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The trial of social media influencer and relationship therapist Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, (a.k.a Blessing CEO) before Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos was adjourned on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, due to her absence in court.

Blessing CEO is facing a two-count charge filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), bordering on alleged obtaining by false pretence and alleged theft of N36 million.

When the matter was called, counsel to the defendant, P.I. Nwafuru, informed the court that officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service had notified him that his client was ill and, as a result, could not attend the proceedings.

He requested an adjournment and assured the court that a medical report would be presented at the next hearing.

Following the prayer of the defence counsel, Justice D.I. Dipeolu adjourned the matter til Monday, July 20, 2026, for the continuation of trial.

One of charges against Blessing reads, “That you, OKORO BLESSING NKIRUKA, between July 14 and 17, 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did obtain the sum of N36,000,000.00 (Thirty-six Million Naira) from Mrs. Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye under the false pretence of leasing a six-bedroom detached duplex situated at No. 1B, Tunbosun Osobu Street, Off Kuboye Road, Lekki, Lagos State, which representation you knew to be false, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.”

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Three political parties are yet to upload the names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates to the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the closure at 11.59pm of Tuesday, Daily Trust learnt.

A senior INEC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said the affected parties are the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction led by Nyesom Wike, and the Labour Party (LP) faction led by Nenadi Usman.

The official, however, said almost all registered political parties have successfully uploaded the names of their candidates for the 2027 general elections.

“As of now, only about three political parties are yet to upload the names of their presidential and running mate candidates. They are APGA, the PDP (Wike faction) and the LP (Nenadi faction). Virtually every other party has filed its candidates,” the official said.

The commission had earlier extended the deadline for the submission of candidates after requests from some political parties, insisting that no further extension would be granted.

Political parties are expected to conclude the nomination process and upload the particulars of their candidates before the portal shuts, after which INEC will begin processing the submissions in line with the Electoral Act and its guidelines.

With the extended deadline for political parties to upload the names of their presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general election ending yesterday, indications emerged that the presidential candidates of the major opposition parties had successfully met the requirement.

As of yesterday evening, there was no indication that any of the parties’ submissions had been withdrawn, while the names of their recognised national leaderships remained on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.

INEC had on Sunday extended the deadline for political parties to submit the names and credentials of candidates seeking to contest the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.

The electoral body announced that parties had until midnight on Tuesday, July 14, to complete the process, extending the earlier deadline of Saturday, July 11.

INEC said the extension followed appeals from political parties, which were expected to upload the names and personal particulars of their presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates before the deadline.

The parties that successfully uploaded their candidates include the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is fielding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for re-election; the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which uploaded the names of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi; and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), which uploaded the names of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

INEC sources revealed that some political parties submitted only the names of their presidential candidates without running mates.

As parties uploaded candidates directly to the INEC portal, confusion persisted in some states over the identities of National Assembly candidates.

Our correspondent gathered that in Benue, Kwara and Nasarawa states, there was still uncertainty over the names that eventually made it onto the portal.

Fears over ADC candidates

There were fears that following Tuesday’s Court of Appeal judgement, the ADC’s presidential and National Assembly candidates might not be accepted by INEC.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had affirmed an earlier judgement restraining INEC from recognising or participating in state congresses conducted by the Mark-led leadership of the party.

However, checks by our correspondent yesterday showed that the INEC portal remained unchanged, with former Senate President David Mark still listed as the party’s National Chairman.

Daily Trust confirmed that Mark is recognised as the National Chairman of the ADC, while former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, remains listed as the party’s National Secretary.

Despite the appellate court’s decision, INEC had yet to effect any change to the party’s national leadership on its official portal as of the time of filing this report.

The portal also lists Dr Mani Ibrahim Ahmad as National Treasurer, Akibu Dalhatu as National Financial Secretary and Prof. Oserheimen Aigberadion Osunbor as the party’s National Legal Adviser.

The continued listing of Mark and members of the current National Working Committee comes as political parties race to beat the extended deadline of 11:59 p.m. on July 14, 2026, granted by INEC for the submission of candidates.

The development is likely to fuel further debate over the practical implications of Tuesday’s Court of Appeal judgement on the leadership tussle within the ADC, particularly regarding which faction would ultimately be recognised by INEC for electoral purposes.

The ADC also called for the arrest and prosecution of Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party.

