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THE REBOUND OF TUNDE IRUKERA
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By Tunde Olusunle
I returned to the *Daily Times* of yore in October 1993, where I was already a columnist and special section editor before I proceeded on a leave-of-absence, in March 1992. Prince Abubakar Audu of blessed memory who was the first civilian Governor of Kogi State had tapped me as his Director of Information and Public Affairs in March 1992. My employers in Lagos obliged me with the permission to honour that call to service. I exited the system voluntarily, however, because the quantum chicanery, debauchery and shenanigans in the public service were alien to me. I had indeed in one instance been accused of deploying my goodwill in the national media to undermine my Principal, Audu! Here was a man who entrusted a 27 year old with a position of state responsibility at that age.
He got used to my principled style of sharing a sofa with him in his living room and savouring wines and lagers, while more senior officials pretentiously squatted on the floor, their gullets covetous of my ice-cold servings. Audu took me like a son until cracks were dug in the wall by third parties, and lizards invited to party in its crevices. Certain fall-outs of this situation were totally at variance with my very strict upbringing, principles and sense of professionalism. I was a child of many mentors and models who had sky high expectations from me. I had to take a stand to save my name and career.
You needed to see the avalanche of congratulatory messages sent to me by post, in the absence of modern day ICT over three decades ago, including my former teachers, Emeritus Professors Olu Obafemi and Niyi Osundare, both worthy recipients of the Nigerian National Order of Merit, (NNOM). Not forgetting the late Alhaji Abubakar Gimba, a former Executive Director in Union Bank, and the United Bank for Africa, (UBA), who I had engaged with at conferences of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (ANA) and interviewed on literature and national development. I was never privileged to meet the charismatic multimillionaire business mogul and later politician, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, (MKO), who surprisingly sent me a telegram. I had a long future ahead of me, I cherished the credibility I was cultivating and wouldn’t sacrifice it for a morsel of porridge.
I first reported to our offices at the Times Publications Division, (TPD), Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, where I submitted my letter notifying the Daily Times leadership of my return from leave-of-absence. Among Editors and colleagues, I was very warmly received. A jostle began between the various publications in the Daily Times stable, about which of them wanted me the most. Dapo Aderinola, Editor of the flagship newspaper in the group, the *Daily Times,* badly wanted me. I was a favourite feature writer, who was headhunted, loved and projected by my bosses, notably the inspirational Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi, who as Managing Director of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc, hired me. Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, who was my Editor and General Manager of TPD once minuted on a memo seeking his approval for my release for an interstate assignment: *I get a feeling that there is only Tunde Olusunle, and also Imoukhuede Ogunleye, (now departed), in that Department. What are the other fellows doing?* The *Sunday Times,* sister publication to *Daily Times* where I was first deployed upon being employed, was also pitching for me.
Ugochukwu was already Executive Director, Publications that October 1993, and he was to approve my reinstatement and deployment. He summoned me to the corporate headquarters of the Daily Times Group at Kakawa Street in Lagos Island. In his trademark baritone, he welcomed me from my assignment in Kogi and commended me for being a good ambassador of the organisation. He told me he was aware I was being sought after by every title Editor *”which is evidence of what you bring to the job.”* Having considered the requests and options, however, Ugochukwu said he had decided to deploy me to the Editorial Board, the intellectual engine room of the organisation: *”You have come back with broad-based insights which should benefit our wide range of newspapers. The Editorial Board is where you should be, so that your experiences can benefit the newspaper group. The Board of the organisation has also approved your promotion commensurate with your new assignment. Congratulations, Tunde,* Ugochukwu said as he offered me his hand.
