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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, says the long-delayed Apo-Karshi road will finally be completed and handed over by November, putting an end to a 15-year wait for residents in the axis.

Wike gave the assurance in Abuja on Saturday, after inspecting the progress of the project as well as the 14-kilometre Bwari Kubwa Road.

He explained that the 13.5-kilometer road, originally awarded in 2011 under previous administrations, has been a major point of frustration for motorists experiencing daily traffic congestion between satellite communities and the Abuja city center.

He explained that the current administration was forced to revoke the original contract due to persistent delays and re-award it to construction firm SCC Nigeria Ltd.

“The Apo-Karshi road has been a topical issue. It was awarded in 2010, one of those projects President Bola Tinubu inherited.

“Because of its importance and the complaints by residents, we had to terminate the contract and award it to SCC, which we know has the capacity to complete the job.

“Residents who have been crying for years can now see that this government has come to their aid,” he said.

The minister praised the contractor for maintaining progress on-site regardless of funding cycles, reaffirming the government’s commitment to honoring its financial obligations.

The minister also inspected the ongoing construction of the 14-kilometre Bwari-Kubwa road, stressing that the contractor had promised to deliver the critical road in December.

He emphasised that the tangible delivery of infrastructure projects serves as the strongest argument for the administration’s governance model, downplaying traditional political campaigning in favor of visible results.

“When people ask me about campaigns, I say, ‘What is campaign? See the campaign. Campaign is about what you have done for the people and what the government has to show.

“It is not about promises; it is about taking action that positively impacts lives,” he said.

With multiple road networks approaching completion across the FCT, the minister expressed confidence that the administration would surpass its initial 10 projects target for inauguration between December and January 2027.

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Ex-world champion boxer Zolani Tete has been shot dead outside his home in South Africa at the age of 38.

This ugly development happened in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, as Zolani Tete arrived at his residence and waited for the gate to open.

According to the police, two armed men wearing balaclavas stepped out of a vehicle and opened fire on the boxer.

A 27-year-old woman who was travelling with Tete was also shot several times and taken to hospital for treatment.

South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, confirmed Tete’s death on Friday.

McKenzie expressed caution over speculation about the motive behind the attack, saying “I will not speculate about who did this or why.”

Police have launched an investigation, but no motive has been established and no details about possible suspects have been released.

Zolani Tete , who was nicknamed “Last Born”, became widely known in boxing for his remarkable 11-second knockout of fellow South African Siboniso Gonya in Belfast in November 2017.

The knockout remains one of the fastest stoppages in a world title fight.

Tete achieved it while defending his WBO bantamweight title, which he had won earlier that year and held until 2019.

The southpaw boxer had previously captured the IBF junior-bantamweight title in 2014 after defeating Japan’s Teiru Kinoshita in Kobe.

Earlier in his career, Tete had also held the minor WBF flyweight title.

Zolani Tete’s death came only weeks after he completed a four-year ban from boxing following a positive test for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol after his 2022 bout against Jason Cunningham.

His suspension ended on July 29, and he had been preparing to make a return to professional boxing before his death.

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A US-based election observation group – International Republican Institute (IRI), has said that insecurity and political violence have been observed as major threats to the forthcoming 2027 general elections.

Speaking Friday in Abuja on what it tagged, ‘Media Advisory’, the group led by its President, Dr Daniel Twining alongside Former US Ambassador to South Africa, Jendayi Frazer and the Regional Director for Africa, IRI, Janai Cox, called on political leaders and parties to shun rhetoric that threatens opponents, incites violence or portrays electoral defeat as inherently illegitimate.

Worried that persistent insecurity and political violence, erode confidence in the electoral process and depresses voters’ participation, the group held that where voters, candidates and observers cannot participate without fear of violence or intimidation, technical improvements and legal safeguards have only limited effect.

“This challenge is unfolding within a political landscape that has transformed considerably since 2023”, the group said.

Acknowledging existence of electoral reforms, IRI is skeptical about the practicability of the new legal framework as public confidence remains one of the most consequential challenges facing the process.

Stressing that its mission in Nigeria is to provide an independent and impartial assessment of the country’s electoral processes, offering key findings and recommendations that will help stakeholders strengthen electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections, it said the country’s experience of 2023 has continued to shape perceptions of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), particularly with respect to results, transmission and collation.

It held that in the 2027 outing, electoral credibility will depend not only on administrative capacity but also on the transparency of institutional authority.

Twining in his remarks, said that IRI’s interest is to support Nigerians in their ambition of peacefully exercising their democratic rights and their democratic voice in an election that is peaceful, inclusive, credible and seen as legitimate in the eyes of the public.”

He described the 2027 elections as critical, not only for the country but also for Africa considering that its political trajectory carries significance beyond its borders.

“The resilience of Nigeria’s institutions and the quality of electoral competition carry not only national but also regional and global implications.

“Our delegation approached this assessment with a straightforward objective to identify practical steps that can strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process well before voters go to the polls in 2027.

“Over the course of the mission, we met with more than 65 stakeholders, whom we thank for their cooperation and insights. Our findings also draw on IRI’s observation of the Ekiti and Osun off cycle gubernatorial elections, and the work of long-term analysts deployed in the advance of this delegation.”

Adding: “These findings are therefore not abstract prescriptions. They reflect concerns raised across the electoral landscape and lessons drawn from previous elections. At the heart of these recommendations is public confidence. Credibility is not produced by law, technology or institutions alone. It is built when Nigerians believe they can vote without fear, that their choice will be respected and that power cannot be used to override the will of the voter”, the institute said.

Ahead of the 2027 election, the group therefore urged INEC to run a robust stress test of its systems and mock elections to troubleshoot potential challenges with the BVAS and IREv; communicate operational decisions, procedural changes and contingency measures through consistent and authoritative channels and collaborate with security personnel to protect ballot secrecy on election day.

“INEC and security agencies should prioritize the security of election facilities, protect participants, materials, party agents and observer groups without restricting lawful access. Attention should be given to preventing intimidation and securing the movement of results at collation centers.”

The group also recommended that political parties should hold their party officials, agents and supporters accountable for vote buying and voter inducement while national and state leadership should communicate clear expectations throughout party structures and ensure they are enforced down to local and polling unit levels, including sanctions, fines and prosecution of civil and criminal offenses.

“Significant enforcement actions would help demonstrate that electoral offenses, especially violence are unacceptable at all levels. Political parties should train and supervise their party agents on lawful conduct, ballot secrecy and results verification. Political parties should take responsibility for the conduct of their agents and promptly address violations committed on election day.

“INEC should improve the accessibility of polling units for persons with disabilities and build on lessons learnt from the 2023 elections by updating the Internally Displaced Persons voting framework.

“Political parties and candidates should also refrain from producing or amplifying false information, manipulated electoral materials or Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated impersonations that could undermine confidence or inflame tensions”, it said.