The party said the call followed INEC’s dismissal of Gombe’s claim that he had obtained the commission’s access code and uploaded candidates for the 2027 general election.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said INEC’s disclaimer that the document circulated by Gombe was false and forged amounted to a criminal attempt to undermine the integrity of the commission.

The party therefore urged INEC to refer the matter to law enforcement agencies, warning that allowing such claims to go unpunished could erode public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.

ADC said it welcomed the commission’s prompt clarification confirming that the document circulated by Gombe, purporting to show that he had obtained INEC’s access code and uploaded candidates on behalf of the party, was forged and that the claim was entirely false.

Abdullahi had earlier announced that the party had successfully uploaded the names and particulars of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, to the INEC nomination portal.

He said the development marked another important step in the party’s preparations for the 2027 general election and its commitment to offering Nigerians a credible alternative built on competence, unity and national renewal.

NDC uploads Peter Obi

National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Henry Seriake Dickson, earlier announced that the party had been granted access to the INEC portal to upload the names of its qualified candidates for the 2027 general election.

Dickson, who disclosed this in a statement posted on his X account, said the party had filed an appeal and an application for a stay of execution against a recent court ruling affecting its status.

The National Chairman of the Nyesom Wike-backed PDP, Abdulrahman Mohammed Takushara, also announced that the party under his leadership had successfully uploaded the names of its presidential candidate, running mate and National Assembly candidates to the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal.

He said: “This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to the promise we made that, under my leadership, the PDP will fully participate in the 2027 general elections. today, we have taken another decisive step towards fulfilling that promise.”

Accord Party presidential candidate to know fate today

Our correspondent reports that the suit instituted against the Accord Party and INEC came up yesterday but was adjourned until today after the defendants served fresh court processes on Olawepo Gbenga-Hashim’s legal team shortly before proceedings commenced.

At the heart of the dispute is Gbenga Hashim’s claim that he lawfully emerged as the sole aspirant and winner of the Accord Party’s presidential primary but that the party failed to transmit his name to INEC in accordance with the Electoral Act.

Gbenga Hashim is asking the court to affirm him as the Accord Party’s lawful presidential candidate for the 2027 general election and compel the party to submit his name to INEC, having emerged from the presidential primary held on June 30, 2026.

In the alternative, he is seeking an order directing the conduct of a fresh presidential primary if the court declines to grant his principal relief, arguing that he fulfilled all constitutional and statutory requirements for nomination.

As of the time of filing this report, our correspondent could not independently confirm whether Gbenga Hashim’s name had been uploaded to the INEC portal because of the pending court proceedings.

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), at its July 2026 meeting chaired by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has shared a total of ₦2.551 trillion among the Federal Government, the 36 States and 774 Local Government Councils as Federation Account revenue for June 2026.

The meeting, held in Abuja, was attended by the Accountant General of the Federation, State Commissioners of Finance and other members of the Committee.

The amount distributed comprised ₦1.810 trillion in Statutory Revenue and ₦740.724 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT).

From the Statutory Revenue, the Federal Government received ₦849.366 billion, the State Governments ₦430.810 billion, while the Local Government Councils received ₦332.136 billion. The oil producing States also received ₦197.610 billion as 13 per cent derivation.

The VAT distribution saw the Federal Government receive ₦74.072 billion, the State Governments ₦407.398 billion, while the Local Government Councils received ₦259.253 billion.

In all, the Federal Government received ₦923.438 billion, the State Governments ₦838.208 billion, the Local Government Councils ₦591.390 billion, while ₦197.610 billion was shared as 13 per cent derivation to the oil producing States.

FAAC noted that gross revenue available in June 2026 stood at ₦4.501 trillion, comprising ₦3.701 trillion in statutory revenue and ₦799.746 billion in gross VAT collections.

The Committee observed a strong improvement in revenue performance during the month.

Gross statutory revenue increased by ₦1.049 trillion over the figure recorded in May 2026.

The growth was driven largely by higher receipts from Companies Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Import Duty, Customs Excise Tariff Levies, Petroleum Royalties, Gas Flared Penalties, Rental Income and Miscellaneous Oil Revenue.

However, collections from Petroleum Profit Tax, Hydrocarbon Tax, Mineral Royalties and Fees recorded declines.

VAT collections also recorded positive growth.

Gross VAT revenue rose from ₦743.668 billion in May to ₦799.746 billion in June, representing an increase of ₦56.078 billion.