I give this background inspired by the recent heartening appointment of Tunde Irukera, a former Executive Vice Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, (FCCPC), as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc. Irukera, an attorney with three and half decades of post-call to bar professional experience, has practiced in Nigeria and the United States of America, in a very rich and eventful career. He was full-time Managing Partner, between 2006 and 2017, of *Simmons Cooper Partners, a Lagos-based law firm, founded by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.* He was previously a solicitor with *Partners, Attorneys and Counsellors LLC,* a law concern in Chicago, Illinois, between 2001 and 2006. Irukera’s relationship with Osinbajo culminated in his appointment as Director-General of the now reformed and renamed Consumer Protection Council, (CPC), in 2017.
Irukera approached his job with the kind of dedication and creativity uncommon in Nigeria’s typically self-serving public service. He desired that Nigerian consumers were genuinely truly shielded from the criminal antics and murderous mischief of shylocks, cheats and laggards masquerading as service providers, across board. He regularly and rigorously engaged with stakeholders across the country and admonished Nigerians to report infractions against their rights. These were promptly taken up by the FCCPC to the highest levels of jurisprudence. He took pride in appearing in the courts, fully robed as an attorney, to fight for the people. Sundays were work days for Irukera. You saw him personally leading law enforcement agencies to seal up erring institutions, not in corporate gear, but tee-shirts, jeans trousers and sneakers. Elsewhere, defaulting service providers were penalised in accordance with the provisions of the law. Applicable penalties were paid to designated government coffers, and not cannibalised between erring organisations and pliable public servants, who collaborated to undermine the people and the state. He rebuilt the erstwhile CPC from a wholly dependent department, to a financially independent parastatal, in the new FCCPC.
In 2023, the FCCPC under Irukera generated a historic N56 Billion. This was much more than the annual internally generated revenue raked up by many states especially in the North of Nigeria. He expanded the operations of the organisation for greater effectiveness and recruited many young graduates through very competitive test processes. He took off dozens of qualified and competent youths from despairing streets. New employees covered the enlarged operations of the reinvigorated FCCPC. After covering its salary bills and overhead expenditures, the FCCPC in 2023, still remitted a handsome N22Billion to the coffers of government. Unsolicited trophies and recognitions poured in for Irukera and FCCPC, especially those acknowledging the new regime of transparency in corporate governance, as well as innovation and creativity in the transformed government’s ombudsman.
It was a flustered populace therefore which woke up to the news of the removal of Irukera and the former Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, same day early January 2024. While no reason was adduced for Irukera’s ouster, Edu was pointedly accused of corrupt enrichment. It took the Bola Tinubu administration about seven weeks before the Senate was able to ratify the concoction that Irukera was “inefficient” at his job! Which was the painful part for a man who poured his all into his job. My revulsion at this development informed my piece *Irukera: How not to Reward Altruism* published February 28, 2024. This explains my specific excitement at Tunde Irukera’s appointment on Thursday July 31, 2025, as Chairman of Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc, a private sector outfit which prioritises merit, competence, experience and vision. Irukera never went lounging in the waiting rooms of political godfathers hustling for recognition and absorption in the new scheme. That was totally beneath him. What are his well-earned gown and wig for?
I’m not in the business of self-adulation when I share my own experience during my first excursion to the corridors of power in Kogi State, like I’ve done here. I see a congruence in my experience and Irukera’s within the context of the fact that the truth and competence will speak for the just. After the ouster of the Ibrahim Babangida Third Republic project by Sani Abacha late 1993, Audu’s successor, Paul Omeruo recalled me and passed me on to his successor Bzigu Afakirya who retained me for well over a year. I have also been privileged to serve in Nigeria’s Presidency, under a President who was more concerned about what value I could offer, than the location of my father’s house in my community. And here is Irukera also rediscovered for the gem he is and promptly hoisted to the chair of the boardroom of one of the nation’s foremost non-life, general insurance companies. Irukera did well in chambers and courtrooms in Lagos, Abuja, Illinois and elsewhere; he acquitted himself in the sleaze-strewn entrails of the public service, he can only be trusted to distinguish himself in the boardroom of his new corporate brief. I congratulate this humble, fine, cultivated gentleman whose *Yagba* remains unaffected through times and tides, I celebrate this unobtrusive exemplar of finesse and commitment.
