invite other industry players shows this is no longer limited to one or two companies,” a senior insurance executive who preferred anonymity said.

“When the anti-graft agency starts calling in Managing Directors across the sector for clarification on the same capitalisation exercise, it means the net is widening.

“The man at the helm of NAICOM cannot continue to sit pretty as if nothing is happening.”

Another stakeholder, a former senior official in the industry, stated: “The allegations of unlawful one per cent capital injection fees, forced full-capital escrow demands contrary to the law, and questionable consultant payments are serious.

“Expanding the investigation to other operators only strengthens the case for Omosehin to step aside immediately so that the probe can proceed without any perception of interference.”

Civil society groups have been more direct, demanding Omosehin’s removal to sanitise the regulatory agency.

“Keeping the NAICOM Commissioner in office while the EFCC expands its investigation into the recapitalisation exercise is unacceptable,” Salisu Mohammed of the Coalition for Good Governance in Nigeria said.

“We call for his immediate suspension by the Minister of Finance. The regulatory house must be cleaned for public confidence to return.”

Another CSO activist added: “This is about accountability. The moment the EFCC begins inviting Managing Directors of other insurance companies for interviews on the capitalisation process, the Commissioner who superintended that process should no longer remain in charge.

%Suspension is the minimum requirement to sanitise NAICOM and protect the integrity of the investigation.”

As the September 24 interview date approaches, pressure continues to mount on the Presidency and the Ministry of Finance to act decisively.

Stakeholders insist that only the temporary removal of Omosehin will allow a thorough, credible investigation capable of restoring trust in the insurance regulatory framework.