*Tunde Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), is an Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Adamawa State has resolved its internal crisis, with party stakeholders pledging to work for the victory of the party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and other candidates in the 2027 general elections.
The development is seen as a major boost to Atiku’s campaign in the state, where the party had been divided over the leadership of its state chapter and the authentic governorship candidate.
The crisis had resulted in the emergence of two parallel state executive committees led by Barrister Ibrahim Sadiq Dasin and Sai’du Naira.
However, the factions appear to be closing ranks following a meeting between the newly appointed Acting State Chairman of the ADC, Sai’du Naira, and ward chairmen and state executive members from the Adamawa Central Senatorial Zone.
The meeting, held at the ADC Secretariat over the weekend, focused on loyalty, unity and the promotion of internal democracy within the party.
Speaking at the meeting, Naira expressed satisfaction with the cooperation of the party’s state executive members and urged them to remain committed to rebuilding the ADC.
He reaffirmed the faction’s loyalty to the national leadership of the party under former Senate President, Senator David Mark, and pledged to work towards strengthening the party across the 226 political wards in Adamawa State’s 21 local government areas.
Naira said the ADC had regained its strength after emerging from what he described as an unnecessary internal crisis, promising that transparency and honesty would guide his leadership of the party.
“Honestly, ADC as a party almost collapsed because of the way the suspended leader was handling the affairs of the party,” Naira said.
He, however, commended party members who, according to him, took the necessary legal steps to resolve the crisis.
“But thank God that those with the love and interest of the party at heart did all that was legally necessary to push them aside,” he added.
Naira subsequently called on members to intensify their efforts ahead of the 2027 elections, stressing the need for collective commitment to the party’s success.
“We urge you all to work day and night for the progress and victory of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and all other ADC candidates seeking elective positions,” he said.
The latest development could strengthen the ADC’s structure in Adamawa and provide greater cohesion for Atiku’s presidential campaign as opposition parties intensify preparations for the 2027 elections.
About one in four paternity tests conducted by Smart DNA Nigeria returned negative results in its 2025/2026 reporting period, its latest annual DNA Testing Report has revealed.
The company, in a statement on Sunday, August 22, 2026 in Lagos, said the report confirmed that 23.6 per cent of recorded paternity test outcomes were negative, meaning the tested man was not the biological father.
According to the report, the negative paternity outcome declined marginally from 24.0 per cent in the preceding year and 26.1 per cent in 2023.
The report, however, cautioned against interpreting the figure as evidence that one in four Nigerian children is not biologically related to the man regarded as the father.
It stressed that its clients were people who had already developed sufficient doubts or reasons to seek DNA testing.
The report also revealed that 87 per cent of DNA tests conducted were ‘Peace of Mind tests’, representing private, self-initiated tests undertaken outside legal, immigration or court proceedings.
It said the proportion increased from 83.7 per cent in the preceding reporting period, indicating that personal concerns and the desire for certainty largely drove DNA testing in Nigeria.
Immigration-related tests accounted for 9.7 per cent, legal tests 1.9 per cent, avuncular tests one per cent, while prenatal testing represented 0.4 per cent of recorded cases.
The report further showed that older men accounted for the majority of male clients seeking DNA tests, with men aged 41 years and above representing 48 per cent of age-classified male records.
Men aged between 31 and 40 accounted for another 35.8 per cent, meaning that men above 30 constituted 83.8 per cent of the male testing population.
On the other hand, 59.5 per cent of tested individuals were children aged five years and below, a figure that remained virtually unchanged from the previous reporting period.
The company said the concentration of testing among younger children suggested that many families preferred to resolve questions surrounding biological relationships early, although the data could not establish the reasons behind the trend.
Geographically, Lagos accounted for 75.1 per cent of all classified cases, rising from 69 per cent in the preceding period.
Lekki recorded the highest number of named locations in Lagos, followed by Ajah, Ikorodu, Yaba and Ikeja, while Lagos Mainland accounted for 61.6 per cent of Lagos cases with specific location classifications.
Outside Lagos, Ogun recorded the highest testing activity, followed by Delta, Oyo, Rivers, Enugu, Edo, Abuja, Imo and Kwara.
The report said testing activity outside Lagos increased during the period, suggesting that awareness and demand for DNA testing were gradually spreading across other parts of the country.
It further revealed that men initiated 78.6 per cent of recorded first contacts with the company, compared with 15.2 per cent by women.
The ethnic distribution of clients was led by Yoruba at 52.6 per cent, followed by Igbo at 29.1 per cent, Edo at 5.8 per cent and a combined 5.4 per cent for Delta, Ijaw, Isoko, Urhobo and Itsekiri groups.
The Hausa accounted for one per cent.
Smart DNA said the figures reflected its geographical and client base rather than differences in paternity behaviour among ethnic groups.
The company also warned that its findings should not be generalised to the entire Nigerian population, stressing that its clients were not a random sample of Nigerian families.
It said the 23.6 per cent negative result represented its testing population, a group in which doubts about biological relationships already existed and therefore could not be used to estimate the prevalence of non-paternity across Nigeria.
The report maintained that while DNA testing could provide highly accurate answers to biological questions, it could not independently explain the social, cultural, economic or relationship circumstances that led families to seek such tests.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has unveiled a new system allowing candidates to upload their O’Level results from the comfort of their homes, while the Board verifies the results directly with the relevant examination bodies.
Acting Director, Public Affairs and Protocol, JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, who announced this in a statement on Monday, said the initiative, which begins with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), is aimed at making the process of O’Level result verification and upload easier, faster, safer and more convenient for candidates.
According to him, under the new arrangement, candidates would no longer need to visit Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres solely for the purpose of uploading their O’Level results, noting that JAMB would verify their results directly against records held by the issuing examination bodies before the results are uploaded to their profiles.
Benjamin said the initiative was part of the Board’s renewed commitment to deploying technology to improve service delivery and reduce unnecessary visits to CBT centres, queues and manual processes.
He added that the new system would also address challenges associated with manual O’Level result uploads, including misplaced or mixed-up paper results, submission of unverified or fraudulent results, as well as errors in the manual entry of subjects and grades.
The Board explained that the integration of its e-Facility platform with examination bodies would enable candidates’ results to be verified directly against the records of the issuing bodies before being downloaded into their JAMB profiles.
The JAMB spokesperson explained that to use the service, candidates are required to first obtain a Result Verification Code, adding that they are to visit buyresultsverificationcode.ng, enter their National Identification Number (NIN) and verify it, after which they will select the number of sittings and the relevant examination body or bodies.
“Candidates will then provide their email address and GSM number, make payment through the available payment options and enter their examination details, including examination number, series and year.
“After successful verification, candidates will obtain a Verification Code. The second stage involves sending ‘VERIFY’ followed by the Verification Code to 55019 or 66019.
“The result will then be uploaded and the candidate will receive a notification. Candidates with two sittings will subsequently be directed to their profiles on JAMB’s e-Facility platform, where they will select 2026 UTME O’Level Upload.
“They will enter their Verification Code, after which their two verified results will be displayed. Candidates are required to select a minimum of five and a maximum of nine subjects, ensuring that no subject is selected more than once, before clicking ‘Apply the O’Level Results’ to complete the process,” the Board stated.
Benjamin further stated that the verification service would provide candidates with a convenient alternative, particularly during periods of high patronage and network challenges at CBT centres.
According to him, the initiative reflects the commitment of the Board’s sixth Registrar, Prof Segun Aina, to building a more customer-oriented and technology-driven service delivery system.
He added that the Board would continue to deploy technology and collaborate with relevant examination and government agencies to make its services simpler, safer and more accessible to candidates. (Nigerian Tribune)
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